This document discusses strategies to improve women's access to land in Uganda and Kenya based on a 2010 learning route. It profiles 4 women who participated in the route and how it impacted them. Jane and Phoebe from Kenya learned about their land rights and successfully claimed inheritance from their late husbands. Hellen from a Kenyan NGO was elected to a local committee, while the NGO trained community paralegals. The route empowered participants and they are promoting strategic dialogue, sensitizing leaders, and documenting their work to further women's land rights.
This study analyzes cultural bias in 10 popular prime time television programs viewed by teenagers. It finds that the programs contain negative stereotypes and lack representation of minorities, women, LGBT individuals, and those with disabilities. This biased cultural content in television programming targeted at teenagers can promote individual and social harms. To address this issue, the study proposes cultural media literacy education for teenagers to help them critically analyze media messages and counteract the effects of cultural bias in television programming. It presents a cultural media literacy program as a way to educate teenagers and promote more positive and inclusive cultural portrayals in media.
Presentation from the Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia”.
This meeting was held in Muak Lek, Thailand (8-9 December 2010) to exchange policies, learn from recent experiences, and identify challenges and promising opportunities for the development of a more competitive and sustainable dairy sector in Southeast Asia. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable. This meeting contributed to the development of a regional network of dairy experts, to arrive at more cooperation.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
Presentation from the Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia”.
This meeting was held in Muak Lek, Thailand (8-9 December 2010) to exchange policies, learn from recent experiences, and identify challenges and promising opportunities for the development of a more competitive and sustainable dairy sector in Southeast Asia. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable. This meeting contributed to the development of a regional network of dairy experts, to arrive at more cooperation.
Dairy production in Myanmar has increased in recent decades but per capita consumption remains low. Smallholder dairy farms predominately use local cattle breeds that yield on average 5 kg of milk per day. Larger commercial farms yield up to 24 kg daily from crossbred Holstein cattle. Myanmar imports significant quantities of sweetened condensed milk and milk powder to meet demand. Constraints on the domestic dairy industry include low genetic potential of cattle, poor feeding and management practices, and lack of adequate processing and cold storage infrastructure. Expanding the domestic industry will require improved cattle breeding, investment in dairy plants, and policies to promote local production over imports.
This document discusses pastoralism and its relationship to biodiversity conservation and development. Some key points:
- Pastoralism supports biodiversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels through grazing land management practices that mimic natural ecosystem interactions.
- Pastoralism provides numerous ecosystem goods and services through the vegetation and habitats supported by livestock grazing. However, environmental challenges include overgrazing, water overuse, and wildlife conflicts during drought.
- Supporting pastoralist livelihoods can help reduce poverty and achieve development goals while maintaining cultural relationships with the land and ensuring provision of ecosystem services.
- Dr Hnin Nandar Kyaw outlined the organization and laws related to food labeling in Myanmar. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food safety and labeling through various divisions. The main laws are the 1997 National Food Law and the 2014 Directive Order on formulated foods for infants and young children.
- Currently, FDA refers to Codex Alimentarius standards for guidance on labeling. A new food law is being drafted to modernize regulations. A directive order on comprehensive food labeling, including nutrition labeling, will be based on Codex guidelines.
- The infant formula order has detailed labeling requirements covering appearance, prohibited claims, languages, and mandatory nutrition information. FDA aims to strengthen food safety measures in line
Here are the key principles to consider when planning meals:
- Meet nutrient recommendations by including a variety of foods in the correct serving sizes
- Consider individual factors like age, gender, health needs, culture and religion
- Plan meals within the available budget
- Alternate cooking methods like steaming, stir-frying and boiling
- Include seasonal fresh foods and consider the climate
- Prepare special dishes for occasions
This study analyzes cultural bias in 10 popular prime time television programs viewed by teenagers. It finds that the programs contain negative stereotypes and lack representation of minorities, women, LGBT individuals, and those with disabilities. This biased cultural content in television programming targeted at teenagers can promote individual and social harms. To address this issue, the study proposes cultural media literacy education for teenagers to help them critically analyze media messages and counteract the effects of cultural bias in television programming. It presents a cultural media literacy program as a way to educate teenagers and promote more positive and inclusive cultural portrayals in media.
Presentation from the Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia”.
This meeting was held in Muak Lek, Thailand (8-9 December 2010) to exchange policies, learn from recent experiences, and identify challenges and promising opportunities for the development of a more competitive and sustainable dairy sector in Southeast Asia. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable. This meeting contributed to the development of a regional network of dairy experts, to arrive at more cooperation.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
Presentation from the Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia”.
This meeting was held in Muak Lek, Thailand (8-9 December 2010) to exchange policies, learn from recent experiences, and identify challenges and promising opportunities for the development of a more competitive and sustainable dairy sector in Southeast Asia. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable. This meeting contributed to the development of a regional network of dairy experts, to arrive at more cooperation.
Dairy production in Myanmar has increased in recent decades but per capita consumption remains low. Smallholder dairy farms predominately use local cattle breeds that yield on average 5 kg of milk per day. Larger commercial farms yield up to 24 kg daily from crossbred Holstein cattle. Myanmar imports significant quantities of sweetened condensed milk and milk powder to meet demand. Constraints on the domestic dairy industry include low genetic potential of cattle, poor feeding and management practices, and lack of adequate processing and cold storage infrastructure. Expanding the domestic industry will require improved cattle breeding, investment in dairy plants, and policies to promote local production over imports.
This document discusses pastoralism and its relationship to biodiversity conservation and development. Some key points:
- Pastoralism supports biodiversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels through grazing land management practices that mimic natural ecosystem interactions.
- Pastoralism provides numerous ecosystem goods and services through the vegetation and habitats supported by livestock grazing. However, environmental challenges include overgrazing, water overuse, and wildlife conflicts during drought.
- Supporting pastoralist livelihoods can help reduce poverty and achieve development goals while maintaining cultural relationships with the land and ensuring provision of ecosystem services.
- Dr Hnin Nandar Kyaw outlined the organization and laws related to food labeling in Myanmar. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates food safety and labeling through various divisions. The main laws are the 1997 National Food Law and the 2014 Directive Order on formulated foods for infants and young children.
- Currently, FDA refers to Codex Alimentarius standards for guidance on labeling. A new food law is being drafted to modernize regulations. A directive order on comprehensive food labeling, including nutrition labeling, will be based on Codex guidelines.
- The infant formula order has detailed labeling requirements covering appearance, prohibited claims, languages, and mandatory nutrition information. FDA aims to strengthen food safety measures in line
Here are the key principles to consider when planning meals:
- Meet nutrient recommendations by including a variety of foods in the correct serving sizes
- Consider individual factors like age, gender, health needs, culture and religion
- Plan meals within the available budget
- Alternate cooking methods like steaming, stir-frying and boiling
- Include seasonal fresh foods and consider the climate
- Prepare special dishes for occasions
Silent Sacrifices: Girl-child beading in the Samburu Community of KenyaDr Lendy Spires
This document summarizes a research report by Samburu Women Trust on the practice of "beading" among Samburu girls in Kenya. The report provides background on SWT and their motivation for studying beading. It then describes the research methodology, which included interviews and surveys. Key findings are that beading has deep cultural roots but can negatively impact girls through early pregnancy and trauma. The report aims to promote community dialogue to better protect girls' rights while respecting cultural traditions.
The document discusses the concepts of sex and gender, explaining that sex refers to biological differences between males and females while gender refers to social and cultural roles and expectations of behavior. It explores topics such as sex and gender roles as well as sex role stereotypes, providing examples of behaviors and roles that are considered masculine or feminine. The document aims to increase understanding of how gender is socially constructed rather than determined by biological sex.
The document summarizes discussions from a workshop aimed at improving women's representation and challenging male culture. Key points included:
- Education needs to focus on teaching equality and challenging gender stereotypes from a young age.
- Parenting roles must be redefined to avoid perpetuating traditional gender roles.
- Media and social media both contribute to and can help challenge gender stereotypes.
- Improving women's political representation requires training programs and potentially penalties for sexism in politics.
- Both gender-separate and joint programs/networks for men and women were seen as having benefits for progressing gender equality.
This document summarizes discussions from a roundtable on women and institutional change. Key points included:
- Having more women in decision-making roles would bring expertise from collaborating and managing families, as well as provide a feminist perspective to challenge biases.
- Education needs to teach equality from an early age and make gender roles more flexible both in schools and at home.
- While progress has been made, politics and power imbalances remain male-dominated in Ireland. More support is needed for women in leadership.
- Community education programs have empowered women but more systemic change is still needed for gender equality.
Final Thesis Sheena Satikge 338365 South Africa UMD6[1]Sheena Satikge
This study examines land and gender inequalities in the peri-urban area of Ayigya, Ghana. It utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to understand how women and men access land rights and land tenure under the interacting statutory, customary, and Islamic land tenure systems. The research questions whether women and men have equal access and if land is perceived differently as an asset. Data is collected through interviews with local residents, chiefs, and authorities. Preliminary findings show women and men have equal legal rights but social and economic factors create inequalities, as men tend to have higher education and incomes. The complex, multi-layered land governance poses challenges in accurately assessing discrimination in this transitional environment.
