Full citation: Hannay, L., & Scalise, E. (2014). Improving Land Tenure Security for Women: A Starting with Women Approach. D. Fletschner & H. Kamusiime (contributors). This paper discusses a pragmatic, adaptive framework and approach for understanding and taking action to strengthen women’s land tenure security in the context of customary tenure in northern Uganda. The project team developed a Women’s Land Rights Framework (“Framework”), which provided a specific definition of secure land rights. The Framework defines secure land rights in terms of five elements, which each serves as the basis for distinct, measurable indicators upon which to base the project […]
Record Category: Research Articles
Improving Land Tenure Security for Women: A Starting with Women Approach
Women’s Land Rights in Rural China: Transforming Existing Laws into a Source of Property Rights
Full Citation: Liaw, R. H., “Women’s Land Rights in Rural China: Transforming Existing Laws into a Source of Property Rights,” 17(1) PACIFIC RIM LAW & POLICY JOURNAL 237 (2008). – In the aftermath of legal reforms designed to secure land tenure for farmers, women in rural China lost rights to land at marriage, divorce, and widowhood. Despite a central legal framework that facially protects women’s property interests, ambiguity in the property and marriage laws have allowed village leaders to reassert traditional social norms and deny constitutional equal rights guarantees for women. Recent attempts to ameliorate landlessness for women, specifically in […]
Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development
Full citation: Rabenhorst, C. and Bean, A., “Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development,” IHC PAPER (August 2011). – This paper looks at: (1) gender equality in property rights, i.e., the rights of women to participate in property use and ownership with full legal and societal protection; (2) the importance to economic development of residential and commercial property rights in urban areas; and (3) the role of women in economic development. It profiles the Tanzania Settlements Trust, which forms groups of women that advocate together and provide support for tenure and housing access. It recommends that […]
Women and Land: Securing Rights for Better Lives
Full citation: Budlender, D. and Alma, E., “Women and Land: Securing Rights for Better Lives,” IDRC PAPERS (November 2011). – This book focuses on recent findings from sub Saharan Africa on women and land. It finds: • Participation-oriented research methods are much more likely to bring about immediate benefits than other, more traditional research methods. • Merely passing legislation is of little effect without the necessary resources for implementation, without informing and educating all relevant actors on the provisions of the legislation, without monitoring the reforms, and without effective sanctions on failure to implement. • It is crucial both to […]
Accessing Justice: Models, Strategies and Best Practices on Women’s Empowerment
Full citation: IDLO, “Accessing Justice: Models, Strategies and Best Practices on Women’s Empowerment,” IDLO REPORT (2013). – This paper highlights some of the challenges and solutions for women’s access to justice in diverse legal systems. It shows that women face structural and cultural barriers to accessing justice – insufficient knowledge of rights and remedies, illiteracy or poor literacy, and lack of resources or time to participate in justice processes. This is all the more so as women usually have intensive family responsibilities. Even where women can access the formal justice sector, the outcomes of the process often fall far short […]
Property Rights and the Gender Distribution of Wealth in Ecuador, Ghana and India
Full citation: Deere, C. D., Oduro, A., Swaminathan, H. and Doss, C., “Property Rights and the Gender Distribution of Wealth in Ecuador, Ghana and India,” 13 GENDER ASSET GAP PROJECT WORKING PAPER (August 2012). – This paper finds that basic property rights are insufficient, for much depends upon the legal and cultural regimes related to marriage and inheritance. Drawing upon household asset surveys which collected individual level ownership data in Ecuador, Ghana and the state of Karnataka in India, it estimates married women’s share of couple wealth and relate it to whether major household assets are owned individually or jointly […]
Women’s Land Rights in the Transition to Individualized Ownership: Implications for Tree Resource Management in Western Ghana
This study explores the impact of changes in land tenure institutions on women’s land rights and the efficiency of tree resource management in Western Ghana. It finds that customary land tenure institutions have evolved toward individualized systems to provide incentives to invest in tree planting. However, contrary to the common belief that individualization of land tenure weakens women’s land rights, these have been strengthened through inter vivos gifts and the practice of the Intestate Succession Law. Investment in tree planting, in turn, is affected not simply by the level of land tenure security, but also by its expected changes, as […]
A Roadmap for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment
Full citation: Buvinic, M., Furst-Nichols, R., and Pryor, E. C., “A Roadmap for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment,” UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION (2013). – This roadmap has a section on the importance of formal ownership and control over farmland for women’s productivity and economic security, hinging on paying attention to social and local contexts. It recommends an integrated suite of services, which target both production and marketing and address social constraints. It notes that land titling programs can help women where women’s names are on the title and where attention is paid to customary rules and the ways they may discriminate. Also […]
The Gender and Equity Implications of Land-Related Investments on Land Access and Labour and Income-Generating Opportunities: A Case Study of Selected Agricultural Investments in Zambia
Full citation: FAO, “The Gender and Equity Implications of Land-Related Investments on Land Access and Labour and Income-Generating Opportunities: A Case Study of Selected Agricultural Investments in Zambia,” FAO REPORT (2013). – This paper is two case studies of the gender dimensions of agricultural investments in Zambia. The lack of explicit corporate gender policies and strategies have meant that prevailing socio-cultural attitudes towards gender have penalized women in relation to the costs and benefits created by the venture. A key principle is that a ‘gender neutral’ approach to agricultural investments is not enough: investors must adopt explicit gender policies and […]
Economic Self-help Group Programs for Improving Women’s Empowerment: A Systematic review
Full citation: Brody C, De Hoop T, Vojtkova M, Warnock R, Dunbar M, Murthy P, Dworkin S. (2015). “Economic Self-help Group Programs for Improving Women’s Empowerment: A Systematic review.” Campbell Systematic Reviews 2015:19. – This review looks at the impacts of self-help groups with a broad range of collective finance, enterprise, and livelihood components on women’s political, economic, social, and psychological empowerment in low- and middle-income countries using evidence from rigorous quantitative evaluations. The secondary objective was to examine the perspectives of female participants on their experiences of empowerment as a result of participation in economic SHGs in low- and […]