Land
Access and rights to land are vital to agricultural livelihoods and food security. Moreover, land rights underpin access to other natural resources that are critical economic assets. When women have secure rights and the ability to participate in decisions related to land, research has shown that land resources are more likely to be used to improve household wellbeing, including improved food consumption and nutrition.
However, women account for only 11.5 percent of landholders in conflict-affected countries. Gender inequality in tenure systems remains embedded in social and cultural norms, restricting women’s rights and resulting in disproportionate impacts on women. Lack of access to land can leave women vulnerable to physical and livelihood risks, and conflict can exacerbate this vulnerability through displacement, weakened authorities, disrupted social structures, and overall reduced availability of land. Furthermore, as land titles are often prerequisites to obtain credit, agricultural inputs, and other support, women are often denied access to these services which are vital for post-conflict recovery.
Issues of land access and rights are increasingly incorporated into peace agreements. However, there remain significant cultural and political barriers to land security for women, as even countries with formal recognition of women’s equal land rights struggle to guarantee and enforce these rights in practice. Efforts to provide legal and mediation services, prioritize gender-sensitive land reform, and assess women’s roles in natural resource sectors have made progress to empower women to enforce their land rights and meaningfully participate in land management decisions.
Key Resources
Life Can Change: Securing Housing, Land and Property Rights for Displaced Women
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…Land and Conflict: Toolkit and Guidance for Preventing and Managing Land and Natural Resource Conflict
Conflict arises when two or more groups believe their interests are incompatible. Conflict is not in itself a negative phenomenon. Non-violent conflict can be an…Realizing Women’s Right to Land and Other Productive Resources
The purpose of this publication is to provide detailed guidance for lawmakers and policymakers, as well as civil society organizations and other stakeholders, to support…FAO Gender and Land Rights Database
Land is a crucial resource for poverty reduction, food security and rural development. However, men and women do not always enjoy the same rights to…Women and Land in the Muslim World
Access to land is a key element that allows women and men to fully play their role in building peaceful, stable and prosperous societies and…
Resources
Women Building Peace
Library
This volume looks back at a wealth of women’s peacebuilding practice documented by Accord since 1998. Case studies from Cambodia, Sierra Leone, northern Uganda, Papua…
Liberia: Rural Women Call for Unrestricted Access to Land Ownership
International
Nimba County—Rural women across Liberia are calling on the government to support their quest for land ownership rights in their respective counties and communities.
They claim…
Liberia: Women Push for Greater Land Rights
International
Women from across Liberia are pushing for more rights in acquiring ownership of land as compared to their male counterparts.In observance of rural women land…
Colombia: Sowing Peace, One Agribusiness at a Time: Colombian Farmers Reclaim their Land and Livelihoods
International
The sun beats down on the fertile fields of Bolívar, Colombia, where lush green valleys stretch towards the distant Andes mountains. It's a picture of…
Reviving Life: Northern Ghana's Sustainable Land Revolution
News
As the sun rises over the dusty plains of northern Ghana, a quiet revolution is underway. In a region long ravaged by desertification and drought,…
Gendered Constraints for Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture Amongst Smallholder Ethiopian Women Farmers
Library
Although Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can offer economic and food security opportunities for women farmers, success in the uptake of these technologies is contested by gendered…
New Program for Rural Land Transformation Launched in Côte d’Ivoire
News
The government of Côte d’Ivoire and the World Bank today officially launched the Rural Land Tenure Management Strengthening Program (PRESFOR) in Guiglo in the Cavally…
Israel/Palestine: Visualising How Israel Keeps Stealing Palestinian Land
International
On July 2, Israeli authorities announced the largest single seizure in more than 30 years – 12.7sq km (4.9sq miles) in the Jordan Valley.