Rising property ownership among women in Kathmandu, Nepal: an exploration of ...Akash Shrestha
There is evidence that property ownership empowers women
by increasing their self-confidence, ability to contribute to
decisions, control over their reproductive behaviour, ability to
borrow and economic independence. Yet, women around the
world own negligible assets. It is not surprising that assets
ownership among Nepalese women is insignificant. In urban
areas of Nepal, however, women’s assets holdings have
increased dramatically over the last four decades. The article
analyses the institutions that resulted in increased asset hold-
ings among women in Kathmandu, Nepal, and shows how
strategic action by some men and women has given rise to new
norms which favour property ownership among women. The
findings are based on a sample of 193 women who legally own
property (home or land) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Working Group on Girls focused on institutionalizing girls' rights within the UN from 2010-2011. They organized task forces to carry out their work, and selected girl advocates to participate. They assisted in integrating girl voices at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The WGG prepared statements on discrimination and violence against girls that were presented at CSW meetings. They also organized several parallel events at CSW55 on topics such as commercial sexual exploitation of girls and STEM education for girls.
During the last quarter of 2019, the Belgian NGO’s active in the Philippines co-produced a publication of gender stories in their development programs. It aims to bring together and promote best practices and stories on achieving gender equalities in a still male-dominated Philippine society. From the football wonder girl Camille in Manila to Jovencia, a formidable guardian of a marine protected area in Lanao del Norte; from Nanay Nita’s economic empowerment in Camarines Norte to Ka Femia, the first woman lumad in Congress; from the women’s leaders in Sumilao to the struggle for recognition of women farmers in Pampanga, feel inspired to join us in our journey through these and eleven more testimonies of economically, politically, and socially empowered girls, women, and men who were able to bring about substantial gender changes in their family, community, or organization, and as such add step stones towards a fully gender-equal Philippine society. Enjoy reading and feel free to download and further disseminate.
Securing tenure rights among the rural women: priorities for action and researchIlc Landcoalition
The document discusses priorities for securing rural women's land tenure rights through action and research. It identifies women's key roles in food security and natural resource management being underrecognized, and violations of women's human rights. Priorities for advancing women's land rights include understanding rights through information, claiming rights via monitoring and mobilization, and guaranteeing rights by enabling implementation. Challenges include social and cultural norms discriminating against women and threats to women's land security from globalization. The document outlines a research project in East and South Africa to build capacity, conduct advocacy research, promote learning exchanges, and support innovative action plans to strengthen women's land rights. It recommends further research and action partnerships between women's rights organizations at all levels to
This document summarizes research on homelessness among women in New Zealand. It used questionnaires with 191 women and focus groups with 22 women to understand the causes and experiences of female homelessness. Key findings included that overcrowding, domestic violence, discrimination from landlords and housing agencies, high rent, and a lack of advocacy and support services contributed to women's homelessness. Recommendations included policy changes to increase equitable and affordable housing and services for single women, adopting a Housing First model, and providing bond assistance and housing support workers.
Bringing underrepresented women'svoices in planning for climate changeadaptat...NAP Global Network
Presentation given by Lydia Wanjiku, Lensational’s CEO, as part of the NAP Global Network's Peer Learning Summit on Vertical Integration in the NAP Processes, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from October 11 to 13, 2023.
Securing tenure rights among the rural women: priorities for action and researchIlc Landcoalition
This document discusses priorities for securing rural women's land tenure rights through action and research. It notes that women's human rights are often violated and their key role in food security and natural resource management is unrecognized. Priorities for advancing women's land rights include understanding rights through information, claiming rights via monitoring and mobilization, and guaranteeing rights with supportive policies and implementation. Challenges include social and cultural norms that discriminate against women and threats to land security that disproportionately affect women. The document outlines recommendations for building capacity, conducting advocacy research, promoting mutual learning between partners, and supporting innovative action plans to further research and action on women's land rights.
This document summarizes a research report on Dalit women's participation in decision-making spaces in Nepal. It discusses Womankind's partnership with FEDO, a Dalit women's rights organization, and their FLOW project which aimed to increase political participation of Dalit women. The research focused on Dalit Women's Groups formed by FEDO to empower Dalit women economically and socially. It explored how these groups serve as a space for Dalit women to collectively voice issues and influence local decision-making bodies. The research methodology and context of the study sites in Kavre district are also summarized.
Looking for a gender perspective in ICT4D: Ineke Buskens presentationOng 2.0
The GRACE Network aimed to empower women through information and communication technologies. It supported 21 research teams across 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East from 2004-2014. The network encouraged teams to follow their passions and choose their own research topics related to women's empowerment and ICT. Teams conducted studies on topics like ICT use in the workplace, education, politics, and its impact on issues like gender-based violence and women's self-awareness. The network supported teams through workshops, mentorship, and publishing their findings in books to better understand how ICT can both challenge and support women's empowerment efforts.
The GRACE Network aimed to empower women through information and communication technologies. It supported 21 research teams across 14 countries between 2004-2014. The network encouraged teams to follow their passions and choose their own research topics related to women's empowerment and ICT. Teams received mentorship and engaged in dialogues to develop critical thinking. The network ultimately produced a book highlighting how women used ICT to enhance self-awareness, develop critical voices, and transform personal and social relationships. Factors like the focus on intentional purpose and relationality helped nurture participants' agency and voice.
1. Women were brought together in Sligo, Ireland to discuss women's participation in community and political life.
2. They felt that having more women in decision-making roles would make a positive difference by bringing a more action-oriented and collaborative approach that focuses on solving community issues and meeting the needs of families.
3. Participants believed greater female representation in politics could help address marginalization and bring more diverse perspectives, as women tend to have a better understanding of marginalized groups and are more empathetic due to shared experiences of discrimination.
This document provides background information on a toolkit created by the National Women's Council of Ireland to empower young people to advocate for gender equality. The toolkit was developed based on a pilot gender equality education program delivered in schools and youth projects across Ireland. The toolkit aims to increase youth workers' skills and provide practical activities to help young people identify and discuss gender issues in their own lives and communities. It emphasizes the importance of gender-conscious youth work and providing tools to ensure gender equality is considered at all levels of formal and informal education.
Balances power relation is the way to balance social development: story from ...Silvia Sperandini
Udaya Bahadur Paudyal describes the success of the Srijanshil Sahakari Sanstha Ltd cooperative in Gurung Gaun village in Nepal. The cooperative was initially formed by 18 women to generate income through agriculture and become self-reliant. With support from the Improved Seed for Farmers Programme, the cooperative now produces and sells maize seed, generating over $1 million in sales over three years. Technical training and irrigation infrastructure from the program has dramatically increased agricultural productivity. Chairperson Hira Ghale notes that balancing power relations through empowering women has led to social and economic transformation in the village, with women now respected as leaders.
16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence: WFP Closing CeremonySilvia Sperandini
From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December 2018, Human Rights Day, UN Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) supported the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. WFP closed the campaign with an high-level event with RBAs representatives and other partners. More information is provided in this post.
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Silent Sacrifices: Girl-child beading in the Samburu Community of KenyaDr Lendy Spires
This document summarizes a research report by Samburu Women Trust on the practice of "beading" among Samburu girls in Kenya. The report provides background on SWT and their motivation for studying beading. It then describes the research methodology, which included interviews and surveys. Key findings are that beading has deep cultural roots but can negatively impact girls through early pregnancy and trauma. The report aims to promote community dialogue to better protect girls' rights while respecting cultural traditions.
The document discusses the concepts of sex and gender, explaining that sex refers to biological differences between males and females while gender refers to social and cultural roles and expectations of behavior. It explores topics such as sex and gender roles as well as sex role stereotypes, providing examples of behaviors and roles that are considered masculine or feminine. The document aims to increase understanding of how gender is socially constructed rather than determined by biological sex.
The document summarizes discussions from a workshop aimed at improving women's representation and challenging male culture. Key points included:
- Education needs to focus on teaching equality and challenging gender stereotypes from a young age.
- Parenting roles must be redefined to avoid perpetuating traditional gender roles.
- Media and social media both contribute to and can help challenge gender stereotypes.
- Improving women's political representation requires training programs and potentially penalties for sexism in politics.
- Both gender-separate and joint programs/networks for men and women were seen as having benefits for progressing gender equality.
This document summarizes discussions from a roundtable on women and institutional change. Key points included:
- Having more women in decision-making roles would bring expertise from collaborating and managing families, as well as provide a feminist perspective to challenge biases.
- Education needs to teach equality from an early age and make gender roles more flexible both in schools and at home.
- While progress has been made, politics and power imbalances remain male-dominated in Ireland. More support is needed for women in leadership.
- Community education programs have empowered women but more systemic change is still needed for gender equality.
Final Thesis Sheena Satikge 338365 South Africa UMD6[1]Sheena Satikge
This study examines land and gender inequalities in the peri-urban area of Ayigya, Ghana. It utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to understand how women and men access land rights and land tenure under the interacting statutory, customary, and Islamic land tenure systems. The research questions whether women and men have equal access and if land is perceived differently as an asset. Data is collected through interviews with local residents, chiefs, and authorities. Preliminary findings show women and men have equal legal rights but social and economic factors create inequalities, as men tend to have higher education and incomes. The complex, multi-layered land governance poses challenges in accurately assessing discrimination in this transitional environment.
