Land Rights

Predicament of Landlessness: A Critical Study of Women’s Rights over Land in Assam

Citation:

Hazarika, Kanki, and V. Sita.  2020. “Predicament of Landlessness: A Critical Study of Women’s Rights over Land in Assam.” South Asian Survey 27 (1): 19–36.

Authors: Kanki Hazarika, V. Sita

Abstract:

Land rights to women is one of the significant markers of a gender-just society. It is a basic human right that provides welfare, economic and social security, strong bargaining power and various other benefits. Ownership right over land is also critical to the citizens in terms of exercising and availing rights guaranteed by the state. Based on a narrative from the fieldwork done among the Bodos in Assam, this paper explores the significance of land rights in accessing various rights and welfare programmes and how women are affected in this regard due to lack of land rights. It discusses how a woman’s lack of rights over land can lead to a status of homelessness and place her in a socially and economically precarious position. The landlessness or homelessness status restricts her from accessing various benefits provided by the state. In this context, the paper also looks into the social construction of gendered norms on land rights of the Bodo community. Construction of societal norms on individual’s rights over landed property, inheritance are generally determined by kinship and affinal ideologies of a community. Such norms are often gendered that deny rights to women over this material resource. The most affected are the single, widow and separated women who have no support from the families. Communities having patriarchal ideologies consider women as passive, dependent and secondary subject and accordingly, gendered norms are constructed. Even the state apparatuses, which is often male-dominated, locate woman within the realm of the family and design policies for women as ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘dependents.’ The gendered norms on land rights of a community have a broader impact that goes beyond the community level and enmeshed with the affairs of the state.

Keywords: Bodo, community, citizen, land rights, norms, state, women

Topics: Citizenship, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Rights, Human Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2020

Licensing of Artisanal Mining on Private Land in Uganda: Social and Economic Implications for Female Spouses and Women Entrepreneurs

Citation:

Sebina-Zziwa, Abby, and Richard Kibombo.  2020. “Licensing of Artisanal Mining on Private Land in Uganda: Social and Economic Implications for Female Spouses and Women Entrepreneurs.” Canadian Journal of African Studies 54 (1): 101–17.

Authors: Abby Sebina-Zziwa, Richard Kibombo

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Based on research conducted from October 2015 through June 2018, this paper highlights the social and economic implications of licensing artisanal mining on women’s land rights in Uganda. It also brings to the fore how artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) governance is affecting women’s participation in the sector. It examines how women as spouses and as entrepreneurs in the ASM sector are affected by the prevailing local governance structures and land tenure arrangements; the arrangements in place to ensure that female spouses get a share of compensation and other long-term benefits from ASM; and the ramifications of the lacuna between policy and enforcement on spouses and on women engaged in the ASM sector. The results show that the rights of women in the ASM sector are subjugated to social cultural practices, contradictory laws regarding women’s land rights, poor law enforcement, and weak structures for ASM governance.
 
FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Basé sur des recherches conduites entre octobre 2015 et juin 2018, cet article met en lumière les implications sociales et économiques de l’octroi de licences d’exploitation minière artisanale sur les droits fonciers des femmes en Ouganda. Il met également en évidence la façon dont la gouvernance de l’exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle (EMAPE) affecte la participation des femmes dans le secteur. Il examine comment les femmes, en tant que conjointes et entrepreneures dans le secteur de l’EMAPE sont affectées par les structures de gouvernance locale et les régimes fonciers en vigueur; les dispositions en place pour faire en sorte que les conjointes reçoivent une part de la rémunération et des autres avantages à long terme de l’EMAPE; et les ramifications de la lacune entre la politique et l’application de la loi sur les conjoints et sur les femmes engagées dans le secteur de l’EMAPE. Les résultats montrent que les droits des femmes engagées dans le secteur de l’EMAPE sont soumis aux pratiques socioculturelles, aux lois contradictoires concernant les droits fonciers des femmes, à la mauvaise application des lois et à la faiblesse des structures de gouvernance de l’EMAPE.

