This Policy brief provides a summary into women’s land tenure issues in East Africa. The brief aims to highlight the gap between women’s land tenure security and the policy provisions to secure women’s access to land. The brief is aimed at policymakers, administrators, women in the community, intermediary institutions and non-governmental institutions who work to improve women’s access to land.
Using the 2009 round of the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey, this paper examines the medium-term impact of the land registration on investment behavior by households, particularly the adoption of soil conservation techniques and tree planting. It investigates whether men’s and women’s knowledge of their property rights under the land registration (as measured by answers to a list of questions regarding the provisions of the registration, covering such areas as tenure security, land transfer rights, and rights related to gender equity and inheritance) has an impact on these investments.
Land Rights from a Gender Perspective: Multi-stakeholder Actions to enhance Gender and Women’s Land Rights in Land Policy Formulation and Implementation in Uganda
Improving Women's Access to Land and Property in The Arab States: The Role Of Inheritance, Dower, and Marital Property
Before 1999, land rights in Rwanda were governed by three regimes: customary
(traditional) law, colonial laws still in effect, and laws enacted after independence. In each of
these, men were privileged in ownership and control of land whereas women were excluded
or had fewer rights.
The 1999 Succession Law restructured and harmonized land ownership in Rwanda,
superseding all prior legislation. A significant portion of these changes related to gender
equality. Equal rights to umunani (umunani or ascending partition is an act accomplished by
This brief discusses a pilot intervention in Rwanda led by the Belgian
NGO, RCN Justice & Démocratie, with support from the International
Development Law Organization (IDLO) and the Belgian Government. A
more detailed and complete discussion of the pilot is given in Lankhorst
and Veldman (2011a). The pilot aimed to transform the customary
resolution of disputes involving women’s land claims concerning
inheritance or marital relations. The intervention examined whether
and to what extent it was possible to increase the scope for acceptance
In setting out principles and internationally agreed standards, the “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and Other Natural Resources” intend to provide practical guidance to states, civil society and the private sector on responsible governance of tenure. The Voluntary Guidelines (VG) will constitute a framework for policies, legislation and programs, but will not establish legally binding obligations nor replace existing national or international laws, treaties or agreements (FAO 2009c).
Currently, Tanzania faces numerous challenges related to land ownership, especially in rural areas. The challenges include farmers-pastoralists conflicts, tenure disputes, and alienation of peasants. To address the challenges, the current policies and approaches used in the country need to be changed on the grounds that their inherent shortcomings make the policies unable to meet rampant land problems that the country has faced in recent years and continue to experience.
While the guarantees provided in the Katiba mark an extraordinary achievement for women’s land rights, many more steps are needed to reach gender-equitable land ownership in Tanzania. Mama Ardhi members therefore continue to advocate for additional changes in policy and practice that will bring about real transformation for women, their children and society as a whole.
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