Surviving Stigma: Housing and Land Rights of Farm Widows of Vidarbha, Maharashtra

Surviving Stigma: Housing and Land Rights of Farm Widows of Vidarbha, Maharashtra was published in October 2017 by the organisations Prakriti Resource Centre for Women and Development, Nagpur, and Housing and Land Rights Network, New Delhi.Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region accounts for a large part of farm suicides in the state. The farmers there – most of whom own less than two hectares of land – have faced worsening drought conditions for decades, along with crop failures and piling debt. A large number of male farmers have taken their lives out of desperation, leaving their wives to tackle the same problems in a society that denies women equal rights.This report documents information on farm widows in Vidarbha and their struggles to obtain ownership of their land and houses. It contains the results of a survey on the rights and living conditions of 157 farm widows in Vidarbha’s Akola, Amravati, Wardha and Yavatmal districts.The 44-page publication has seven chapters: Introduction (chapter 1); Background of the Agrarian Crisis in Vidarbha (chapter 2); Objectives and Methodology of the Study (chapter 3); The Human Rights Framework on Housing and Land (chapter 4); Findings and Analysis of the Study (chapter 5); Response to the Crisis in Vidarbha (chapter 6) and Recommendations and Conclusion (chapter 7).