This study was undertaken by the Rural Development Institute for the World Justice Project. The study reviews the formal and customary laws and practices governing the rights of women to inherit land in six South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). The study includes an analysis of existing laws and customs and their impact on inheritance and land rights in all six countries. It also provides recommendations for how to design interventions that can attempt to improve women’s inheritance rights.

In Asia, land issues affect women in ways that call for serious deliberation and action. Suffice it to say, the legitimate concerns of females transcend generations and geographical borders. Attaining a stable livelihood, meeting basic resource needs and having adequate housing are just some of the issues that affect women. There is, however, a pressing need to heed the woes of rural women in particular. The poor are swelling in numbers and the condition of poor rural women lies on the fringes of the global economic agenda.

Women’s land rights (WLR) have been and continue to be a live agenda in social development discourse of India. The importance of WLR has been discussed in the context of agriculture; poverty reduction; reduction in gender based violence; women’s well-being and agency.This policy brief outlines the gaps that exist in the realisation of women’s land rights on agricultural land and calls for immediate collective action aimed at removing the structural barriers in inheritance, leasing, and joint ownership of privately held land in favour of women.

The present publication provides national statistical agencies and policy makers with guidance on collecting, processing, analysing and disseminating individual-level data on asset ownership and control for the production of gender statistics. Although agricultural surveys and administrative data sources are briefly addressed, the focus of the guidelines is on household surveys for two key reasons.

This Expert Group Meeting (EGM1 ) was convened with the purpose of examining land indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting meaningful and harmonised approaches to monitoring women’s land rights (WLR)2 . It was convened by the Global Land Indicators Initiative (GLII) of the GLTN, UN Habitat, and Oxfam with inputs and assistance from Landesa, UN Women and Huairou Commission as part of a process of work on the development of methodologies for the land related SDG indicator monitoring.

The World Bank group, among the world's largest development institutions, is a major source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. In fiscal 2009, the World Bank group sponsored 767 projects with a total commitment of $58.8 billion, distributed in credits, loans, grants, and guarantees. This fiscal year's funding marks a 54 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and a record high for the Bank group.

In the wake of the revolution, Tunisian society is currently undergoing a significant transformation. In late 2011, the country's first representative government in more than three decades was formed, as the Constituent Assembly was seated. Hundreds of legitimate candidates ran in an election that was free, fair, and enjoyed nearly 90 percent participation by eligible voters.

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, discussed the issues that link the United States to other countries: health, migration, trade, peace and stability, energy, food, and crime and narcotics. The responsibilities of foundations do not end with our cities and communities. The job the Bank does can only be done on the basis of partnership with the governments, with the other multilateral institutions, with the private sector, but most particularly with civil society.

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, discussed what the Bank learned in coming to look at the issues of poverty and development. Development requires proper economic policies, but also the essential element of the social aspects and human aspects of society. The Bank’s focus is to think first in terms of poverty—fighting poverty with passion was adopted recently as the first line of our mission statement. Wolfensohn discussed an agenda for action on the issues of inclusion, corruption, transparency, education, knowledge, and private sector environment.

A recent overview of World Bank social safety net programs and gender highlighted the need for greater consideration of intra-household dynamics in the design of social protection programs (Bardasi 2014). During program design, decisions have to be made about who to target, how much and how often to give cash transfers, and what measures should accompany cash transfers. These decisions become even more complex in the context of polygamous households. The conclusions above are meant to illustrate important links between intra-household dynamics and the design of cash transfer programs.