Only 2pc ever-married women own land in Pakistan: study

Only about 2 per cent of ever-married women aged 15 to 49 own land, either alone or jointly, according to a study by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Dawn reported. The survey also found that 97.2 per cent of these women had neither inherited land nor a house. In Sindh, 99.1 per cent of women have no land, whether held singly or with others.

The study found that 67 per cent of employed women are engaged in farming, yet just 1.5 per cent of farm households appear in official records as headed by women. The gap extends to finance, with 56 per cent of men holding a full-service financial account against 14 per cent of women. Mobile wallet ownership follows a similar pattern, at 48 per cent for men and 11 per cent for women.

Floods in 2022 caused damage and losses above $30 billion, while resilient reconstruction was estimated to need $16.3bn or more. More than 80 per cent of women farmers reported crop losses, and borrowing was among the top coping strategies used across districts. The SDPI proposes a framework for gender-responsive climate finance, aimed at financial institutions, regulators and development partners.