News in 2023
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Reflections on UN CSW67
7 March, 2023, New York City, US
Claire Buxton visited the UN Compound in New York to
participate in a session on Innovation and Digital Technology - A
facilitator to Secure Land Tenure and Natural Resources for All
organised by S4HL (Stand for Her Land) during the Commission of the
Status of Women CSW67.
Claire represented FIG Commission 7 Working Group on Women’s Access to
Land with S4HL
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Up until last week, I was of the impression that if a girl,
young woman, or woman (including those who identify as such) has
someone who believes in them, then they can achieve their
dreams. With only a flying visit to CSW67, I've learnt from the
‘horse’s mouth’ that it is naive to think this when a system of
power and privilege is up against you.
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Large numbers of widows are disinherited from their lands, women are
subjected to online gender-based violence more and more, countries like
Tuvalu are ‘not drowning, but fighting’ to create a digital twin of
their ancestral lands before/as they are forced to move as the sea rises
and cyclones consume them.
The Kenyan government aims to reach 20% of all land being registered
in the name of women by this year, 2023. As a woman from Aotearoa New
Zealand where most properties are held in joint ownership or where the
numbers are close to 17% sole female ownership versus 19% male
ownership, this seemed an achievable goal. Looking at the World Bank
statistics from 2021 though, there was about 7% of women who own land
alone between the ages of 15-49 in Kenya (https://genderdata.worldbank.org/indicators/sg-own-ld/).
They are a fair way off and during this event, admitted they need help
and have reached out to partners.
I joined thousands of representatives from around our globe at the
Commission on the Status of Women 67 at UN HQ in New York. The
experience was humbling, moving, and educational. I’ll be writing a more
detailed article somewhere shortly, with the help of my FIG colleagues
because there is too much to share in a LinkedIn post. But here goes an
attempted summary:
As a representative of FIG, I personally shared some concrete ideas
on how surveyors are key and will continue to be key as we embrace
innovations and digital technology to advance gender equality and
ensuring that secure women land rights and properties is central to the
work we do towards a sustainable world.
Other panelists representing views from the Chief Registrar of Kenya,
a PhD from UN Women, South Sudan and IGAD, IFAD, Landesa, Stand For Her
Land, and a previous Women in Peace Coordinator from Guatamala. Other
countries represented in the room were Tanzania, Mexico, Norway, US, and
others I am certain
- Women (especially marginalised rural women) need to be at the
table
- Sex disaggregated data is a basic necessity!
- Digitalisation is part of the seismic shift coming our way but
the divide can grow without responsible measures in place
- Safe, affordable, and inclusive technology is required
- Recognise culture, religion, and custom in practices
- Large-scale land investments (grabbing) remain a great threat
- Allies are needed! Its all well and good speaking in a room of
feminists however, when we leave the room, a mindset shift happens.
We need allies and we need the tools to speak with those who are not
yet feminists
- Solution examples from Guatemala were a group of 15 Indigenous
leaders setting up a grassroots movement and also women making use
of GNSS/GPS for mapping municipal lands for claiming urban food
rights and using drones for projecting flood risks as well as
mapping land rights
Claire Buxton
March 2023