Keywords: private registered land, artisanal mining, women's surface rights, legal pluralism, hybrid governance

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Uganda

Year: 2020

The Gendered Transformation of Land Rights and Feminisation of Hill Agriculture in Arunachal Pradesh: Insights from Field Survey

Citation:

Upadhyay, Vandana. 2020. “The Gendered Transformation of Land Rights and Feminisation of Hill Agriculture in Arunachal Pradesh: Insights from Field Survey.” In Land and Livelihoods in Neoliberal India, edited by D. Mishra, and P. Nayak, 283-307. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

Author: Vandana Upadhyay

Abstract:

This chapter investigates the transformation of land rights and changing gender distribution of work and employment in rural Arunachal Pradesh. Using a two-period time-use survey data, it is argued that in the backdrop of commercialisation of agriculture and development of informal private property rights over agricultural land, women farmers are increasingly being marginalised. On average women are spending more labour days in farm operations than men and the weekly average time spent by them in primary agricultural activities are found to be more than men in recent years. Thus, male-centric private property rights over land have emerged and explicitly expanded during a period of increasing feminisation of agriculture and higher work burden of women in crop farming as men move out from the farm to other non-farm activities.

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2020

Climate Change Adaptation and Women's Land Rights in Uganda and Kenya: Creating Legal Pathways for Building the Resilience of Women

Citation:

Kabaseke, Charlotte. 2020. “Climate Change Adaptation and Women's Land Rights in Uganda and Kenya: Creating Legal Pathways for Building the Resilience of Women.” Gender & Behavior 18 (2): 15458–5475.

Author: Charlotte Kabaseke

Abstract:

Climate change poses a considerable threat for women in developing countries due to their unique vulnerabilities. In East Africa, women largely depend on land for their livelihood. They are responsible for generative tasks, among others, food and energy supply for their households and are involved in 70 % of agricultural production and labour, yet they have limited land rights. Whereas the law at international, regional (Africa), Sub - regional (East African) and national levels guarantees women's right to land ownership, women still have limited access, use, control and ownership of land. This is mainly due to the deep rooted patriarchal society and cultural practices and beliefs. As a result, women are unable to use the land to invest in lasting adaptation measures. This paper analyses the connection between land rights of women and climate change adaptation in Uganda and Kenya and how existing law and policy respond to the normative gaps and practices in respect to land rights of women. The paper examines the legal provisions on women's rights to land at the international, regional, sub-regional and national levels to identify state compliance with the legal provisions in respect to women's land rights. The paper argues that whereas the law guarantees women's land rights, there has been a problem of implementation due to cultural barriers and stereotypes. This article is primarily a desk study where descriptive and analytical methods are used. The doctrinal research approach is employed, where a review of the legal framework on the land rights of women at international, regional, sub regional and national levels is done. Secondary data on women's land rights and their role in enhancing women's adaptive capacity and resilience is reviewed. The article reveals that ensuring women's land rights is key in enhancing their adaptive capacity, hence strengthening their resilience. 

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya, Uganda

Year: 2020

Vulnerability and Resilience of Female Farmers in Oku, Cameroon, to Climate Change

Citation:

Azong, Matilda, Clare J. Kelso, and Kammila Naidoo. 2018. "Vulnerability and Resilience of Female Farmers in Oku, Cameroon, to Climate Change." African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie 22 (1): 31-53. 

