Women and Land Rights Action Plan for Eastern African Sub-region
The outcome of the Sub-Regional Conference on Women and Land rights in
Eastern Africa, 29-31st October, 2001 organised by EASSI (Eastern African
sub-Regional Support Initiative) for the Advancement of Women.
Hotel Africana, Kampala
October 2001
The Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) organised a three day Sub-regional Conference on women and land rights in Kampala, Uganda, from 29th-31st October, 2001. The conference was attended by participants in the Eastern African sub-region, namely Burundi, Eriteria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as representatives from Southern African region and development partners. The conference was a follow-up to a recently concluded
research on women and land in five countries of Eastern Africa. The research, commissioned by EASSI, was done in the countries of Eriteria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The aim of the conference was to disseminate study findings, agree on a strategy and modalities to be undertaken by EASSI and other partners to increase women's access to and ownership of land in the Eastern African sub-region. The conference noted, with concern, the effects of
increasing poverty, HIV/AIDS, wars/conflict and environmental degradation on women. Furthermore, although African women are the main users of land, they continue to face formidable constraints towards access to and ownership of land.
The major outcome of the conference is the action plan, drawn at country and sub-regional levels. This plan of action is intended to address the problems and constraints identified. Some of the key issues identified at the national and sub-regional levels include:
- Lack of and/or inadequate knowledge of the law and legal rights on the part of policy makers, law enforcement agents, implementors, men and women.
- Those cultural and religious beliefs, practices and customary land tenure systems that deny women the right to own land.
- Lack of commitment by policy makers as reflected in the absence of laws to protect the land rights of women.
- Lack of involvement of men in the promotion of the rights of women to land access, ownership and control.
- Inheritance systems that discriminate against girls and women.
- Land fragmentation leading to uneconomic plots of land.
- Increasing burdens of HIV/AIDs and its effect on affected and infected girls and women. The HIV/AIDS and wars have restructured families leading to a new phenomenon of child-headed
households.
- Gaps between existing protective legislative policy and implementation.
- Inadequate human and financial resources to implement those positive laws.
- Diverse land tenure systems.
- Unharmonised land and property laws.
- Inadequate/gender insensitive land laws and policies.
- Absence of land policies.
- Increasing poverty in the region and its gendered nature.
The conference noted the need for:
- continued documentation of women's experiences on land
- addressing land issues from a multi-sectoral point of view e.g. to include education and health. However, education is a long term strategy which can address the issues of children (girls and boys). There is therefore a need for short and medium term strategies to address the needs of current adult women.
- recognising the fact that women's needs are not homogeneous.
- finding avenues for empowering poor women to organise and articulate their land needs.
- emphasizing human rights and development because land is both a human right and development issue.
- more sessions on research methods to update gender researchers.
- Adequate infrastructural support e.g. markets, agricultural inputs, credit and access to basic services.
- establishing or strengthening public fora and media strategies.
The following interventions have so far been used by the various organisations represented at the conference:
- Research
- Consultations at different levels
- Campaigns and advocacy
- Sensitisation
- Community based legal and para-legal services
- Forming strong networks
- Participation and representation of women in decision-making bodies.
Land issues are divergent and dynamic; all issues affecting women's access to and
control over land need to be addressed holistically.
The delegates at the conference committed themselves to implementing this action plan. A follow-up meeting will be held in 2 years time.
The action plan is as follows.
Women and Land Rights Action Plan at Country
Level
| ACTION |
ACTORS |
STRATEGIES |
TIME FRAME1 |
|
1. Formation and/or strengthen of a National Task Force (NTF).
|
EASSI representatives in the country, Women activists, NGOs, professional associations, relevant government departments.
|
Holding a National forum for stakeholders; EASSI to draft terms of reference for NTFs
|
By March 2002 |
|
2. Launching and conducting legal literacy programmes on Land rights and sustained sensitisation/ awareness raising at different levels.
|
NTF, relevant government departments, legal aid and para-legal centres, NGOs, women activists, lobby groups, cultural institutions and grassroots leaders.
|
Developing training materials, capacity building exercises, establishment and strengthening of para-legal units, linking up with existing initiatives, holding public fora,
involving rural women and men,using print and electronic media, popular theatre,
etc.
