[IFPRI Gender Methods Seminar] Gender and Collective Lands: Good practices and lessons learned
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Transcript of [IFPRI Gender Methods Seminar] Gender and Collective Lands: Good practices and lessons learned
GENDER AND COLLECTIVELY HELD LAND: GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED
Six Case Studies
Choosing Case Studies
Interventions on collective lands that aimed to increase the land tenure security of the community while also addressing gender differences.
Namibia—compared CLRA intervention to non-intervention in an existing customary system
Other criteria considered included diversity in types of land, geographic location, type of implementer, and type of funder.
Limited in number of projects that fit our criteria and were also willing to participate in close analysis of gender dimensions of intervention.
Methodology
Each case study drafted by different author(s) Desk research covered project documents; legal and
contextual framework analysis Field-based assessment of intervention, conducted
over 10-14 days, usually in coordination with a national expert and the team who implemented the project
Case studies drafted in consultation with local experts, and findings presented to stakeholders in validation workshops
Case studies reviewed by Landesa and RE staff and then peer reviewed by at least one national expert
Six Case StudiesCountry Type of land Project Aim Author(s)
China Grassland Ensuring compensation related to rights to collective held grassland is shared by women
Wang Xiaobei (Landesa)Yang Li (Research Center for Rural Economy)
Ghana Arable land Improve capacity of Customary Land Secretariats and improve role of women in land governance
Amanda Richardson (RE)Reem Gaafar (Formerly Landesa)
India Forest land Increase forest dwellers access to and control of forest resources under the Forest Rights Act
Amanda Richardson (RE)
Kyrgyzstan Pastoral land
Increase livestock productivity on community held pastures in context of pasture land reforms.
Elisa Scalise (RE)
Peru Arable land Increase women’s participation in community land governance
Leslie Hannay (RE)
Namibia Arable Land(&residentialplots)
Implementation of the Communal Land Reform Act and operationalization of customary system governing communal land.
Hirut Girma (Landesa)
China (Alashan League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)
Context
Ongoing national government program “subsidies and rewards mechanism for grassland ecological preservation” (2010)
Central policy, subsidies provided to herders’ household based on the amount of grassland. HH decides how funds are allocated
Local policy, provide subsidies to herders’ HH based on number of family members
Ghana
Context
AGRA Land Policy Action Node (2012) implement Land Access and Tenure Security Project in Northern Region
Customary Land Secretariats landholding rules; land use planning; overlapping claims dispute resolution; boundaries of the customary land area simple registries identify, adjudicate, demarcate and register holdings in the
customary area improve the security of vulnerable (women)
COLANDEF: Community sensitization; capacity building of CLS; ADR for traditional authorities.
India: Facilitating Individual and Community Rights under the FRA 2006 and Strengthening Campaign on Peoples’ Access and Control over Natural Resources in Five Districts of Jharkhand
Context
Naya Sawera Vikas Kendra (NSVK); Local NGO works with communities—Oxfam funded
Jharkhand, new state (2000); Part of Bihar; Approx. 28% of population is “tribal”; 12% “scheduled caste”
Objectives: Increase forest dwellers’ access to and control over forests under FRA (women, tribal, and scheduled caste);Build community based institutions; mass awareness campaigns re: FRA; Address FRA Implementation Gap
Kyrgyzstan: Livestock and Market Development Program (IFAD)
Context
43% Grassland (State Owned) 2009 Pasture Law devolved responsibility to PUU Customarily men responsible for pastures; women
use Objective: Increase livestock productivity,
improved and equitable returns to livestock farmers Outcome 1: More productive/accessible
pastures Outcome 2: Healthier livestock Outcome 3: Market partnerships in milk value
chain providing incentives for productivity increases
Namibia Enforcement of CLRA 2002 in Oshana RegionOperationalize customary system governing communal lands in Kavango East (Shambyu TA).
Context
Oshana Region: Leads implementation of the Communal Land Rights Act that introduced the registration of customary land rights in communal areas; recognizes and consolidates the legal authority of Traditional Authorities to administer communal land while also reinforcing gender responsive customary laws
Kavango region declined to participate in the registration process. Instead, continues to independently administer customary land rights in accordance with its established customary system.
Peru: “Indigenous Quechua and Aymara Peasant Women’s Access to Land Governance in their Communities” (SER)
Context
SER promotes human rights through democratic participation and rural development
Goals: increase women’s use and control of
community land and resources increase rural women’s involvement in
land tenure governance support rural women’s access to
productive resources
What does it mean in practice…
To promote and secure collective tenure in a gender-sensitive way?
Two Questions that Always Matter for Collective TenureWho is a member of the community? Who decides who is a member? What rights do members have? What rights do non-members have? Can status change between member and outsider?Who has the right to participate in governance or control? Who has right to govern land used communally? Can women meaningfully participate in governance? For communally held land that is used by households? Can a woman’s rights to land change if marital status
does?
Key Gender Issues
social change women’s empowerment legal rights project design governance training and knowledge data collection and use
Social Change/Risks
For women and men to have equitable rights to land, either in the household or community, requires social change
Social change requires focus, time, effort, and community acceptance, and is difficult to achieve without existing relationships within the community
Implementing Organizations NSVK in India: issue-based committees, run by
social workers employed by NSVK; young, literate; bridge between the community and outsiders
Social workers trained in monthly meetings; trained on FRA--how to prepare claims, how to lead an exercise for mapping land holdings.
