Elusive Property Rights

Jendli Bai is a Bhil Tribal Activist woman of the Kansari Nu Wadaveno. It is a women’s organisation in Khargone District of western Madhaya Predesh in India . She had also played an important role with the tribal organisation Adivasi Morcha Sangathan and she has acheived fame for her work for her tribal community . She is from village Jamasi. She got married with a landless man and so came back with her husband to work as labourer on her father’s farm . Her father said that she can stay near by her father’s house and make a small hut . The availability of their cheap labour helped her father. She depended on the sympathy of her family members. So Jendli was staying peacefully near her father’s house. Then the State Government cracked down and crushed the tribal organisation with police repression and Jendli ‘s house was demolished . At this point her brother said that Jendli should not rebuild her hut on his land. Jendli’s father wanted his daughter to stay with him and became angrry and fought with his son. So his son left his father and went away. Her father was sad but he could not allot a small piece of land for his daughter because the rest of his community also opposed this as it would set a precedent of giving land to daughters . So she was forced to stay in an open place due to patriarchal pressure. Jendli despite being an activist and helping her community in its fight for rights could not get a share of her father’s land which she was entitled to by law . This is an example of social violence against women because without property rights they do not have any independence and have to bear domestic violence also. So there is need for international pressure to support the Indian women’s fight for property rights as a key factor in ending domestic violence against women .