The authors review the literature on land markets in South Asia to clarify what's known and to highlight unresolved issues. They report that: (1) We have a good understanding of why sharecropping persists and why it can be superior to other standard agricultural contracts. We have less understanding of what determines the relative efficiency of sharecropping in different environments and why other apparently superior contractual relationships are rare.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the only international treaty specifically focused on preventing discrimination against women and explicitly dealing with rural women and their rights (Art. 14). On 18 December 1979, the Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It entered into force as an international treaty on 3 September 1981 after the twentieth country had ratified it.

[From Youtube.com] In September 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya, IDRC hosted the policy symposium, Gendered Terrain: Women's Rights and Access to Land in Africa. At this symposium, researchers from across Africa shared their findings and engaged with policymakers. These 11 short videos present valuable insight from some of the symposium's participants.

[From allAfrica] Freetown — Shortly after her father died, Sia Bona's husband's family took over her father's oil-palm plantation and rice paddies, and drove her and her mother from their home. "I came from riches, but now I am poor," said the 45-year-old teacher from Koidu town in eastern Sierra Leone.

[from UNWomen]  When Thabita Mukamusana’s partner died shortly after the birth of their child, she raised their son without hope of connecting him to his paternal family, or his inheritance, in her village in south-west Rwanda. Because the boy had been born outside of marriage, she believed that any claim would be impossible. Yet things recently turned around when she was able to access free legal aid for herself and her son, now 19.

La Declaración Final de la Conferencia sobre Reforma Agraria y Desarrollo Rural (CIRADR), celebrada en Marzo de 2006 en Porto Alegre, Brasil, ha inspirado las reflexiones iniciales:

“Reconocemos que las políticas y prácticas para ampliar el acceso cierto a la tierra, al agua y demás recursos naturales y el suministro de servicios rurales deberían ser revisadas para lograr el completo respeto de los derechos y aspiraciones de la población rural, mujeres y grupos vulnerables, incluyendo comunidades rurales tradicionales e indígenas...”

The 2008 report by ActionAid suggests that, since women and girls are overrepresented among poor and excluded people, the food crisis is having a particularly harsh impact on them.  According to the FAO, even before the current crisis women made up 60% of the chronically hungry.

[adapted from ActionAid] October, 2012- The report states that the importance of land to rural women goes beyond growing food. Having secure access to, and independent control over, land can mean the difference between, on the one hand, enjoying rights such as education and freedom from violence or, on the other, continual subjugation in society. ActionAid view security of land tenure for impoverished rural communities as a fundamental component of dignified, sustainable development and a crucial step towards reducing poverty and reducing inequality.

[via UN-HABITAT] How can we judge if a land tool is responsive to both women and men’s needs?

Despite progress on women’s rights, rights to land and security of tenure are not enjoyed equally by women and men in many parts of the world. This goes against international human rights, and also impacts negatively on households and the economy.

The report of the discussion that took place online in September 2012 is now online!!! (Special thanks to Andrea...) Check it in the attachement below. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information, we would be glad to recveive more feed back from you. Jai jagat!

[via FAO] This technical guide aims to assist implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines by providing guidance that supports the Guidelines' principle of gender equality in tenure governance. The guide focuses on equity and on how land tenure can be governed in ways that address the different needs and priorities of women and men. It moves away from long-standing debates about gender equality in access to land, towards the mainstreaming of gender issues to achieve more gender-equitable participation in the processes and institutions that underlie all decision-making about land.