Written by Shipra Deo Field research and coordination Binni Saroj Arora Shyamal Kumar Jana Nibha Sinha Research and editorial guidance Robert Mitchell This publication has been developed by Landesa and Samuel Hahnemann Associates & Research Centre (SHARC) with financial assistance from Oak Foundation. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Landesa, SHARC or Oak Foundation. © 2021 Landesa ‘This is not your home’ - An assessment of land rights of tribal women in Jharkhand 1 Preface When Bhuliya’s husband passed away, their daughter was just one year old. After the funeral, she went to her mother’s house for a brief visit. As per the custom, in due time, the husband’s family asks their son’s widow to return. But for Bhuliya, that never happened. After waiting for a month, her mother took her back to the in- laws’ house. This marked the beginning of harassment and violence that Bhuliya would have to experience, seemingly for the rest of her life. Her in-laws starved her and abused her verbally and physically. They not only alleged that she has a bad character but that she was an evil spirit. They wanted her to go back to her mother or remarry so that the property belonging to her husband could be transferred in the name of his brother. Both Bhuliya’s and her daughter’s health began to deteriorate. As a result, she soon left her marital home to go back to her mother’s house. She was not welcome there either. Her male cousin constantly passed demeaning comments. He did not let her worship the family God, saying that she belonged to another family. Two years later, when Bhuliya’s mother passed away, her male cousin saw this as an opportunity to grab her father’s property. He refused to light the funeral pyre until her father’s property was transferred to him. The rituals allow only a son or a male mourner in the family to perform the death rites. By now, Bhuliya had learned of Ekal Nari Sashakti Sangathan (ENSS) and reached out to them. ENSS members encouraged and supported her in conducting the death rituals herself. On seeing the group support, men in the community did not object and instead joined in the death rituals. Something that connects Bhuliya to thousands of other tribal women in Jharkhand are the intentional acts of violence – subtle or explicit – inflicted upon them. The intent is to put them off so that they do not lay claim to land and property or the wealth generated from it. The nature and intensity of the violence may vary, but such instances of violence against tribal women are not uncommon in Jharkhand. The study suggests that the violence is more pronounced for single women. ‘This is not your home’ - An assessment of land rights of tribal women in Jharkhand 2 A woman from the community said, ‘As girls grow up, they keep hearing this is not your home, you will go one day to your [marital] own home. But when she gets married, she realises that [marital home] is not hers either.’ Women live with this exclusion all their lives, though widows like Bhuliya experience this more starkly and become vulnerable to all kinds of violence. ENSS receives hundreds of such cases every year. Supported by the Samuel Hahnemann Associates & Research Centre (SHARC), it is a network of more than 27,000 single women in Jharkhand. It is also associated with a national level network of single women which supports single women to come together and empower each other in navigating the challenges of life. In their engagement with women, the network realises that women’s access and right to land and other productive assets are fundamentally linked to their livelihoods, sustenance, well- being and a sense of self. The network has also observed that women face a multitude of challenges when they want to exercise their rights to land. In this study, we assess the various threads which impact the land rights of tribal women in Jharkhand. We listened to the women recounting their dilemmas, struggles and aspirations. We also listened to the people around them to know their perspectives on the matter – men from their communities, elected leaders, government officials, development workers, advocates, and others. Alongside, we analysed the constitutional and legal contexts of the ensuing problem and came up with action plans for strengthening their land rights. We are thankful to Oak Foundation for providing the opportunity for Landesa and SHARC to come together and learn from and about tribal women. Landesa is an international organisation that works to strengthen land tenure and believes that land rights are a powerful tool that can be used to improve the lives of men and women living in poverty. ‘This is not your home’ - An assessment of land rights of tribal women in Jharkhand 3 Acknowledgements As we share this report, our heartfelt thanks go to: • The women in the far-off villages in Jharkhand for sharing their experiences and aspirations with us. • The community leaders – both elected and traditional – for helping us understand societal perceptions and customary provisions of land rights for women. • The legal experts and advocates for sharing their knowledge of complicated legal provisions and the challenges they encounter. • The land revenue officials for talking to us about the statutory provisions and related bureaucratic and administrative challenges. • The leaders of civil society organisations in Jharkhand for sharing their experience of working with tribal communities and their efforts to engage on issues of women’s rights. • Mr Ramesh Chandra Sharma, Ms Ginny Srivastava and Mr Ghanshyam for several discussions and for sharing their insights. • Dr Govind Kelkar and Dr Ashok Sircar for a thorough technical review of an earlier version of this report. • Ms Anuradha Banerji for providing some copyedits to an earlier version of this report. • Ms Nicole Tomita for designing and formatting the full report. • Ms Devon O’Neil for meticulously and cheerfully coordinating a number of things. • Ms Paromita Chowdhury for providing us the opportunity, encouragement and support throughout the study. Table of contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 0 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Locating the study ...................................................................................................................... 3 Research methodology .............................................................................................................. 4 Structure of this report .............................................................................................................. 6 2. Tribals, women and land: socio-legal facets ....................................................................................... 7 The Adivasi people and their history of resistance .................................................................... 8 Vulnerabilities of Adivasi women .............................................................................................. 8 Constitutional and statutory provisions .................................................................................. 10 Policy initiatives to increase women’s land ownership ........................................................... 12 3. Tenurial laws and their gendered implications ................................................................................. 17 Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act ...................................................................................................... 17 Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act ................................................................................................... 18 Wilkinson’s Rule ....................................................................................................................... 18 Gendered implications of the tenurial laws............................................................................. 18 4. Inheritance in customary laws .......................................................................................................... 22 Customary laws ........................................................................................................................ 22 Inheritance rights of tribal women: Views of the judiciary ..................................................... 26 5. Gendered social norms influence land ownership of women ......................................................... 30 Gendered norms, beliefs and practices ................................................................................... 30 Vicious circle of violence against women ................................................................................ 33 6. Women’s aspirations for land and justice ........................................................................................ 39 Women aspire to own land...................................................................................................... 39 Stories of women’s resilience .................................................................................................. 40 A few women did receive help ...............................................................................................