My land, my right. Putting land rights at the heart of the Pakistan floods reconstruction

The mega floods of 2010–11 hit Pakistan hard, both economically and
socially, and have had a massive impact on land and agriculture. The
path to recovery and reconstruction is long and full of challenges – but it
is also an opportunity to tackle crucial structural issues such as crippling
inequalities in people’s rights and access to land. Most people who live
in the rural areas affected by the floods are landless. Lack of land
ownership and insecure access to arable land are two of the major
causes of rural poverty in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan should
change how it approaches such issues to ensure comprehensive land
rights for poor farmers, especially women. A comprehensive recovery
and reconstruction plan that aims to ‘build back better’ must explicitly
address land issues. Otherwise, millions of Pakistanis will remain
trapped in deepening poverty, undermining the country’s recovery.