环球英语 — 75：Women and Land Reforms
Voice 1
Hello. I’m Elizabeth Lickiss.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is early in the morning. A group of women gather together. They gather in the Indian village of Narsenhalli, near Bangalore. They sit outside the brightly coloured village school. This is their meeting point. A few men sit on the fence outside the school. They want to know what the women are going to discuss. There are a lot of women - around thirty [30]. The youngest woman is about twenty-five [25]. And the oldest is eighty [80]! But they are united in their purpose. They are here to talk about land.
Voice 2
The women have been working on the same land for the last thirty [30] years. They grow dryland crops such as groundnut, red gram and a local cereal - ragi. They use most of the crops in their homes. But they do sell some goods on the local market.
Voice 1
The women farm the land. And the men travel to look for work. This happens in many villages in India today. It is different from how things used to be. The women farm the land. But they still do not own it. Men still have more rights than women. But the women in Narsenhalli are hoping to change this!
Voice 2
The women want to own the legal papers for the land. They call the papers ‘pattas’. The owner of the pattas is the owner of the land. One of the women from the group said,
Voice 3
‘We want our pattas. It is our right.’
Voice 1
The women are part of a larger group - ‘The Karnataka People’s Forum for Land Rights’ or KPFLR. Karnataka was one of the first Indian states to begin land reform. The group works to give ownership rights to the workers of the land. They hope to speed up this whole process of land reform in this way - for both men and women.
Voice 2
In the past, the most important thing was to provide land for the workers. This was more important than land rights for women. However, the majority of KPFLR’s members are women. So women’s rights have become more important.
Voice 1
Thangamma is the oldest member of the women’s group in Narsenhalli. Her back is bent forwards to the ground. She has worked on the same land for over fifty years. She wants the ‘pattas’, legal papers, for the land. Much of the land is the name of her dead father-in-law. She says,
Voice 3
‘I want joint ownership of these lands now. My son may sell the land. I want security.’
Voice 1
Thangamaa worries that her son will use the land as security to borrow money. She knows that the family would not be able to pay back any debt. They would lose the land. Thangamaa’s fears are common. Almost all the women want pattas for security.
Voice 2
Kadramma is another of the women in the group. She is forty [40]. Her house is close to the school. Outside are two cows and a goat. Inside it is cool and dark. Kadramma’s husband, Munniyappa, built the house. He used money from the government and family savings. They have four children. The oldest two did not finish school. Instead, they help support the family. The daughter helps in the home. The son works in a hotel in Bangalore. The family’s earnings pay for the younger children’s education.
Voice 1
Kadramma and Munniyappa keep half of their crops. And they sell the other half. But they struggle in the years without rain. The harvest produces only half the amount of crops. So Munniyappa goes to the village money lender. Here he can get a loan. But he must pay it back - with an interest rate of sixty percent [60%]!
Voice 2
In 1991, Munniyappa asked for the rights to the land they farm. He asked for the pattas. He waited for over ten years. And he did not receive anything. But today, he and Kadramma are hopeful. They have the support of KPFLR. And they hope that this will change things. They will get the papers they deserve. So, whose name will be on the papers? Munniyappa and his wife do not look very happy with this question! Munniyappa answers quickly.
Voice 4
‘It does not matter who owns the land. It is not a big issue.’
Voice 2
His wife adds,
Voice 3
‘We all work very hard.’
Voice 1
Land reform raises difficult political and social issues. It is a problem in many countries, not just India. Giving land rights to women also raises issues of equality. Traditional thinking is still deep set in many areas. So it is not simply a matter of changing policies or laws. For example, policy has changed in Karnataka. But people are slow to act on the changes. It goes against years of traditional thinking. This ‘thinking’ says that women do not own anything - including land.
Voice 2
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedhkar is an expert in this area. He said,
Voice 5
‘Oppressed people should be able to become owners of land. Then they can boldly live - in freedom. They can live without fearing anyone. For an individual to own land in India is not simply a sign of economic development. But it is also a sign of a higher status, position, in the Indian Social Structure.’
Voice 1
So, giving women rights, is also giving them a higher position. And maybe this is why reform has been slow. But for many women farmers, it is not about position or status. They simply want the security of owning the land they farm. They want to be able to provide for their children and their future. Land reform will enable them to do this. Security and hope are things that all people should have. The women of Narsenhalli believe they are worth fighting for.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Marina Santee. Marina adapted a piece from a PANOS Feature for radio. The Panos piece was written by Keya Acharya. You can find details to the Panos website on the script of this programme. Computer users can hear our programmes, read our scripts and see our word list on our website:
