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Lataben’s Fight for Land, Leadership, and Lasting Change

In the heart of Konjdi village in Gujarat’s Mahuva block lives Lataben, a 36-year-old woman from the Kumbhar community whose life changed drastically in 2014 when she lost her husband. Left to raise two young children alone, she faced the dual burden of grief and survival in a society that often sidelines widowed women. Having long been associated with the Mahila Vikas Sangathan and several initiatives supported by Utthan, she continued cultivating her family’s agricultural land after her husband’s death. However, she soon realized that without formal ownership, her and her children’s future remained uncertain. When she asserted her right to her late husband’s share of land, her in-laws opposed her fiercely. “I laid down on my land to stop my brother-in-law from taking it away,” she recalls. It was not just an act of defiance but a declaration of her right to live with dignity. With support from the Sangathan and Utthan’s field team, Lataben stood firm and, after years of struggle, secured legal ownership of 1.6 acres in 2019.

 

This victory marked a turning point not only for her but also for many women around her. Drawing strength from her experience, Lataben began supporting other women in similar situations. So far, she has helped seven women—five widows and two married women—secure land rights and ownership of property that had been denied to them. As her confidence grew, so did her leadership. She began participating in training sessions for women farmers and was later selected as a Master Farmer under Utthan’s sustainable agriculture initiative. Recognizing her credibility, the Village Development Committee nominated her in 2019 to lead a demonstration of eco-friendly practices in cotton cultivation.

 

Lataben dedicated 1.2 acres of her land to this initiative and, with Utthan’s support in training, bio-inputs, and soil and water testing, adopted a complete cycle of sustainable farming methods. The results were remarkable. While neighbouring farms using chemical inputs harvested about 40 maunds on 1.6 acres, Lataben’s sustainable plot yielded 77 maunds on just 1.2 acres. That season, she earned rupees 50,000, repaid her debts, and invested in an insurance policy for her children. Her seasonal income eventually doubled to rupee 60,000. Once dependent on daily wage labour nearly 20 kilometres away, she now works primarily on her land and mentors over 50 women farmers, guiding them in sustainable practices and helping them gain confidence in their abilities. Her children are pursuing senior secondary education, and Lataben continues to move forward—not just as a survivor, but as a leader whose journey from hardship to empowerment has inspired many. Hers is a story of land turned into livelihood, of struggle giving way to hope, and of leadership rooted deeply in the soil she rightfully calls her own.