Land, Violence and Womxn’s Bodies: An Overview of Implications of Land Reform and Customary Law on the Rights of Women in South Africa

Citation:

Songca, Rushiella. 2018. “Land, Violence and Womxn’s Bodies: An Overview of Implications of Land Reform and Customary Law on the Rights of Women in South Africa.” Agenda 32 (4): 3-9.

Author: Rushiella Songca

Abstract:

This focus on Land, Violence and Womxn’s bodies seeks to re-centre the debate on land as it relates to womxn’s bodies. It highlights the dynamics engendered by womxn’s struggles for land, it explores the interface between womxn’s rights and customary practices and demonstrates how womxn’s bodies, like land, have been shamed and celebrated. This issue commemorates (un)celebrated womxn who continue to fight for their rights to land. It incorporates themes on gender discrimination and land allocation, and it problematises the extent to which land reform and other interventions have attempted to address gender inequalities which relate to the rights of womxn to communal and commercial land.

Keywords: gender, inequality, land, communal land, land redistribution, womxn's bodies

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2018