Custom, Caste System Deny Land Rights to Asian Women, Indigenous People

Oct 2, 2019 | Rina Chandran
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Women, lower-caste and indigenous people across Asia are failing to benefit from land reform laws because of custom and deep-rooted social biases, land rights activists said on Wednesday.

Globally, indigenous communities have legal rights to only 10% of land, according to Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Rights and Resources Initiative.

"Land conflicts in Asia are increasing in coverage and intensity, not only because of clashes with industry, but also because of social exclusion, discrimination and historical disenfranchisement," said Nathaniel Don Marquez, of ANGOC, a non-profit network for agrarian reform in the region.