The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) - Property Rights

The Right to Land

ggaynair — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:51:55 +0000

What new guidelines could mean for women's land rights

A new set of global guidelines hold promise for women seeking the right to own and access land. In the final installment of our Rural Impressions blog series, ICRW's Krista Jacobs reflects on what the guidelines could mean for women farmers in Uganda.

Krista Jacobs is an ICRW economist with expertise in women’s property rights.

Last week in Rome, a group of delegates brought together by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization agreed to a set of global guidelines on responsible access to and ownership of land. One of the important issues covered in the guidelines is promoting women's equal right to access and own land. This was welcome news to me, especially after spending the past two weeks in Uganda looking into the challenges to land rights that rural women farmers face there.

In the grand scheme of things, a set of U.N.-brokered, voluntary guidelines on a seemingly niche issue might seem insignificant in a world rife with problems. They are not. The guidelines could build momentum for governments to revamp policies, making it easier for women like those I've met in Uganda to own and access land – instead of being dependent on husbands, fathers and brothers. The guidelines also could prevent others from grabbing land and property from widows, an all too common phenomenon in developing countries.

Such changes won't only help women – they also hold the potential to make a much broader impact on communities and countries.

A growing body of research demonstrates that when women own assets such as land, houses and livestock, their overall well-being improves, as does the quality of life for their families. Economies grow stronger and, data show, even global hunger decreases among some 150 million people. The evidence also illustrates that when women own assets, households spend more on life's essentials including food and children's schooling. Women invest their earnings from selling eggs, for example, into a goat or a cow which brings more money into the household.

Still, women in low-income societies are five times less likely than men to own land, and when they do, their farms are usually smaller and less fertile. Putting the new guidelines into practice will take a lot of effort, even for countries that have been working on land reform for a long time.

Uganda – like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa – has grappled with the thorny issue of land rights for years. The most recent wave of reform began in the 1990s, and there is still a lot of work to be done to make the changes on paper a reality for the women who till the soil of Uganda's rolling countryside, rich in crops like coffee, bananas and corn.

The country's written law means little to many of the women I have met. The legislative workings in Kampala are a world away to the woman whose neighbor is trying to take over her land by planting his own crops on her property or the widow whose step-children threatened to chase her away after their father died or the elderly woman whose brother continually threatened to kick her off their family land and repeatedly stole her cow. Women rarely report these offenses to the police or courts, and sometimes don't even inform their village leaders. Most people – women, men and local leaders – don't know much – if anything – about what the law says about women's land rights.

Despite the challenging reality, progress is being made. For instance, organizations such as ICRW's partner Uganda Land Alliance educate thousands of women, men and leaders about national land laws through village meetings, radio programs and volunteers. Then there are groups such as the Land and Equity Movement, which helps cultural leaders and institutions resolve land disputes. They have guided different clans towards a consensus that blends law and age-old customs, encouraging leaders to write down rules and articulate how they will protect women from land grabs and respect their property rights. Hundreds of copies have been distributed to clan leaders, women and men, police officers and development organizations.

As these village-level efforts take place, governments are starting to align their policies and practices with the guidelines that were agreed to in Rome. As additional governments do so, it will help put more women's names on deeds, allowing them to become economically secure and pursue new income-generating opportunities.

And in the end, as the evidence shows, entire societies will reap the benefits.

Advancing Women's Asset Rights

rmanix — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:17:45 +0000

Study Shows Gender Norms Heavily Influence Women’s Asset Ownership

Tue, 06/28/2011

By ICRW Communications Staff

An innovative new survey reveals that women’s right to own property and assets is as much about power dynamics between women and men as legal rights.

Women’s right to own property and assets is as much about power dynamics between women and men as legal rights, according to new findings released by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). The results emerge from the Gender, Land and Asset Survey or GLAS, an innovative study that aims to understand the current state of women’s asset ownership and control.

The survey, piloted by ICRW and its partners, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and Associates Research Uganda Ltd., is one of the first to undertake a quantitative assessment of men’s and women’s rights over a range of assets from land and housing to material goods such as mobile phones and farming tools. ICRW’s Krista Jacobs and Meredith Saggers shared the results at a seminar held June 23 in Washington, D.C. (see the presentation).

The findings are an important addition to the international development field, where asset and property rights for women are increasingly seen as key to economic progress. However, women continue to own just a fraction of land worldwide, and despite laws that protect their rights to property, men and women often are unaware of them. Meanwhile, prevailing social norms reinforce attitudes that discourage women from owning land or other assets.