Authors: Matilda Azong, Clare J. Kelso, Kammila Naidoo

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
The experience of climate change is filtered through ones existing cultural, social and economic vulnerabilities. The rural poor in natural resource dependent communities in various African countries are likely to be negatively affected by climate change. In many cultures female farmers are considerably worse off than their male counterparts. This study makes use of a life history methodology in order to examine the particular nature of the vulnerability experienced by rural women in Oku in the Bamenda Highlands region of Cameroon. Gender is linked to vulnerability through a number of factors. These include access to and control over land, division of labour, marriage relationships, access to education and responsibility for dependents. Participants’ life histories show how vulnerability in the region develops over time and is both complex and non-linear. Nevertheless, the participants expressed how they used their agency, both individual and collective, in coping with vulnerability. They narrate different adaptation strategies employed including livelihood diversification, and changing farming practices. Understanding the role of gender in shaping women’s vulnerability is useful in informing the design and implementation of adaptation policies. This article makes an empirical contribution to the discussions on the need to engender climate change research, policy and actions.
 
FRENCH ABSTRACT:
L’expérience du changement climatique est filtrée à travers les vulnérabilités culturelles, sociales et économiques existantes. Les ruraux pauvres des communautés dépendantes des ressources naturelles dans divers pays africains sont susceptibles d’être négativement affectés par le changement climatique. Dans de nombreuses cultures, les agricultrices sont nettement moins bien loties que leurs homologues masculins. Cette étude utilise une méthodologie d’histoire de vie afin d’examiner la nature particulière de la vulnérabilité des femmes rurales à Oku dans la région des hautes terres de Bamenda au Cameroun. Le genre est lié à la vulnérabilité à travers un certain nombre de facteurs. Ceux-ci comprennent l’accès et le contrôle de la terre, la division du travail, les relations matrimoniales, l’accès à l’éducation et la responsabilité des personnes à charge. Les histoires de vie des participants montrent comment la vulnérabilité dans la région se développe avec le temps et est à la fois complexe et non linéaire. Néanmoins, les participants ont expliqué comment ils ont utilisé leur agence, individuelle et collective, pour faire face à la vulnérabilité. Ils décrivent différentes stratégies d’adaptation utilisées, y compris la diversification des moyens de subsistance et l’évolution des pratiques agricoles. Comprendre le rôle du genre dans la détermination de la vulnérabilité des femmes est utile pour éclairer la conception et la mise en œuvre des politiques d’adaptation. Cet article apporte une contribution empirique aux discussions sur la nécessité d’engendrer des recherches, des politiques et des actions sur le changement climatique.
 

Keywords: vulnerability, Cameroon, gender, life history, climate, resilience

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gender Analysis, Women, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Cameroon

Year: 2018

Territorio y el ser decolonial: Pervivencia de las mujeres y los pueblos en tiempos de conflicto, paz y desarrollo

Citation:

Gruner, Sheila. 2018. "Territorio y el ser decolonial: Pervivencia de las mujeres y los pueblos en tiempos de conflicto, paz y desarrollo." In Movimientos indígenas y autonomías en América Latina: Escenarios de disputa y horizontes de posibilidad, edited by Flores Pavel C. López and Guerreiro Luciana García, 259-84. Buenos Aires, Argentina: CLACSO.

Author: Sheila Gruner

Abstract:

SPANISH ABSTRACT:

La autonomía de los movimientos étnico-territoriales está orientada por conceptualizaciones de territorio y los derechos políticoterritoriales, y las relaciones sociales de producción que se producen y reproducen dentro del mismo territorio. Para entender lo que está en juego para pueblos indígenas y negros tanto como sociedad en general, se requiere abordar temas del desarrollo, conflicto y paz en su conjunto, mirar las tendencias de violencia contra las mujeres, y las mujeres racializadas en específico, desde un marco crítico, global y decolonial, tanto como anti-racista y depatriarcal. En este artículo serán explorados movimientos étnico-territoriales en Colombia y Canadá, examinando aquellos que han avanzado hacia formulaciones ontológicas alternativas al desarrollo, representado en conceptos como el buen vivir, ubuntu, y mino-bimaadiziwin. En este escrito se examinarán de igual forma los esfuerzos de los pueblos indígenas y negros en Colombia en cuanto a la construcción de la paz, la defensa del territorio y su autonomía, y la inclusión del Capítulo Étnico en los Acuerdos de paz de la Habana.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

