More than 80% women in India work on fields in the agricultural sector but most of them cannot even call the tiniest piece of land their own despite the laws. Traditionally, women have always faced the most intense discrimination when it comes to inheritance issues. Even where they own land they often lack effective control. This week's India Matters look at why even today women are denied their right to inherit, and the transformation that occurs when they do get a field of their own. And how the research by economist Bina Agarwal on gender inequalities and command over property has led to amendments in the Hindu Succession Act that entitled women to be equal owners of land.
