Role of Women in Sustainable Soil Management: Some Legal Reflections

There is a close relationship between soil health and women. If there is soil erosion, women are directly affected both like all other human beings as well as due to their gender or sex. They face double victimization irrespective of their age. Women play a crucial role in sustainable soil management (SSM) that ensures women’s empowerment including food, economic and social security. Both come under the ambit of Goals 5 and 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Though women share the primary burden of providing food and water to their families, their contribution, especially as a farmer, hardly get recognition. The role of women in SSM management needs to be valued and duly factored in decision-making at all levels. Existing international law and domestic law in India, need to give specific attention to women’s land rights, right to inheritance, and gender equality in agriculture-related work. In this context, the present study seeks to examine the content and contours of the role women can play in SSM that can also mitigate the consequences primarily resulting from soil degradation. It analyzes the existing framework of international law and domestic laws in India to address the issue of women’s rights and their contributions and suggest a way forward.