WOMEN ownership of land. These are the three words that men, particularly those in the rural areas, don’t want to hear. The words do not only portend a challenge to their superiority over women and advocate gender equality but also threaten to dismantle the age-old system of life in which the power of men was omnipotent.

True to the system, men were, and still are in some parts of the country, the ultimate power and authority, the supreme owners of wealth and the infallible dictators of all systems of life with women and their children, girl children in particular, required to be subservient to the rule of men.

For women, however, ownership of land is the foundation of their economic independence, social status, and participatory governance. It is a tool for their emancipation. The foundation has long existed but shrouded in secrecy and guarded by men and, due to ignorance, fear and unwillingness to change, women have never pursued these rights. But, now things are changing, particularly so in the rural areas where women have taken to demand from men their right to own land and other property and, in due course, gain economic and social independence.

The current wave of raising the status of women in society by promoting ownership of land and other property has reached Sumbawanga Rural and Nkasi District Councils in Rukwa Region. Women from a total of 18 villages have been exposed to a new awakening, the right to own land and other property, through education and awareness campaigns thanks to Usimamizi Elendelevu wa Maliasili Project that is being implemented by Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Rukwa Sustainable Development Organisation (RUSUDEO), village governments as well as districts and regional governments. 

The project focuses mainly on environmental conservation as a means to attaining climate and economic resilience of communities and women have been the driving force in project implementation. They are also the major beneficiaries. This is a group that suffers most when there is depletion of natural resources but it is also the group whose voices are never taken into consideration in decisions about how resources should be used because they don’t own any property, let alone land. No one listens to a person who owns nothing!

“When women don’t own land they do not engage in any meaningful conservation of the environment and natural resources. Men look upon them as inferior and second tier members of the public. In the long run efforts to conserve the environment and adapt to climate change cannot succeed,” says Ignasy Weluka, Programme Officer for RUSUDEO.

Like in many rural communities in Tanzania, traditions and culture did not allow women Sumbawanga and Nkasi Districts to own property. It was an unwritten law that men would own all property on behalf of the family. Boys were second in command to men and women and girls featured nowhere in the “land ownership hierarchy.”

The process to help women own land started with the formation of land use plans to ensure that pieces of land in villages were earmarked to specific use. Then individual land parcels were surveyed, mapped and certificates of occupancy were issued for the owners. Alongside this process, education and awareness campaigns were conducted to make women realize they too had the right to own land just like their male counterparts, breaking down the barriers of tradition and culture, in due course. Four years of project implementation has changed the situation and now many women own land individually or with their spouse. 

“Now we know that land is not the property of men alone. Men and women have equal rights to own land,” says Grace Abel, a resident of Kizungu village in Sumbawanga Rural District.

Through implementation of the project, seven villages in Nkasi District and 11 villages in Sumbawanga Rural District have had their land surveyed and mapped. In Nkasi District land use plans have been prepared for six of them. The seven villages are Nkomolo2, Malongwe, Kisula, Swaila, Tambaruka Lyele and Itindi. Villages in Sumbawanga District that have land use plans are Kizungu, Mbwilo, Mnazi Mmoja, Mnazi Asilia, and Ilanga. Others are Katoto, Nkwilo, Kalumbaleza A, Kalumbaleza B, Mpete and Mtapenda.

Individual land parcels have also been surveyed and mapped. Customary Certificates of Right of Occupancy (CCROs) have been issued to individuals, including many women. “The traditional barrier of excluding women from land ownership has been broken as women now own land. Their ownership is protected and security of tenure is guaranteed through provision of CCROs. About 50 per cent of women in the project areas own land and have legal evidence through CCROs,” explains Frederick Odhiambo, Senior Land Officer for Nkasi District. 

Land ownership has led to economic empowerment of women and has elevated their social status. They now have the courage to question village government leaders and the confidence to vie for leadership posts in the village governments. There are more opportunities for women to raise incomes as they engage in petty businesses selling various items particularly foodstuffs such as fish, millet, and maize flour. Others have learned new skills like sewing, all through project implementation.

