South African Government (Pretoria)

Via allafrica.com

6 AUGUST 2015

South Africa: Rural Development and Land Reform Approves Land for Women, Farm Workers and People Living With Disability

PRESS RELEASE

Bhubaneswar, Aug 4: Odisha needs gender equitable land governance, according to a recent World Bank study. Despite numerous efforts towards protecting rights of women through pioneering state policy and programmes, women continue to be discriminated with regard to access and control over land in Odisha.

The World Bank study on Gender and Land Governance in Odisha reveals that a meagre 3.3 percent of land is owned by women which is much below the national average of 13 percent. 

In rural Nigeria, 80 percent of small scale farmers are women. Yet very few own land -- held back by a lack of resources and conservative male attitudes. Activists are calling for more rights for women farmers, including access to land and credit.

Using CEDAW and its Optional Protocol to advance women’s land and property rights

2 AUGUST 2015 / SIMONECUSACK

Graciela Dede, Mayra Gomez and Esther Waweru reflect on how the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol can help to advance women’s land and property rights. Read the full post here. 

Courtesy of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW website

The UN’s Rebuke of Inheritance Laws Is a Victory for Women’s Health

May 27, 2015    by Tamar Ezer     Public Health Program

To mark world water day, we look at how simple technology to harvest water in semi-arid areas has transformed prospects for Kenyan women

It’s mid-morning and the sun is blazing. It is so hot that germinating seeds struggle to grow. 

In Moi Ndabi, about 44km (27 miles) south of Kenya’s Lake Naivasha in Nakuru County, the vegetation dotted sparingly across the village has turned yellow.