Gender, Household Headship and Entitlements to Land: New Vulnerabilities in Vietnam's Decollectivization | Land Portal

Resource information

Date of publication: 
December 2003
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
MLRF:2578
Pages: 
233-263

The process of decollectivization in Vietnam, leading up to the 1993 Land Law, ensured farming households the rights to market their own produce and to transfer, exchange, lease, inherit, and mortgage their land-use rights. These changes imply a reworking of relations between state, market, and household, but also within households. Although the allocation of agricultural land in northern Vietnam was relatively equitable, allocation by the state represents only one channel of entitlements to land. The market represents a second, and customary or kinshipmediated channels, such as inheritance, are a third. This article examines the gendered dimensions of entitlements to land, particularly among female-headed households. While increasing attention is being directed to the nexus of gender and poverty and to the experiences of households headed by women, insufficient consideration is given to the diversity of female-headed households, and associated differences in livelihood vulnerability and entitlements to land. This gap is addressed through a case study in one village in northern Vietnam. The concluding discussion offers some directions concerning Vietnamese feminisms and decollectivization dynamics as agendas for future research.

Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

Scott, Steffanie

Publisher(s): 

The purpose of the Mekong Land Research Forum online site is to provide structured access to published and unpublished research on land issues in the Mekong Region. It is based on the premise that debates and decisions around land governance can be enhanced by drawing on the considerable volume of research, documented experience and action-based reflection that is available.

Data provider

The purpose of the Mekong Land Research Forum online site is to provide structured access to published and unpublished research on land issues in the Mekong Region. It is based on the premise that debates and decisions around land governance can be enhanced by drawing on the considerable volume of research, documented experience and action-based reflection that is available.

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