WOMEN’S AGENCY IN LAND USE AND LAND JUSTICE IN UGANDA: SECURING AND PROTECTING WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS IN EASTERN & NORTHERN UGANDA 1 EDDIE NSAMBA-GAYIIYA SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, LAND & NATURAL RESOURCES TENURE SPECIALIST/POLICY ANALYST Associates Research Uganda “2015 WORLD BANK CONFERENCE ON LAND AND POVERTY” The World Bank-Washington DC, March 23-27, 2015

PRESENTATION OUTLINE 1.Key relevant issues from the literature 2.Key research parameters 3.Key research findings and their implications 4.Conclusion & Implications for policy 2

Key relevant issues from the literature 1. Land tenure dualism: co-existing customary and statutory land tenure systems are the norm across Africa. in most customary tenure regimes women’s land rights are secondary to and weaker than those of men. women gain rights through a relationship with a male (father or husband), this reveal a gender bias in favor of males these rights may change because of marriage, separation, death or because the husband marries a new wife women’s rights may be contingent on other cultural practices and norms attached to those relationships such as payment of dowry at marriage or bearing a male heir. the socio-economic status of women often impedes their ability to access, control and benefit from land 3

Key relevant issues from the literature cntnd.. 2. The indisputable nexus between sustainable development and gender equality if women worldwide had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30% and raise total agricultural output by 2.5-4% (FAO, 2011) rural women feel that secure land rights in particular increase their social and political status, and improve their sense of confidence and security (Action Aid, 2008) 3. There is a positive correlation between ensuring women’s rights to land and other productive resources and improved household welfare as well as enhanced enjoyment of a broad range of rights for women. 4

Key relevant issues from the literature contnd.. 4. A woman’s land rights are secure if:- (i)they are legally and socially legitimate (ii) they are not vulnerable to changes in her social status, family structure, or community leadership, (iii) they are granted for an extended period of time, (iv) the rights are enforceable and (v) a woman’s ability to exercise her rights does not require an additional layer of approval that only applies to women (Landesa, 2014) 5. Conflicts regarding property rights, access rights and use of resources, have a higher incidence among communal tenure households than among individualized tenure (Deninger and Costagnini, 2004) 6. Conflicts often exacerbate women’s existing problems of insecure land tenure and access, besides generating new ones (Baranyi & Weitzner, 2006). 5

2. Key research parameters Coverage: 5 districts in north and eastern Uganda (customary tenure is the predominant mode of land holding) citizens survey (1444 women respondents) and FDGs (62 respondents) Category of women respondents by marital status: married 55.6%, separated/divorced 6.6%, widows 22.4%, single/not married 5.5%, cohabiting 9.8% 3 aspects as key determinants of women’s land rights in conflict situations:- women’s education and/or literacy levels women’s access to information women’s domicile/residence and how each influences women’s land rights 6

3. Key research findings and their implications Low levels of literacy, 59.8% not able to read or write even in their local language low levels of literacy and education often a challenge to attaining women’s participation and inclusion in land governance knowledge consists of awareness of the land rights granted by law and the channels to enforce these rights Access to information info on land including laws and policy for decision making and problem solving in order to address personal and societal issues. despite low literacy levels, 89.8% of women had access to varied sources of info. radio highest at 66.7%, followed by family and friends (58.9%) and local authorities (46.4%) 7

Key research findings & implications contd.. key concern: reliability and accuracy of such info. As source of family and friends was at 58.9% ranked even higher than state/local government authorities the risk of inappropriate actions to access and defend women’s land rights surprising finding: NGOs at 3.3% and religious leaders at 10.2% the 2 platforms usually considered non- conventional and most influential in changing attitudes and behavior of social implies a failure to utilize some of the most effective channels for communicating constructive change 8

Key research findings & implications contd.. reflective of:- the fact that these may be agents/channels that are yet to be focused on as “change agents” the lesser roles that religious leaders are playing in advancing women’s rights or the inadequacy of NGOs coverage in terms of outreach to communities level of literacy limits the channels women use to access info on land rights (mostly radio, work of mouth by friends and relatives and local authorities) 9

Key research findings & implications contd.. Women’s residence or domicile the survey explored mobility or movement with respect to permanent residence women’s residence or domicile is closely linked to women’s relations with male relatives (be it father, brother, husband, in- laws.. women might be denied access to land by their in –laws or other surviving male relatives –29.5% indicated that they had ever moved residence in their lifetime The most mentioned reason for moving was marriage (45.8%), followed by acquiring land (23%) and economic/occupational reasons (20.7%) Land disputes are not a significant cause of change of residence for women at 8%. implying that women affected by conflicts do stay and possibly pursue available options of resolving such disputes/conflicts 10