Rising property ownership among women in Kathmandu, Nepal: an exploration of ...Akash Shrestha
There is evidence that property ownership empowers women
by increasing their self-confidence, ability to contribute to
decisions, control over their reproductive behaviour, ability to
borrow and economic independence. Yet, women around the
world own negligible assets. It is not surprising that assets
ownership among Nepalese women is insignificant. In urban
areas of Nepal, however, women’s assets holdings have
increased dramatically over the last four decades. The article
analyses the institutions that resulted in increased asset hold-
ings among women in Kathmandu, Nepal, and shows how
strategic action by some men and women has given rise to new
norms which favour property ownership among women. The
findings are based on a sample of 193 women who legally own
property (home or land) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Working Group on Girls focused on institutionalizing girls' rights within the UN from 2010-2011. They organized task forces to carry out their work, and selected girl advocates to participate. They assisted in integrating girl voices at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The WGG prepared statements on discrimination and violence against girls that were presented at CSW meetings. They also organized several parallel events at CSW55 on topics such as commercial sexual exploitation of girls and STEM education for girls.
During the last quarter of 2019, the Belgian NGO’s active in the Philippines co-produced a publication of gender stories in their development programs. It aims to bring together and promote best practices and stories on achieving gender equalities in a still male-dominated Philippine society. From the football wonder girl Camille in Manila to Jovencia, a formidable guardian of a marine protected area in Lanao del Norte; from Nanay Nita’s economic empowerment in Camarines Norte to Ka Femia, the first woman lumad in Congress; from the women’s leaders in Sumilao to the struggle for recognition of women farmers in Pampanga, feel inspired to join us in our journey through these and eleven more testimonies of economically, politically, and socially empowered girls, women, and men who were able to bring about substantial gender changes in their family, community, or organization, and as such add step stones towards a fully gender-equal Philippine society. Enjoy reading and feel free to download and further disseminate.
Securing tenure rights among the rural women: priorities for action and researchIlc Landcoalition
The document discusses priorities for securing rural women's land tenure rights through action and research. It identifies women's key roles in food security and natural resource management being underrecognized, and violations of women's human rights. Priorities for advancing women's land rights include understanding rights through information, claiming rights via monitoring and mobilization, and guaranteeing rights by enabling implementation. Challenges include social and cultural norms discriminating against women and threats to women's land security from globalization. The document outlines a research project in East and South Africa to build capacity, conduct advocacy research, promote learning exchanges, and support innovative action plans to strengthen women's land rights. It recommends further research and action partnerships between women's rights organizations at all levels to
This document summarizes research on homelessness among women in New Zealand. It used questionnaires with 191 women and focus groups with 22 women to understand the causes and experiences of female homelessness. Key findings included that overcrowding, domestic violence, discrimination from landlords and housing agencies, high rent, and a lack of advocacy and support services contributed to women's homelessness. Recommendations included policy changes to increase equitable and affordable housing and services for single women, adopting a Housing First model, and providing bond assistance and housing support workers.
Bringing underrepresented women'svoices in planning for climate changeadaptat...NAP Global Network
Presentation given by Lydia Wanjiku, Lensational’s CEO, as part of the NAP Global Network's Peer Learning Summit on Vertical Integration in the NAP Processes, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from October 11 to 13, 2023.
Securing tenure rights among the rural women: priorities for action and researchIlc Landcoalition
This document discusses priorities for securing rural women's land tenure rights through action and research. It notes that women's human rights are often violated and their key role in food security and natural resource management is unrecognized. Priorities for advancing women's land rights include understanding rights through information, claiming rights via monitoring and mobilization, and guaranteeing rights with supportive policies and implementation. Challenges include social and cultural norms that discriminate against women and threats to land security that disproportionately affect women. The document outlines recommendations for building capacity, conducting advocacy research, promoting mutual learning between partners, and supporting innovative action plans to further research and action on women's land rights.
This document summarizes a research report on Dalit women's participation in decision-making spaces in Nepal. It discusses Womankind's partnership with FEDO, a Dalit women's rights organization, and their FLOW project which aimed to increase political participation of Dalit women. The research focused on Dalit Women's Groups formed by FEDO to empower Dalit women economically and socially. It explored how these groups serve as a space for Dalit women to collectively voice issues and influence local decision-making bodies. The research methodology and context of the study sites in Kavre district are also summarized.
Looking for a gender perspective in ICT4D: Ineke Buskens presentationOng 2.0
The GRACE Network aimed to empower women through information and communication technologies. It supported 21 research teams across 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East from 2004-2014. The network encouraged teams to follow their passions and choose their own research topics related to women's empowerment and ICT. Teams conducted studies on topics like ICT use in the workplace, education, politics, and its impact on issues like gender-based violence and women's self-awareness. The network supported teams through workshops, mentorship, and publishing their findings in books to better understand how ICT can both challenge and support women's empowerment efforts.
The GRACE Network aimed to empower women through information and communication technologies. It supported 21 research teams across 14 countries between 2004-2014. The network encouraged teams to follow their passions and choose their own research topics related to women's empowerment and ICT. Teams received mentorship and engaged in dialogues to develop critical thinking. The network ultimately produced a book highlighting how women used ICT to enhance self-awareness, develop critical voices, and transform personal and social relationships. Factors like the focus on intentional purpose and relationality helped nurture participants' agency and voice.
1. Women were brought together in Sligo, Ireland to discuss women's participation in community and political life.
2. They felt that having more women in decision-making roles would make a positive difference by bringing a more action-oriented and collaborative approach that focuses on solving community issues and meeting the needs of families.
3. Participants believed greater female representation in politics could help address marginalization and bring more diverse perspectives, as women tend to have a better understanding of marginalized groups and are more empathetic due to shared experiences of discrimination.
This document provides background information on a toolkit created by the National Women's Council of Ireland to empower young people to advocate for gender equality. The toolkit was developed based on a pilot gender equality education program delivered in schools and youth projects across Ireland. The toolkit aims to increase youth workers' skills and provide practical activities to help young people identify and discuss gender issues in their own lives and communities. It emphasizes the importance of gender-conscious youth work and providing tools to ensure gender equality is considered at all levels of formal and informal education.
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Balances power relation is the way to balance social development: story from ...Silvia Sperandini
Udaya Bahadur Paudyal describes the success of the Srijanshil Sahakari Sanstha Ltd cooperative in Gurung Gaun village in Nepal. The cooperative was initially formed by 18 women to generate income through agriculture and become self-reliant. With support from the Improved Seed for Farmers Programme, the cooperative now produces and sells maize seed, generating over $1 million in sales over three years. Technical training and irrigation infrastructure from the program has dramatically increased agricultural productivity. Chairperson Hira Ghale notes that balancing power relations through empowering women has led to social and economic transformation in the village, with women now respected as leaders.
16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence: WFP Closing CeremonySilvia Sperandini
From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December 2018, Human Rights Day, UN Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) supported the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. WFP closed the campaign with an high-level event with RBAs representatives and other partners. More information is provided in this post.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
The document discusses the organization of milk collection in Indonesia. It notes that the dairy industry involves over 69,000 farmers and 211,000 employees, allowing farmers to earn a daily income. It then outlines the key organizations involved in the dairy industry, including government ministries, universities, dairy farmers groups, and private companies. Charts show that 92% of dairy cattle are located on Java island and discuss trends in dairy cattle populations and milk production over time. The process of milk collection, from farmers to collection points to cooling centers to processors, is described along with current challenges around milk quality. Recommendations are made around improving milking management, infrastructure, and incentives.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
6.1 jan van_der_lee-collection_processing_marketingSilvia Sperandini
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
This document summarizes a study examining the contributions of smallholder dairy cattle farming to sustainable livelihoods in southern Tagalog, Philippines. The study used a framework analyzing contributions to five livelihood assets or 'capitals'- financial, social, human, physical and natural. Data was collected through surveys, interviews and observations of farmers. Key results found contributions to social capital through cooperation and human capital through nutrition. Challenges included improving financial capital through training and credit access and balancing natural resource use with herd expansion.
The document discusses dairy farming in Vietnam and the Dairy Development Program (DDP) run by FrieslandCampina Vietnam. The DDP aims to support sustainable dairy farming development through milk collection, extension services and training, quality control, and an incentive-based payment system. Over 15 years, the DDP has helped increase dairy herds, milk production and quality in the region, providing economic benefits to farmers and contributions to the national dairy industry.
This document discusses key issues and solutions related to production, input supply, and services in the dairy value chain. It outlines some characteristics of these areas and identifies specific issues like availability of land, feeds, cattle, labor, and credit. Issues with veterinary, artificial insemination, and advisory services are also examined. Presentations from Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia provide experiences and lessons learned regarding dairy farming in each country, including the role of cooperatives in Indonesia. The overall objective is to discuss improving the dairy value chain through better production, input supply, and services.
The Vietnamese government issued Decision 167/2001 to develop the dairy industry from 2001-2010. The goals were to meet domestic milk demand, reduce imports, create jobs, and improve rural incomes. Key policies included encouraging investment in dairy farms and processing, supporting breed improvement, establishing milk collection points, and providing loans and credits. These policies achieved success, as the number of dairy cows and milk production both increased significantly over the period.
