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
Kenya: Women Step Up Environmental Conservation Efforts in Suba South
International
A group of women in Suba South Constituency has embarked on raising tree seedlings for planting this rainy season. Dubbed the Sindo Tree Nursery Women Project,…
Zimbabwe: How More Inclusive Maize Breeding Can Yield Better Outcomes for Women Farmers in Zimbabwe
International
In Zimbabwe, CGIAR, through CIMMYT, runs a maize breeding program to strengthen food security and livelihoods in a country where maize is a staple crop. The program spans diverse testing plots – managed exclusively…
Women’s Land Rights: The Missing Key to Climate Action
Blog
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #AccelerateAction, calls on the world to address the structural barriers slowing progress. If we are serious about climate, we…
Global: Women and Girls are at the Heart of Fostering Better Agrifood Systems for All
International
Gender equality has never been more important. Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration, a landmark United Nations resolution to promote gender equality, progress on women’s rights…
Kenya: The Silent Struggle: Women in Agriculture Bearing the Weight of Every Task
International
Agriculture is a critical lifeline for many rural communities in Kenya. In Makueni County, Kenya, women farmers bear the majority of workload on the farm:…
Kenya: Kiambu Women Redefining Roles in Coffee Sector
International
Women in Kiambu are transforming Kenya’s coffee industry through empowerment and innovation, challenging traditional barriers and redefining their role in the sector. Coffee, Kenya’s second-largest agricultural…
Tanzania: How Ivuna Women Farmers are Transforming Their Lives through Seed Production
International
“Five of us borrowed $100 from our Vikoba group and invested it in seed production. Not only did we repay the loan with interest, but…
Paraguay: Paraguay’s Female Farmers Break Barriers Through Digital Initiative
International
In Paraguay, where agriculture represents over 25% of the GDP, a groundbreaking initiative called “Women to the Field” is challenging traditional gender roles in farming and livestock…
Indonesia: Indonesian Mother of Six Aims to Keep Papuan Tradition Alive by Saving Mangroves in Women-only Forest
International
Papua province’s Youtefa Bay, known for its azure waters and lush mangrove forests, has seen infrastructure development that has helped improve locals’ lives and the…
Restitution of Lands and Territories to Victims of Violent Dispossession and Displacement in Colombia
Blog
Forced displacement in Colombia has a differentiated and accentuated impact on women, the ethnic and peasant population, as well as children and adolescents. Frequently, this…
Nepal: Sustaining Health and Soil: Sundhani Tharu’s 4Rs Approach to Farming
International
Sundhani Tharu, a 44-year-old farmer from Pattharbojhi, Madhuwan-1 in the Bardiya district, in the mid-west of Kathmandu, is a leading example of how sustainable agricultural practices not only enhance…
Latin America: Latin Women Lead the Fight Against Climate Change Using Indigenous Agriculture
International
Throughout Latin America, indigenous women use old farming methods to fight climate change. In places like Peru and Guatemala, they work hard to keep food…
Colombia: Is it important to look at the gender dimensions of post-harvest food loss and waste?
International
In low- and middle-income countries, inadequate and ineffective post-harvest management results in significant losses, thus reducing food availability, increasing prices and contributing to climate change.…
Zimbabwe: In Zimbabwe, Women Are Leading the Battle Against Climate Change
International
When Susan Chinyengetere started to focus on farming in her home village in south-eastern Zimbabwe, she wondered if she could earn a living and raise…
Colombia: Land Adjudication Regulated for Peasant Women in Colombia
International
The regulation, consisting in a special land adjudication program for rural and peasant women with the objective of improving their social and economic well-being, was…
Indonesia: Papuan Women’s Mangrove Forest in Indonesia is Increasingly Threatened by Development and Pollution
International
On the southeastern coast of the city of Jayapura, Petronela Merauje walked from house to house in her floating village inviting women to join her…
Gender and Climate Experts Come Together to Address Inequalities and Climate Resilience Challenges in Nigeria’s Agrifood systems
News
On October 9, 2024, gender and climate experts gathered in Abuja for the third high-level dialogue on gender and climate change, convened by HER+, the CGIAR…
Liberia: Women Farmers in Bong County Decry Being Forced to Lease Land for Farming
News
GBARTALA, Bong County — Twenty-Eight-year-old Mallah Dolo, a single mother of two, was reading education at the Cuttington University in Bong County, but was forced…
Liberia: Women Farmers in Bong County Decry Being Forced to Lease Land for Farming
News
Twenty-Eight-year-old Mallah Dolo, a single mother of two, was reading education at the Cuttington University in Bong County, but was forced to become a University…
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…
Scaling Fodder Innovations to Improve Livestock Productivity in Zimbabwe’s Semi-arid Regions
News
When she first ventured into growing pigeon peas as a baby trial host farmer, Gogo Consilia Nyamunda doubted that intercropping them with maize would bring any benefits,…
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…