A N N U A L W O R L D B A N K C O N F E R E N C E O N L A N D A N D P O V E R T Y , W A S H I N G T O N D C , M A R C H 2 0 1 4

LAND TENURE AND GENDER:APPROACHES AND CHALLENGES FOR STRENGTHENING RURAL WOMEN’S

LAND RIGHTS

BY

EVELYN NAMUBIRU-MWAURA, PHD

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

• Land tenure security is crucial for women’s empowerment and a prerequisite for building secure and resilient communities

• Tenure is affected by many and often contradictory sets of rules, laws, customs, traditions, and perceptions.

• For most rural women, land tenure is complicated, with access and ownership often layered with barriers present in their daily realities• Discriminatory social dynamics and strata• Unresponsive legal systems• Lack of economic opportunities, and• Lack of voice in decision making

• Yet most policy reform, land management, and development programs disregard these realities in their interventions

S O U R C E : F A O 2 0 1 0

P E R C E N T A G E O F A G R I C U L T U R A L L A N D T I T L E S H E L D B Y W O M E N I N V A R I O U S C O U N T R I E S

STATUS OF WOMEN AND LAND:PERCENTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND TITLES HELD BY WOMEN IN

VARIOUS COUNTRIES

STATUS OF WOMEN AND LAND CONTINUED

• Gender disparities in land access remain very high around the world, regardless of a region’s level of development.

• Significant differences in access and control over land between rural and urban women

• Male household heads in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, Caribbean -still the main controllers of land

• Although women in most rural areas have access to land, very few own land or have control over it; smaller and of less value

• The disconnect between legal and social settings is a major challenge

RATIONALE FOR WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS

• There is a positive correlation between women’s property rights and their overall role in the household economy• Greater control over

agricultural income• Higher shares of business and

labor market earnings• More frequent receipt of credit

• Land ownership can lead to direct economic benefits

• Women make up 43% of the agricultural labor force worldwide although many work without pay.

• Women’s agency- key dimension of gender equality

INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS

• Land tenure is determined by formal legal structures and informal or customary rules• Land rights complete when they are: legally and

socially recognisable and enforceable by authorities• An increasing number of countries have now

recognized women’s equal rights in their constitutions but a few a still discriminatory• While some policies are well crafted to address

women’s land tenure security, they have not been backed up by social acceptance

INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS

• Laws alone are not enough to secure women’s rights to land.

• Proper implementation and sensitization important• Other measures include:• Modernizing land administration systems,• Developing online platforms for sharing land

information• Modernizing surveying and mapping infrastructure• Developing capacity in land administration• Developing arenas to resolve land disputes quickly,

effectively, and fairly

DE JURE VERSUS DE FACTO

• In many rural areas, national land policies and laws have little relevance on how land is accessed and used

• Customary tenure predominates in Mali, Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Niger and in large parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Mozambique

• In rural areas of Afghanistan, India, Jordan, Peru, Philippines and China customary norms determine access and use of land

SOME EXAMPLES OF EMERGING APPROACHES IN ADDRESSING WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS

• Government interventions• Joint Land Titling for example in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Bolivia,

Honduras, Vietnam and Lao.• Land Redistribution and Resettlement Programs for example in

Bolivia, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Libya, South Africa, Taiwan, Zimbabwe and much of Latin America

• Project Interventions• AGRA’s Land Policy and Advocacy Nodes • Watchdog Model in Kakamega District, Kenya• Community Training and Sensitization• Self help groups

• Development Agencies• Support for land policy formulation and advocacy• Engage civil societies, professional associations, NGOs in

promoting land tenure security for women

POLICY AND PROGRAMMATIC IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

• More concerted and coordinated effort to support formulation of gender sensitive laws and institutions

• Promote the creation of local land administration and management structures that harness the positive aspects of customary land tenure

• Clearly identify the legal and cultural factors that limit women’s property rights

• Promote women’s role in land governance• Develop outreach and awareness components of programs,

projects, and policies • Train local traditional authorities regarding land rights and

dispute resolution procedures• Support entrepreneurial programs for rural women• Have better data and indicators of women’s land rights

AGRA’S LAND POLICY AGENDA

• Policies that ensure equitable rights for women including land rights are of prime importance to AGRA

• AGRA recognizes the need for focused and sustained advocacy to help African countries prioritize land policy reforms, bridge gaps in implementation, and scale-up local successes

• Also of concern to AGRA are policies that increase transparency and regulation of large-scale land acquisitions

• Currently supporting 8 land policy projects in Africa to inform and shape policymaking, bringing together governments and stakeholders to discuss bottle-necks and find solutions

THANK YOU!