Abstract

Land is considered as a symbol of prestige and power all over the world. It raises the status of a person in a society. Although women currently constitute more than half of the total population in Bangladesh, they are deprived of their land rights which is essential for their personal and social security. Even after acquiring their land rights, it becomes difficult for women to enjoy their rights over land. Also, existing legal system and administration are not compatible enough for women to enjoy their rights over land. Keeping these matters in mind, this paper aims to find out the factors which put a bar to women’s access to land. Moreover, this paper seeks to analyze women’s land rights in light of the provisions of the Constitution of Bangladesh. Further, this paper also intends to examine and evaluate women’s right to land in light of domestic laws and relevant international instruments as well. Furthermore, this paper also intends to analyze the socio-economic impact of women’s access to land. This paper aims to establish the nexus between ensuring women’s land rights and achieving women empowerment and gender equality. This paper purports to emphasize that ensuring protection of women’s land rights will pave the way for achieving gender equality at an accelerated pace. Finally, after analysis of women’s land rights within the ambit of the Constitution and existing domestic and international legal instruments, this paper intends to put forth recommendations in order to ameliorate the socio-economic conditions of women by ensuring their land rights.

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