Does joint land ownership empower rural women socio-economically? Evidence from Eastern Nepal

Joint Land Ownership (JLO) is increasingly important for empowering women and improving their socioeconomic well-being. However, there is a lack of empirical research on this topic. Utilizing panel data from 2015 to 2020 and employing the Binary Logit Model, this study examines the socioeconomic and empowerment status of rural women who have JLO in the Sunsari district of Nepal. Particularly, we used a quasi-experimental research design and pretest and posttest research models to assess the empowerment status of rural women before and after the implementation of JLO. The results indicate a significant increase in monthly savings (270%) among women who have a JLO, as well as improved access to credit (241%), income (87%), participation in cooperatives (69%), entrepreneurship (56%), decision-making (56%), occupation (22%), and overall improvement in their socioeconomic conditions (16%). The women's participation in the JLO program also has increased by 77% in rural areas and 23% in urban areas. Furthermore, logistic regression results show that Rural Women Empowerment (RWE), resulting from JLO, varies significantly across different ethnic groups (β = −0.724, P < 0.01), land sizes (β = 0.117, P < 0.01), household sizes (β = 0.886, P < 0.01), household decision-making (β = −1.814, P < 0.05), and occupations (β = −0.868, P < 0.01). Our findings suggest that JLO significantly impacts rural women's empowerment, gender equality, and overall development, thereby assisting in the achievement of several UN Sustainable Development Goals. It emphasizes the need for policy interventions, legal reforms, and awareness-raising efforts to promote and support JLO to empower women and promote inclusive and sustainable rural development.