Report on Women’s Access to Land and Security of Tenure

 by Agneta Ericsson

As a part of the Swedish preparatory work at the prospect of HABITAT II in Istanbul, an international workshop on "Womenþs Access, Control and Tenure of Land Property and Settlement" was carried out in Gävle, Sweden, in October 1995.

The purpose of the workshop was to gather together a number of experts from different parts of the world in order to discuss and identify two fundamental questions "What are women's legal rights to land and settlement today?" and "What are the obstacles or mechanisms behind the fact that women have less control and management over land use than men?". The workshop should result in a list of recommendations to assure that women are granted the same rights to land as men are.

 During the seminar conclusions and recommendations were set-up. Many of these recommendations are relevant to Land Surveyors, e.g., in his/her performance in building-up cadastral systems. The following is summarised relevant background information and conclusions from the Gävle Seminar, which may be useful in further discussions among Commission 7, on how to improve Women’s Access to Land and Security of Tenure.

 Background

 An increasing understanding of human rights has during recent years focused more and more on women rights and gender questions. Legislation makes little or no difference between men and women, but real life does. 

A quarter of the households at the international level are run by women. This figure varies from country to country but may in some countries come close to 50 % (Women and land development, Abidjan-95). Accordingly, households are never homogenous entities and neither are families. Women and men have different functions within the family as well as outside of it. This implies that men recieve different information, possibilities and status than women. In addition, attitudes and traditions guide female behaviour, not to get involved in land issues. Taken together, these factors give rise to different degrees of actual control of land.

 Women's dilemmas in the third world are connected with poor economy, informal settlements, as well as working around the clock. These leave no time for participation in land management matters, especially if it implies a long trip to a distant authority. Lack of information and illiteracy are other factors. The consequences are social barriers, isolation and no participation in decision-making processes.

 Some opinions regarding relations between women and land tenure

• Customary laws prevent women from owning land while civil laws do not.

• Discrimination against female-headed households, by only allowing married couples to count two incomes in getting access to housing and not, for example, two sisters.

• Married women who are not allowed to transact property without their husband's permission, whereas, husbands do not have to consult their wives.

• Inheritance laws, giving women only half of what a male heir gets.

• Married women losing their property when their husbands sell behind their backs.

Informal settlements

"Women-headed households represent a significant proportion of women living in informal settlements. Most often women are marginalised, rejected by traditional structures and with no socio-economic status, which permit them to integrate in the formal and legal structures of society. This category of people have the tendency to be very mobile, which neither favours regularization nor consolidation of the living environment. Women living in informal settlements do not have a well defined social status. They find themselves locked in a vicious circle: they live in informal settlements because they are marginalised; they are further marginalised because they live in informal settlements". (Abidjan Interregional Seminar,-95)

A summary of conclusions and recommendation’s from the Gävle Seminar, that may be relevant to Land Surveyors working with cadastral reform programs

To create an enabling environment to ensure that women and men have equal access to land and property rights;

• improve the registration system to simplify and promote transparency in administrative procedures;

• encourage financial institutions to improve women's access to credit and develop strategies for subsidies, incentives, and co-operative financing to support the disadvantaged and special target groups (e.g., female headed families);

• involve women in all activities related to land and property, including financing, planning, management, law and politics and promote development projects which can identify and formulate a gender sensitive perspective;

• financial independence between men and women through, e.g., separate taxation.

To review, modify and clarify existing legislation;

• all constitutions must uphold the fundamental right of equality between men and women and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender.

• correct legal inconsistencies especially the ones which work against women;

• introduce co-ownership registration among couples, the family and the community or co-operative; including mutual consent of the spouses in the various transactions within the context of a joint property regime or arrangement;

To implement and enforce law;

• develop and implement gender sensitivity policies in the government and legal systems, including adoption of existing international conventions;

• promote and encourage active participation of women's group in monitoring the implementation of laws, policies and programmes related to access to land and shelter;

• ensure that inheritance laws and /or practices result in equitable rights to own land and property between men and women;

• support implementation and completion of land titling, land registration, and cadastral systems and monitor the programs to ensure women's rights are protected.

To promote communication, education and monitoring

• develop and implement a public awareness campaign for schools, communities, governments at all levels, religious institutions, and the general public;

• dissemination of information and training of women groups to access available technological and financial resources that would enable women to develop land effectively;

• encourage development of women's participation; through groups/networking, information campaigns;

• promote counselling institutions, reference centres, women's legal aid centres;

• continuous monitoring by law associations, NGOs and other civic and peoples’ organisations.