University of Gothenburg Publication:More needs to be done to strengthen women's right to land in Rwanda

The implementation of laws and policies to strengthen women's right to land in Rwanda often clashes with customary practices and deeply embedded socio-cultural norms and beliefs. In some instances this implementation has even led to new forms of discrimination. In order to be more effective, new laws should show greater sensitivity to customary systems and the complex reality of the existence of the local population. This is the conclusion of a thesis produced at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. 

The Land Registration and Titling (LRT) Program in Rwanda, launched as part of a broader reform programme in 2006 and expanded to cover the whole country in 2009, had as one of its aims to strengthen women's right to land. An elaboration of gender-sensitive land laws and policies has challenged some gender norms and ideologies related to male supremacy.

However, deeply rooted customary practices and socio-cultural norms make this implementation difficult; even more so, since implementers of the new laws at local level often lack knowledge of these and also lack the will to put them into practice.
“The idea of women’s subordination to men is transmitted from parent to child, and also via schools, religious institutions, media and so on. This sustains gender hierarchies,” says Jeannette Bayisenge, author of the thesis.

She has studied the implementation of the LRT Program through field work conducted in 2012 and 2013, when she interviewed 480 women from agricultural households in conjunction with twenty-three semi-structured interviews and nine focus group discussions with local level policy implementers, women and members of women’s associations.

Jeannette Bayisenge found that even though more women today are fighting for their right to land, more awareness needs raising about the new laws. And women need more support in order to have the courage to claim their rights.

“Women have a weaker bargaining position than men. In my study, women cite their lack of knowledge, inability to present their case, fear of community disapproval, fear of their husbands, fear of in-laws, lack of confidence, time constraints and financial means as being some of the main factors that can discourage them from claiming their right,” says Jeannette Bayisenge.
“Women are stuck between exercising their right to claim a piece of land and their concern not to compromise their relationships with their husbands, families, community and society as whole.”

The new laws themselves also perpetuate inequalities; for instance, they require women to be in a monogamous and registered marriage, yet one in three women in the country is not.
“Even though banned by law today, polygamous marriages still exist. Women in such marriages, as well as women who enter into non-registered marriages, are not covered by the law.”

 Jeannette Bayisenge also found that the reluctance of local implementers to enforce the new laws is another hurdle if change is to happen. Many implementers have scant knowledge about these laws, but their reluctance also stems from the fact that the implementation process takes a top-down perspective whereas local implementers try to be sensitive to the local context.

Jeannette Bayisenge recommends that new laws and policies should in future be integrated more gradually into the complex and diverse reality of the local population.
“Policymakers should continue looking at ways to adapt new policies to the local context, and to implement them cautiously and gradually rather than imposing them on people,” Jeannette Bayisenge says.

More information
Name of the thesis: Changing Gender Relations? Women’s Experiences of Land Rights in the Case of the Land Tenure Reform Program in Rwanda.
Contact: Jeannette Bayisenge, Department of Social Work,
Jeannette.bayisenge@socwork.gu.se, jbayisenge@gmail.com
The thesis can be downloaded at: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/38298

Source : http://www.gu.se/english/about_the_university/news-calendar/News_detail//more-needs-to-be-done-to-strengthen-women-s-right-to-land-in-rwanda.cid1287447






 

World Bank Publication:Rwanda related presentations/papers attached from the WorldBank conference on Land and Poverty 2015.

Currently, the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2015: 'Linking Land Tenure and Use for Shared Prosperity' is taking place.

Please find below the articles on land in Rwanda:

•    Louis-Marie Nindorera et al. (World Bank): Implementing LGAF in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone And Tanzania: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Nindorera-942-942_paper.pptx?page=downloadPaper&filename=Nindorera-942-942_paper.pptx&form_id=942

• Emmanuel Nkurunziza (RNRA): Geographic Coverage: the Case of Rwanda: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Nkurunziza-919-919_paper.ppt?page=downloadPaper&filename=Nkurunziza-919-919_paper.ppt&form_id=919

•  Daniel Ayalew Ali et al. (World Bank): Establishing a self-financing land administration system: fee structure and institutional set up in Rwanda: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Ali-690-690_paper.docx?page=downloadPaper&filename=Ali-690-690_paper.docx&form_id=690

•  Kelsey Jones-Casey et al. (USAID Land Project): The Gendered Nature of Land and Property Rights in Post-Reform Rwanda: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Jones-Casey-458-458_paper.pdf?page=downloadPaper&filename=Jones-Casey-458-458_paper.pdf&form_id=458

• Marie-Christine Simbizi et al.: (Twente University): Beyond Economic Outcomes: Evaluating the Rwanda Land Tenure Regularization from a Pro-Poor Perspective: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Simbizi-288-288_paper.docx?page=downloadPaper&filename=Simbizi-288-288_paper.docx&form_id=288

• Selina Kahn et al. (INES): Influence of Urban Land Policies on Land Markets and People's Livlihoods in Urban Rwanda: https://www.conftool.com/landandpoverty2015/index.php/Khan-122-122_paper.pdf?page=downloadPaper&filename=Khan-122-122_paper.pdf&form_id=122

 

Publication:Secure and equitable land rights in the Post-2015 Agenda.

This technical briefing authored by a number of international organizations working on food security, natural resources management and poverty eradication and endorsed by many local civil society organizations around the world strongly encourages governments to keep the profile of land and natural resources high in the document on sustainable development goals to be endorsed in September 2015.

The Post-2015 Agenda must address the structural factors that undermine sustainable development. It is widely recognized that secure and equitable rights to land and natural resources are central to this effort.

Land rights empower people and provide a sense of dignity. They enhance food security and are fundamental to achieve the right to food and increase the productivity of small-scale food producers.
 They provide an incentive for ecosystem stewardship, and they promote inclusive and equitable societies whilst underpinning cultures and value systems. In most countries of the world, land rights make the difference for girls and women that need education, income and voice.

Secure and equitable land rights, particularly for those living in poverty and using and managing ecosystems, are an essential element of a Post-2015 Agenda that has the ambition to be people-centered and planet-sensitive.

To realize its transformative potential, the Post-2015 Agenda should ensure that all women, men, indigenous peoples and local communities have secure rights to land, property, and natural resources necessary for their livelihoods and well-being, and should devise a monitoring framework accordingly.

Source:
http://oxf.am/Z5pE 

New RISD Publication on Land in Rwanda

The LandNet Rwanda Chapter Organization and coordinator 'Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development' (RISD) published a new working paper on land in Rwanda:

Securing Land Rights Project: A Working Paper on Land Tenure Regularization in Rwanda

Summary by Robin Palmer (Global Land Rights Policy Specialist at Mokoro)

'There is a distinct gap between conceptions of land deployed by the Land Tenure Regularization Program (LTRP) framework and the law and how rural Rwandans perceive and use land. Argues that land mediates relationships between people and any attempt to transform land must also take into account these relationships. Many people have left their titles at the registration office because of prohibitive fees and taxes. Over 85% of open land disputes are on parcels that have already been registered through LTRP, while registration is activating latent disputes and creating new disputes. Access to land is becoming more precarious and people are losing a sense of belonging. Inheritance is the single most frequent cause of land disputes. Far from streamlining dispute resolution, the LTRP appears to have done the opposite. Entire families are losing their access to land through the registration process. Found that the Abunzis (local mediators) were unclear about the land laws but were the ideal actors to bridge the gaps. The banks have no use for land or land titles. Concludes that despite all the problems listed, a land titling program like the LTRP is urgently needed in Rwanda.'

Download (566K pdf) from the RISD website here