women and landtitlesThe 2005 Hindu Succession Act was legislated to protect women’s rights to an equal share in ancestral property, including land. A unique rural household survey in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal was conducted, in which both enumerators for interviews and participants of the survey were women. It was found that only 3% of the 8,000 rural households randomly selected in those four states have their land registered under women’s names. Women’s land title ownership has positive effects on their participation in decisions about farming, livelihood, and household activities.