The gender and land governance action learning programme aims to identify and test approaches that address barriers to realising women’s land rights. Given the complexity in land governance and gender relations and the close link with agricultural development and the protection of livelihoods, the programme implements context specific projects run by interdisciplinary teams of members of local associations and NGOs. KIT supports the analytical and comparative research components and aims to generate knowledge that is useful across different contexts.

Threats to land rights

Most countries in Africa have a large rural population for whom land is a vital resource to secure food, energy and livelihoods. However their right to land is constantly under threat by policies of land privatisation, private and family land grabbing, biased laws and practices, and the socio-economic impact of natural disasters and conflict, to mention only some. Women and men’s relationship with land is very different and as a result the way they experience these threats differs significantly. Their needs and concerns regarding this resource are varied due to their different position and condition in society.

A greater understanding

The aim of the action learning programme is to better understand how land governance institutions work, in particular for women and identify and test approaches to increase equitable governance and address underlying barriers for gender responsiveness of those institutions.

In 2012, KIT and the Centre for Basic Research (CBR Uganda) organised a writeshop with 5 civil society organisations to  share, analyse and document their work and their approaches towards achieving equitable land justice and governance with a particular focus on challenges for women to realise their land rights. In 2013, an action-learning programme on gender and land rights has been developed as a result of the writeshop and situational analysis. Three civil society organisations, in collaboration with local women’s associations, will design their own learning programme and develop and test new ways to address inequity in land governance institutions.

Results and implementation

Both the framework and the case studies that resulted from the write shop in Uganda are finalised and will be published 2014 followed by a public debate on gender and land rights in Uganda. They present the vast body of knowledge which is often underestimated by the international community, the government and sometimes by CSOs themselves or their peers. The communication around the paper is expected to influence the national policy debate and the action learning projects. The implementation of action learning projects will start in December 2013. They will directly address and influence the practices of local institutions like the Land Courts, the Land Boards as well as customary authorities.