The loss of their land is the most serious issue for rural women, Zhen Yan, vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation and a top national adviser, said on Thursday.

The federation received about 20,000 complaints from rural women in 2012, of which about 8,000 were due to land loss, said Zhen at a group discussion during the ongoing annual meetings of the nation's top legislative and advisory bodies.

Due to the deep-rooted tradition of male dominance in villages, the majority of women can't inherit land from their parents after they marry, and if they divorce, they can't share the land ownership with their former husbands, she said.

She added that as land is the lifeline of every rural resident, rural women become desperate when they are deprived of it.