Only two per cent of women in Pakistan own land, according to a latest survey, highlighting the stark gender gap in land ownership and economic empowerment.
uncertain
cent → own → ownership
The study, carried out by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), revealed that 67pc of Pakistan’s employed women work in agriculture, yet only 1.5pc of agricultural households are formally recorded as female-headed.
asserted
1.5pc → carry → households
Land ownership remains equally limited, with only about 2pc of ever-married women aged 15-49 owning land alone or jointly, while 97.2 per cent had not inherited land or a house.
asserted
cent → remain → land
According to the study, 99.1pc of women in Sindh do not own land alone or jointly.
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99.1pc → accord → land
These barriers are compounded by a significant financial and digital gender gap.
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barriers → compound → gap
SDPI study finds only 1.5pc of agricultural households formally recorded as female-headed
Conversely, 56pc of men have a full-service financial account compared with just 14pc of women, while mobile-wallet ownership stands at 48pc among men and 11pc among women.
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ownership → find → women
The study says the need for solutions is becoming increasingly urgent as climate risks intensify.
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risks → say → solutions
Floods in 2022 resulted in more than $30 billion in damage and economic losses, while at least $16.3bn was estimated to be required for resilient reconstruction.
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16.3bn → result → reconstruction
The study said half of the country’s population remains largely unrecognised as active agricultural workers.
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half → say → workers
Strengthening the rural economy, particularly agriculture and livestock, was essential to strengthening broader economy, and partnerships with institutions like Mobilink Bank, with their access to large-scale customer data, were vital to sustaining this line of research.
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partnerships → strengthen → research
The SDPI mentioned that women were doing the agricultural work, absorbing climate shocks and already borrowing to survive, yet the formal financial system did not treat them accordingly.
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system → mention → them
More than nine in 10 women farmers surveyed experienced an extreme climate-related event, including heatwaves, flooding, heavy rainfall or drought-like conditions, over the past five years, while more than 80pc reported crop losses or a negative impact on farming.
Borrowing ranked among the first- or second-most common coping strategies across every district.
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Borrowing → survey → district
In Khushab, every woman reporting a coping strategy had borrowed money, while more than half had also sold livestock, potentially undermining future income.
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half → report → income
According to the study, in a country ranked among the world’s most climate-vulnerable, this is not a peripheral issue; it sits at the heart of Pakistan’s agricultural resilience.
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it → accord → resilience
The exclusion is structural, built into products designed around land ownership, individual mobility and digital access, none of which reflect the reality of women farmers.
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none → build → farmers
The findings of the study point to an urgent need for more inclusive, climate-responsive financial solutions that can help women farmers protect livelihoods, recover faster and build greater resilience.
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farmers → point → resilience
The study moves beyond diagnosis to propose a practical framework for designing gender-responsive climate finance, with implications for financial institutions, regulators, development finance institutions and development partners.
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study → move → institutions
The headline for this story previously erroneously stated that women in Pakistan own just two per cent of land.
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women → state → land
The headline has been corrected to state that just two per cent of ever-married women own land in Pakistan.
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cent → correct → Pakistan
The Aporia