ICRW aimed to gain a better understanding of the issue through GLAS as well as another property rights-related project in Uganda: A community-based program in the rural Luwero District that educated people on existing laws and helped mediate property disputes. ICRW and its local partners, Uganda Land Alliance (ULA) and Centre for Basic Research, trained rights workers and their communities on women’s legal rights to property and promoted discussion around how these rights were or were not realized. The nine-month pilot showed modest achievements.

As for GLAS, researchers conducted the survey in three rural and urban sites in Uganda and South Africa, to provide a multidimensional look at the gap between men’s and women’s asset ownership. The findings confirmed that men own more than women and also control more decisions about assets. More so, women’s ability to own assets is strongly influenced by their male partners.

Among married or cohabiting couples, responses about joint ownership revealed differing perceptions between men and women. For example, in rural Uganda, 19 percent of women said they jointly owned a house with the male head of household, while only 3 percent of men reported shared ownership.

When female respondents were divided into two groups, female-headed households and women in male-headed households, results showed that asset ownership among women heads was comparable to their male counterparts. In rural South Africa, 86 percent of men and 84 percent of women who lead households owned a home. In contrast, only 22 percent of women in male-headed households reported such ownership. Researchers cautioned that although women who head households appeared to own assets, the survey sample may have only captured more resilient women. Still, the findings point to the need for further understanding on how gender norms affect women’s ability to own and make decisions about various assets.

“Women’s asset rights are largely shaped by their position in the household and by their relationships,” said Jacobs, who led the research. “These power structures should be top of mind when shaping policies and programs about land, economic development and women’s empowerment.”

The Gender, Asset and Land Survey instrument and manual will be available online in late July 2011. Join our e-newsletter to receive regular updates from ICRW.

Gender, Land and Asset Survey Uganda

rmanix — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:48:25 +0000

Gender Differences in Asset Rights in Central Uganda

The Gender, Land and Asset Survey (GLAS) is one of the first studies to undertake a quantitative and gendered assessment of men’s and women’s rights over assets – including ownership, documentation and degree of control over use, transfer and transactions – and the implications thereof. GLAS, developed and piloted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and Associates Research Uganda Limited and University of KwaZulu-Natal, is a survey methodology for collecting and analyzing individual- and household-level quantitative data on women’s rights over assets with the goal of providing more in-depth detail on determinants of women’s asset rights.

This study points to significant gender gaps with respect to women’s asset ownership in Uganda. Further, it sheds light on more detailed aspects of asset ownership, looking beyond land to a wider array of assets, and not just asset ownership but also control and decision-making authority over assets. The results also point to significant nuances in the nature of the gender asset gap and its drivers.

Publication Year:

2011

Author(s):

Aslihan Kes, Krista Jacobs, Sophie Namy

Author Links:

Aslihan Kes

Krista Jacobs

Sophie Namy

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PDF File Name:

Gender-Land-and-Asset-Survey-Uganda.pdf

How Do Community-based Legal Programs Work

rmanix — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:47:29 +0000

Understanding the Process and Benefits of a Pilot Program to Advance Women’s Property Rights in Uganda

Women’s property rights, especially access to land, are increasingly recognized as critical to achieving poverty reduction and gender equality. Research shows that community-based legal aid programs are a viable approach to improving legal knowledge and women’s access to legal resources to address property issues. From 2009-2010, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and the Uganda Land Alliance (ULA) implemented and evaluated a pilot program to strengthen women’s property rights.

This report describes the pilot program’s implementation, outcomes and lessons. It details the program design, methodologies for monitoring and evaluation, and the context in which the program was implemented. Findings include a discussion of challenges encountered by the rights workers and overall program achievements. And recommendations for community rights work as an approach to promoting women’s property rights also are included.

Publication Year:

2011

Author(s):

Krista Jacobs, Meredith Saggers, Sophie Namy

Author Links:

Krista Jacobs

Sophie Namy

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PDF File Name:

How-do-community-based-legal-programs-work.pdf

Gender, Land and Asset Survey South Africa

rmanix — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:33:48 +0000

Gender Differences in Asset Rights in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Gender, Land and Asset Survey (GLAS) is one of the first studies to undertake a quantitative and gendered assessment of men’s and women’s rights over assets – including ownership, documentation and degree of control over use, transfer and transactions – and the implications thereof. GLAS, developed and piloted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Associates Research Uganda Limited and University of KwaZulu-Natal, is a survey methodology for collecting and analyzing individual- and household-level quantitative data on women’s rights over assets with the goal of providing more in-depth detail on determinants of women’s asset rights.

This study points to significant gender gaps in the ownership, decision-making, and documented claims over a wide array of assets in South Africa. The results also point to significant nuances in the nature of the gender asset gap and its drivers.

