Vietnam Land Access for Women Program

Vietnam Land Access for Women Program Project Sites Hung Yen province My Hao district Long An province Can Duoc district

What we are doing Rapid Assessment : survey data from 847 households + qualitative interviews Community Volunteers for Gender Equality Advocacy: training on law, gender, land law Developing a monitoring system for CVGEAs work Advocacy to strengthen grassroots and use data to inform advocacy

The objective of this study is to assess the current state of: Farmers’ awareness of existing land rights and gender implications under current legislation Farmers’ ability to access land rights Capacity of civil society organizations and mass organizations to advocate for gender equitable land reform.

Where are we coming from Land rights that improve women’s access to resources are as important as creating a context that promotes the implementation of the law. The case of Vietnam is important in terms of the studies of barriers for women’s access to land because there are still gaps between men and women in terms of their access to land despite the progressive chapters in the land laws.

What the law says Citizens are equally entitled to the same rights and obligations without discrimination based on gender, religion, or wealth. Law on Gender Equality (2006) The Social Insurance Law (2006), Law on Residence (2006), Law on Domestic Violence Prevention (2007) The Nationality Act (2008) equality; freedom of speech; labor rights; social security and social welfare protections; the right to vote or stand for election; the right to participate in social management, state management; freedom of religion; respect for honor, dignity, and health decision autonomy.

Who was interviewed Hung YenLong An MaleFemaleMaleFemale Mean Age (SD) 50 (13.3)49 (12.5)49 (11.4)48 (10.9) Partnership Status Monogamous civil marriage 97.1%96.3%87.5%87.8% Monogamous customary marriage 0.2% 4.7%4.2% Single 2.1%0.5%4.2%1.7% Other* 0.6%3.0%3.7%6.3% Highest level of education completed None 5%6%27%35% Primary (grade 1-5) 20% 43%45% Secondary (grade 6-9) 55%59%20%12% High School or higher 21%1% 0% Worked in last 12 months 93.4%94.6%93.2%84.4% Total 328, ,973370,972

Farmers’ awareness of existing land rights and gender implications under current law

Farmers’ attitudes about land rights and gender implications

Farmer’s Ability to Access Land Rights

Perception of the Plots Number and Size by Sex Hung YenLong An MaleFemaleMaleFemale Women’s Perception Average number of plots owned, by plot owner's sex (SE) 3 (.003)3 (.004)2 (.003)2. (.005) Size of plots owned in square meters, by plot owner's sex - Mean (SE) 544 (0.4453)524 (0.3885)1740 (2.1524)1696 (2.152) Men’s Perception Average number of plots owned, by plot owner's sex (SE) 3 (1.08)3 (1.37)2 (1.16)2 (2.038) Size of plots owned in square meters, by plot owner's sex - Mean (SE) 540 (0.074)556 (1.079)1753 (3.49)1570 (4.32)

Figure 7. Perceptions about General Barriers to Access Land (for men and women)

Figure 8. Perceptions about the Barriers Women Face to Access Land

Figure 9. Do people feel They can Solve Land Related Conflicts? (1)

Figure 10. Do people feel They can Solve Land Related Conflicts? (2)

Capacity of civil society organizations and mass organizations to advocate for gender equitable land reform. Qualitative Assessment

Gender and problems in accessing agriculture land ( local authorities perceptions) Less availability of Agricultural land In all four communes of the project area, agricultural land per capita decreased partly as results of the change of land use. The conversion of agricultural land for other purposes led to the emergence of the business and service establishments, but mainly owned by men. Agriculture farm and businesses are own by men Type of businesses that emerged: industrial companies, universities, construction materials stores Large scale farm. In Hung Yen there are farms established for livestock. However, all these farms are owned by men

However… In the south, young people migrate to the cities, most people who stay to work in agriculture in the communes are women of middle age or older, Only poor families and families who do not have young labor are attached to agriculture In the north, the distribution of agricultural land according to Land Law 1993 remain valid. Thus, a number of farmers born after 1993 have no agricultural land. In Long An, there is no local common land because land has never been distributed but passed through generations. Young people have no land or little land:

One more trend… During recent years, the government encourages development of big agriculture farm in rural area is to reduce land fragmentation and increase the use of modern technology in agriculture. This means reallocation of the plots which were previously granted to households. This creates frustration among commune people. In Hung Yen, people, especially women, are concerned about the reallocation of land through exchanging plots between households by anonymous voting.

Are CSOs and local authorities able to work on Land and Law Members of mass organizations have poor knowledge about laws so they cannot help people much in understanding and protecting their rights No resources for CSO to work in promoting awareness on land rights Women in the commune are too busy to attend the education meetings and providers are not sure they have the right information Some local authorities do not know the law, or do not know the reality of their communes

More complexities… Issues in granting certificate: The first land certificates (granted before the current law) recorded name of the head of household, in most case, are men, and the wife as men’s heir. According to the commune authorities in Hung Yen, many people don’t want to get the land use certificate because they don’t want to pay the land use tax. Some people don’t see the benefit in owning the certificate In Long An, as the procedures of LURC is complicated and long, some people use decoyers/brokers. This increases the cost of obtaining their LURC. Some local authorities create barriers for people when they want to apply for LURC or change their names in it or give the land to their children, etc. This also pushes people to the decoyers For housing: In all four communes, most certificate of housing land has only husband name (The Red Book often records only the name of the “head of the household”)

Consequences of not having LURC There are many cases of land disputes between neighbors, family conflicts, because there is no proof to solve the disputes. It promotes the idea that is better to solve land disputes by promoting sympathy among parties but not using the legal provisions Women cannot claim their right over house /land given by husband’s family Both names are recorded only for land bought by the couple during marriage Women are more vulnerable, especially in the cases of divorce or being widowed Having no name in the land certificate can also take away woman’s right in making decision over family matters. Men mortgage the certificate for gambling but women pay the debts.

Conclusions The assessment found: Poor knowledge of some aspects of the law among farmers. Specially in terms of contentious issues: Women and men are equal but lone women cannot own property of their own, lone men can. Less than 50% of women in Hung Yen and Long An know how to obtain a LURC. There is a conflict between traditional practices concerning land ownership and the current law specially in terms of worship land.

Conclusions (continue..) The problem of registration of land is related to lack of knowledge but also other issues : long paperwork, authorities attitudes, lack of access to justice in the communes However, registration is important because pressure over agricultural land is increasing. Women’s vulnerability to loosing their livelihood increases with the loss of land. Authorities and grassroots organizations need to increase their knowledge of land laws and gender equality.

Thank you!