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
3. Lobby for amendment or enactment of gender sensitive land laws.
|
Lobby groups, relevant government departments, Professional Associations, Women's and other NGOs, Legislators.
|
Networking at all levels, targeting the judiciary, harmonise existing policies, develop IEC materials, sensitisation seminars/public dialogue at all levels and media campaigns.
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
4. Defend land rights of women and girls
|
Legal aid centres, para-legals, women activists and other NGOs, relevant government departments.
|
Handle cases and provide legal services and advice; Link, promote and build capacity for community-based support groups.
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
5. Formulation and/or Operationalise/Implement existing positive policies, laws and customary practices.
|
Relevant government departments, NTF, Legislators, Legal Aid Centres, and NGOs
|
Networking, Media Campaign, setting up relevant structures, critique of customary practices, simplify laws and procedures, inventory of existing laws and policies to identify gaps between legislation and practice
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
6. Research and documentation of women's heterogeneous experiences on land and its relationship to economic development and empowerment of women.
|
The NTF to assign individual women experts, women's NGOs and institutions dealing with research and documentation.
|
Make an inventory of existing researchs to identify gaps, studies on pastoral women, research findings to be disseminated at all levels.
|
On-going |
|
7. Lobby to increase women's representation on Land Committees and other related bodies to at least 50%.
|
Lobby groups, women's and other NGOs and CBOs, legislators, relevant government and
community structures.
|
Networking, Media campaign, capacity building and awareness raising
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
8. Lobby for supportive policy and its implementation, and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and wars and their effects on women's production and productivity.
|
Lobby groups, women and men, NGOs and CBOs, Legislators, relevant government departments, and community structures.
|
Popular theatre, electronic and print media, capacity building and sensitisation; make assessment of women and children's HIV situation; protect affected children.
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
9. Promotion of girls' education, and adult literacy
|
Women's lobby groups, NGOs, relevant government departments and local governments.
|
National campaign for girls education and adult literacy; link with existing initiatives.
|
Immediate and on-going |
1: Each country will spell out the specific time frame.
Sub-region Action Plan on Women and Land
Rights
| ACTIONS |
ACTORS |
STRATEGIES |
TIME FRAME |
|
1. Formation and launching of a sub-Regional Task Force (SRTF).
|
EASSI and representative of NTF and selected experts from the sub-region.
|
- Holding a Sub-Regional Task Force Meeting
- Country reports
|
June 2002 |
|
2. Capacity building of the NTF and of other regional actors.
|
EASSI, NTF, FAO, Habitat, Women and Law in East Africa, Action Aid, UNIFEM, IGADD, EAC, AU,
ECA, and other partners.
|
- EASSI to prepare funding proposal to donors
- Provide institutional support at different levels, and guidelines to
implement action plan.
- Conduct training on lobbying and advocacy, research methodology and
generating relevant data and information.
- Network with relevant organisations
|
After June 2002 |
|
3. Compile an inventory of all actors and what is being done at the national
and sub-regional levels.
|
EASSI, experts in the region, Development partners
|
- Publishing the inventory.
- Identify indicators for women's land rights in the sub-region and build
consensus on issues of advocacy at the sub-regional level.
- Document progress in the sub-region.
|
Immediate and on-going |
|
4. Information sharing and networking.
|
All Stakeholders on Women's Land Rights.
|
- Publication of an annual Sub-Regional Newsletter.
- Fundraising to support networking activities.
- Use of e-mail and other electronic services
|
On-going |
|
5. Holding a sub-Regional conference on women's Land/Property Rights with
Governments, Women's NGO's/Human rights and other relevant bodies.
|
EASSI,stakeholders |
Share experiences and report on progress |
October 2003 |
| 6. Monitoring and evaluation |
EASSI, SRTF and NTFs |
Develop indicators and follow up on implementation of the action plan
|
Immediate - on-going |
For more information, contact Jane Gitau, Program Officer, Communications &
Networking, EASSI at eassi@africaonline.co.ug
|
![WOUGNET - Women of Uganda Network [Logo]](/img/WOUGNETlogo.gif)
