农村土地承包中的妇女权益问题研究
Yang Li, Denise Hare, Xi Yin-sheng
Abstract: Since the advent of the household responsibility system, women have played a larger and larger role in
agricultural production. However, subsequent to marrying outside of their native village, many women encounter
difficulties in obtaining a land allocation, and this problem is growing more persistent over time. This paper draws on data collected from more than four hundred rural households in Hunan and Shanxi Provinces, collected in 2002, to describe the current state of rural women's land rights, to determine the impact of landlessness on the socioeconomic status of women, and to identify causes of women's loss of land rights. The evidence indicates that gender inequality in land is observed among married adults—the incidence of landless married women exceeds that of landless married men. Furthermore, the gap is expected to widen. The negative impacts of landlessness are manifested not only through reduced household income, but also through lower levels of intra-household bargaining power and social status of women who depend on agriculture as their mainstay. The frequency of land readjustment, the local non-agricultural employment structure, the woman's age, and her household registration status are all seen to significantly affect women's
rights to land. Bringing a gender perspective to China's Rural Land Contract Law as well as to localized systems of
land management is critical in order that the problems uncovered by these data can be fully addressed. Specifically, this paper argues that rural residency criteria must be redefined and that land rights should be determined independently of the household registration status. In addition, supporting further development of the rural non-agricultural sector will help to decrease pressure on land as a source of income, having long-term benefits for women who remain in the agricultural sector.
Yang Li, Denise Hare, Xi Yin-sheng
Abstract: Since the advent of the household responsibility system, women have played a larger and larger role in
agricultural production. However, subsequent to marrying outside of their native village, many women encounter
difficulties in obtaining a land allocation, and this problem is growing more persistent over time. This paper draws on data collected from more than four hundred rural households in Hunan and Shanxi Provinces, collected in 2002, to describe the current state of rural women's land rights, to determine the impact of landlessness on the socioeconomic status of women, and to identify causes of women's loss of land rights. The evidence indicates that gender inequality in land is observed among married adults—the incidence of landless married women exceeds that of landless married men. Furthermore, the gap is expected to widen. The negative impacts of landlessness are manifested not only through reduced household income, but also through lower levels of intra-household bargaining power and social status of women who depend on agriculture as their mainstay. The frequency of land readjustment, the local non-agricultural employment structure, the woman's age, and her household registration status are all seen to significantly affect women's
rights to land. Bringing a gender perspective to China's Rural Land Contract Law as well as to localized systems of
land management is critical in order that the problems uncovered by these data can be fully addressed. Specifically, this paper argues that rural residency criteria must be redefined and that land rights should be determined independently of the household registration status. In addition, supporting further development of the rural non-agricultural sector will help to decrease pressure on land as a source of income, having long-term benefits for women who remain in the agricultural sector.
