Land & Gender

The guide consists of an overview of the gender relevant policy framework and initiatives at IFIs. It also contains a gender checklist which should help civil society organisations in determining whether gender considerations have been addressed during the preparation and implementation of IFI-financed projects and programmes. The checklist is divided into three parts:

Focuses on women’s perceptions of land rights in the communal areas of Namaqualand in the Northern Cape. Explores the links between patriarchal social systems and women’s conservative attitudes towards holding land and shows how current policy processes and legislation allow local customs to continue to entrench gender discriminatory practices.

Implementation of the Extractive Industry´s Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Mozambique has shown a series of problems of organisation and transparency in the way in which Mozambique manages and uses revenue from extractive industries.

Includes the land inheritance system, the (potential) diminishing relevance of customary norms, land rights and awareness of the law, women, customary practices and participation, DUATs and land occupation, the land market.

In Rwanda, for many years ago, rights over land for women and female orphans were not
recognized. The main causes were the inexistence of efficient land administration systems and
the prevalence of traditional system of land tenure which were complex and did not favor
women and female descendants. In 2004, the Government of Rwanda had adopted a new land

International discussions on REDD+ and climate change have explicitly addressed the needs of indigenous peoples. However, to date, efforts to link REDD+ and climate change activities to the specific protection of rights of women have been very limited. This brief explores how REDD+ planning and implementation can and should enhance the conditions of rural women in Asia and the Pacific.

Looks at CAADP plans in Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia. Found systematic policy neglect of women farmers. Plans pay little attention to their needs and rights. Money for implementation is woefully inadequate.

Examines relationships between inheritance, marriage and asset ownership. Land the most important asset in rural Uganda. The majority of couples (both married and those in consensual unions) report owning land jointly. Men who report owning a parcel of land are much more likely than women to say they inherited it. Inheritance not an important means of acquisition of other assets, e.g.

Includes context and importance of the problem; ILC global case studies; critique of policy options; policy recommendations.

Contains review of women’s access to land, research overview of women’s land tenure status in East Africa, harnessing women’s agency to secure women’s access to land, the role of intermediary institutions in increasing women’s land tenure security.

Includes evolution of communal areas in Zimbabwe, research context and findings, processes leading to matongo, vulnerability of women’s land access, bargaining for land in patrimonial governance systems.

Includes sources of differentiation among women – type of land, age, life course, marital status, termination of marriage, economic status, AIDS; policy implications.