USAID Helps Tajik Women Regain Land
One hundred women from the Saodat Farm in northern Tajikistan recently regained possession of 19 hectares of irrigated land, thanks to USAID intervention. The land, which was restored to its owners in February 2007, had been illegally seized several years ago. The case was widely publicized by local mass media and has set an important precedent in Tajikistan for the security of land tenure.
The women, mostly widows, had received this land from the Government in 2000. However, a well-connected member of the local community took possession of the farm shortly after the installation of an irrigation system. Although courts repeatedly ruled in the women’s favor, the decisions were never executed.
USAID-funded legal experts supported the women’s legal representation and followed the case throughout the process to proper, lawful resolution.
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One of the members of Saodat farm testifies how her land rights were taken away illegally
Photo Credit: Chemonics |
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