Lands CS Farida Karoney launched the Implementation Framework on Rural Women’s Land Rights Charter at the Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi. Communities prosper when we put economic assets in the hands of women.
The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has made gains for better quality service to the women of Kenya. They have secured their land rights in the following instances;
• The National Land use policy in Kenya fills gaps on land rights
for vulnerable groups and minority communities.
• The development of an integrated Land Informational
Management system serves to protect and secure land Rights
These and other initiatives will be pursued with determination to ensure women and Kenyans, in general, have secure land rights.
The implementation framework has three primary objectives;
1. It provides a framework for the implementation of the Rural
Women’s Land Rights Charter;
2. It anchors the realization of women’s land rights mechanisms for synergy and coordinated actions by actors;
3. It creates a basis for mutual accountability for securing women’s land rights.
“To addressing inequality in land ownership. I believe that women should own their land. I think that both husbands and their wives should jointly register as owners of land and other properties they jointly own” CS added
It is time to assert the obvious. Research suggests that women account for nearly half of the world’s smallholder farmers in the developing countries. However, most of them access land through their husbands or sons, plant crops in areas where the property is communal, or work as labourers.
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that where women own the land they till, their families tend to be better fed, better educated and healthier. In fact, food security and economic development rise in instances where women own land.
It is not an exaggeration to argue that where women control economic assets, they have greater bargaining power and contribute more to the wellbeing of families. CS Farida said.
Pic by Jacques Masea/office of the CS
Pic by Jacques Masea/office of the CS