SER Peru: already involved in community on democratic participation/rural development
Worked with women/men on governance
Build on Positive Customs
Namibia: (Kavango East) Shambyu Traditional Authority-women well represented at all levels
Women’s representation in leadership not sufficient to change deeply held customs related to women’s rights to land Non-native women and men--level of scrutiny is higher Women likely to fall in this category due to patrilocal
residence. Land acquired during marriage--ancestral land, not
often allocated to outsiders
What actions might limit these risks? Seek out and support local partners with
existing relationships (land/gender if possible)
Connect local issues and organizations to efforts at the regional and national level
Understand local customs and social norms--what is the potential benefit or harm of change and to whom—and build on positive customs
Women’s Empowerment/Risks Women’s low status = impact on decision-making Raising status takes time; interventions often short-
term Women may not know how to organize to mobilize
change Women may not know how to lead or participate in
group meetings Women may not understand the value of
contributing to decisions Men may not allow for change if they do not
understand the need Men may be suspicious if they are left out of
process
Women’s Groups
India/NSVK: Women already organized; savings and income-generating SHG; already frequent meetings
Ghana/COLANDEF: project reached large number of women by working with and training existing groups; Met quota for women’s involvement by targeting women who were part of women’s groups.
China: Women’s group organized for purpose of gaining subsidies for non-use of land; 10 married-out women not allocated grassland under HRS.
Group shared information, provided support; collective action put political pressure on the government to avoid escalation.
Community
India NSVK: Men required training; communication
Peru SER: women needed “permission”
Work with Local leaders
What actions might limit these risks?
Work with existing women’s groups Women’s groups as part of design Help women understand value of mobilization Community leaders give women permission to
pursue action Provide training on group organizing,
leadership, participation, etc.
Risks to formalizing collectively held land Customary law supersedes other laws for
women’s equal rights Membership not defined and excludes married-
in women Local authorities define membership; few
women participate Membership not confer right to manage
land/resources HH rights not protected by family law if land
collectively held.
Legal Pluralism
Namibia: customary law that creates conflict may be repealed or modified by Parliament. CLRA recognizes legal authority of TAs to administer communal land; gender responsive process safeguards: independent customary land rights; widows protected; informal marriages; joint titling.
Ghana: intestate succession law exempts stool land from its purview, and states that customary land held in trust in the traditional leadership of stools (80% of Ghana’s land)
Peru: autonomy of local communities trump constitutional protections for women; peasant and native communities self-govern, including land rights; women excluded from inheritance rights and decision-making
China calls for gender equality but devolves authority over governance decisions to village collectives; village collective decisions not subject to appeal
Membership Rights
Women excluded as outsiders China: woman’s “membership” is not set – depending on how
each village defines membership Kyrgyz Republic: membership defined by residency and thereby
includes women who live there, no matter their marital status. Peru: Membership rules gender neutral; membership in
community does not grant right to vote and participate in community decisions; must be a qualified community member; one person per household; no explicit requirement that internal governance includes women; male-dominated community assemblies, favor inheritance to sons rather than widows
Ghana: likelihood of widow retaining rights to marital property depends on age, number of children, and relationship with in-laws.
Collective rights and marital and inheritance rights Where land is held, used, and managed collectively,
intra-household laws do not apply; issue is membership Marital property and inheritance laws apply only to land
that is held and used by the household India: FRA provided where forest land was under
cultivation by HH for period of time, marital property laws apply and joint titling required.
Namibia (Oshana): Need not rely on marital property and inheritance laws to protect interests of women; formalization rules can integrate protection; CLRA defines spouse more broadly than the marital property laws to include customary/unregistered conjugal unions
What actions might limit these risks?
Give TAs rights and responsibility to address women’s exclusion
Know community membership rules; include married-in women
Definition of membership includes all residents Membership gives right to vote and to manage land Land used by HH but collectively held, apply family
laws to HH
Project Design/Risks
Pre-project assessment of community not consider women as distinct from men
Team does not understand value or importance of women’s land rights; no gender expertise
Project design not take into account women’s marital status
Project staff not identify vulnerable women or how to reach them
Women not have a voice in project design Only women receive training; men hostile to change
because of lack of understanding Project design unchangeable; not incorporate monitoring
Design Lessons
Hire women staff; obstacles: physical capacity, time, capacity, norms, experience, or interest.
Gender sensitivity training: Staff at NSVK not focused on gender or FRA when they began; Oxfam exposure visits/training. Interviewed staff—very knowledgeable
Target specific women—activities they’re engaged in Flexible Design
What actions might limit these risks? Set targets for hiring of female staff; Identify challenges and
barriers to employing women Train project implementers at beginning of project; include
gender sensitivity Hire STTA to work with project gender experts who lack
experience; work with men and women Target women as beneficiaries of project; pre-design assessment
to identify target goals; Build flexibility into design and monitor effectiveness for women Understand legal framework and adopt legal duty to address
inequality of women. Consider legal changes that provide framework for equality in
collective land tenure
Inclusive Governance/Risks
Not treated equally in governance institutions/processes; interests not considered; not participate in decisions that affect land; governing body unaware of value of inclusion
Governance institutions not address women’s ‘double burden’
Community policies, rules, by-laws not challenge gender inequalities
Community/national institutions not accountable on gender equality
Unaware of rules and procedures of governing bodies Unwilling or uninterested in participating in governing
bodies Lack skills, confidence, experience of speaking in forums
What Actions Might Limit Risks? Ensure policies, laws, by-laws informed by gender; gender balance
in decision-making bodies Develop accountability for community; go beyond gender
targets/quotas Find means for communicating rules, decisions, information to
women Create space for women and men’s interests to be voiced and
heard Ensure women’s rights are known and appreciated Ensure dispute resolvers grounded on principles of gender equality Where line Ministries are represented include Ministry of Gender Incentivize women in governance; include training, outreach,
capacity building
Thank you!