The Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa endorsed through the adoption of the African Union Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges by the African Heads of States in 2009 is having “a strong gender component which aims at “strengthening security of land tenure for women which require special attention” and “ensuring that land laws provide for equitable access to land and related resources”.

ABSTRACT African culture and tradition on matrilineal land ownership are on the verge of disappearing. Land ownership in rural communities remains an important cultural dimension to secure livelihoods, economic growth, and sustainable development. Gender relations continue to interfere culture and tradition of matrilineal communities. Migration has changed the community and influenced the land ownership transformation from women to men.

ABSTRACTContext and backgroundAccess to and ownership of land are important for reducing discrimination.

ABSTRACTElectronic land titling in the field of land administration being a new concept of right registration on land and properties developed on it, is seen to be the future of a centric land administration in Rwanda. Rwanda is promoting a cashless economy and a full paperless land administration aiming at promoting the principle of “zero trip zero paper”.

Land in Ethiopia is held by the state and the people; while landholders guaranteed a lifetime ‘holding’ right (any right except sell and mortgage per se). Women have equal rights to men in the formal legal system, despite, in pastoral areas, women’s land rights are highly influenced by religious and customary systems: rights are meaningless unless they are socially recognized and effectively enforced. Studies on women’s land rights comparing between formal and customary land laws are rare.

Umoja (noun):/ooh-moh-jah/Umoja, is the Swahili philosophy of unity. Its principles underscore the significance of cooperation and communal solidarity. Umoja has historically been associated with various aspects of African social and political life, accentuating the influence of communal synergy in traditional land tenure systems.

Are “informal real estate markets” really markets? Alternatively, are “informal property rights” tradable? A few years ago, just the mention of these concepts in a title would render it a misnomer. The aim of this paper is to explore the controversies in literature around the use of the concept “informal real estate markets”. The term “informal” comes with different connotations in literature; and for many years it denoted “illegality”.

Context and background There is a reciprocal relationship between theory, policy and practice. Property valuation as practiced today is elucidated by certain standards and policies which are based on theoretical foundations. The axioms of value have been postulated throughout history, from pre-classical times to the present, with succeeding theorists, some adopting the former’s reason with adjustments and some refuting.

In many African societies, there are various forms and levels of cultural gender infringement of human rights and property denials. Over the years, these violations become well-established through cultural gender conjectures.  Perhaps, nowhere in Nigeria is this property rights violation more pronounced and evident than in the Igboland, the south-eastern part of the country. Conjectures such as women do not own land (nwanyi adighi enwe ala), another man’s compound (ama onye ozo) amongst others depict the social classification of women in southeastern communities.

Context and background: Real Property Valuation is the most essential activity in administering land and other real properties. Undertaking valuation is also important to enhance revenue of the country. Different types of property valuation methods applied on the basis of property type and purpose of valuation. Conducting systematic valuation is the base for levying tax.

Context and planMauritania has immense land reserves. Its national land bank is estimated at 502,000 ha, more than enough to promote agribusiness and achieve food self-sufficiency. However, the rural sector only contributes 17% of GDP and employs 21% of the working population.  Since the 1970s, agriculture has been unable to take off and make up the shortfall in food products (wheat, cereals, pulses, fruit, etc.) on the national market.

Women make essential contributions to agriculture by playing a large role in food crop production. They require land as source of rural livelihood and monetary strengthening through land right security. Women’s ownership of land and property can be potentially transformative, not only as a store of value, but also as a means of acquiring other assets and engaging in a range of markets. However, women have lower access to productive resources (land and capital) compared to their male counterparts.