Customary tenure; Its implication to women’s land right forest land Security (original) (raw)

Rural Women Land Use Right in Tigray Regional State: The Case of Kafta Humra Woreda

The fundamental nature and history of the Ethiopian land holding and use right was characterized by Feudal as well as Military system in which women were of the most disadvantaged groups of the society. These days, Ethiopia has introduced constitutionally recognized land holding and use laws that clearly ensure the issue of gender equality on land holding and use rights. Nevertheless, ineffectiveness of implementing these given rights was observed in many instances. Therefore; the study was aimed to critically assess and explain rural women land use right in Tigray: the case of Kafta Humera Woreda. To assess the facts and practices of rural women land use right, probability and non probability sampling techniques were utilized and questionnaires, FGD, as well as key informant interviewees were also used to collect primary data. Secondary data were captured from different documents. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory methods and it was quantitative and qualitative in approach. The quantitative data were analyzed using Mann Whitney and Ch-Square Tests to check some differences and perceptions of responses. Besides, content analysis and narrations were also used to analyze some qualitative data. Finally, the factors that impede the implementation of rural women land use right were identified and the discussion was concluded; regardless of the institutional framework in place and some positive changes can be cited, the rural land administration system was not fully implemented. Women’s equitable access to and control over land was not fully realized. Land redistributions, certifications and registration practices were benefiting men than women. Household decision makings and community land issue participations of women was less. In the land administration system, customary and statutory land use practices were not well compromised. The root causes of the influence of customary land laws were due to weak application of legal land use rules and regulations. The socio-cultural values that encourage men as the bread winners in community decision makings play role in retreating of women land use right. Poor government access of farm land facilities, weak institutional capacity, and less leadership commitment were also among the core challenges of rural women land use right in the study area.

Land Tenure Rights for Women Under Customary Law

Regional dynamics are rapidly changing, affecting the social structures and therefore land tenure systems. This paper highlights the women’s rights issues in accessing land under dual systems: Statutory laws and customary practices and explores the elements that contribute to the success of women accessing and securing land rights in four countries. The goal is to make the knowledge resulting from the use of a platform, such as the Global Housing Policy Indicators (GHI), accessible on an open source to all land specialists, NGOs, policy makers, governmental agencies, as well as a global audience, including women around the world. The cases presented illustrate various difficulties to secure land tenure for women. The GHI assessment tool finds first hand evidence of the discrepancies between constitutional laws that are mostly gender neutral and the set of unspoken social norms or customary laws that discriminate against women, by way of practices restricting women’s ability to own, inherit or individually use land. These case-studies include two different types of land related gender inequality patterns - namely perceptual and traditional/ religious law systems. Most are considered ‘typical’ gender inequality situations characterised by increasing restriction to access and use of land, marginalization, prejudices and insecurity because of political and economic changes

Women's access to farm land in current land administration system in two rural kebeles of Guji Zone Wadera Woreda, Oromia, Ethiopia

Novelty journal, 2021

The study is prepared to explore the status of rural women in access to farm land in the current land administration system in two rural Kebeles in Guji zone Wadera Woreda of Oromia region .The Oromia National Regional State Rural Land Administration and Use Proclamation and its implementation procedure are examined from a gender perspective in terms of ensuring rural women's land holding rights. Historical overview on the land question in Ethiopia revealed that tenure systems evolved through historical periods. Land remained under men's control throughout history and men's control over land was strengthened by the rural land reform carried out by the Derg. This tenure reform applied rural land distribution using households as unit for rural land allocation and women were disadvantaged as most rural households were headed by men. The Oromia rural land proclamation is not discriminatory on basis of sex. However, policy gaps are evident in addressing women specific issues such as issues of divorced women FHHs and women under polygamous marriages. Gaps also exist between policy and implementation. Customary laws and practices have serious impacts on women's land rights at the level of implementation. The research applied both quantitative and qualitative methods in view of feminist research methodology to properly address issues from a gender perspective. Survey of 283 households was conducted administering questionnaires in the quantitative method. The qualitative method applied was interviews with relevant Woreda office and Kebele LACs, focus group discussions with rural women, case stories and observation for data analysis. Study findings reveal that women's access rights to land is less equal than legally provided. This study evidences gaps between policy and implementation. Customary laws and traditional practices generally have impacts on land access rights of single/unmarried, divorced, widowed women and on access rights of women in polygamous marriages. Women's access to land is not efficiently addressed by the regional rural land policy. This is a significant policy drawback as women's equal rights on land could not be achieved without gaining control over land. The land administration system in general and the land registration process in particular has not considered women's participation in community activities and decision-making. Women are not highly represented in LACs and SubCommittees in both Kebeles. The absence of land ownership certificate in the study area is another gaps that finding indicate. This study also revealed loose linkages between the rural land policy and other regional legislations like the regional family law which provides women's equal rights on land in marriage and on its abandonment. This study forwards recommendation to address gender gaps identified to ensure women's equal access to land in the study area. Land ownership certificate should be given for women in the study area. The Oromia rural land proclamation needs revision from a gender perspective to address women's specific issues and the land administration system should consider women's participation in the process, their contribution to the system as well as their equal benefits from policy outcomes.

