Decentralised land administration and women's land rights in Uganda : an analysis of the legal regime, state institutional arrangements, and practice; research report

Despite formal legal recognition of women’s land rights, no government institution is mandated to protect women’s land rights or to ensure their legal implementation and enforcement. The roles of decentralized land administration institutions do not include the protection of women’s land rights. More importantly, District Land Boards only control the allocation of public land and not private or customary. Several land dispute resolution institutions co-exist without clear coordination mechanisms. Granting legal recognition to all the different ‘marriage’ arrangements (civil marriage, polygamy, and consensual unions) existing in Uganda would help protect women who contest land ownership issues.