Based on field research conducted by two grassroots organizations, CINDI-Kitwe in Zambia and GROOTS Kenya, to map and document cases of property grabbing from children, in particular those who became orphans due to AIDS. Includes problem analysis and study objectives; presenting children’s experiences in Zambia and in Kenya; conclusions and lessons learned.

Analyses inheritance laws and their impacts on rural women in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Senegal, Togo and Mali. Focuses on Muslim societies, but also looks at how these differed from or influenced the inheritance practices of non-Muslim groups. Shows that women continue to be systematically denied their rights to inheritance, especially in rural areas.

Includes setting the scene; understanding gender and property rights in the era of AIDS; legislation, training and capacity development; advocacy, mobilisation and networking; political dialogue; linking gender, property rights and livelihoods; taking stock – where are we and where should we go?; recommendations and ways forward; annexes.

To better understand the role of tenure security in protecting against, and mitigating the effects of, HIV and violence, this book explores these linkages in Amajuba, South Africa and Iganga, Uganda. Results from the qualitative study revealed that property ownership, while not easily linked to women’s ability to prevent HIV infection, can nonetheless mitigate the impact of AIDS, and enhance a woman’s ability to leave a violent situation.

Stresses views of conference participants that agrarian reform is an alive issue on the political agenda of many countries. A wide consensus on the positive contribution that more equal access to land and other assets makes to the fight against poverty. Meaningful reform must involve the transformation of property rights. Agrarian reform must involve state regulation to overcome the failure of markets to deliver equitable outcomes. Also a wide consensus on the need for strong and effective state action.

Analyses inclusive land governance in Mozambique. Focuses on the country’s legal framework and the DUAT, the right to use and benefit from the land. The DUAT is a distinctive element of the Mozambican legislation that has land as the property of the state but recognises land use rights for occupants and users on the basis of a unitary system of tenure. The challenges of putting in practice what is thought to be one of Africa’s most progressive legal frameworks are discussed.

Under Ugandan law a person whose land is identified for a public purpose must be compensated fairly, promptly, and prior to the acquisition of the property. But often laws and best practices remain on paper only. Many individual landowners are often ignorant about their basic rights, and lack the capacity and courage to speak out against injustice meted on them by development projects. The decision by the Ugandan government to construct an oil refinery meant that over 1,200 households were to be displaced.

A wide-ranging valedictory lecture by the veteran radical land guru. Offers glimpses of the role of law in Tanzania’s jump from the frying pan of state nationalism into the fire of corporate neoliberalism. Argues that the creation of ‘free’ labour and of land as capital were central to the colonial project. Examines the changing status of customary titles and the series of Land Acts from 1999. Argues that De Soto’s current Mkurabita project will in effect mean registering large chunks of village land in preparation for their alienation through force, fraud, and corruption.

The focus is on management and use of wetlands in Kenya. Coverage includes their role in poverty reduction, Lake Naivasha, Yala, the Nzoia River Basin, and the need for securing wetlands as common property resources. Argues that secure access to wetlands for poor rural communities is fundamental to improving their livelihoods.

Background paper for an IDS Sussex workshop on new ideas on the rights to land, housing and property. Contains a renewed focus on poverty and, within that, a new focus on land rights; livelihoods and rights-based approaches; the World Bank and received orthodoxy in land policy; DFID’s focus on land rights in Africa; Francophone perspectives; recent World Bank thinking; the mysteries of capitalism (a discussion of de Soto); lessons learnt.

Contains close scrutiny of chapter 11 (on land and property) of the Kenya Draft Constitution Bill; editorial on Kenya Land Alliance supports the campaign for the protection of forest lands; the new Minister of Lands and Settlements’ plans to modernise his Ministry (including a commitment to make public the Njonjo Land Commission report); the new Minister for Planning and National Development’s perception of land issues in Kenya (including a commitment to tax land held by speculators); a review of NARC’s (National Rainbow Coalition) agenda for success on land issues (including an end to land

Contains defining gender-based violence; property grabbing as a form of this; HIV and AIDS and property grabbing; women’s property rights: the erosion of customary norms and practice; statutory legal reform � is it the answer?; empirical evidence from Southern and Eastern Africa; responses to property grabbing; conclusion. Argues that the harassment and humiliation that often accompany property grabbing further strip women of their self-esteem, affecting their ability to defend their rights.