The autonomy of ethno-territorial movements is oriented by conceptualizations of territory, political and territorial rights and the social relations of production that are produced and reproduced within this same territory. To understand what is at stake for indigenous and black people, as well as for society in general, issues of development, conflict, and peace must be addressed in relation to each other, examining tendencies of violence against women and racialized women in particular, from within a critical, global and decolonial framework, that is also anti-racist and depatriarchal. Ethno-territorial movements in Colombia and Canada will be explored, examining those that express ontologies alternative to that which underpins dominant development, represented in concepts such as good life, ubuntu and mino-bimaadiiziwin. Efforts of indigenous and afrocolombian communities will also be explored in relation to the construction of peace, the defense of territory, autonomy and will centre on the inclusion of the Ethnic Chapter in the Havana Peace Accords.

Keywords: decolonial, buen vivir, good life, ubuntu, mino-bimaadiiziwin, movimiento etno-territorial, ethnoterritorial movement, territorio ancestral, ancestral territory, Acuerdos de Habana, Havana Accords, Ethnic Chapter, Capitulo Etnico

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Conflict, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peacebuilding, Race, Rights, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, North America, South America Countries: Canada, Colombia

Year: 2018

Power and Rights in the Community: Paralegals as Leaders in Women’s Legal Empowerment in Tanzania

Citation:

Dancer, Helen. 2018. “Power and Rights in the Community: Paralegals as Leaders in Women’s Legal Empowerment in Tanzania.” Feminist Legal Studies 26 (1): 47–64.

Author: Helen Dancer

Abstract:

What can an analysis of power in local communities contribute to debates on women’s legal empowerment and the role of paralegals in Africa? Drawing upon theories of power and rights, and research on legal empowerment in African plural legal systems, this article explores the challenges for paralegals in facilitating women’s access to justice in Tanzania, which gave statutory recognition to paralegals in the Legal Aid Act 2017. Land conflicts represent the single-biggest source of local legal disputes in Tanzania and are often embedded in gendered land tenure relations. This article argues that paralegals can be effective actors in women’s legal empowerment where they are able to work as leaders, negotiating power relations and resisting the forms of violence that women encounter as obstacles to justice. Paralegals’ authority will be realised when their role is situated within community leadership structures, confirming their authority while preserving their independence.

Keywords: access to justice, legal pluralism, paralegals, Tanzania, women's land rights, legal empowerment

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Justice, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2018

Understanding Women's Land Rights: Gender Discrimination in Ownership

Citation:

Chowdhry, Prem. 2017. Understanding Women's Land Rights: Gender Discrimination in Ownership. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Author: Prem Chowdhry

Annotation:

Table of Contents:
1. Editor's Introduction, Persisting Gender Discrimination in Land Rights
Prem Chowdhry

2. Land Rights and Land Access to Women in Andhra Pradesh
E. Revathi

3. Engendering Tribal Land Rights for Gendering the Land: A Case Study Among Apatani and Nyishi Communities
Rimi Tadu

4. Gender Issues in Landownership in Chhattisgarh: Existing Land Laws, Policies, and Practices
Ramesh Sharma

5. Women and Land Rights in the Context of Legal Propertied Equality in Goa
Ritu Dewan

6. Women Empowerment Through Landownership Rights: Critical Assessment of Their Status in Gujarat
Itishree Pattnaik

7. Gendering the Landownership Question in Jammu and Kashmir
Abha Chauhan

8. Understanding Women and Land Rights in Jharkhand
M. N. Karna

9. Land, Land Rights, and Women in Maharashtra
Ritu Dewan

10. Women's Access and Ownership of Land: A Case of Mizoram State in India
Saroj Arora

11. Gender and Land Relations in Nagaland: Emerging Issues
Khunenchu Magh

12. Persisting Inequalities: Gender and Land Rights in Rajasthan
Kanchan Mathur

13. Locating Gender in Land Rights Discourse of Sikkim
Sohel Firdos

14. Women's Land Rights in the Context of Neo-liberal Tamil Nadu
Ranjani K. Murthy

15. Gender Justice and Law: A Gender-specific Study of Landownership in Uttarakhand
Indu Pathak

 

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Indigenous, Land Tenure, Rights, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2017

Tierras, mujeres y niñez. Familia y conflicto armado

Citation:

Zorio, Sandra. 2015. “Tierras, mujeres y niñez. Familia y conflicto armado.” Revista Derecho del Estado 35: 295-315.

