Land is a vital resource that sustains livelihoods across Sub-Saharan Africa, but also one that is heavily prone to corruption. Every second citizen in Africa has been affected by land corruption in recent years, according to a study by Transparency International.

Pakorpa Susangho’ (Widow’s Cry) is an exploration of how corruption impacts on widows in the Upper East region of Ghana. This participatory video was devised and shot by ten widows from Kulbia, on the outskirts of Bolgatanga, using cutting-edge production techniques and equipment (including iPads as powerful video cameras). The filmmakers, whose ages range from 29 to 60, lack any formal education yet learned to operate the equipment with confidence and skill during a series of participatory video workshops packed with fun games and exercises.

Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “Achieve

For rural women and men, land is often the most important household asset for supporting agricultural production and providing food security and nutrition. Evidence shows that secure land tenure is strongly associated with higher levels of investment and productivity in agriculture – and therefore with higher incomes and greater economic wellbeing. Secure land rights for women are often correlated with better outcomes for them and their families, including greater bargaining power at household and community levels, better child nutrition and lower levels of gender-based violence.

Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” recognizes the fundamental role of women in achieving poverty reduction, food security and nutrition. Target 5.a aims to “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws”.

Men and women interact with water resources and landscapes in different ways, and there are frequent criticisms that little research is undertaken across disciplines to address this issue. Biophysical scientists in particular struggle with how to integrate “gendered” water uses into models that are necessarily based on prevailing laws and equations that describe the movement of water through the hydrological cycle, independent of social constructs.

Authors: Larson, A.M.; Dokken, T.; Duchelle, A.E.; Atmadja, S.; Resosudarmo, I.A.P.; Cronklet

Authors: Colfer, C.J.P.; Sijapati Basnett, B.; Elias, M.