The Women’s Support Center (WSC) program, which aims to connect rural single women with land rights and related government resources, is being expanded to two districts in the Indian state of Odisha. The program, a partnership between Landesa and district governments in Odisha, was recently launched in the Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts.
In Odisha, government land programs target household heads, typically men. Recent efforts have been made to include women in these programs, but single women by and large remain underserved. As a result, government programs intended to address rural poverty exclude a highly vulnerable group: rural single women. These women account for an estimated 12 percent of Odisha’s rural women.
Landesa and its local government partners in Odisha established the Women Support Center (WSC) program to address the needs of rural single women, who previously remained “invisible” to the government programs. Now located in seven districts in Odisha, about 7,000 single women have received land titles through the program.
Category:
Related resources
Integrating Mangrove Ecosystem Valuation, Land Certification, and Gender Inclusion in Nusantara Capital City
Landesa’s new study demonstrates how Indonesia’s intended new capital city can showcase integrated and inclusive tenure security and coastal management that balance urban development with mangrove ecosystem conservation. The study reveals the feasibility of implementing Payment for Ecosystem Services and proposes integrating ecosystem service economics with the land certification framework in the country, pioneering gender-responsive ecosystem service rights certification.
Landesa Reports, Research
Consultation and Consent in Indigenous-led Carbon Projects: Good practices and lessons learned from the Awajun Tajimat Pujut Initiative (English & Spanish)
This case study provides lessons and good practices from the Tajimat Pujut Initiative (TPI), an Indigenous-led carbon project in Peru, offering insights into how effective consultation and consent practices can support responsible carbon projects that align with Indigenous values and deliver sustainable returns for their use and management of land and forests.
Research
Climate Change Adversities and Gender Inequality in Bangladesh
This program reflection from the Coastal Livelihoods and Mangroves Project explores how gender norms shape women’s and girls’ experiences of climate change in Bangladesh’s coastal communities. Drawing on fieldwork in Satkhira and Khulna districts, Shushilan's Snigdha Ghosh highlights how unequal access to forest resources and mobility restrictions limit women’s participation in climate resilience efforts—reinforcing vulnerabilities and increasing the risk of gender-based violence. The insights underscore the need for gender-sensitive climate action that centers the voices and rights of women and girls.
Issue Briefs
