Most rural women in India lack a land title. If one’s husband died, or decided to leave the family, they could be left homeless, without rights to their home.

All it took was one line on the land rights form, which the West Bengal government changed in 2009, ushering in what is being called the “one-line revolution.”

Land is fundamental to breaking the poverty cycle.

Land titles in West Bengal previously only had a single line for the name of the owner of the property. That was typically a husband or male family member. An initiative by Landesa, a Seattle-based non-profit, West Bengal land titles now include a second line for the wife’s name. That gives them equal rights to the land.

Landesa has worked in more than 50 countries, promoting what it calls “pro-poor, gender-sensitive land rights.” Giving women secure rights to land can lead to a host of benefits, many studies have shown. Family nutrition and health improve. Women are less likely to be victims of domestic violence. Children are more likely to get an education and stay in school longer. Tim Hanstad, Landesa’s co-founder, points out that land rights give women better access to microcredit, smoothing their path to income and assets.

Read the full article on women's land rights by Esha Chhabra at ImpactAlpha.