At the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver in June, Dr. Monica Mhoja made an impassioned case for land ownership rights for women.
"We understand that land is life," Mhoja, the Tanzania Program Director for Landesa, told the crowd gathered. "Land is dignity. Land is destiny. Land is hope. Land is empowerment of women and equality. And land is power. The power to prosper. To thrive."
Global population is projected for a rise from the present tally of about 7.1 billion to over 9 billion around 2050. This translates into an annual demand of over one billion extra tonnes of extra cereals and 200 million tonnes of livestock products, which means more aggressive agricultural expansion. Is this a problem? There are two ways to view it: we will need to produce more food and more importantly, produce more nutritious food. The latter has lately been a key challenge in the global food sector: eradicate hunger with high-quality food (Sustainable Development Goal 2).
Advancing women’s land rights is a priority for the international development agenda. Yet, there is no consensus on which rights should be monitored and reported. Three indicators of women’s property rights are widely used in the literature. Each captures a different aspect of women’s land rights, but a recent paper explores the extent to which these different rights are held by the same person, using data from six African countries.
On the International Women’s Day – and every day – we must call out gender bias wherever we see it. The trouble is, when it comes to land and property rights, much is hidden behind closed doors. But now, a new survey is giving voice to women around the world, letting them share their perceptions of their property rights.
By Stephanie Burgos, Oxfam America, Government Affairs Associate Director for Latin America, Land Rights and Trade
Colombia has the most unequal distribution of land in Latin America, yet equitable access to land is a decisive factor for consolidating peace in Colombia.
Measuring gender inequality in land ownership is essential for assessing progress in women’s economic empowerment, tracing the impact of progressive laws on actual practice, and monitoring SDG 5 on gender equality. To effectively assess inter-gender (male-female) gaps in land ownership, however, requires multiple measures. We also need to know which women are more likely to own land by tracing intra-gender differences. To date, no study on India has provided a full range of measures on inter-gender inequality in land ownership or focused on intra-gender variations.
The present publication provides national statistical agencies and policy makers with guidance on collecting, processing, analysing and disseminating individual-level data on asset ownership and control for the production of gender statistics. Although agricultural surveys and administrative data sources are briefly addressed, the focus of the guidelines is on household surveys for two key reasons.
In Ethiopia, with support from the World Bank and others, a program uses small booklets and simple photos to give women a clear hold on their own land. It's time to think EQUAL for women and girls.