“Most of the items that women sell come from the land they own. Community conservation banks have helped women earn income, with some fetching about 500,000/- annually. Those who have CCROs can use them as collateral to access farmers’ loans from financial institutions. Land ownership has led to economic emancipation for women,” says Florence Magambo from Nkwilo village.

As more women own land and realize tangible benefits, the demand for land ownership is now on a new high. Education and awareness raising campaigns have made women and community members in general understand the importance of owning and conserving land while reaping natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Land use planning and issuance of CCROs has put in place secure tenure and protects ownership. This has reduced gender violence and empowered women economically while raising their social status. There are more women owning land now than ever before.

“Women who own land have also better lives because they can engage in other income generating activities. They also feel free to take part in decision making processes in village government, village councils and village assemblies and their opinions count in making final decisions. In previous years rarely did women participate in meetings and on the few occasions that they did, their views and opinions were not considered,” says Mary Ernest Shauri, a member of the Social Accountability Monitoring (SAM) committee in Nkomolo 2 Village of Nkasi District. 

With training in entrepreneurship, women are operating small businesses independently. “Now we know how to invest and do business even with small capital. Land ownership has motivated us and provided a range of opportunities for women. The most important thing is that we believe in ourselves; we believe we can make positive change in our lives,” explains Ms. Shauri, adding that about 75 percent of women in the village own land and have been provided with CCROs. “The value of land has increased and there is more circulation of money in the village due to numerous petty businesses conducted by women,” she notes.

Now that many villagers have secure ownership of land, they don’t invade public lands where they would open up farms or encroach into the Lyamba lya Mfipa Forest to make timber, charcoal or illegally harvest forest products. Women also don’t have to fetch firewood from the Forest because they have trees in their compounds and, in any case, they know the forest is out of bounds for human activities according to land use plan which they fully participated in creating.

 They know the boundaries and understand the importance of land use plans. After all they now have their own pieces of land for which they have evidence of legal ownership. At the end of the day they play an important role in conserving natural resources and the environment in general so that they may continue to benefit from the same.

Beyond promoting women’s land ownership, land use of land use plans have gone a long way towards resolving conflicts. Whereas four years ago land based conflicts were rampant, some of which were violent, now there are few such cases. Land has been surveyed and mapped, land use plans have become operational and people have evidence of ownership and secure tenure. Infringement and trespass are rare incidents. 

However some community members have not received well the land survey, mapping and creation of land use plans and the ultimate issuance of CCROs. “We have surveyed, mapped and prepared land use plans for about 25,000 hectares. At the beginning of the exercise, we met resistance from some villagers who feared that it was a government’s ploy to take away their land or register it for some kind of taxation or levy. However in the long run people have understood why it is important to have land use plans and to get legal evidence of land ownership. The government has neither plans to grab their land nor to subject them to a kind of land tax of levy,” says Nkasi District Senior Land Officer Frederick Onyango.

But all this has not gone down well with some villagers. “With all the benefits that we get from land use plans and CCROs, some people are still worried that land use planning is a means of land grabbing even if CCROs are issued. The fear is unfounded. Some people will never change even when they stand to enjoy the benefits,” says Ngusa Ntejo, a resident of Mtapenda Village in Sumbawanga Rural District.

Land use plans have become operational in 17 out of 18 villages where the project is implemented. The process is yet to be completed in one village.

At a global scale women’s access and ownership of land has been catalyst to family and community welfare. For women, land ownership has paved the way for more participation in conservation of natural resources and the environment in general. It has also granted them economic freedom and elevated their social status that is free from gender violence. In due course they have earned respect in the family and the community in general. Together, these positive shifts in women’s empowerment have a far reaching effect on conservation, climate change adaptation and the welfare of families.