Key research findings and their implications contd.. Land disputes/conflicts affecting women 67.9% of all conflicts in the communities were land- related disputes Cohabiting and divorced/separated women witnessed more land-related disputes (84.3% and 72%) than widows (66.8%), married (65.1%) and unmarried women (58.9%) 47.6% of all disputes women had personally been involved in the 2 years preceding the survey were land disputes women are sufferers and targets when land disputes take place in the community 11

Key research findings & their implications contd.. As to causes, struggles to control agricultural produce and the proceeds thereof at household level was at 16.7% points to serious gender problems in the control of productive assets (land) death of a spouse, parent or influential elder at 16.3% was also another cause of land disputes at community level –the struggles of authority between conflict resolution options were at a high of 33.5% –issue of forum/institutional shopping 12

Key research findings and their implications contd.. At personal level, the mention of ‘people claiming what is not theirs’ as a leading cause of land conflicts at 30.6% shows a serious problem of failure to produce proof of claim/ownership Uniquely, the quest to control family incomes is a stronger cause of land disputes among widows (23.2%) and divorced/separated women (54,5%) shows the gendered and fragile nature of land rights held by widows in the absence of the males, from whom they would ideally derive secure tenure 13

Key research findings & implications contd.. How women resolve conflicts on customary tenure The most common dispute resolution options used by the women were local councils (53.6%) and the clans (47.4%) In terms of marital status it was distinguishable that divorced/separated women tended to use the clans more than other categories of women. Most conflicts are resolved at first instance (52.1%) while those resolved at second instance were 21.9% and at third at 13%. Dispute resolution options solve less than half of the matters brought before them resulting is many disputes to be labelled as ‘still on-going’ (37.5%) use of customary rules alongside statutory law provides an avenue for opportunistic forum shopping for resolution of land disputes, resulting in unending conflicts. 14

Key research findings & implications contd.. Access to economic opportunities Women who experienced land disputes in the past 2 years reported better access to economic opportunities (1.3 times) than those who did not experience any dispute may be these are thrust in a public limelight, get to be known, possibly opening up opportunities for engagement thrust in the community limelight as one capable of protecting one’s land rights a woman who has retained her access to land is considered capable of understanding economic ventures 15

Key research findings & implications contd.. if a woman looses access to land by virtue of a separation or is divorced by the partner, then she will have equally lost the battle to access land implies women have lesser control over access to land, since their rights are determined on the basis of their relations with males as to choice of where to invest one’s energy and abilities, the preference is to experience with non- agricultural economic opportunities that do not require defined access rights to land land disputes therefore are a disincentive to agricultural investment for women and an incentive for investing in non-agricultural activities 16

4. Conclusions and implications for policy 1.Women are not a homogeneous group some are more vulnerable under customary tenure than others this calls for targeted interventions in policy, low, practice and the enforcement of land rights. 2. Land laws are not enough; women’s land rights cannot be effectively protected without considering marriage/family laws, inheritance laws and customary laws and practices in addition to the statutory land laws laws and customs related to marriage and inheritance are particularly relevant in the even of breakdown of the household due to desertion, divorce, death or migration of male head of household. 17

Conclusions and implications for policy contd.. 4. The use of customary rules alongside statutory law provides an avenue for opportunistic forum shopping which results in unending conflicts this calls for harmonization of customary law with statutory law and streamlining the operations of the dispute resolution structures and institutions 5. It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between land tenure status, gender relations, conflicts/disputes, land use and agricultural investment and productivity at household level. 6. It is critically important to understand the different barriers to women’s land tenure security and empowering women to take steps to overcome the obstacles they face 18

Conclusions and implications for policy contd.. 7. Women who engage in land disputes have a preference for investment in non-agricultural activities than those that required defined rights to land such as agricultural production land disputes are a disincentive to investment in agriculture but encourage exploration in non- agricultural activities strengthening women’s rights to land contributions not only to gender equality but also to poverty reduction, since women are responsible for household subsistence production and welfare 19

Conclusions and implications for policy contd.. land policy and legislation ought to provide incentives for women to continue to invest in agriculture by securing their access to land in marriage, at divorce and in succession 8. There is need to complement legal reforms with awareness raising and legal literacy changing attitudes and awareness must go along with any attempt to enforce formal legal rights End…. 20