It was the latest…
In Cameroon, Breaking Barriers for Women in Restoration
Blog
Restoring land and reducing its degradation is crucial for Cameroon’s sustainable development and long-term resilience. Over 70 percent of the population depend on agriculture for…
Tackling Gender Disparity in Land Ownership in FCT
Blog
Land is one the most valued properties in the world. It is not for nothing that famous economic scholar, Adam Smith, classified it as one of the…
Empowering Women to Combat Climate Change in Nigeria
International
Climate change poses significant challenges worldwide, but its impacts are disproportionately felt by women, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. Women’s vulnerability to climate change…
Africa: Land Squeeze: The Hidden Battle for Africa’s Soils
International
In recent years, Africa has been at the epicentre of an alarming global trend: the land squeeze. The 2007-8 global financial crisis unleashed a huge…
Climate Change: Women, Peace, and Security and the Climate Change Agenda
International
Climate change is a critical threat to 21st-century peace and security, with significant gender dimensions influencing how insecurity is experienced and managed by women and…
Liberia: Two More River Cess Clans Complete Last Process to Secure Customary Land
International
Two additional River Cess clans – Togbanyankun and Siahn – are poised to receive customary land deeds following the completion of a confirmatory survey by…
Accelerating Inclusive Gender Responsive Climate Finance for NDCs --- Lessons from Antigua and Barbuda
International
It is imperative that we tackle the inequalities and barriers that women face if we are serious about managing this global threat. This is particularly…
Afghanistan: 1.25m Acres of Land Wrested back from Grabbers
International
Since its creation 18 months ago, the Land Grab Prevention and Restitution Commission (LGPRC) has wrested back 1.25 million acres of state land from land…
Mujeres, Guardianas del Agua y del Acuerdo de Escazú en la Amazonía. Women, Guardians of Water and the Escazú Agreement in the Amazon.
News
In the department of Putumayo, a group of brave women have become the Guardians of Water and protectors of the Escazú Agreement, one of the…
Climate Watch: CSO Urges Rivers to Implement Action Plan on Gender, Climate Change
International
Despite directly impacting our communities, health, and livelihoods, climate-related reports usually take a back seat to dominant news beats like politics and business.
Honduras: Violence, Land Conflicts, Corruption and Impunity Defy Human Rights
International
Persistent violence, including gender-based violence, land conflicts and impunity are among the most serious human rights challenges in Honduras, the UN High Commissioner for Human…
Nigeria: Foundation Moves to Curb Impact of Climate Change, Insecurity in Northwest
International
Worried by the continued effects of climate change in the world and Nigeria in particular, the Building Blocks For Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE) has launched a…
Women Farmers in Malawi Tackle Climate Change and Gender Inequalities through Greenhouse Programme
News
The greenhouses of the Kambuku Cooperatives stand proudly among newly planted maize fields about 23 kilometres from Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe. The facilities stand…
Malawi: Women Farmers in Malawi Tackle Climate Change and Gender Inequalities Through Greenhouse Programme
International
The greenhouses of the Kambuku Cooperatives stand proudly among newly planted maize fields about 23 kilometres from Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe. The facilities stand…
Legal Practitioner Engages Women on Their Roles in Peaceful coexistence in Plateau
International
Yitkyim Leah Datong has engaged about one hundred young women across communities of Plateau State towards contributing to sustainable peace in the State.
Liberia: Stakeholders Unite to Integrate Climate Change Action into Land Formalization Framework
International
Stakeholders have reached a consensus to incorporate climate action within the framework of land rights, aiming for a sustainable and inclusive approach to land formalization.
Liberia: ForumCIV, Partners Hold Policy Dialogue to Secure Land Rights for Women and Rural Communities
International
With support from the European Union (EU), ForumCIV and MAP Liberia have ended a day-long policy dialogue to secure land rights for women and rural…
Afghanistan: 21 Million Afghans Lack Access to Clean Drinking Water: Official
International
The Taliban official claims that 21 million people in Afghanistan lack access to clean drinking water due to climate change. Previously, the United Nations had…
Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: 37 People Killed in Disputed Oil-Rich African Region of Abyei in Fighting Linked to Spiritual Leader
International
Thirty-seven people were killed over the weekend in fighting apparently tied to a land feud in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei, an official said…
Nigeria: Stakeholders Seek Alignment of Gender, Climate Change in Agric Policies
International
Liberia: Landesa, Partners Rally Support for Inclusive Climate Action and Land Rights
International
Landesa, a global advocate for land rights and women’s empowerment, in collaboration with the Rights and Rice Foundation, has commenced a groundbreaking conference titled “Land…
Where Are They and Who Are the Peasant Women of the South? The Double Invisibilisation of Women Working on the Land
Briefs & Development
Through socio-environmental and eco-territorial conflicts, we seek to investigate the conception of peasantry as a contextualized identity, with an unequivocal feminist approach. The peasant subject…