Life Can Change: Securing Housing, Land and Property Rights for Displaced Women
Publisher: Norwegian Refugee Council
Author(s): Jelena Madzarevic and Shobha Rao
Date: 2014
Topics: Gender, Land, Livelihoods, Protection and Access to Justice
Countries: Afghanistan
In 2011 NRC established a programme of work focused on strengthening displaced women rights to housing, land and property (HLP). This was in response to challenges identified by legal staff working with displaced communities in conflict and post-conflict environments. The challenges included the difficulties women face in accessing justice and the barriers posed by repressive social norms, poverty and destitution. NRC has since gained a wealth of experience from its legal assistance work, generating positive results for displaced women through a variety of innovative practices and collaborations. Drawing on these insights and experiences, NRC is now in the third year of a five-year initiative that seeks to increase support to displaced women so they may realise their HLP rights. The initiative consists of improvements to NRC’s own programming and international and national advocacy.
This report represents NRC’s first reflection of both the challenges faced by displaced women and the positive results that can be achieved through the provision of legal assistance in a way that is sensitive to women’s needs and the context in which they live. The evidence base is drawn from six countries – primarily from NRC’s legal assistance (ICLA) programmes for displaced communities in Afghanistan, Ecuador, Lebanon, Liberia, Palestine (Gaza), and South Sudan. Despite the wide range of displacement contexts, NRC identified clear common themes from the research.