India, July 3 -- These are all good measures and if implemented, will further the agenda of women's land rights. Alongside, it is critical for the Draft Bill to address certain lacunae that have historically been identified in the context of granting land rights to women.

First, the woman farmer certificate must become a door and not a barrier. The Draft Bill reportedly envisages the issuance of a woman farmer certificate by the gram sabhas and urban local bodies, with an appeal mechanism for rejected applications. It would be prudent to restrict too much discretion in the certificate granting process to ensure that the issuing authorities do not exercise arbitrary powers. Instead, it would be helpful to have the issuance process be rule...