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
Brazil: Landless Women Mobilize for Agrarian Reform and Against Violence by Brazil
International
This year’s National Day of Landless Women’s Struggles began on March 8 and runs until next Thursday, the 12th, with mobilizations in all regions of…
Why Women Are Central to Resilient Food Systems
Blog
As climate change, economic instability, and biodiversity loss place increasing pressure on global food systems, building resilience has become an urgent priority. But resilience is…
Uganda: Women Are Leading Uganda’s Environmental Transformation - Are We Supporting Them Enough?
International
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark International Women’s Day 2026 under the theme “Give to Gain”, we must look beyond celebration…
Liberia: Women’s Land Rights Are Not Favors, They Are Rights as NAWoLaR Officially Launched in Monrovia
International
MONROVIA –The National Alliance for Women’s Land Rights (NAWoLaR) has been officially launched, signaling a unified national front to dismantle discriminatory practices that have long…
South Africa: Women Farmers in South Africa Pay the Cost of Broken Irrigation Systems – The Story of One Cooperative
International
The South African government makes a great deal of the fact that it supports women’s empowerment in agriculture.
But does it?
As an anthropologist, I’ve been engaged…
India: Supporting Women’s Leadership in Agrifood Systems in India
International
Women are key actors in agrifood systems, playing leadership roles in agricultural cooperatives and producers’ organizations, large agribusinesses, and agrifood-related governmental and non-governmental institutions and…
Central African Republic: How Land Empowers Refugee Women and Builds Resilient Livelihoods in the Central African Republic
International
At dawn, the communal field slowly comes to life in the Korsi neighbourhood of Birao in Vakaga, Central African Republic. Women arrive in small groups,…
'Still Struggling with the Commons': An Overview of Progress & Problems Securing Community Lands in Africa (Brief No. 08 of "Transforming Conservation: From Conflicts to Justice" Series)
Briefs & Development
This Brief provides main findings from a study of all land and resource laws in force in Africa in 2025 to assess the legal status…
Integrated Assessment of Climate-Related Security Risks for Peace and Security in Blue Nile, Sudan, and Their Gender Dimensions
Library
The Blue Nile State in Sudan is grappling with a severe and escalating crisis, marked by an intensifying conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)…
Peru: In Peru’s Andes, Quechua Women Turn Human-Wildcat Conflict Into Coexistence
International
A new film, Women Secure a Future with Pumas in the Andes, examines how the fear of predators like the puma (Puma concolor), pampas cat…
Indonesia: The Long Struggle of Women Farmers to Halt a Zinc Mine in North Sumatra
International
SILIMA PUNGGA-PUNGGA DISTRICT, Indonesia — Rainim Purba first heard the rumor in 1996. Back then, in her mid-30s, villagers were saying a zinc mining company…
Afghanistan: Saffron Industry Creates Job Opportunities for Afghan Women
International
HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Attired in the national dress, Latifa Nuri expressed that working in a saffron field gives her energy and brings…
Seeing Women Behind Supply Chains: A Methodology to Strengthen Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Agrifood Systems
Blog
A new methodology helps agrifood companies meet their gender equality and inclusion commitments by better understanding diverse actors and experiences in their supply chains.
For many…
Pacific Islands: Climate Security in the Pacific: Emerging Trends, Priorities, and Solutions
International
Pacific Island countries are among those most affected by climate change. Rising sea levels, shifting rainfall patterns and increasing extreme weather events threaten land, livelihoods…
Brief: Gender-Responsive Action for Women's Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and the Pacific
Briefs & Development
In 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recognized the impacts of climate change in undermining food security for women, noting that…
Liberia: COP30 - a Turning Point Missed - and a Line Drawn for Frontline Women Defenders
Blog
Monrovia — COP30 has come and gone in Belém, Brazil--another global climate summit marked by lofty promises and limited political courage.
The declarations were bold, the…
Haiti, The Impacts of Cash for Work on Food Security and Gender Equality: Impact Evaluation
Report
Haiti faces severe food insecurity and gender inequality, with nearly half the population lacking adequate food and women especially vulnerable. WFP’s Food Assistance for Assets…
Guinea: Women Scatter Seeds, Restore Forests in Guinea, the ‘Water Tower of West Africa’
International
For Mariame Condé, the seed-collecting work came at a critical time. In January 2022, she was pregnant and nearly out of food. Her husband had…
Winter in Afghanistan: Women and Girls in the Front Line as Hunger Deepens
Blog
As winter sets in across Afghanistan, so does dread. “There’s usually a peak in child mortality in December and January, even in a good year,…
Liberia: UNDP Hosts Gender Workshop for Inclusive Forest Governance
International
Monrovia, Liberia; December 11, 2025: To promote inclusive forest governance and ensure equitable participation in natural resource management, the European Union funded Leh Go Green…
Liberia: From Law to Reality: AWLN Champions Women’s Right to Own Land
International
CAREYSBURG — The African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Liberia Chapter convened a landmark dialogue on Wednesday at Arjay Farms in Number 7, Kingsville, bringing together…
Cultivating Women’s Leadership for Resilient Agrifood Systems
Blog
Women’s representation and leadership have long been recognized as drivers of more inclusive, equitable, and resilient food systems. Yet, too often, leadership is confused with…
Rwanda: Women at the Heart of TREPA’s Land Restoration in Rwanda’s Eastern Province
International
In Rwanda’s Eastern Province, women and girls were limited to contributing to landscape restoration and environmental conservation, while men often took on roles such as…
Kenya: How Gender-Transformative Innovation Bundles are Revolutionizing Food Security in Kenya
International
In Makueni, Kenya, farmers are boosting yields and empowering women through new gender-transformative innovation bundles. Introduced to overcome low tech adoption, the approach merges farming…
Liberia: Women Marginalized in Customary Land Processes in Lofa Despite Legal Protections
International
Women in Lofa County continue to face difficulties participating equally in customary land and natural resource management. This situation, according to Chapter 9, Article 36…
Global: Building Gender-Responsive Climate Security: Inside CGIAR’s New Training Module Why Gender Matters in Climate Security?
International
Climate change impacts are not gender-neutral and vary across population groups. Women, children, minority groups, refugees, the elderly, and people with disabilities face differential vulnerabilities linked to…
The Power of Gender: New Generation of REDD+ Action in the LAC Region
Library
To help disseminate how these countries are using innovative solutions to undertake this work, the UN-REDD Programme is supporting the development of this case study…
Afghanistan: UN Trust Fund Supports Women Livestock Farmers in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province
International
The UN Afghanistan Trust Fund is helping women-headed households in Ghazni raise livestock, offering training and tools to support their livelihoods.
The UN Afghanistan Trust Fund…
Liberia: Nimba Women Agriculture Cooperative Launches Financial Loan Program to Empower Rural Women
International
GANTA, Nimba County – Over twenty rural women from Ganta and its surrounding communities in Nimba County recently benefited from a new loan program launched…
Zambia: Zambian Women Take the Lead in Adapting Food Systems to Climate Change
International
Women play vital roles as actors and innovators in food systems worldwide. In many societies, they are the primary food producers, accounting for between 60%…