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Property Ownership & Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection

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Property Ownership & Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection Property Ownership & Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection– The South Asia Experience Synthesis report of three studies Copyright © 2006 International Center for Research on Women. All rights reserved. ICRW thanks the Ford Foundation for its support of this research. Property Ownership and Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection – The South Asia Experience Synthesis Report of Three Studies Domestic Violence and Women’s Property Ownership: Delving Deeper into the Linkages in Kerala Pradeep Panda Population Council, New Delhi, India Property Ownership of Women as Protection for Domestic Violence: The West Bengal Experience Jayoti Gupta Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, India Property Ownership and Domestic Violence: A Perspective from Sri Lanka Indika Bulankulame Centre for Women’s Research (CENWOR), Sri Lanka Property Ownership and Inheritance Rights of Women as Social Protection from Domestic Violence: Cross-site Analysis Nandita Bhatla Swati Chakraborty Nata Duvvury International Center for Research on Women Preface he International Center for Research on Women, in collaboration with researchers from India and Sri TLanka, is pleased to present the synthesis report of a multi-site research study on social protection exploring the links of women’s ownership of property and inheritance rights and their experience of domestic violence. This report brings together three research summaries, each detailing the study and its findings of the linkage in three different sites, as well as a cross-site analysis undertaken by ICRW. The cross site analysis attempts to highlight the commonalties and differences in trends across the three sites of study, and also presents a conceptual framework of pathways by which women’s property ownership impacts their experience of domestic violence. The summary reports are prepared by the individual research teams, in consultation with ICRW, and the introduction has been prepared by the ICRW team. The ICRW team bears responsibility for any errors or omissions in this report. The study benefited greatly from the comments and suggestions of the Technical Advisory Group constituted to guide the research study, including Prof. Tudor Silva, Dr. Bina Agarwal, Dr. Jean Dreze, and Ms. Nilima Sammadar. The ICRW team would like to thank them for the continued support throughout the study period. We would also like to specially thank Dr. Bina Agarwal who gave incisive inputs to research instruments, participated in trainings in Kerala, and gave continuous advice and support. We also thank Anomita Goswami for the editorial support provided for this report. The ICRW team also wish to acknowledge Dr. Joy Deshmukh- Ranadive, Country Director, ICRW India, and Dr. Sarah Kambou, Group Director, Health and Development, ICRW for their overall support in the final phase of this project. We extend our special gratitude to all the respondents in the three sites of the study who willingly shared the experiences of their lives with us, and to the research teams for collecting these to ensure that this research project was possible. Nandita Bhatla Project Director Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Domestic Violence and Women’s Property Ownership: Delving deeper into the Linkages in Kerala ............................................................................................... 10 Property Ownership of Women as Protection for Domestic Violence: The West Bengal Experience ............................................................................................................................. 37 Property Ownership and Domestic Violence: A Perspective from Sri Lanka ............................................................................................................................ 57 Property Ownership and Inheritance Rights of Women as Social Protection from Domestic Violence: Cross-site Analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 71 References Cited .................................................................................................................................................... 104 Introduction Nandita Bhatla Nata Duvvury Swati Chakraborty International Center for Research on Women iscourse on social protection has gained cur- work that in the short term reduces vulnerability and Drency in the recent decades, given the rapid enhances the capacity to manage economic risk, and economic transition in many developing countries in the long term enhances human potential and pro- across the world, including those in South Asia. While motes equality of opportunity. there is no single definition of social protection, it is widely understood as a combination of policies and Social protection is essentially of two types – formal programs aimed to reduce vulnerability and enhance and informal. The term “formal” is used to describe capacity to manage risk in times of social and eco- social protection provided by the State and market nomic crisis, and reduce poverty. based actors (private insurance firms), while “infor- mal” covers individual and collective arrangements Over the years, the definition of social protection it- (arrangements by family/ kin/aid societies). Formal self has undergone change. According to the ILO measures, such as social security and insurance definition of 1984, social protection comprised eco- schemes, though relatively more visible, are often nomic measures to protect workers against work re- available to a negligible proportion of the population lated problems, such as death, old age, and injury. in many developing countries. As Moghadam puts it Recent literature records a shift and broadening of “ In developing countries, social security programs social protection from an essentially economic con- cover a relatively small part of the population, and are cept centered on provision of simple social security uneven in their scope and are especially problematic to incorporate other socio-economic indicators of in their coverage of women” (Sabates and Kabeer vulnerability, such as gender, age, migratory status 2003). Evidence suggests that poor households in Cook, Kabeer and Suwannarat 2003). Different aid these countries scarcely benefit from direct state sup- agencies have added their specific perspectives to port, relying more on informal arrangements (Norton, the core definition of social protection. For example, Conway and Foster 2001; Cook, Kabeer and while the Asian Development Bank views it as “a Suwannarat 2003). This lack of access has led to ques- design aimed at reducing poverty by making growth tions about the methods of provision of social pro- more efficient and equitable”, for UNICEF it is a hu- tection. Cook (2003) argues that it would be wiser to man rights based approach with a specific focus on provide social protection through investment in health addressing vulnerabilities of children. WHO empha- and education sectors, as it would help the vulner- sizes the reduction of risk factors that pose a threat to able to take necessary steps for protecting themselves human health and those beyond the domain of the from shocks in the short as well as the long run. health field, such as environmental degradation, in- adequate housing, and lack of education. Overall, A review of literature indicates numerous problems social protection is now viewed as a policy frame- and challenges in existing social protection interven- 1 tions as well as additional components that need to “better” or indicating that they are less vulnerable or be incorporated within existing frames and design of more “protected.” social protection. Studies of social protection inter- ventions carried out in China, India, Indonesia, Ma- Women are also affected by the inherent gender bias laysia, Philippines and Republic of Korea show that in informal systems of social provisioning. Within these schemes suffered from various weaknesses informal systems of social provisioning, the family such as inadequate funds, few beneficiaries, leakages and community act as primary means of social pro- in targeting, inadequate monitoring of output and in- tection in developing, low income countries. Litera- sufficient coverage. ture records that the burden of social security provi- sioning by families falls heavily and disproportion- Studies also underscore the need to meet challenges ately on women. Moreover, these informal systems posed by growing insecurity and inequality. With are rooted in gender norms, often maintain the status expanding definitions of social protection, focus is quo with respect to women, and inherently contrib- shifting to sociocultural processes, demographic ute to increased vulnerability of women by denying changes, and political processes that need to be ad- them social support in particular circumstances such dressed for social protection measures to be truly as widowhood. beneficial. In this discussion, gender is identified as a critical dimension to the success and relevance of Further, most of the traditional social protection pro- social protection programs. grams consider the household as the unit of benefit of the measures or schemes, with the implicit assump- Gender within the social tion that women automatically benefit. Evidence sug- protection framework gests that undue focus on the
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