The document discusses the role of the Department of Livestock Development in Thailand's dairy industry. It provides statistics on dairy cattle populations and milk production from 2008-2009. It also outlines the department's processes for raw milk quality control, including standards for bacteria, somatic cell count, fat, protein and total solids. Tables show the regional distribution of dairy farms and cattle. It also provides data on milk market values and import/export values in Thailand for 2008.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
This document summarizes opportunities and challenges for dairy development in Asia. It finds that Asia now leads global milk production growth, with production increasing 36% from 1995 to 2009. However, productivity varies widely across countries. Smallholder dairy farmers remain important, producing over 90% of milk in many Asian countries. Lessons from country case studies show that targeted support to smallholders through models involving cooperatives, private sector linkages, or comprehensive service packages can help boost productivity and market access. Strategic partnerships between organizations like FAO, CFC, and APHCA could help scale up smallholder dairy through projects on milk production, marketing, capacity building, and school milk programs.
The document summarizes a presentation on global dairy trends and their implications for Southeast Asia. It discusses characteristics of dairy production in Southeast Asia, including smallholder production and varying government support. It outlines global drivers like population growth and policies around market liberalization. Key trends include increasing scale, value chain development, and emphasis on sustainability and food safety. The presentation concludes that an integrated value chain approach can help address issues and lead to more competitive and sustainable dairy development in Southeast Asia.
Nutreco is a leading global animal nutrition and fish feed company with over 10,800 employees in over 100 production facilities across 80 countries. In 2009, Nutreco generated €5.1 billion in net sales and ranks as the 3rd largest in revenues and 6th largest in volume in the global animal nutrition industry. Nutreco was founded in 1994 and has grown through acquisitions to serve the dairy, pig, poultry, and fish industries worldwide with compound feeds, premixes, and specialized feeds. The company focuses on research and developing innovative feeding concepts and management best practices to optimize animal health and productivity.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
On December 8 and 9, a Dairy Expert Roundtable Meeting on “Competitive Dairy Value Chains in Southeast Asia” was held in Muak Lek, Thailand. In this regional meeting, participants from six countries in Southeast Asia discussed how the relatively small dairy value chains could be more competitive and sustainable.
2. 2
Authors:
Hellen Kamiri and Jane Nyokabi
Women Initiative (GMWI) / GROOTS, Kenya
Susan Maina
Young Widows Advancement Programme, YWAP, Kenya
Jacqueline Akello and Namubiri Resty
Uganda Rural Development Training Program, URDT, Uganda
Mino Ramaroson
Solidarité des Intervenants sur le Foncier, SIF, Madagascar
Facilitator and editor:
Karim Derrahi
CONCERNING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO LAND
THE CASES OF UGANDA AND KENYA
3. 3
INDEX
1. Introduction 4
2. Background 4
3. Strategies to promote women’s access to land 5
4. Principal learning provided by the Route 10
5. New strategies adopted after the Route 10
6. Factors that foster innovations 11
7. Main lessons learnt 11
8. Challenges of the new framework 12
9. First testimony: Women iniciative, GatunduMwirutiri (GMWI) 12
Groots-Kenya, by Hellen Kamiri and Jane Nyokabi
10. Second Testimony The Young widows organization, by Susan Maina 17
11. Third Testimony: Achievements of the Uganda 20
Kenya learning Route: the case of the Malgache team
by Mino Ramaroson
12. Fourth Testimony: Exchange of experiences about the participation in the learning 24
Route by Jacqueline Akello and NamubiruResty
4. 4
The following study is part of a wider research about the Learning Routes developed by PROCASUR
in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This investigation has been sponsored by IFAD and IDRC, in
the context of the Program “Scaling Up Rural Innovations”. It aims to understand the impact of
the Learning Routes in the development and diffusion of rural innovations in organizations and
institutions involved in these projects.
The objective of this case study was to know the impacts of the Learning Route “Action-research
project and its effects in the land access policies. The cases of Uganda and Kenya”, held in
year 2010. An adaptation of the methodology that had been applied to study other Routes was
used. The first change was to cover a set of experiences, in order to have a more comprehensive
vision of the effects of the Route. The second change, was giving a more central role to the
former Routers, gathering their testimonies about the experience, the learning achieved, and
the adaptation and implementation of such learning to their contexts. Besides, they were asked
about the changes they had experienced at a personal level as well as those experienced in the
organizations, communities and societies they belong to.
As a result of it four histories of women from Kenya, Uganda, and Madagascar are presented here.
They put emphasis in what their protagonists estimated significant, using their own language
and their expressions. The histories have been scarcely intervened to preserve the value of their
testimonies and originality.
The protagonists are Hellen Kamiri and Jane Nyokabi from the Gatundu Mwirutiri Women Iniciative
(GMWI) / GROOTS , and SusanMaina from the Young Widows Advancement Programme, YWAP,
both from Kenya; Jacqueline Akello and Namubiri Resty from the Uganda Rural Development
Training Programme, URDT, de Uganda and Mino Ramaroson, from Solidarité des Intervenants
sur le Foncier, SIF, Madagascar.
In a second phase of the study, four organizations that were in this Route were invited to
a bi-national workshop, with the attendance of ten women. They gave testimonies about
their participation in the Route, reflecting together about the innovation processes that were
implemented in their organizations and communities after their return. They described their
involvement in the fight for land access that women were giving there. These organizations
were Uganda Rural Development Training Program (URDT) and AHURICA-FIDAH from Uganda;
GAMWI (Groots-K) and Young Widows Advancement Program (YWAP) both from Kenya.
As a result of this workshop, an interesting set of discussions emerged, which is presented
below. Some of them were collected by Karim Derrahi to introduce the stories presented in this
document.
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BACKGROUND
In rural areas having property of land or not having it is identified as one of the main factors
influencing the poverty situation. It can be added that there is a very unequal access to this
asset between men and women, with the latter having less access, what makes their situation of
precariousness worse. In Africa, one reason of this inequality is that many women are expelled
out from their lands by their in-law relatives when their husbands pass away, situation that has a
very negative impact in the development of the rural communities.
5. 5
3. STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S ACCESS TO LAND 2
1 ILC (International Land Coalition).
2 Notes on workshop on the situation “Paths to Learning Post” held in Mbale, Uganda, on 24 and 25 March
3 Empowered, in the original text.
3.1 Awareness of participants about “psychological blocks” that prevent women to act on
behalf their land rights.
One of the main lessons the participants gained during the Learning Route was identifying the
information gap as a major obstacle to change. Indeed, due to the lack of information only few
women in rural areas are aware of their land rights. As one participant explains: “many women
have never seen a title of ownership.” Although some women are willing to act, they often lack of
skills to carry on with the battle. In addition, cultural practices lead many women to consider the
land property issue as male matter.
The participants have also realized that they should first focus on the awareness of the
communities, fighting against the lack of information about women’s rights to land. Self-confidence
if negatively affected by ignorance and these women require self-confidence in order
to claim their rights. The participants have pointed out that courage is particularly important to
succeed in their gender equality demands in a culture dominated by men.
From this point of view, the workshop showed that the knowledge gained in the Learning Route
empowered3 the participants and enabled them to strengthen their (self ) confidence. However,
they realized that in order to mobilize their communities, they should become role models within
them.
Jane Nyokaby and Phoebe Saga illustrate very well the intellectual and human path taken after
the Route. They are two successful participants that have demanded their land rights to their in-laws.
They truly have become positive role models in their communities, which is an important
factor to mobilize community members. See figure 1 and 2.
Given this situation, PROCASUR and the International Land Coalition1, developed in year 2010 a
learning Route, with the topic “The Action-Research project and its effects on the policies of
land access, the cases of Uganda and Kenya”. The 24 participants were invited to learn about
emblematic cases and think together about the main obstacles and opportunities to land access,
emphasizing in the identification of the most effective strategies, in different contexts, to improve
the certainty of the women rights to land.
Two years after the Learning Route the access to natural resources, and especially to land, still
remains in an unequal situation. Despite of women rights in this sense being widely recognized,
in practice they continue facing big obstacles to enjoy them.
6. 6
Case 1
Jane asserts the right to her inheritance by raising her case before the justice of her
country.
Jane is a widow and mother of 5 children. After the death of her husband, her in-laws
gave her an acre of land in Gatundu. The following year, in 1997, Jane began to perform
the administrative boundaries to obtain the title to her name. Her brother-in-law strongly
opposed, arguing that “women can not inherit land” and that if she pursue in this, she
should gave the title to one of her sons. Jane refused, as she heard stories of family
disputes due to children who refused to divide the land with their siblings. Since 1996 she
had failed to win her case, and therefore she had not received her share of the inheritance.
However, the human and intellectual enrichment that she acquired during the route,
reassure her convictions and Jane became, in her words, more aggressive in her demands.
Indeed, discovering the struggle the other participants experienced (they came from six
different countries) in addition to all the specific knowledge acquired (on land rights),
reassured her conviction that their fight was fair because equality and community
development was jeopardized.
So Jane returned from the Route more convinced than ever to resume the dialogue with
her brother in law, in order to obtain the title to her husband’s acre of land. However, the
dialogue failed and Jane took courage to take their dispute to court, with the support
of their local leader. Justice acknowledged her right to inherit her husband’s land and
there is an on going procedure to bring the title to her name. Jane has become a true role
model for women in her community, as they see that change is possible.
Case 2
Phoebe asserts her right to inheritance by restoring dialogue with her in-laws.
