Since 2004, Rwanda has embarked on an ambitious land tenure reform programme (LTR) aimed
at increasing security of tenure to all land owners and the elimination of all forms of
discrimination. This has largely been achieved through the establishment and implementation of
a new legal, regulatory and institutional framework.
This paper discusses the ongoing land tenure reform programme and its impact on women’s land
rights. It focuses on the role of women in the decision making in the course of developing the

Before 1999, land rights in Rwanda were governed by three regimes: customary
(traditional) law, colonial laws still in effect, and laws enacted after independence. In each of
these, men were privileged in ownership and control of land whereas women were excluded
or had fewer rights.
The 1999 Succession Law restructured and harmonized land ownership in Rwanda,
superseding all prior legislation. A significant portion of these changes related to gender
equality. Equal rights to umunani (umunani or ascending partition is an act accomplished by

ILC initiated the Framing the Debate series in response to the clear need to facilitate a deeper understanding of the key topics at the centre of current land governance debates.

Last 25-26 October 2010, the Association for Land Reform and Rural Development (ALRD), the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) and the International Land Coalition (ILC) jointly organised this Regional Workshop on Women and Land Rights, as a response to the urgent need to cast the spotlight on women and their access to and ownership of land. The objectives of the workshop were identifying strategic areas and developing a road map for 2011-2012, to strengthen ILC Asia’s work on women’s land rights.

El informe identifica los síntomas del sistema alimentario defectuoso: crece la población que sufre hambre, no aumenta el rendimiento de las cosechas, hay una lucha por la tierra fértil y el agua, y en los próximos años seguirán al alza los precios de los alimentos. También advierte de que hemos entrado en una nueva era de crisis donde el agotamiento de los recursos naturales de la tierra y los impactos del cambio climático, que crecen en número y en intensidad, arrastrarán a más millones de personas al hambre.

Amid the realities of major political turbulence, there was growing recognition in 2016 that the land rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are key to ensuring peace and prosperity, economic development, sound investment, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Despite equivocation by governments, a critical mass of influential investors and companies now recognize the market rationale for respecting community land rights.

Publicly elected women representatives in India ought to take advantage of their influence to defend women’s rights.

Despite the crucial role of women in family farms and small-scale agriculture, gender inequality is still present in many ways – jeopardising the food and nutrition security of millions of people.

Not only has soil degradation in Niger been halted thanks to an integrated approach combining water harvesting technologies, the application of organic residues and planting of fruit trees and vegetables. The strategy has also enabled increases in farmers’ income as well as an active involvement of the country’s largely marginalised women in food production through their gaining access to land.

Gender issues are relegated to the periphery in current debates and approaches concerning the sustainable governance of oil palm in Indonesia. However, ongoing research by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) points to the critical roles that women play as workers, smallholders and members of affected local communities. Gender inequities follow as oil palm expansion displaces local women from land on which they cultivate food crops.

A Agricultura Brasileira se destaca entre as maiores do mundo e representa uma fonte de alimentos e de matéria prima para muitos países. Nela estão presentes diversos modos de fazer Agricultura, entre os quais a produção Agrícola Familiar, encontrada em extensas e importantes regiões do país. A agricultura familiar no Brasil é crescentemente uma forma social de produção reconhecida pela sociedade brasileira, por suas contribuições materiais e imateriais.