FEMALE LEGAL OWNERSHIP, GENDER RELATIONS, AND POWER

Reflections from the Neighborhood Construindo um Sonho, in Araguaína-TO

Abstract

This article analyzes women's ownership of social housing programs, understanding it as a possible mechanism for promoting gender equity. Based on a qualitative approach and theoretical contributions from intersectional feminism, critical sociology of law, and the theory of symbolic domination, the article seeks to understand to what extent the inclusion of women's names in property records represents a concrete achievement of autonomy or remains a merely symbolic action. The results indicate that, although it represents a normative advance, the effectiveness of this measure is conditioned by its integration with redistribution policies and by addressing the structural inequalities that affect women, especially black women and those living in urban peripheries. The conclusion is that the law, when it affects realities crossed by multiple forms of oppression, can both drive change and perpetuate inequalities, depending on its reception and application in the daily lives of beneficiaries.