1. Enhancing women’s land rights
through legal empowerment
Lessons learned from community-based activities

2. Why women’s land rights?
1 Women’s human rights are violated
2 Women’s key role in food security and natural resource management is not recognised
“If women had the same access to productive resources as men, they would increase yields on their
farms by 20-30 percent. This could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5-4
percent, which could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17 percent”
(FAO, 2011: 5)

3. Challenges and priorities in
advancing
women’s land rights
1 Understanding rights: the importance of information
2 Claiming rights: the importance of monitoring and mobilisation
3 Guaranteeing rights: the importance of enabling environments and implementation

4. Why legal empowerment?
The use of law to specifically strengthen the disadvantaged (IDLO, 2010)
VGGT Principles of Implementation
Recognizing that equality between individuals may require […] taking
Equity and justice
positive action, including empowerment, in order to promote equitable
(3B.3)
tenure rights and access to land, fisheries and forests, for all, women and
men […]
Ensure the equal right of women and men to the enjoyment of all human
Gender equality
rights, while […] taking specific measures aimed at accelerating de facto
(3B.4)
equality when necessary.

5. Community-based activities
promoting the legal empowerment of
rural women
Objective and features
•Document innovative ways of promoting women’s land rights and facilitate
knowledge sharing and mutual learning;
•Piloting activities/short timeframe/small budget
•Community-based activities
Partners
CINEP Oxfam GB SARRA SWADHINA UEFA
Colombia Pakistan India India DR Congo

6. CINEP, Colombia, Women’s empowerment to exercise their land rights in
the Cauca Valley

7. OXFAM GB, Pakistan, Promoting women’s property rights and land rights in
CINEP, Colombia, Women’s empowerment to exercise their ownership
the Cauca Valley
Pakistan

8. CINEP, Colombia, Women’s empowerment to exercise tribal land rights in
SARRA, India, Women’s empowerment in their communities
the Cauca Valley

9. CINEP, Colombia, Women’s empowerment bring land rights land rights in
SWADHINA, India, Creating awareness to to exercise their to grassroots
the Cauca Valley
women

10. UEFA, DR Congo, Colombia, Women’s and communities on the land rights of pygmy
CINEP, Sensitise authorities empowerment to exercise their land rights in
the Cauca Valley
women

11. Lessons learned
1 Never underestimate women’s enthusiasm to learn
2 Prioritise capacity-building targeted to women
3 Recognise the importance of accessible information
4 Pay attention to perceptions of gender equality
5 Address different levels appropriately
6 Be aware of the role CSOs can play
7 Follow through to move from empowerment toward emancipation
8 Encourage horizontal learning and collective action
9 Bear in mind the complexity of land tenure security

12. Opportunities
Problem Objective Tool
Understanding rights
Women’s human rights are violated Claiming rights CEDAW
Guaranteeing rights
Understanding the guidelines
Women’s key role in food security Claiming the guidelines
and natural resource management is VGGT
not recognised Implementing the guidelines

13. Thank you!
l.miggiano@landcoalition.org
If you want to know more on the ILC’s Women’s Land Rights Initiative,
please visit www.landcoalition.org