Phoebe Saga is a widow and mother of two children. She is an active member of the
“Young Widows Advancement Programme” based in Kenya. When her husband passed
away in 2000, Phoebe decided to claim for her husband’s plot of land in Hom Bay to his
brother-in-law. He categorically refused, explaining that it should be disinherited because
a woman could not own land. Faced with this refusal, Phoebe decided to quit because
she had neither the confidence nor the knowledge to enforce her rights. She was forced
to return to live in Nairobi, where she could hardly meet her needs with a laundress job.
In 2010, when she participated in the Route she experienced a change in her life. All the
information acquired gave her the knowledge and also the courage, to face her in-laws
again, ten years later. After the Route she started a new dialogue with his brother-in-law
to convince him to accept her entitlement and bring the title to her name.
After a year of negotiations, she managed to convince them and get an agreement. As
Phoebe said, her husband’s family was afraid of her determination and realized that “she
knew what she was doing” by considering her improved knowledge of her land rights.
7. 7
Today Phoebe left the area to live in Homa Bay where she cultivates her land and started
building a house for her family. This journey was a very enriching experience that enabled
her to regain self confidence. She is very proud to have become a role model for other
members of her community. As she explains, she applied one of the lessons of the Route:
the dialogue is a key component in achieving women land rights.
Hence, Jane and Phoebe have been empowered by participating in the Route. They have become
more activists but always favoring dialogue, which in their view, is an essential component in every
strategy that redefines the inequalities between man-woman, whatever the cultural context.
Overcoming their personal struggles (figures 1 and 2) they have gained credibility and have
become role models for women in their communities. However, they know that the mobilization
of their communities on the land property issue, can not be done without a “strategic dialogue”.
3.2 Promote a strategic dialogue at the local level, sensitizing local leaders and involving
more women in decision-making committees at the local level.
Public meetings organized by the CBO-YWAP4 to strengthen dialogue, with the help of paralegals
among community members.
At the end of the process the participants have understood that sharing information with
members of the community is the best way to empower them, so they can start a dynamic of
change. They have initiated a dialogue at different levels in order to change mindsets:
Case 3
• Dialogue within the community: the example of CBO-YWAP
According to the participants, the Watch Dog Group initiative in Gatundu visited during
the route was a very adequate way to promote horizontal dialogue5 integrating members
in community activities. The CBO-YWAP participants found the idea very interesting and
have partially replicated this in their constituencies, as Embakasi in Kenya, where they
trained 30 paralegals during 3 weeks. At the end of the training, each one received a
diploma as official paralegals recognized by the State. The mission of these paralegals
is to mobilize community members, giving them information about their rights. If
required, they also have a role as Whistles Blowers to the community. The benefit of this
“transmission” system is that reinforce the local community dialogue, because paralegals
are settled locally, allowing information to move down, closer to the community members.
Moreover, CBO- YWAP participants agree in regard to the social utility of their actions.
They have decided to extend the scope of their intervention beyond Kayole (Nairobi) to
cover the Embakasi constituency and rural areas, where traditional unfair practices are
more settled. This action is under development. As explained by Susan Maina, a member
of CBO-YWAP, the route has flattered them and strengthened their conviction about the
social utility of their actions.
After the route, eight awareness workshops have been held in Embakasi constituency
(Njiru, Dandora, Mukuru slums, Kaole and Soweto) with paralegals help (Figure 3)
Similarly, in order to strengthen the community, the CBO- GAMWI Gutundu in Kenya
has organized community meetings to spread information obtained in the Route in
different regions in Kenya (Laikipte / Kitui / Mathare Slum in Nairobi) where they have also
replicated “Women Property Program” originated in Gutundu.
4 CBO: Community Based Organization - YWAP: Young Widow Advancement Programme
5 Exchange among members of a community.
8. 8
Include more women in decision-making positions: the example of CBO-GAMWI
The participants have realized due to their experience on the Route, that while women’s
empowerment and their mobilization are required to change the situation, it is not
enough. Indeed, during the Route they noted that besides identifying and mobilizing key
local leaders, who are already employed, women need to assume positions of power to
drive a real momentum for change, in favor of gender equality.
Resolved in their learning, Jane Nyokabyn and Hellen Kamiri have implemented a real
strategy of lobbying to educate their local male leaders about women’s access to land.
They have held five public meetings where they invited strategic local leaders, officials
from the Ministry of Health, etc. After these meetings “our organization has gained
credibility” in front of these leaders, but also in front of the whole community.
Beyond awareness of local leaders on this issue, they have also developed a lobbying
strategy to promote more women to positions of influence. Therefore, Jane and Hellen,
a few months after the route, have been successful in winning a place in several decision
committees, enabling them to sensitize policy makers on the status of women. As they
explain, this has been possible because the route increased their credibility.
Case 4
Hellen Kamiri is married and has three children. She is responsible for CBO-GAMWI
activities in Gutundu. After the route she has been selected as a member of the Economic
Development Committee Gutundu in Kenya, which meets once a quarter. In this
constituency, she is the first woman selected as a member of that Committee.
Her nomination, as Hellen explains, happened after attending several meetings of WDG
where many local leaders were invited. The dialogue allowed these leaders to discover the
work that the CBO had done for the community. Local leaders realized that Hellen could
be useful within the Development Committee.
While “this position is an opportunity to assert the right of women to development” Hellen
is aware that this is not enough and that she must continue with her persuasion efforts,
so that more women access to positions of responsibility. Thus, after her nomination
she has continued to sensitize local male leaders on objective 3, from the Millennium
Development Goals: “to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
After the route, Hellen is very proud that 45 women of different WDG groups have
succeeded in being selected in several local committees to defend the economic and
social rights of women. In the constituency of Gutundu they have launched a campaign
pro-women. Hellen says it was inspired by the experiences of the Uganda participants
from the Route.
The next goal is to choose the female candidate for the CBO general elections to be held
in March 2013.
9. 9
3.3 Documenting actions to better support the dialogue with the community and supporters.
During the route many of the participants realized that they could not share much of their
activities, as very few, if any, were documented. And the oral transmission has many limitations.
As one participant noted, the interest of a trip like this, is to share local experiences. Thus, for
Susan Maina from CBO-YWAP “The Route was like a mirror that has shown the weaknesses that need
to be improve in their own organizations”
Since their return, Jane and Hellen from CBO-GAMWI decided to start a three-week training to
learn how to file, use the Internet, create a blog, etc. Today they have created a small information
center for their community and are looking to expand and also create an information center for
young people. After intense lobbying, they received a donation of land and a container from the
district leader. Moreover, they have created a blog to report their actions. (Figure 5)
Case 5
The long-term challenge: encourage the empowerment of women, developing their
individual planning capacity.
During the Route, the participants have realized that financial instability experienced by
women, is a real obstacle to land property. It is not enough to ensure the acquisition of
plots, but also provide women with greater economic means, to keep them in the long
run. As one participant said: “After we fought to get the land inheritance of a female member
of the community, she resold the land without realizing the consequences this will have on her
future.”
In order to work on that long term vision, the participants have had the opportunity to
visit the Uganda project “Rural development and training programme” which helps rural
women to clearly identify personal goals, what they want to achieve and define with them
the means to implement them, on the basis of a coherent personal strategy.
Having realized the issue of sustainability, CBO-YWAP participants grouped around
income-generating activities, helping them to develop abilities towards becoming
autonomous in the long run. However, it is too early to draw conclusions from this
experience.
In conclusion, participants are unanimous to say that the Route was an extremely positive
experience, which marked a change in the way they approach their community activities.
Indeed, it is clear from the workshop that participants have a better understanding of their
socioeconomic environment and the main factors that affect women in their access to
land. Borrowing the words of one participant: “The Route was a real human and intellectual
experience.”
10. 10
The testimonies express a set of valuable lessons. Among them:
• Lack of information about land rights among women is identified as a major obstacle
to access and own land;
• « Ownership » versus « Access to land »: the participants to the LR realized that it is
very important to insist on the ownership issue since many women living on lands
for years don’t have any deed title what makes them vulnerable in case their husband
dies;
• Promote strategic dialogue: -Sharing information with the community members
is key to empower them and trigger a dynamic of change for gender equality; -
Promoting dialogue between civil society and strategic local leaders (legal and
religious) is a good method to promote gender equality (bottom-up);
• Promote women to positions of influence in local committees is key to assert women’s
rights and show that women can positively contribute to the entire community;
• Document actions (lessons learnt, etc.) is a key tool to better share (circulate)
information with the community members, local leaders and donors.
• Enhance planning capacities education in order to reinforce women’s economic
autonomy;
• The participants (women) realized during the LR that they can become agent of
positive change within their community; however, they understood that changes in
the field can take time because changing people’s believes takes times.
4. MAIN LEARNINGS FROM THE WORKSHOP
5. NEW STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED AFTER THE LEARNING ROUTE
Apprenticeships have been translated into concrete strategies, such as:
Systematize Sharing information with the community members:
After the LR, sharing information has become the rule to sensitize the community members
to the land issues. For example, URDT (Uganda) has developed and put in place a one-day LR,
titled: « Securing Women’s Land Rights in Northern Uganda ». Besides, The CBO-GAMWI’s president
explains that since the LR takes advantage of all the opportunities available to speak during
public and private meetings whereas before she was greedy with sharing information because
she perceived it as a personal advantage without anticipating negative impacts for the rest of the
community. This big change in the participants’ strategy is based on the fact that they have been
convinced by the LR that “the solutions to their land issues will come from inside their community”.
