Women own just 2pc of land in Pakistan

Women own just 2pc of land in Pakistan.

Key points

• Shahid Iqbal Published September 6, 2026 Updated September 6, 2026 04: 08am.
• While mobile-wallet ownership stands at 48pc among men and 11pc among women, conversely, 56pc of men have a full-service financial account compared with just 14pc of women.
• Shahid Iqbal is a reporter for Dawn based in Karachi with 38 years of experience covering politics and economics.
• According to the study, 99.1pc of women in Sindh do not own land alone or jointly.
• KARACHI: 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.

Shahid Iqbal Published September 6, 2026 Updated September 6, 2026 04: 08am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Notably, the study, carried out by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), made public that 67pc of Pakistan's employed women work in agriculture, yet only 1.5pc of agricultural households are formally recorded as female-headed.

While 97.2 per cent had not inherited land or a house, land ownership remains equally limited, with only regarding 2pc of ever-married women aged 15-49 owning land alone or jointly.

According to the study, 99.1pc of women in Sindh do not own land alone or jointly. These barriers are compounded by a significant financial and digital gender gap.

SDPI study finds only 1.5pc of agricultural households formally recorded as female-headed.

For context, the study notes the need for solutions is becoming increasingly urgent as climate risks intensify. While at least $16.3bn was estimated to be required for resilient reconstruction, floods in 2022 resulted in more than $30 billion in damage and economic losses.

Notably, the study remarked half of the country's population remains largely unrecognised as active agricultural 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.

For context, 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.

While more than 80pc documented crop losses or a negative impact on farming, 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.

Borrowing ranked among the first- or second-most common coping strategies throughout every district. While more than half had additionally sold livestock, potentially undermining future income, in Khushab, every woman reporting a coping strategy had borrowed funds.

According to the study, in a country ranked among the world's most climate-vulnerable, this is not a peripheral matter; it sits at the heart of Pakistan's agricultural 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.

In practice, the findings of the study point to an urgent need for more inclusive, climate-responsive financial solutions that can support women farmers protect livelihoods, recover faster and build greater resilience.

Meanwhile, 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. Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2026.

Shahid Iqbal is a reporter for Dawn based in Karachi with 38 years of experience covering politics and economics. As well as roles at United Press International (UPI) and AFP, his career includes seven years with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.

In short, women own just 2pc of land in Pakistan is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.