The Gendered Nature of Land and Property Rights in Post-Reform

RwandaKelsey Jones-Casey

Independent Consultant and Researcher

Isthmus & Strait Consulting

2015 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference

Gender and Land Assessment …

OBJECTIVES

Examine effective land rights of women and men in Rwanda, including changes over time.

Understand how the legal framework governing land and the land tenure regularization program have shaped gendered outcomes and where remaining gaps exist.

Some background…

Land is a critical issue in Rwanda

• Rwanda is the most population-dense country in Africa (416 people per square kilometer).

• In 2013 population growth was 2.8%.

• Land is one of the foundation of Rwandan social and cultural traditions.

Gender and Land Assessment …

METHODS Key informant interviews: GOR

and CSOs engaged in gender and/or land.

Field research: Four provinces, plus Kigali City. 20 sites: Two sectors in two districts of each province, including Kigali (random selection)

Younger women; older women; younger men; older men. Local authorities, including Gender Focal Points

Qualitative Research: Focus group interviews (an average of 7 people per FGD); individual interviews

Gender and Land Assessment …

POSITIVE FINDINGSMore and more women are receiving inheritance and are more often receiving it in equal shares.

Daughters are increasingly laying claim to umunani, which was almost unheard of before the genocide.

Formally married women living under community of property marital regimes are now joint owners of property Greater decision-making power over property

Decreased distress sales and mismanagement of household land resources due to joint ownership of land and property.

CHALLENGESChallenges experienced by women in accessing land to farm, and in controlling the land that they do have access to can be grouped under the following areas:

Informally-Married Women’s Insecure Rights to Land

Difficulty Claiming Umunani and Inheritance

Weak Bargaining Power within the Household and Control Rights over Land Use and Management

Barriers to Fair Dispute Resolution

Gender and Land Assessment …

DE FACTO UNIONS (“INFORMAL MARRIAGES”)

Still very common, though appears to be decreasing

Women in these unions often face evictions if separated, widowed

Weak decision-making power on land

During LTR, no systematic approach for registering them. Some registered as husband’s “partner” or even spouse, but many not registered at all

Gender and Land Assessment …

INHERITANCE AND “UMUNANI”

While women are increasing accessing, cases are situation-dependent:

Household’s economic status,

Parents’ “kindness” or “mindset,”

Size of parents’ landholdings,

Number of siblings they have, and

Mindset of the community/

Refrain from claiming: fear of conflict, depriving parents or brothers.

Some face refusals or family conflicts when claim.

Gender and Land Assessment …

INHERITANCE AND “UMUNANI”

While many women receive umunani (and most receive inheritance), parents tend to give it to their daughters “because it is the law;” still not seen as a daughter’s inherent right, like sons.

Young woman: “Men still have bad mindsets. People, who train us on gender and land rights only train women, don’t train men. We need to be trained together so that we both have a common understanding.”

Gender and Land Assessment …

DECISIONS OVER LAND

Both formally and informally married women have weaker bargaining power than their male partners; often limited to veto power over land transfers, though some face violence. Even in couples that ‘decide together,’ men are the ones who ‘bring the idea’ for all major land decisions.

However, daughters are increasingly requesting umunani from their parents, an exercise of bargaining power within their natal families.

Gender and Land Assessment …

DISPUTE RESOLUTION Most land conflicts occur among families – immediate and

extended.

Women mostly report fair treatment sector and district level officials.

However, typically required to take cases to the family first, where women often reported bias, being shunned and other consequences that lead women to “give up.”

Gender and Land Assessment …

POLICY AND ADVOCACY RECOMMENDATIONS

Include in the new draft Succession Bill a provision recognizing the property rights of de facto union partners.

Provide rural girls and young women more educational opportunities that reduce their economic dependence on men.

Sensitize men on gender equitable rights (inheritance, umunani, matrimonial property rights), while also addressing fears, attitudes, behaviors that lead to gender bias.

Invest significantly in creating rural livelihood opportunities, for both men and women that are not dependent on land.

Gender and Land Assessment …

POLICY AND ADVOCACY RECOMMENDATIONS

Provide trainings for women on how to communicate effectively, be leaders in the community and household, present alternatives, prepare budgets and be household managers.

Create opportunities for rural young women to reduce their economic dependence on men, and invest in the assets of their choice (land or otherwise).

Gender and Land Assessment …

Questions and Answers …