Part 1: Overview and analysis of key issues
© OLWOCH ALDO, LANDESA
Case study 1: Legality versus reality: Implementing women’s land rights in Uganda
A sizeable crowd gathers to discuss women’s land rights in Parwech, northern Uganda. Despite being responsible for growing 80 per cent of all food crops, only seven per cent of women in Uganda actually own land Uganda has progressive constitutional and legal frameworks regarding gender. When it comes to women’s land rights, however, both implementation and enforcement mechanisms are lacking. As a result, customs and practices that block women from exercising their land rights continue to prevail. One of the most significant issues in this regard is the inconsistent application of both customary and statutory laws protecting land rights. Competing land claims in the country are often linked to the multiplicity of land tenure systems – a legacy of colonialism that has been exacerbated by conflict. Although customary land tenure still predominates in Uganda,29 the protracted conflict between the government and rebel groups in the north of the country that stretched from the late 1980s to 2006 placed great strains on the system, notably due to the impacts of widespread displacement (1.8 million at the height of the conflict).30 As a consequence, frequent disputes have arisen as the displaced have sought to return home. In the context of growing competition, land has also increasingly been grabbed by male family members, typically resulting in losses for women. Women’s only recourse in the customary system is through the leadership of their clan, although this is limited in situations where clan leaders have been complicit in the land grab, or where clan leadership has been weakened by conflict. During the drafting of the 1995 constitution, despite male resistance to legislation addressing women’s land rights, women actively expressed their concerns and interest in land reform. As a result, not only does the Constitution call for legislation to protect the rights of widows to inherit the property of their deceased spouses (chapter 4, Article 31.2), but the Land Act, which was passed in 1998, contains several provisions that seek to fortify women’s access to land.31 These include Section 28, which nullifies any practice that discriminates against women, children or persons with disabilities with regard to customary land, and Section 40, which requires the consent of legally married women to sell, exchange, donate (except in a will), mortgage or lease land, in cases where they stay on the land themselves. Moreover, the 2004 Land Act Amendment gives women the right of consent in land transactions involving household property.32 However, implementation of these laws has proven problematic in many communities across Uganda. Indeed, recent analysis of the impact of the National Land Policy reveals that entrenched customs and practices continued to prevail, leading to systematic violation of women’s land rights.33 For example, despite being responsible for growing 80 per cent of all food crops, only seven per cent of women in Uganda actually own land.34 In addition, women are routinely denied access and inheritance of land in case of divorce or death of their husbands or fathers, and even those that are protected under law are often unaware of their rights. Further, although sections of the Marriage Law and Succession Law were disqualified as a result of test-case litigation on the grounds of discrimination against women, they are yet to be altered in the books. Efforts to address these challenges within Uganda’s national land reform process remain insufficient. For one, support services are lacking for actualizing national policy reforms, as are resources and clear mechanisms for the implementation of land rights. For example, land tribunals, which were vested with the power to settle land disputes especially for poor and vulnerable groups including women, remain underfunded and underutilized.35 Practical measures that may help advance women’s protection within customary systems include encouraging cultural leaders to support women’s land rights, ensuring that courts uphold customary land rights, and assisting women in land demarcation and registration.36
17