Promote dialogue with local leaders
After the LR, the local leaders became one pillar of participant’s organizations pro-women
strategy. For example, URDT put in place a discussion plateform called BARAZA structured around
the local leaders and the community members. According to URDT’s participants, this innovation
promoted transparency and accountability of the local leaders.
The LR created awareness about dialogue as a key component to solve out land issues.
Institutionalize women participation to local public affairs:
The LR highlighted the importance for women to “institutionalize” their roles in order to increase
their influence on public decisions. By consequence, some organizations have started lobbying
after the LR to have women appointed in local committee to assert women’s rights. For instance,
the CBO-GAMWI (boxes 1 and 4) has in this way succeeded to have two women members
appointed in several local committees. Afterwards, 45 other women from the same CBO have
been also appointed in different local committees. This new situation has a double advantage:
- women appointed will be empowered by doing (speak in public, etc.) – and show the other
leaders that women can positively contribute to the community. By consequence, women have
become more respected because more credible.
11. 11
Document activities:
According to the participants, documentation was one of the most important learnings during
the route. Once back home, the participants from Gatundu in Kenya developed their skills based
on a 3-week training, put in place a resource center for the community and created a blog.
6. ENABLING FACTORS OF INNOVATION
From my discussions with the different participants, 2 main factors have been highlighted as key
to explain the implementation of rural innovations after the LR:
• The constitutional reform launched after the post-electoral violence in 2008 has been a great
opportunity to promote the implementation of a gender equality land reform. The political
Kenyan situation is currently followed by the International Community, what may have also
helped to promote women’s land rights.
• The support provided by their organization is as well a key factor explaining the success in
the implementation of the rural innovations presented during the post LR workshop.
7. LESSONS LEARNT
The main lessons we can draw from the workshop:
• The LR is a very good research tool characterized by two advantages: it empowers the
capacities of the participants and involves them in the development of solutions for their
own community; so they are agents of positive changes, increasing in that way their self-esteem.
• Depending on the type, there are different views about the value of owning a piece of
land: while for men, the earth is more often a source of virility6, women are more a source
of stability for the family. This may seem logical since the woman is likely to spend most
of his life in the private sphere with family responsibilities. So, it is appropriate to consider
this dimension in campaigns.
• Social interactions in East African countries are defined by the coexistence of both positive
and customary laws. Voting laws in favor of gender equality without implementing actions
in the field to enforce them is a challenge. For instance, men and women in Uganda and
Kenya have equal land rights according the national law. However, in practice women
have not yet an effective control over their lands (choice of the crops…) in these two
countries. This shows that education campaigns are key to change unfair social practices
and to effectively enforce progressive laws.
• Customary laws depend on the power relations in place within a community; the
customary laws are not atemporal but evolve according to different contingencies. By
consequence, women have a strong interest in organizing themselves to change the
customary laws to their favor;
• Changing laws in favor of women is always a good thing as long as steps are taken so
that they are effectively enforced. According to a study led by Groots-Kenya (2011), many
women face high difficulties to raise the money necessary to pay for the land register fees
in order to get their deed title (an important document to claim their land plot before a
court);
6 There is this function “macho” of land in the fact that men insist that it is the boys who inherit land under customary law. The stories of Jane (Box
1) and Phoebe (Box 2) perfectly illustrate this thesis. Of course, this would apply to all men and women.
12. 12
• The higher the level of corruption, the more difficult for a grassroots woman to assert
her land rights. Women in social and psychological distress are more easily victim of
corrupted greedy civil servants;
• There is a clear correlation between documentation and credibility: the more an
organization documents its actions, the higher credibility it has vis-à-vis the local leaders
and donors.
• Promote full female land ownership may reinforce women participation to local public
affairs. Land gives in many African societies a dignity and a social status reinforcing
the sense of community belonging. So, land ownership and the use of citizen rights are
positively correlated.
• The land ownership is not a sufficient condition to the women’s economic autonomy.
They also need to be empowered to use their land plot in a more strategic way.
• Since the land question covers various societal issues, meaningful land reforms must
embrace wide public policies from education, justice… to the fight against corruption.
8. CURRENT CHALLENGES CONTEXT
In some parts of East African regions, the land market has drastically gone up, increasing the
competition access to land. We can fairly expect that if the situation of women regarding access
to land doesn’t improve in the near future, they will be the first victim of the increasing trend of
the land market.
East Africa is particularly affected by the climate change. And one of the most likely climate
change effect is the rarefaction of the most fertile lands. By consequence, it’s very likely that a
higher competition will take place to access to the most fertile lands still available. And once
again, the women will probably be the first victims if they are not empowered to face this coming
challenge.
9. FIRST TESTIMONY: GATUNDU MWIRUTIRI WOMEN INITIATIVE (GMWI)
GROOTS-KENYA, BY HELEN AND JANE NYOKABI KAMIRI
Our Organization is called Gatundu Mwirutiri Women Initiative (GMWI). It was formed in l997 by
a small group of 24 women as a self-help group called Maria-ini Women Group in Kiamworia sub-location.
The aim of the group was to support each other and offering care and support to the
needy, especially orphans and vulnerable children. Later, in 2003, we joined Groots Kenya, a National
Movement of women after 10 of our members were trained as Trainers of Trainees on Home-Based
Care Services (HBCS) due to the rising HIV pandemic affecting our community. For us, it was a great
oppotunity to offer care and support to those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS . After we followed
this training, we expanded our services to other locations by training caregivers on HBCS. This covers
the period when we were also trained as community health workers on level 1 community strategy.
If at the beginning, we were a small group, the number of members grew up since 45 subgroups in 3
different districts have been created. in 2007, given the increasing number of members, we have been
allowed to register the organization with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Services in our
district as a Community Based Organization (CBO).
BACKGROUND
13. 13
Our organization has a Management Structure led by an Executive Committee which is headed by the
Focal Point Mrs. Hellen W. Kamiri whose role is to coordinate projects and programs implemented by
the C.B.O. She is also the Program Leader of Women, Land and Property Program and Treasurer of the
C.B.O. The Chairperson, Jane Nyokabi Gitau is the Program leader of the Home-Based Care alliance
in the district and handles community organizing of the group. We are the two of us members of
the Community Land and Property Watchdog Groups that guard and monitor women disinheritance
rights, and support women in accessing legal justice and acquiring security of tenure; at the same
time we sit in dispute resolution and peace committees. The Executive Committee has 5 members and
the larger regional Steering Committee has 12 members, including the executive committee. They are
the program leaders according to the programs we implement in our communities.
Our programs are based on health, leadership and governance; policy advocacy is part of our
activities to push for gender sensitive policies that address women issues, food security, women
access to land and property and livelihoods. Collectively, it is a women empowerment organization.
We jointly work with grassroot women caregivers and community health workers, men who support
women initiatives, youth caregivers Our target groups are the vulnerable and needy members of the
community, i.e. people affected and infected by HIV AIDS , elderly caregivers (grandmothers), widows
and other disinherited women, including vulnerable women farmers. We also target grassroot women
community leaders, partners and stakeholders e.g. Government officers and paralegals, etc.
When we were conducting research activities with Makerere Institute of Social Research to compliment
the state and work of watchdog groups in Gatundu District by analyzing the law as opposed to
traditional practices, we found out that there were other groups/organizations working in the same
area. That’s how we came to partner with Uganda and Kenya Land Alliance (UKLA) Later on, UKLA
introduced us to Procasur, the Organizers of the Learning Route. The Learning Route offered us a
wider scope and a space where to share with other groups working in the field of women and land.
LESSONS OF THE ROUTE
During the Learning Route, we learned many things, but especially the following ones:
1. One thing we learnt from most of the participants, and especially during the visits of the cases in
Uganda, is that issues of land rights for women were almost similar due to our partriachal societies…
The visit of the case of Kayunga women “AHURICA ” was very positive. During this visit, we discovered
the principle of the Spousal Consent Clause: A spouse cannot sell family land or other properties
without the consent of the other spouse. This was the advocacy of Kayunga women with support of
a Human Rights Organization in their district. Once back in Kenya, we realized that women were
silent on the spousal consent… So, we strongly felt that it would be a strong asset to include it in
our matrimonial law. It was an initiative that we felt we could replicate because we faced the same
challenges.
2. We also realized the importance of information sharing. Indeed, the learning route offered us the
opportunity of sharing and learning from other participants on the good practices that they had
especially on matters of advocacy within and without the community. In the case of Kibaale District
women of URDT, they were well-organized for their advocacy initiatives and their strategies for
creating partnerships.
3. The case of the young widows was another lesson to learn from Kenya as very few organizations
ever think of young widows whose husbands pass away when they are living in the city and no one
consider their property back at home, this was an issue we thought of putting into practice since we
felt that the same challenges were facing our young women who were being disinherited while living
in the cities.
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4. Kenya and Uganda Land Alliance were in the verge of lobbying their governments for adoption of
new land reforms which were due for adoption in their state laws. This is where we also learnt that
we needed these reforms to do away with the traditional practices which were of no value to women.
Through the forums that were organized by the two countries land alliances, we realized the right
institutions to lobby when it comes to women issues and from there we planned on whom to invite
for partnership.
5. The other key lesson was on the issue of documentation. During the LR, we realized that only a few
of us could share their work properly because they had documented it. We took this as a challenge
since after many years of work in the community, we had not any documents to share with others.
