Exploiting norms: gender, local elites and farm individualization in Tajikistan. Issue 2 (3rd April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hierman, Brent; Nekbakhtshoev, Navruz
• Is Part Of: Central Asian survey. Volume 40:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 159
• Page End: 178
• Publication Date: 2021-04-03
• Subjects: farm individualization -- gender norms -- elite capture -- feminization of agriculture -- Tajikistan; Asia, Central -- Periodicals; 958.005
• DOI: 10.1080/02634937.2020.1843406
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-4937

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article advances a straightforward argument: a complete analysis of land reform processes in Central Asia needs to account for gender dynamics. More explicitly, it argues that alongside the feminization of agriculture, customary gender norms restricting female economic opportunities and property acquisition represent a structural advantage for local elites interested in hindering or delaying the process of farm individualization in Tajikistan. After overviewing the gap between female legal rights to agricultural land and the actualization of these rights in four Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) the article narrows its focus to Tajikistan. After regression analyses reveal that gendered information gaps are insufficient to account for gaps in the registration of farmland, the study presents qualitative data examining the relationship between female-headed households and the slow pace of agrarian change in Tajikistan.