New Challenges for Women's Land Rights in Africa

Nov 11, 2019 | Hosaena Ghebru
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A new wave of gender-related land reforms has swept across Africa south of the Sahara in recent years. These reforms have incorporated innovative approaches to land administration, including legal provisions protecting women’s land rights, and efforts to minimize gender inequalities concerning land, housing, and property rights. In 2003, for instance, the African Union (AU) adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, focusing on human, social, economic, and political rights - widely referred to as 'the Maputo Protocol. In 2015, the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Water, and Environment adopted a recommendation aimed at facilitating women’s economic empowerment.