ACTIVITIES POST ROUTE
After the learning route was over, the most important was to share our experience. That is why, we
reported back to Groots-Kenya, our technical support partners and we disseminated information on
the whole learning route process, especially on the innovation plan, what we could not do without
their support. We then organized for GAMWI community land and property watchdog members,
including watchdog leaders from other regions of our country in the Groots-Kenya movement, several
meetings to share our experiences and the Innovation Plan. Our colleagues in the organization and
within Groots-Kenya became interested in the outcomes of the route and the experiences we had
shared. By consequence, they became interested in participating in the implementation and ganging
up with the other non-governmental actors to lobby the government for adoption of the reforms
in our new Constitution7 . An example is where we called a meeting for 22 leaders including
youth who after sharing they became the key planners of the implementation plan (they are
mentioned above because they had come from different regions).
Our Innovation Plan was articulated around our dire need of
documentation and information sharing which was our weak point.
Our main issue was on the method to replicate the model in other
regions. As leaders of the women property program, we could not
keep our records properly and our desire was to be trained on what
we had mentioned in the I.P. Hence the 7 module training we took
during 3 weeks with intervals in-between. And it was only after this
training that we have been able to surf the internet. This training was
held outside our locality.
The training has strongly facilitated our capabilities to open a blog
page for our work named Gatundu Community Change (www.
gatunducc.blogspot) or www.Gatundu Mwirutiri Women Initiative.
The members who benefited from this training were able to train
other WDG members and update the records of the groups by doing
proper documentation, record keeping and information sharing
which has also made the replication of the WDG model easier. Indeed,
part of the innovation plan was to replicate the model in two other
regions, what we did. The model replication was articulated around
two main branches: 1) conduct registration drives for the women and
their children by linking them with the civil registrar whereby the issue
of identification is one of the reasons why women are disinherited; 2)
The other one was to hold Leaders dialogue meetings within the new
regions to highlight the plight of women to the local leaders in order to
persuade them to take women issues seriously. Most of the women are those widowed by HIV/AIDS
related deaths. Before the learning route we used to operate the program in only one region.
7 Following the 2008 post-election violence that took part in Kenya, a new Constitution has been written and is currently being implemented.
The chairperson showing
other WDG members
how to surf the Internet
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OUTCOMES OF THE INNOVATION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Other changes which have resulted from the implementation of the I.P. are as follows:
1. All our groups in the movement have trained members to document since the two of us including
another member of our group, Mr. Edward Macharia, have been training other members in other
regions on the skills we learned, especially record keeping, documentation and report writing. The
two of us also attended a rally organized by the Kenya Land Alliance during which we were pushing
the government to adopt the new Land Policy promoting women’s land rights and another of our
members was supported by the Kenya land alliance o attend a meeting in Dar es salaam, in Tanzania,
to learn what women in Tanzania are doing to advocate for gender equality. All this was after the
learning route we took part in.
2. At the beginning, we did not know how to manage an Information Resource Centre but we now
have a few books and the container (offered by the county) will be soon modified to become a Youth
Resource Center. In that way, the community will be able to have access to information as well as
accessing to internet.
3. The other innovation is the data bank for our members, data collection and banking for all the
watchdog groups and cash registers.
4. Facilitation skills are another skill that we did not have but after being trained we have been able
to facilitate meetings and other forums in the community. This is why we have been able to replicate
the model in other regions. We have also been able to use the right tools and records for our work and
record keeping has become better than before and can access information easily.
5. We learnt on group dynamics (leadership, management and membership) and this has improved
and enhanced the leadership and governance of our groups. From that perspective, this has reinforced
the sustainability of our groups. Other consequence: our groups can now manage their own activities
and initiate group support activities that even generate incomes.
6. Members can now access I.T. since the literate ones are empowered to the point of seeking this
knowledge by themselves. We can now browse the Internet and we have a computer for our office
and a laptop. In that way, our reporting and documentation have become much easier. Other result:
sending messages via Internet allow us not to travel to Nairobi like we used to do. So we save a lot of
money!
7. We have strengthened our partnerships by bringing on board new partners especially the UN
WOMEN, Stephen Lewis Foundation and NCCK who have really added value to our work and at the
same time collaborating with government institutions which we did not have before especially the
Department of Gender, Culture and Social services.
8. We have been involved in global networks and advocacy like partnering with UNWOMEN, an
affiliate of the U.N. Jane attended an international Conference in Delhi India the Safer Cities for women
and Girls in order to present what our work to create safe spaces for women and girls while fighting
displacements and violence against women with the support of Huairou Commission. Promoting
gender equality and women empowerment is our main goal. Hence our slogan is “women can make
it to the top but they need to be offered the opportunity to do so”. This opportunity has been offered
by our new Constitution and we are busy sensitizing women to vie for political leadership at the same
time asking men to support women. That is why the Men for Women Initiative Group has been formed.
9. More than 45 women in our organization are involved in different forums of decision making and
several others in the grassroot level committees of decision making. Many have also been empowered
to present themselves in government offices something they could not do before.
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THE OTHER CHANGES THAT EMERGED OF THE INNOVATION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
1. More women have been supported in accessing to legal justice and repossessing their property in
different parts of our district and neighboring districts.
2. The awareness campaign created by the watchdogs as a result of the implementation of innovations
has minimized cases of disinheritance. We have not recorded a case for the last 4 months and the last
one we had was in Kiamwangi: a lady in the support group of people living with HIV/AIDS was built
a house by the local WDG in the area after negotiating with her parents who did not want to give her
any inheritance together with her sister and the two are not married. She is now settled.
3. Members in the organization have been carrying out Civic Education actions to sensitize the women
and the community at large on women gains in the new constitution and discussing much about the
new land reforms and other reforms that affect or impact women positively.
4. A lot of transformations have taken place in the community leadership and governance. Indeed,
State Officers have changed their style of governance e.g. chiefs who used to be very corrupt but are
now delivering their service to the community freely and with a lot commitment and taking women
issues seriously especially on succession issues.
5. It was out of the learning during the route and innovation plan that we have been able to strengthen
our work.
6. Creation of a Gender Desk at the chief’s office which is manned by members of the WDG at least 2
or 3 times a week.
FACTORS THAT HAVE FACILITATED THE RESULTS
The most important factors to achieve results were
1. Institutional where due to our weaknesses we felt we could not offer quality service unless our
institutional capacity was strengthened and this is where after implementation of the innovation
plan, we fundraised to have our own office since we had operated from a rented place. We had to
lobby the local county council for space where we constructed our office and we have a container. We
are now sourcing for some funds to construct a temporary meeting place.
2. Social factor was the 2nd to achieve results since we are advocating for women to achieve social
rights and to achieve gender equality and for the cause of women and socially, there has been great
impact on this as we have explained there above on results.
The other one is the political factor which we found that for years our movement has never been
involved in the political factors and this time we have come out to try and sensitize women into vying
for political leadership where our constitution allows that not more than 2/3 of any forum will be of
the same gender and as women we want to achieve this number and this is why we are conducting
civic education forums all over to create awareness and empower women.
CHALLENGES
1. Lack of resources and inconsistency by duty bearers and follow up of test cases. It is challenging for
cases in the appeal court because one of the factors causing disinheritance is lack of money to follow
up legal processes.
2. Over dependency by beneficiaries.
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FUTURE PLANS
From this year hence forth we want to concentrate more on sensitizing women in the land reforms and
the new marriage bill. We feel that if women know their rights fully and exercise them very few women
will face displacements and forced evictions and our focus will now be in mobilizing and empowering
women especially widows and single women/mothers in owning and controlling land by collectively
purchasing and subdividing land among themselves and they will be able to own proper housing for
themselves. Rural women will be able to own land and houses in the urban areas and this will only be
achieved if women can form a co-operative which if well managed will support them in achieving this.
We think there will be few or no cases of disinheritance in our communities in the next two years and
about 50% or more of women will own title deeds and our focus now will be to educate women on how
to change their attitudes towards change and transformation and be very committed in grasping the
change.
10. TESTIMONY FROM AN ORGANIZATION OF YOUNG WIDOWS
BACKGROUND
Young Widows Advancement Programme is a Community-based organization located in Embakasi
constituency in Nairobi Kenya. It exists to advance the property and inheritance rights of young
widows and orphans. It is a membership organization. It was started informally a decade ago by
five widows whose spouses had died. All the five widows had lost their matrimonial homes
due to disagreement with the in-laws and all had tested HIV positive. Because of HIV /AIDS –
related stigma they met quietly to support each other through sharing experiences and organizing
a Merrygo round (members contribute a certain amount of money e.g. 200ksh. It is given to one of
the members, they do this weekly until all the members have received a turn) to help support each
other to pay rent and make ends meet. In November 2003, the group was registered by the Ministry
of Social Services Gender and Sports as a Community based self-help organization under the name
Young Widows Advancement Program.
Two members of YWAP, I Susan Maina and Phoebe Saga, had the opportunity of participating in
the Learning Route 2010. We had the chance to share our experiences with others and learn so much
about what influences women access to land.
My motivation to participate in the Leaning Route was borne out of my desire to find out what widows
in other parts of the world went through. Did they face widow inheritance problems like Kenya’s
Western tribes? Do they have in place working legal frame that works to protect the widows from losing
their land and property? What can we do differently to ease all the problems that widows in Kayole go
through? What can I do differently to assist more women to access land and other properties? What
can the young widows organization do diffrently to assist more women to access land.
