• Utthan Team
• 0 Comments

From Struggle to Justice: Lakshmiben’s Fight for Her Land

In the quiet lanes of Chanch village in Rajula taluka, stories of land, family, and survival are deeply woven into everyday life. From this village comes 79-year-old Lakshmiben Shiyal, now living in Nutan Nagar, Mahuva, where she shares a modest home with her widowed daughter and daughter-in-law. Life has not been easy. She lost her husband and one son, while another daughter also lost her husband. To keep the household running, Lakshmiben continues working as a farm laborer, while her daughter takes up domestic work. Yet, beneath these struggles lay another, much larger battle: the fight for her rightful share of her father’s farmland.

 

For nearly 15 years, Lakshmiben tried to secure her name on the 8 vigha ancestral land in Chanch, left behind by her late father. Her brothers resisted, keeping her from claiming her inheritance as a daughter, while lawyers and courts drained her time and resources. The turning point came when she attended a meeting of Shakti Mahila Sangathan, a federation supported by Utthan, which works across 40 villages to strengthen women’s land rights through its Swabhoomi Kendras. There, Paralegal Worker (PLW) Manishaben Shiyal heard Lakshmiben’s story and registered her case. What followed was a painstaking process of collecting documents, affidavits, and certificates, making online entries, and negotiating with village officials. The greatest hurdle was her brothers’ refusal to consent, but persistent dialogue with family members, lawyers, and local authorities eventually opened the door to justice.

 

Today, Lakshmiben’s name along with those of her five family members has been formally entered into the land records, giving them legal recognition as rightful heirs. Holding the certified copy of her ownership, she says with relief, “I never believed this day would come. For years, we thought we would never get our share. It is only because of Shakti Mahila Sangathan and the Land Rights Committee that this became possible.” Her journey is not just a personal triumph. It is a reminder of how collective action and women’s leadership can secure justice where silence and patriarchy once stood in the way.