Malawi is facing increasing land scarcity and food insecurity for its large rural population and is in the midst of an on-going land policy reform process. This report asks how these reforms may affect women's land rights in a situation of increasing scarcity and competition for land. Reforms include the formalisation of customary land rights as private land rights as a way to ensure tenure security and equitable access to land. It warns that through this approach, women's rights may become increasingly marginalised.

Are women's equal rights to land, housing and property implemented in East Africa? How are land rights translated into national legislation in the Region? This books explores land, housing and property rights in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, and looks at how relevant international treaties are transformed into national legislation and policies in these three countries. A detailed analysis of constitutions and laws on land, housing, inheritance, marriage and divorce laws is also offered.

Case study of the gender aspects of small-scale farming in the Vihiga District of Kenya, focusing on gender differences in access, control and ownership of land, and gender relations and attitudes to land tenure.

An investigation of the potential gender implications of the shift from communal to more individualised forms of land tenure in the Bambara area of Mali.

In Africa, the pursuit of gender equality in inheritance rights remains one of the most difficult challenges due to its entrenched patriarchal characteristics. This is also the case in the rural communities of South-Eastern Nigeria. This article investigates gender discrimination in the region, among the Igbo ethnic group, with regard to land property rights; and makes policy recommendations to overcome the failures of past intervention efforts, many of which considered this problem as too culturally sensitive.

The biofuel boom has become a core issue in Zimbabwean land and development debates. Biofuels require large tracts of land for production; and the land acquisition programmes by the various state, non-state actors and individuals have been termed ‘land grabbing’. The increasing global demand for biofuels has different gender specific socio-economic and environmental effects in Zimbabwe. Males and females in the biofuel producing zone may face a differential risk matrix, comprising different issues.

Less than 2% of the land available worldwide is owned by women. Why is the issue of land so gendered? What approaches and lessons learned can development professionals utilise to address the issue of gender and land? Data demonstrates a glaring gender gap in land holdings in all regions of the world. This is regardless of the fact that women produce 60% to 80% of food in developing countries. This working paper highlights critical issues concerning gender and land and provides an overview of the international and regional legal and policy context.

What can development cooperation do to improve gender-responsiveness of land tenure development' Central to this objective is the mainstreaming of gender considerations into all areas (macro, meso and micro levels) of development cooperation which influence access to, control over, and benefits from land. This paper outlines the situation of women with regard to land tenure worldwide, and the challenge for development cooperation in addressing the gap between gender imbalances in land tenure and internationally declared aims for gender equality.

Studies have shown that a key factor associated with rural poverty is access to land. Yet in many parts of India there remains a huge gender gap in land ownership and control - with significant implications for women's economic and social status.

Across Africa, land is integral to identity and existence. Access to, and ownership of land for women is often problematic – particularly when laws and culture collide. Land issues, including family property matters, are often determined within entrenched cultural norms, resulting in the application of a hybrid legal interpretation of both customary and national law that leaves many women at a disadvantage. Under the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015, the Commonwealth Secretariat has spearheaded efforts to secure women’s rights to land in Africa.

Previously in China, all land was controlled by the communes. Over the past twenty years, with the break up of the communes, new land tenure arrangements have given greater control over land to individual households. This essay argues that recent transfers in land tenure between households have caused women to lose rights and decision making power over land, as well as possibilities to benefit from land. Men's migration to cities has caused a 'feminisation' of agriculture which fuels a market for tenure transfer.

As governments, the private sector, multilateral institutions, and international development organisations weigh the options for improving food security around the world, they must consider one of the most promising elements for addressing the needs of the world’s hungry and malnourished: secure land rights. Addressing land rights issues—in particular, women’s land rights—in programmes and policies designed to address food security and nutrition through agriculture can deepen the impact of those interventions and lead to improved development outcomes.