Sindhulimadhi: The existing provision that allows 25 per cent registration fee waiver if a land is registered in the name of a female member of the family has served well in Sindhuli, where the number of households opting to register their lands in the name of females is increasing.

As per data with the Land Revenue Office, Sindhuli, as many as 2,292 of the total 7,593 land transactions made in the fiscal year of 2015/16 were in the names of female family members. Of the 2,292 transactions, as many as 1,025 were done in rural areas and 1,267 were done in urban areas of the district.

According to Land Revenue Officer Bhagirath Sigdel, more lands were registered in the name of female members of the family in the fiscal 2015/16 as compared to the year before that. “The rise is positive and has to do with the waiver in registration fees as well as increasing awareness among the public that female members of the family should have equal right to own property,” said Sigdel.

In the fiscal 2015/16, a total of 1,898 land transactions were done in the name of females in the district. The government had made the provision of registration fee waiver for land transactions done in the name of female members of the family, Dalits, indigenous nationalities, senior citizens, persons with disability and martyrs’ families about 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, women rights activists are still cynical about the rising land transactions in female’s names. “Though the trend is good, it’s obvious that females are just being used by their male partners to secure the waiver as the former can’t sell the lands without their husbands’ approval,” said women rights activist Sabita Koirala.

source: the himalayan times, 4 august 2016