A married daughter is like spilled water? Court: Men and women are equal!
Compiled from: Laixi Court
Case review
On October 11, 1999, Zhou entered into a land contracting agreement with the village committee, under which 5.5 mu of land known as “Daguai” and 5.6 mu of land known as “Hexi Ya” in the village were contracted to Zhou’s household for management. The household members included Zhou, his remarried wife Wu, and his children Zhou Da, Zhou Hong, Zhou Xia, and others, totaling eight people. Among them, Zhou Hong and Zhou Xia married out of the village in 2003 and 2009 respectively, and their household registrations were subsequently moved out, but neither was allocated contracted land at the place to which their household registrations were moved.
On January 1, 2005, Zhou Moumou (elder) and his parents divided the family property under the auspices of the village committee. Both parties signed a maintenance agreement, stipulating that 5.6 mu of land at “Hexi Ya” would be cultivated by Zhou Moumou (elder), while the remaining land would be cultivated by his parents. After Zhou Moumou passed away, Wu Mou entrusted Zhou Moumou (elder) to cultivate 2.5 mu of the land at “Da Guai” on his behalf. Subsequently, a dispute arose between the parties over the land contractual management right. Wu Mou, Zhou Mouhong, and Zhou Moumou (Xia) filed a lawsuit against Zhou Moumou (elder) as plaintiffs.
Relevant legal provisions
Article 6 of the Rural Land Contract Law
In rural land contracting, women and men enjoy equal rights. The legitimate rights and interests of women shall be protected during contracting, and no organization or individual may deprive or infringe upon the land contract management rights that women should enjoy.
Article 31 of the Rural Land Contract Law
During the contract period, if a woman marries and has not obtained contracted land in her new place of residence, the contracting party shall not take back her original contracted land; if a woman divorces or becomes widowed and still lives in her original place of residence, or does not live in her original place of residence but has not obtained contracted land in her new place of residence, the contracting party shall not take back her original contracted land.
Article 30 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests
The state guarantees that women enjoy equal property rights with men.
[1] Court Opinion
The court, after trial, held that Zhou Mouhong and Zhou Mouxia, having married out and not been allocated contracted land in their husbands' villages, should have their land contracting rights and interests in their original village safeguarded. According to the support agreement submitted by Zhou Mouda, Wu Mou and Zhou Mouda reached a consensus in 2005 on the internal distribution of contracted land among family members, and this distribution plan was also recognized by the village committee, so both parties should execute it in accordance with the agreement. Under the agreement, Zhou Mouda could manage and operate 5.6 mu of “Hexi Ya” land, but regarding 2.5 mu of the 5.5 mu “Daguai” land, he failed to submit evidence proving he could manage and operate it. Considering the circumstances of the members of the Zhou family contracted operation household, which currently has six members, the three plaintiffs' claim to the contracting and operation rights over the 5.5 mu “Daguai” land is relatively reasonable, and this court supports it. Zhou Mouda should return the 2.5 mu of land he occupies to Wu Mou, Zhou Mouhong, and Zhou Mouxia.
[1] The author's perspective
Nowadays, traditional village customs and folk agreements still exist to varying degrees, neglecting women's rights. Coupled with imperfect policies and frequent population mobility, this leads to many issues regarding the confirmation of collective economic rights for married-out women in rural areas.
In fact, the law has long stipulated whether married-out women still enjoy the contract rights to collective economic land in their original villages after their household registration is moved out. In this case, Zhou Mouhong and Zhou Mouxia, as women who have married out, should not have their original contracted land forcibly taken back by their natal village committee before obtaining contracted land in the villages they married into, nor should their siblings encroach on their land shares. The rights granted to rural women by law cannot be illegally deprived by any organization or individual.
