Es un hecho innegable que las mujeres en Panamá, al igual que en otros países del mundo, han contado con poca participación histórica en la tenencia de tierras. La cultura patriarcal predominante generó relaciones entre hombres y mujeres jerarquizadas, desiguales, inequitativas y discriminantes. Esto excluyó ayer y hoy a muchas mujeres de la propiedad de la tierra, dificultando el acceso a oportunidades y la generación de ingresos propios.

Land rights are ascendant across the development sector. Movements addressing women’s empowerment, poverty, social justice, food security and climate change are all increasingly turning to land rights to strengthen their cause. In 2022, renowned philanthropist MacKenzie Scott joined these efforts by making an unprecedented $20 million investment in our work. Ms. Scott’s generous gift represents a profound endorsement of the power of land rights to improve the lives of women, men, and communities around the world.

There is a correlation between socio-economic development, human rights and the empowerment of men and women to participate at all levels of decision making. Secure land rights are an important precondition for the achievement of these goals, including and the realisation of a broad spectrum of human rights: adequate housing, equality, food, health, work and education.

Esta publicación busca paliar la situación del acceso de las mujeres a la tierra y a la propiedad analizando la situación de la historia de la propiedad de la tierra en Panamá considerando la normativa existente, el tipo de producción agropecuaria, y la condición e intereses de las mujeres con respecto a la propiedad y titularidad de la tierra.

One of the earliest demands of Indian women’s organisations in the pre-Independence period was the right to be elected to legislative bodies. Yet, almost a century later, a vast gender gap persists in terms of women’s presence at all levels of governance. Why is it important to include women in political and policy decision-making bodies, beyond the issue of equality? Do women representatives necessarily represent women’s interests? Indeed, how do we define women’s interests and how can they be represented best? And how much presence makes for effective representation?

Land ownership has long been argued to enhance farm productivity by improving tenure security. But would this hold for female and male owners alike? The relationship between land ownership and productivity has been investigated relatively little from a gender perspective in most regions, with work on Asia being especially sparse. Even less explored are gender differences in the likelihood of landowners self-cultivating as vs. leasing out their land.

Measuring gender inequality in land ownership is essential for assessing progress in women’s economic empowerment, tracing the impact of progressive laws on actual practice, and monitoring SDG 5 on gender equality. To effectively assess inter-gender (male-female) gaps in land ownership, however, requires multiple measures. We also need to know which women are more likely to own land by tracing intra-gender differences. To date, no study on India has provided a full range of measures on inter-gender inequality in land ownership or focused on intra-gender variations.

This State of Land Information (SOLI) report is an analysis of the current state of land data in Botswana, assessing the availability of land information and the compliance of this information with open data standards. 

The aim of this report is to serve as a diagnostic for the land information ecosystem in Botswana and enable targeted interventions for improved information management.

The preservation of suburban agricultural land in the face of rapid urbanization in the West African region has been a major problem in recent decades. This paper examines the land tenure strategies used by farmers in relation to their assessments of the impact of urban growth. It is based on individual surveys conducted among farmers and landowners on the outskirts of the city of Lomé in Togo. This study reveals that perceptions differ according to gender and that women—although marginalized by customary land tenure—play an important role in maintaining suburban agricultural land.

La autora desarrolla un análisis sobre la participación de la mujer cubana en proyectos de desarrollo rural, tomando como referencia diferentes épocas históricas del desarrollo cubano a partir del año 1959, momento del triunfo de la revolución de Fidel Castro. Expone a través de una experiencia en la zona de Holguín desde el 2003, los avances de las mujeres de esta zona dada su participación en un proyecto de desarrollo local con enfoque de género.

Securing women’s rights, access to, and control over housing, land, and property (HLP) are important for livelihood generation, food security, a store of wealth, and other economic benefits. Ensuring women’s HLP rights also provides social benefits, such as improved bargaining power within the household and community. Data on women’s rights to HLP is limited, but available evidence from 53 countries shows that within those countries, over 70 percent of women do not own any land. Without action, women are at risk of being left farther behind.

This policy paper provides a critical examination of international commitments on women's land rights, evaluating progress and persistent challenges. It scrutinizes commitments made through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Generation Equality Forum (GEF) Action Coalitions, revealing a substantial disconnect between ambitions and implementation.