Women Participation in Land Use Planning and Its Impact to Land Ownership Through Customary Tenure Case of Ilalasimba village in Iringa, Tanzania

International Journal of African and Asian Studies, 2018

This study was conducted in Ilalasimba village located in Iringa district, southern highlands of Tanzania. It assessed the land use planning process in the village and its ultimate end; that is, issuing Certificates of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs) to the community members. The assessment was done from the perspectives of women inclusion and participation so as to determine their position in the process. A mixed method approach was adopted and both qualitative and quantitative data were simultaneously collected and later converged during analysis in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the questions requiring answers from the study. Semi-structured questionnaires, Key informant interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were used during data collection. Systematic sampling technique which has precision equivalent to random sampling was engaged to obtain a sample of 60 household respondents from the village.Considerable engagement and participation of women in the land use planning process, especially in the open discussions on women land rights, training sessions on the importance of land use plans as well as the right to own land which were conducted in the village at the time of undergoing land use planning process, motivated women to claim for their rights to equally own land. Moreover, women inclusion in various organs of decision making such as the village Council (VC) and the Village Land Council (VLC) strengthened their leadership capabilities and ensured women land rights is an important agenda in the decisions made by those bodies. As a result of these initiatives there has been a significant proportion of women with certificates of land ownership under single occupancy, cooccupancy, probate administration and guardian-minor. However, women participation was not very promising in the public meetings especially village assembly due to household responsibilities. It is imperative for other village land use planning processes to take women inclusion and participation as an integral part. This will allow for interaction between actors and enable participants make the land use planning a process of high legal and social value to the community through designing, assimilating, adopting and implementing sustainable mechanisms, ways and modalities of exercising land ownership rights that will be beneficial, equal and fair to all members of the society and that will not proceed at the expense of women who when given the rights to own land, the benefits multiply to greater part of the society.

The Assessment of Women's Land Rights in the Dormaa Traditional Area, Ghana

International Journal of Management and Applied Sciences, 2018

Women’s lands rights are universal human rights and important to global food security and sustainable development. Ghana has ratified international treaties to protect women’s lands rights and has made laws and policies to deal with these issues. In parallel with this institutional effort, Ghana’s customary land laws have governed land rights issues. Customary lands are held in trust by traditional authorities, who supposedly guarantee women to have equal rights to land as mendo. However, in reality men appear to have more farmland and favored positions in gaining land ownership. Women generally appear to depend on their husbands for land access and may lose farmland in the event of husband’s death. This paper seeks to find if these perceptions are true. In doing so, it seeks to better understand how women’s rights to farmland are affected by social status, tenure, and accessibility in the Dormaa Traditional area, one of Ghana’s regions with strong traditional land tenure customs. Based on the fieldwork and the survey among 311 farmers in the area, this paper identified Dormaa people’s perceptions about customary land use and ownership practices. We found that most respondents perceived land tenure and accessibility not biased. However, women felt that they needed men for securing customary ownership to land. After discussing these in details, this paper offers some recommendations on how women’s access to land can be improved in the future.

Gendered Customary Land Tenure Dynamics and its Implications for Rural Development: A Case Study of the Tolon District in Northern Region of Ghana

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL, 2020

The study argues for gendered customary land tenure dynamics and its implications for rural development to improve women access to land and human wellbeing in the Tolon District of the Northern Ghana. The study was mainly a case study design. Cluster sampling technique was used to select four communities for the study. Snowball sampling was also used to select 55 household heads whiles 10 key informants were purposively selected. Semi-structured interview, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect primary data. The study found that; men were the owners of customary lands which they inherited from their forefathers while leasehold lands were seen to be gender neutral. Borrowed lands were the major mode through which female-headed and other non-owning male households accessed land for agricultural production which were bedeviled with many challenges. The study revealed that most rural households had no knowledge on legal establishment seeking to ensure equal ownership rights in properties. To improve gender gap on land ownership and the secured use of land for rural household wellbeing, this study recommends extensive local level stakeholders' consultation to protect women rights to own customary lands to ensure equity.

Women and Land Rights in Western Shoa: In Case of Dano Woreda, 1941-1991

Education Research International, 2022

The aim of this article is to examine Ethiopian women land ownership rights, particularly, Western Shoa Oromo of Dano Districts in different regimes of Ethiopia, and women's place in the society in reference to their indigenous Gada system. It is known that Ethiopian women were alienated from land holding and ownership rights under the feudal system, Derg regime, and EPDRF times of Ethiopia. Likewise, the paper also reduces the customary rights of Dano Oromo women in their plural and egalitarian Gada Democratic system, of Siqee culture and Qallu institutions of the Oromo people of Ethiopia; the role and places that Gada system kept and assured for women are so appreciable and could be taken as role model and best example for other communities of Ethiopia in particular and Africa at large. It is known that, for long periods, Ethiopia was led by feudal system of Monarchial and Kingship governance that promotes patriarchy rule and rights both at home and outside of it even on position places through depriving women's all rounded rights supported with decree and proclamation, like Ethiopia's pillar of economy is agriculture, which is associated with land, and every sources of income of the people is driven from it; so, this resource should be distributed fairly without any sexual, religion, and color biases. However, at different times and regimes, "land in Ethiopia" was seen as a sole property of men, which means that more than 85% rural settler Ethiopian agrarian women household and maids were dependent on either their husbands, families, or good wills of local chiefs. This was the most exploitative and harsh system that stood against to human and democratic rights. But post of 1991, encouraging works has been started to treat women and men equally on every issue at any place and time; even as a form of affirmative action, Ethiopian women are now encouraging to get all advantage-related activities before their men counterparts. The paper employed descriptive research method with qualitative data of purposive sampling techniques from the study area through consulting primary and secondary sources. Of course, since the topic is new or not previously studied and absence of previously studied documents on the issue, I was challenged by searching of written documents and key informants. The findings exhibit that, for long years, "women do not have a right to land," but, in some extent, post of 1995, the government confirmed to assure all women to get access as to their men counter parts. But even if it is encouraging, still, more works should be done to empower them.