A Fair Share for Women: Toward More Equitable Land Compensation and Resettlement in Tanzania and Mozambique
Publisher: World Resources Institute
Author(s): Celine Salcedo-La Vina and Laura Notess
Date: 2018
Topics: Gender, Governance, Land, Livelihoods
This working paper finds that, despite constitutional commitments to gender equality, governments in Tanzania and Mozambique are not protecting poor, rural women from harmful commercial land deals. State officials’ failure to close gaps in land laws and overhaul ineffective regulations shortchanges women who receive little to no payment for their families’ land. Attempts to amplify women’s voices in community land decision-making are also falling short. But advancing women’s land rights, from equal treatment in commercial land deals to better representation in community decision-making, is critical to achieving gender equality not just in Tanzania and Mozambique, but also in countries across Africa. This working paper provides recommendations that government officials, private sector leads and civil society can adopt to improve gender equity in commercial land acquisitions.