Women, land rights, and livelihoods in Amuru district

Abstract

Research on land rights shows that women’s access to land is central to women’s economic empowerment, as land can serve as a base for food production and income generation, as collateral for credit and as a means of holding savings for the future. This study is set in Amuru district, a district that has witnessed increased land tensions because of multiple interests and actors on the land scene. It also offers the opportunity to examine gender-based and structural inequalities often linked to customary land tenure, while at the same time such tenure could be the basis on which women’s land ownership rights can be realistically achieved. The main objective of the research was to examine women’s land rights and how they influenced household livelihoods in Amuru district. The study had three specific objectives; to discuss how women’s individual characteristics determined their access, control, and ownership rights, to understand the threats and opportunities that existed for women’s land rights and how they impacted livelihoods and to examine the role of institutions in securing women’s land rights. This study posits a nexus between afro-feminist and feminist human rights theory to argue for increased understanding of human rights from the perspectives of women’s experiences, which is rooted in the African cultures. The findings indicated that while women’s user-rights eliminated landlessness and other forms of extreme marginalisation in accessing livelihood means, the struggle for attaining widespread women’s full ownership rights was yet to be won. Women’s agency, including use of traditional means of undressing were still significant weapons used, which in afro-centric feminist sense appeals to negotiation and non-confrontational means to an inclusive society where rights are claimed against society. To the advantage of the future of women’s land rights discourse, a fused network of traditional and local administration agencies often complimented women’s agency in various ways. The Ker Kwaro under the leadership of the paramount chief or ‘La wi Rwodi’ and the female chief Rwot Okoro, often actively sought to cooperate with government and NGOs working for the promotion and protection of women’s land rights