Publication Year:

2011

Author(s):

Krista Jacobs, Sophie Namy, Aslihan Kes, Urmilla Bob, Vadivelu Moodley

Author Links:

Aslihan Kes

Krista Jacobs

Sophie Namy

Thumbnail:

PDF File Name:

Gender-Land-Asset-Survey-South-Africa.pdf

Monitoring Toolkit

rmanix — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:37:52 +0000

How to Develop a Monitoring System for a Community Rights Workers Program

This toolkit is designed to introduce the reader to project monitoring and why it is an essential component of any community rights workers program. The reader is taken through a step-by-step process to develop a monitoring system. By following these steps, the reader can create a monitoring system specific to her/his own program. A land rights organization in Uganda used this toolkit to design a monitoring system for its community rights workers program in Luwero district. Its experience is used as an example throughout the toolkit to provide a real-world illustration of the process. Though qualitative monitoring and feedback sessions with rights workers are also important sources of valuable information, this toolkit focuses on quantitative monitoring to understand the program and community needs.

Publication Year:

2011

Author(s):

By Meredith Saggers and Krista Jacobs

Author Links:

Krista Jacobs

PDF File Name:

Monitoring-Toolkit-How-to-Develop-Monitoring-System-for-Community-Rights-Workers-Program.pdf

Keywords and Metadata:

monitoring, community, rights, program, property rights

The Power of Mediation

rmanix — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:32:55 +0000

Community Volunteers Help Mediate Land Disputes

Krista Jacobs is an economist at ICRW. Meredith Saggers, an ICRW economist and monitoring and evaluation specialist, also contributed to this blog.

Land is a precious resource in Uganda, and agriculture is the main livelihood for most families, especially in rural areas like Luwero District in central Uganda. In recent years conflicts over land have become more prevalent due to a growing population, rising land values and confusion over the country’s land laws. This has resulted in land grabbing, fighting over boundaries and being evicted from their homes – disputes that can sometimes escalate quickly, even violently.

We were recently in Luwero District to continue work on a project – with our partner Uganda Land Alliance – that trains local volunteers on land, marriage and inheritance laws. These volunteer workers, called “grassroots paralegals,” then inform their communities on the laws and help solve primarily land-related disputes through mediation or referral to formal legal services. Most residents have limited access to the formal legal system due to lack of information, distance, and prohibitive costs. The grassroots paralegals were intended to bridge this gap. We had an opportunity on this trip to sit one-on-one with a few of them, their clients, and several local leaders to learn more about their experiences with our project.

We were surprised to see so many disputes resolved outside the usual route of local leaders and courts. In talking to clients, we realized that many community members may not be looking to use the grassroots paralegals as a link to the formal legal system. Clients preferred to keep their conflicts out of the courts. They seemed to want a trustworthy person from their community, someone who was informed about the laws, to mediate their land disputes. And that’s how grassroots paralegals described their main role: To bring people in conflict together to learn about the relevant laws, talk through their differences and figure out a solution. They are helping community members realize that they have options and rights. And it’s all free of cost.

It’s an approach that appears to be working, too. Monitoring data collected during the project found that 32 out of 93 land dispute cases brought to grassroots paralegals from August 2009 to April 2010 were solved through mediation. (Thirty-two of these cases were still ongoing; the other 29 were referred to the formal legal channels). Clients appeared to most appreciate having a quick, alternative way to settle disputes through respected members of their own community.

We think the success of grassroots paralegals speaks to the power of information and to the opportunity mediation creates for clients to speak up for their rights. Together, paralegals and their communities are working to create solutions – solutions that are both local and legal.

Q&A with Tim Hanstad of Landesa

tbucci — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:38:28 +0000

Land Rights for the Poor

Wed, 02/09/2011

Tim Hanstad, president and CEO of Landesa, discusses how innovative ideas, such as “micro-plots,” can prompt a fundamental shift in thinking about how to get land into the hands of the world’s poorest – particularly women. Hanstad will be a panelist at ICRW’s Passports to Progress event on March 8, International Women’s Day.

Tim Hanstad is president and CEO of Landesa, an international nonprofit that works to secure property rights for the world’s poorest people. Hanstad will be a panelist at ICRW’s Passports to Progress event on March 8, International Women’s Day. He and three other social pioneers will discuss innovative ideas that have the potential to change the lives of women and girls in developing countries.

We asked Hanstad a few questions via e-mail about land rights and innovation in anticipation of our March 8 event, which kicks off ICRW’s 35th anniversary discussion series. Here are his responses:

ICRW: How is owning land a breakthrough innovation for women?

