Leaders urged to put land in the hands of women
As Malawi lawmakers were tussling on passing the Land Bill, at the African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) urged African leaders to ensure that women are encouraged to own land.
The LPI is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), Economic Commission (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The body has since launched a campaign aiming at documenting allocation of 30 percent of land to African women by 2025.
According to LPI chief Joan Kagwanja, African women have a significant role in agriculture where they contribute more than 60 percent of their labour towards food production, yet a complex set of circumstances constrain their access to and control of land under both customary and statutory realms of land governance and management.
“It should not take 10 years to get a land title nor should a woman travel 300 kilometers to get a land certificate,” she said.
AU head Nkosazana Zuma said Rwanda is a good example that can be emulated by other African countries struggling to achieve equal rights for women, noting that “it can be done and it will be done.”
