环球英语 — 75：Women and Land Reforms

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Elizabeth Lickiss.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is early in the morning. A group of women gather together. They gather in the Indian village of Narsenhalli, near Bangalore. They sit outside the brightly coloured village school. This is their meeting point. A few men sit on the fence outside the school. They want to know what the women are going to discuss. There are a lot of women - around thirty [30]. The youngest woman is about twenty-five [25]. And the oldest is eighty [80]! But they are united in their purpose. They are here to talk about land.
Voice 2
The women have been working on the same land for the last thirty [30] years. They grow dryland crops such as groundnut, red gram and a local cereal² - ragi. They use most of the crops in their homes. But they do sell some goods on the local market.
Voice 1
The women farm the land. And the men travel to look for work. This happens in many villages in India today. It is different from how things used to be. The women farm the land. But they still do not own it. Men still have more rights than women. But the women in Narsenhalli are hoping to change this!
Voice 2
The women want to own the legal papers for the land. They call the papers ‘pattas’. The owner of the pattas is the owner of the land. One of the women from the group said,
Voice 3
‘We want our pattas. It is our right.’
Voice 1
The women are part of a larger group - ‘The Karnataka People’s Forum³ for Land Rights’ or KPFLR. Karnataka was one of the first Indian states to begin land reform. The group works⁴ to give ownership⁵ rights to the workers of the land. They hope to speed up this whole process of land reform in this way - for both men and women.
Voice 2
In the past, the most important thing was to provide land for the workers. This was more important than land rights for women. However, the majority of KPFLR’s members are women. So women’s rights have become more important.
Voice 1
Thangamma is the oldest member of the women’s group in Narsenhalli. Her back is bent⁶ forwards to the ground. She has worked on the same land for over fifty years. She wants the ‘pattas’, legal papers, for the land. Much of the land is the name of her dead father-in-law⁷. She says,
Voice 3
‘I want joint⁸ ownership of these lands now. My son may sell the land. I want security⁹.’
Voice 1
Thangamaa worries that her son will use the land as security to borrow money. She knows that the family would not be able to pay back any debt. They would lose the land. Thangamaa’s fears are common. Almost all the women want pattas for security.
Voice 2
Kadramma is another of the women in the group. She is forty [40]. Her house is close to the school. Outside are two cows and a goat. Inside it is cool and dark. Kadramma’s husband, Munniyappa, built the house. He used money from the government and family savings¹⁰. They have four children. The oldest two did not finish school. Instead, they help support the family. The daughter helps in the home. The son works in a hotel in Bangalore. The family’s earnings¹¹ pay for the younger children’s education.
Voice 1
Kadramma and Munniyappa keep half of their crops. And they sell the other half. But they struggle in the years without rain. The harvest produces only half the amount of crops. So Munniyappa goes to the village money lender. Here he can get a loan¹². But he must pay it back - with an interest rate of sixty percent [60%]!
Voice 2
In 1991, Munniyappa asked for the rights to the land they farm. He asked for the pattas. He waited for over ten years. And he did not receive anything. But today, he and Kadramma are hopeful. They have the support of KPFLR. And they hope that this will change things. They will get the papers they deserve¹³. So, whose name will be on the papers? Munniyappa and his wife do not look very happy with this question! Munniyappa answers quickly.
Voice 4
‘It does not matter who owns the land. It is not a big issue.’
Voice 2
His wife adds,
Voice 3
‘We all work very hard.’
Voice 1
Land reform raises difficult political and social issues. It is a problem in many countries, not just India. Giving land rights to women also raises issues of equality. Traditional thinking is still deep set in many areas. So it is not simply a matter of changing policies or laws. For example, policy has changed in Karnataka. But people are slow to act on the changes. It goes against years of traditional thinking. This ‘thinking’ says that women do not own anything - including land.
Voice 2
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedhkar is an expert in this area. He said,
Voice 5
‘Oppressed people should be able to become owners of land. Then they can boldly¹⁴ live - in freedom. They can live without fearing anyone. For an individual to own land in India is not simply a sign of economic development. But it is also a sign of a higher status, position, in the Indian Social Structure.’
Voice 1
So, giving women rights, is also giving them a higher position. And maybe this is why reform has been slow. But for many women farmers, it is not about position or status. They simply want the security of owning the land they farm. They want to be able to provide for their children and their future. Land reform will enable¹⁵ them to do this. Security and hope are things that all people should have. The women of Narsenhalli believe they are worth fighting for.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Marina Santee. Marina adapted a piece from a PANOS Feature for radio. The Panos piece was written by Keya Acharya. You can find details to the Panos website on the script¹⁶ of this programme. Computer users can hear our programmes, read our scripts and see our word list on our website:
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 ownership   

n.所有(权)，所有制

参考例句：

• The house is under new ownership.那栋房子已易新主。
• He claimed ownership of the house.他声称那幢房子归他所有。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 father-in-law   

n.岳父，公公

参考例句：

• He met his future father-in-law during his visit to Boston.他在波士顿小住期间遇见了他未来的岳父。
• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

12 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？

13 deserve   

vt.应受，值得；vi. 应受报答，值得受赏

参考例句：

• You really deserve a good beating,you naughty boy.你这个调皮孩子真该打。
• I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.我不配得到这些赞扬。

14 boldly   

adv.大胆地，显眼地；冒

参考例句：

• Everyone admires his spirit of doing boldly what is righteous. 人人都赞美他这种见义勇为的精神。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Do boldly what is righteous. 见义勇为。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 enable   

vt.使能够；使可以；使成为可能

参考例句：

• Only teamwork will enable us to get the job done on time.只有团结一致，我们才能按时完成这项工作。
• This will enable China to go a step further in grain production.这是中国粮食生产再上新台阶的巨大动力。

16 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。