"It's very difficult. I don't have a husband, I don't have a son,
even my father doesn't want me," she says, her voice breaking. "I am
alone and powerless to do anything."
For single women in India's Maharashtra, owning land can be the difference between life and death
Rajshree Gungoo,
a chatty 27-year-old with a quick smile, speaks up at a gathering of
about 40 women discussing the challenges facing single women in India's western Maharashtra state.
"It's very difficult. I don't have a husband, I don't have a son, even my father doesn't want me," she says, her voice breaking. "I am alone and powerless to do anything."
She breaks off, using the end of her saree to wipe her tears. Around her, others nod and mutter.
In
drought-hit Marathwada, the state's poorest region, there is an
unusually high number of single women. Some were widowed after their
farmer husbands committed suicide because of debt; others were abandoned
because they didn't produce a son, while some were left behind when
their husbands left to search for work.
Alone and
without financial support, the women and their children are usually
thrown out of home by their in-laws, denied ownership of the land they
worked on and any compensation from the government.
They are also taunted and harassed by communities who believe a woman is nothing without a man.
"In
this country, single women are the most vulnerable category - they are
neglected by the government, by society, even their own family," said Vishwanth Todkar, secretary at Paryay, a charity that works with marginalised communities.
"Every
day, every hour is a struggle for them - to get a home, get land, even
their identity cards, which are in the name of the father or the
husband. They face humiliations constantly," he said.
BIAS FROM BIRTH
In
India, where a patriarchal system is deeply entrenched, only 13 per
cent of farm land is owned by women. The figure is even lower when it
comes to lower caste Dalit women who are single.
About
12 per cent of India's female population is classified as single,
including women who are widowed, divorced, separated, and older
unmarried women, according to the 2011 census.
While
widows receive a monthly pension of about 500 rupees ($7.40) in most
Indian states, divorced women and those who are unmarried or abandoned
are ineligible for most welfare benefits.
In addition, most religious laws favour men when it comes to the inheritance of family property and agricultural land.
In Osmanabad
district, Paryay works with single women in about 30 villages. The
charity estimates that almost half the women in these villages are
single, and that most are Dalits.
Single women in
India's villages bear the brunt of entrenched customs and superstitions,
including a bias against girls from birth, limited education, early
marriage and financial dependence on the husband or father.
For
older women who are unmarried or those who have been abandoned by their
husbands, ownership of land or property can mean the difference between
life and death, said Lata Bandgar, a programme coordinator at Paryay.
"It's
like they don't exist without a man. We have to prove their existence
in the eyes of the government to even get them identification and basic
benefits," said Bandgar, who was thrown out of her home after her husband left her years before.
"A
piece of land to work on and a home to live in are their basic rights -
it's tied to their identity, livelihood and status in the community.
Without it they are nothing," she said.
DANGEROUS WORLD
Maharashtra,
one of India's most prosperous states, has seen some of the biggest
battles for the rights of marginalised communities, including the Laxmi Mukti campaign of the early 1990s to transfer half the family's land to women.
Since then, however, efforts have lost momentum due to low levels of literacy and a lack of awareness.
About
41 percent of households headed by women in India do not own land, and
make a living through casual manual labour, according to the 2011
socio-economic and caste census. In Maharashtra, it is more than 45
percent.
In Marathwada, many single women get
duped into marriage or are trafficked as sex workers because they have
no means of earning a livelihood, Bandgar said.
"From
the moment she wakes up till the time she goes to sleep - and even
after - a single woman in a village is subject to so much harassment, so
much stigma and abuse," she said.
"They
are treated worse than animals - even cattle live with greater security,
greater comfort. It is a dangerous world for them. So if she can stake
her claim to land or property, then she has some security. Without it,
she has nothing," she said.
SOCIAL PROTECTION
A
new draft policy for women unveiled in May acknowledges the challenges
single women face, including in finding safe and affordable housing.
The policy aims to strengthen the social infrastructure for single women, as well as create a "comprehensive social protection mechanism" and improve their overall condition.
In
Osmanabad, charities are helping single women to get government-issued
identity cards that entitle them to subsidised food rations, to apply
for bank loans, and to lay claim to property and land.
Last
year, Paryay convinced the Osmanabad district council to set aside 2
million rupees for loans of up to 20,000 rupees a year for eligible
single women to purchase poultry or goats.
"With this money, the women can stay in the village and make a living that is not dependent on farming alone," district council chief A.E. Rayate told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"We would like them to be financially independent," he said.
That is also the aim of the gathering of single women who filled in application forms for loans from Paryay's self-help group.
"What are you crying for?" Nirja Bhatnagar, regional manager at ActionAid, which partners Paryay, asked Gungoo.
"Don't
think that just because you don't have a husband, a father or a son,
that you are worthless. You have to believe in yourself and move forward
with the support of women like you."