Author: Sandra Zorio

Abstract:

SPANISH ABSTRACT:
Este artículo pretende realizar un análisis socio-jurídico sobre la situación de las mujeres, los niños, niñas y adolescentes y su derecho a la tierra, específicamente, en la aplicación de la Ley de Víctimas y Restitución de Tierras. Se pretende demostrar que a pesar de existir un conjunto de normativas amplias y garantistas en favor de estas poblaciones, las instituciones del Estado encargadas de los temas de tierras no logran recoger en sus procedimientos de política pública la realidad sociológica de las familias desplazadas, y por consiguiente, las mujeres, los niños, niñas y adolescentes quedan excluidos de los mecanismos de acceso al goce efectivo de sus derechos. Todo esto, porque en el Estado habita una noción de familia anacrónica y poco coincidente con la realidad campesina, modelo que supone a la familia como un grupo jerárquico en el que el hombre es el líder y las mujeres y sus hijos e hijas, una especie de auxiliares. 

Keywords: tierras, Mujeres, niños, niñas y adolescentes, Conflicto Armado, familia

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Gender, Women, Rights, Land Rights

Year: 2015

Acceso de mujeres indígenas a la tierra, el território y los recursos naturales em América Latina y el Caribe

Citation:

Velásquez Nimatuj, Irma A. 2018. Acceso de mujeres indígenas a la tierra, el território y los recursos naturales em América Latina y el Caribe. Guatemala: Oficina Regional de ONU Mujeres para las Américas y el Caribe; La Paz: Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe (FILAC).

Author: Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj

Abstract:

SPANISH ABSTRACT:
El “Acceso de las mujeres indígenas a la tierra, el territorio y los recursos naturales en América Latina y el Caribe”, elaborado por la Antropóloga Maya K’ichee’, Doctora y Maestra en Antropología Social Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj, ofrece una panorámica regional sobre la temática junto con casos de estudio y recomendaciones clave. Su elaboración se enmarca en el trabajo de colaboración entre la Oficina Regional de ONU Mujeres para las Américas y el Caribe, y el Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe (FILAC), para promover el pleno ejercicio de los derechos de las mujeres indígenas.
El documento ofrece, en primer lugar, un análisis sobre los significados que tienen la tierra, el territorio y los recursos naturales para las mujeres indígenas, seguido de una descripción del estado actual y el marco legal internacional y de derechos de las mujeres indígenas. En segundo lugar describe once casos de estudio de acceso a la tierra, territorios y recursos naturales de las mujeres nasa yuwe (páez) de Colombia, las mujeres mapuches de Chile, las mujeres zapatistas de Chiapas, México, las mujeres indígenas de Paraguay, las mujeres maya-q´eqchi´ de Lote Ocho de Guatemala, las mujeres miskitas de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua, las mujeres térraba (teribe o broran) de Costa Rica, el proyecto “mujeres indígenas y gobernanza de la tierra” de ONAMIAP de Perú, las mujeres gunas o kuna de Panamá, las mujeres guaraníes del Chaco boliviano, y las mujeres garífunas de la Costa Caribeña de Honduras. Seguidamente ofrece una descripción sobre los retos que enfrentan las mujeres indígenas para gozar de sus derechos de acceso a la tierra, territorios y recursos naturales, así como una serie de buenas prácticas y recomendaciones. 

Topics: Gender, Women, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America, South America Countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru

Year: 2018

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