We The People: A Tribal Woman바카라�s Fight for Equal Property Rights

Rattan Manjari is an iconic tribal woman whose battles with patriarchal norms are legendary. The 70-year-old hails from the remote Ribba village in Kinnaur바카라�a high-altitude district along the Indo-Tibetan border바카라�where women have no legal titles to property and power in other matters. From managing her apple orchard in Kinnaur to organising women against the customary law called Wajib-ul-Urj that prevents women, unmarried daughters, widows, and deserted single women, from inheriting ancestral property바카라� Manjari does it with determination.
Women in tribal families at Kinnaur, Pangi, Lahaul-Spiti and Bhamour suffer gender discrimination, injustice, and legal deprivation. Due to Manjari바카라�s efforts, about 35 applicants have received property rights and their names noted in the revenue records. She also runs Mahila Kalyan Parishad바카라�a group seeking equal rights for women in ancestral property matters.

Manjari was elected unanimously as village pradhan at the age of 21. 바카라�I was lucky that my family, particularly my mother, inspired me as a 14-year-old to raise my voice against the century-old patriarchal laws. I could also reach out to the state chief ministers and even prime ministers of India, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I led hundreds of tribal women to spread a gender revolution. Still, there바카라�s a long way to go,바카라� she rues.

The 1926 law is practiced in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, besides the tribal belt of Chamba district, despite a high literacy rate of 81 per cent. 바카라�This customary law seems to have originated from the fear of losing tribal land if a woman marries a non-tribal. Unmarried daughters have a share in the property with their brothers, but after the father바카라�s demise, the sons become sole inheritors,바카라� says
Dr Dev Kanya Thakur, a journalist whose film, No Woman바카라�s Land, looked at gender discrimination in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.

Manjari recalls that the Himachal Pradesh high court had held that gender discrimination violates fundamental rights. 바카라�The daughters in a Hindu society cannot be left and segregated from the mainstream as they are entitled to equal share in the property,바카라� the court ruled on June 25, 2015. The matter later went to the Supreme Court, which referred it back to the high court, where it is still pending. 

As a last-ditch attempt, Manjari wants to meet the newly elected President of India, Droupadi Murmu. 바카라�I am sure she will make a big difference vis-à-vis my struggle for getting the legitimate rights of tribal women enforced,바카라� says Manjari.

(This appeared in the print edition as "The Fight for Equal Property Rights")

Liked the story? Do you or your friends have a similar story to share about 'ordinary' Indians making a difference to the community? Write to us. If your story is as compelling, we'll feature it online. Click here to submit.