TH: Land is one of the most basic and vital assets for the rural poor. It provides a basis for shelter, food production, income, access to credit and investment, and is often the basis for entry into social and economic networks. Yet it is estimated that women own only a small fraction of land in developing countries (typically less than 5%), despite the fact that women often produce a majority of the food in the developing world.

Secure land rights can provide women and girls with a key asset to become more effective change-makers. When women and girls have secure legal rights to land, research suggests good things happen: agricultural productivity improves, women’s bargaining power in the household increases, more household income is directed to children’s education and nutrition, domestic violence goes down, women have an increased ability to prevent HIV and AIDS infection and women are less dependent on the men in their lives.

Aside from economic benefits, land and property rights can empower women and girls to participate more effectively in their communities and in the larger civil and political aspects of society. Women with property rights are more likely to be active members of their communities, and community institutions themselves are more likely to be responsive to the needs of women and girls as a result.

ICRW: Landesa often focuses on providing micro-land ownership for landless families as a way to lift them out of poverty. Can you tell us briefly how this works and why Landesa believes this is a viable approach, particularly for women?

TH: Micro-plots of land – and especially homestead plots – have played a critical food security and livelihood role in many settings around the world, from Russia to Indonesia to South Asia. We have focused most intensely on the micro-land ownership concept in India, where it holds great promise for the at least 15 million rural landless families. Previous attempts in India to promote land to the landless through multi-acre were not particularly successful; there just wasn’t enough land practically available to satisfy the bulk of the landless families. So Landesa applied the “small is beautiful” approach, and began experimenting with “micro-plots.”

We discovered that with a micro-plot as small as one-tenth of an acre, a landless family can grow nearly all their fruits and vegetables and still have space for livestock or a micro-enterprise. Micro-plots are developed with what is typically the family’s most abundant resource — their own labor. Secure rights to even a small area of land boosts family income, enhances family nutrition, provides physical security, serves as a vehicle for generating wealth and secures the family’s status within the community. Additionally, Landesa is working with state governments to ensure that women’s names are on the titles to these micro-plots, and in West Bengal, we are now attempting to ensure that daughters (as well as sons) are listed as co-inheritors.

As the amount of land needed is relatively small, micro-land ownership is a viable solution for India’s millions of rural poor to make significant improvements to their nutrition, incomes and status, contributing to self-sufficiency. Like the simple idea that catalyzed the global “micro-lending” movement, “micro-land owning” has the potential to prompt a fundamental shift in thinking about how to get land into the hands of the world’s poorest — particularly women.

ICRW: What factors should the private sector consider if it is interested in investing in the development of other countries’ agriculture?

TH: First, investments in agriculture will always impact women differently than men. This is particularly important given the prominent (and typically under-recognized) role that women play in agricultural production and other parts of the agricultural value chain. Private investors should always understand the role of women in agriculture and the differential impact the investment will have on women.

Second, private sector actors should always gain a clear understanding of the land tenure realities related to their investments. If the investment involves accessing “new” land for production, it is highly unlikely that the land is presently “unused” and conversely highly likely that the new use of this land will displace existing livelihoods and customary (if not formal) land rights. This is not just about corporate social responsibility, but also about protecting the investor against the risk of social unrest. If the investment involves existing production, the nature of the land tenure (who holds the rights and what are the specific elements of those rights) greatly impacts the farmers’ incentive frameworks and their willingness and ability to make productivity enhancing improvements.

Third, if women don’t have secure rights to the land they farm, they are likely to lose the land when it becomes valuable or is improved.

ICRW: As part of ICRW’s 35th anniversary celebration, you will participate in a March 8 discussion on innovations that have the potential to change the lives of women in developing countries. What is one innovation you think the private and public sectors need to pay more attention to within your field of expertise, and why?

TH: Research on the benefits of women gaining secure rights to land and property suggests positive results: an increase in women’s participation in household decision-making, an increase in net household income, a reduction in domestic violence, an increased ability to prevent being infected by HIV and increased expenditures on food and education for children.

Understanding the complexity surrounding women’s land rights is critical to ensuring that those rights are protected and improved. Because laws, customs and norms can change from country to country, and even vary between regions and ethnic groups within countries, the private and public sector need to pay more attention to whom within the household have rights to land and who has control over the benefits of the land. Supporting women’s rights to and control over the land they farm will have a positive effect on women, their families, and their communities.

And, while the goal of providing women with legal rights to land is challenging, it can be done. We now have abundant experience across the globe with innovative approaches to changing the legal framework, making progress against the stubborn barriers of custom, and empowering women and girls with enhanced legal rights to land.