The responsibility of producing food for the households in Sub-Saharan Africa, has largely remained in the hands of women. While this one is a reality, women’s rights to own land and use land gainfully are still not matching up with the responsibilities they have at family level.
There are still cultural practices and norms that make it hard for women to own land or to enjoy proceeds of what they have produced on the land. At international level, efforts have been put in place to provide for women’s equal rights to land. For example the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) affirmed that Women’s right to inheritance and ownership of land and property should be recognised.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) also emphasises it referring to rural women’s rights to equal treatment in land and agrarian reform processes. Women’s property rights are also an integral element towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals specifically Goal 1 on eradicating extreme poverty and Goal 3 on gender equality. (What about SDGs) The Ugandan Constitution and all laws under it recognise equal rights for both men and women over land.
However, society perceptions about women owning land are not changing at the desired pace. AIBIS is of the view that there is need for more advocacy and more information dissemination on the importance of women owning and using land. AIBIS believes that women know better the importance of land and are therefore more likely to use it sustainably if they get full rights over it.
Our intervention
Sustainable Development Goal 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” calls for promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
- Therefore, at AIBIS, we focus on addressing the underlying gender hierarchies and relevance for shaping societal practices and propagate discrimination of women and girls.
- We believe that a patriarchy free world is possible. We therefore work towards challenging and eradicating harmful social norms, cultural practices and systems that enforce inequality and perpetuate violence against women and deter them from enjoying their rights.
- We also focus on empowering and building the capacity of women and girls so that they can actively and effectively take part in decision making.
- We advocate for the implementation of existing human rights and gender equality frameworks and needed legislative reforms for improved gender equity and equality.”