Women and Land Reforms in Kerala: A Gendered Analysis of Ownership, Security, and Social Change (1950s–1970s)

This paper examines the impact of Kerala’s historic land reforms (1950s–1970s) on women’s land ownership, economic security, and social position. While Kerala’s land reforms are celebrated for dismantling landlordism and redistributing land, their gendered consequences remain underexplored. This study uses archival sources, oral histories, and existing scholarship to analyze how these reforms affected women in matrilineal and patrilineal communities differently, shaped women’s access to productive resources, and influenced women’s status within households and local politics. The paper argues that although land reforms advanced social justice, patriarchal norms in inheritance and household decision-making limited their potential for transforming women’s economic independence. (