Resource information
While the majority of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly Eastern Africa provide a living for their families on land, they largely do not own it. This comprises one part of a study on women and land in five countries in Eastern Africa - and was commissioned by the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI). This study of Tigray and Oromiya Regional States, Ethiopia, suggests that women's education is critical to improve their status and ownership of productive resources, and that communities must ensure that girls are entitled to an equal share in the family property. The report argues that any effort and initiative must be supported by laws that enable girls and women to inherit and own property. The report also shows that in environments where cultural norms do not value women, there is a need for support systems to enable women to own, and use the land they own, without constraints.