LEARNING ROUTE
The Learning Route was held from the 8th to 16 March, 2010, and the team leaders were very
supportive, the participants list included people from other countries and I couldn’t wait to dig into
their diverse knowledge and culture.
I remember during the opening presentation, two of the team leaders, Ariel and Sabine Pallas, taught
us a poem, “Souma Yergon, Sou Nou yergon, we are shaking the tree “. I still remember a line “changing
your ways, changing those around you …” I was determined to do exactly that especially with every
case study that we visited.
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In Kibaale, in Uganda, the women aspirations over land and land matters were affected by factors
such as marital status, literacy level and financial instability. It was interesting to listen especially
one narrative where a woman said she had never seen a title deed before the project was introduced
to them. It was evident that women in Kibaale consider land as a male concern. This situation was
identical to some of the widow cases in Kayole.
I also note that their stakeholders included churches and cult leaders. Networking with the churches
has proved to be very effective for us.
In Kenya, we visited Groots Kenya, Gatundu Mwirutiri Women Group; here I experienced firsthand
how an empowered community can unite against injustice, poverty and women violations. The
Watchdog Groups have facilitated local models that allow women’s access and control to land, not
only protecting against land rights violation but also empowering the community through awareness
creation. These are identical to our paralegals who are the whistle blowers in the community to
prevent cases of widow dis inheritance.
HIV positive women especially widows are thrown out of their matrimonial homes and their land
grabbed .They are blamed for their husbands death and they are even considered to be dieing soon.
The children of the deceased face the same and we visited a homestead where a house was put up by
the area Watch dog groups to assist a young boy and his sister who had been orphaned and were at
the risk of losing the coffee farm to their uncles.
The Malawi women projects and programs were also very educative especially they involved men to
make the women projects more effective.
All the lessons learnt during the learning route have been quite help full both inside and outside
the organization. Young Widows Organization argued that inheritance of young widows in Kenya
in certain communities is a form of contemporary slavery. This is because inheritance entails sexual
relations with a relative of a deceased husband as a form of cultural cleansing. This inheritor comes
in to offer “security” but sucks up all that the man left for the family. And this Leaves the widow in a
worse situation.
So Far:
Cases of property grabbing including land, and disinheritance of the widows and organs is rampant.
That is why the organization undertook a project to increase the number of widows gaining access to
property including land grabbed from them through legal redress, local legal systems and informal
arbitration. Through this process the widows disinherited on the basis of failure to obey cultures of
widow inheritance can challenge or confront the practices.
Young Widows Advancement Programme. as an organization to strives to improve the impact of
its work in promoting sexual and property inheritance rights for young widows and orphans in
Embakasi Division by training the staffs, 30 volunteers and board members on advocacy strategies.
ACTIVIDADES POST ROUTE
During the Learning Route analysis our organization was seen to need more capacity building and
the community needed more awareness on the plight of widows.
This was possible with the help from the United Nations voluntary trust fund. The UN Women Funds.
YWAP successfully assisted 6 women to reclaim back their land from the in-laws.
The widows involved were: KerinAtieno, Rosemary Owino, Pamela Atong, Millicent Atieno, Faith
Awour, Lillian Wanjiru.
19. 19
• Kerina had followed up on her late husband’s title deed for a long time and with our assistance
she finally got the title deed in her own name. The joy she was radiating as she came to the
offices to show it to us made everything even more worthwhile.
• Millicent got two pieces of land from the in-laws after negotiations which involved the area
chief, one to build a house on, and another one for farming,
• Rosemary was shocked to discover that the land that the in-laws had always called their
fathers’ land actually was registered in her late husband’s name. She discovered this during a
land search at the Ministry of Land offices in Rachuonyo. The in-laws even now agreed to give
her rightful share.
• The other three needed the assistance of the legal officer and their cases are still going on.
YWAP has held 8 sensitization workshops around Embakasi constituency namely in Njiru, Dandora,
Mukuru slums, Kayole and Soweto slums. This was to enlighten the community on the widow’s
inheritance rights and the effects of denying them this right.
YWAP is now under pressure to expand/ extend these services to the rural areas where burial happen
and where ancestral lands are. Reaching out to the rural community would be more effective in
reducing land grabbing from widows just like we saw in Kibaale in Uganda.
In Kenya the Succession act of 1981 stipulates that women may inherit property as dependants of the
deceased. There is simultaneous application of customary, religion and religious laws which lead to
confusion as regards family custody and maintenance of children. Socio-cultural norms in the diverse
communities of Kenya prohibit a uniform kind of inheritance where such property is land house and
animals.
CHANGES
Changes that have resulted from the implementation:
. An issue that we noted as a result of the learning route was the inability of the widows to be
financially stable so to carry out activities on lands that can generate incomes for those who have
access to land and those without land to purchase land. Widows lack finance to exploit land. This
is why YWAP encourages women to involve themselves in income generating activities. YWAP has
started a scheme where 12 women contribute money every week for purpose of buying land. YWAP is
seeking funding sources to advance credit to these or match their savings as banks have conditions
and interests too high for widows while YWAP will assist these widows to identify lands and pursue the
legalities of land purchase.
YWAP has a pro bono lawyer working part-time to assist in following up some of the widows cases.
Since the LR, YWAP works more closely with the local authority and even attends the (barazas) chiefs
meetings to talk to the public about widow inheritance rights.
FACTORS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT TO ACHIEVE THE RESULTS
1. The institutional changes have been very important. The capacity building of the staffs and
volunteers have brought about better productivity in terms of referrals, networking, advocacy, team
building. This has meant greater understanding and awareness of women especially those infected
and affected by HIV /aids of their property inheritance rights. More widows and their children can now
lay claim to family estate including land and access legal redress while challenging the customs and
greedy in-laws.
Above this YWAP has noted an increased knowledge and improved attitudes among the women and
girls about their human property and inheritance rights in Embakasi.
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This also means reduced incidences of property grabbing, dispossession and disinheritance of young
widows.
2. Financially the organization depend 80% on donor funds and so far2011 – 2012 activities were
funded by the UN women fund. This worked to strengthen the managerial skills of the staffs even
when funds are low.
3. Politically we have greater involvement of local leaders in preventing property grabbing from young
widows. This is also as a result of increased involvement of community members in Embakasi District
in participating in the protection of the widow’s property rights.
I am thankful to Procasur’s team, the organizers and the sponsors of the Learning Route as what I
learnt will go along way into changing those around me and with me. I also thank our organization
coordinator; she was much involved in the Learning Route coordination. For all the moral support that
she readily gives to us (members and staffs), to make us better and improve the organization. Young
widow’s offices were the final visiting destination (case) in the route. YWAP is open to new progressive
ideas. To me we are ‘shaking the tree’ sharing a lot of useful information, advice, and sharing our
knowledge with YWAP members and staffs. Those around us are sure deemed to change for the better.
We hope Procasur can involve more of our members in this sort of exchange program (learning route)
The learning route is an experience that I share with my friends, client widows and family members
and I would not hesitate to participate in another learning route.
11. THIRD TESTIMONY: LEARNING ROUTE ACHIEVEMENTS, UGANDA-KENYA:
THE CASE OF MALAGASY TEAM BY MINO RAMAROSON
SIF (Solidarité sur le des Intervenants Foncier) is the national civil society Platform that deals with land
issues. It has over 25 members organizations, especially NGOs, and also organizations representing
farmers. SIF conducted the implementation of an action-research project on women’s access to land.
In this context, three members, FVTM (Fédération Nationale des Femmes Rural Malagasy)7, SOA
network (Agriculteurs Syndicat National des)8 and HARDI NGO have signed an agreement with a
public research centre called FOFIFA (Foibe Fikarohana Ampiharina Amin’ny Fampandrosoana ny eny
Ambanivohitra)9. This project has allowed platform members to realize how important is to integrate
the gender dimension to promote women’s access to land. Particularly, considering the property
reform that is being implemented in the country.
SIF members that are interested in gender and land issues do not have a solid background on these
topics. In order to improve their approach to women rights in land tenure, the platform proposed the
participation of the action-research team members in the Learning Route (LR). The first objective of
the Platform and its members is to learn and see how rural women in other African countries face
access to land issues and what solutions have been successfully implemented to solve them. With the
knowledge and experience learned from the LR, the second objective was to propose solutions to the
platform members that were facing similar land issues, after the introduction of the gender dimension
in their activities related to land.
7 National Federation of Malagasy Rural Women
8 National Farmers Union
9 National Research Centre on Rural Development
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Two of the member organizations above, sent representatives to participate in the Route. A farmer
and a technician to support her:
• The FVTM representative was the General Secretary, Mrs Lilia Ravoniarisoa. This Federation
has about 7000 members in 19 of the 22 regions of the island. FVTM does not have a steering
group, so their activities are carried out directly by its members.
• The HARDI NGO representative was the executive director Miss Mino Ramaroson. This is an
organization that works in development, in four areas of action: schooling and social inclusion
of children in disadvantage conditions, micro-credit, support for micro-enterprises creation in
rural areas, and land issue.
The action-research project team’s participation in the Learning Route was generated by their lack
of knowledge on land and gender topics that are relevant to this project. Indeed, the project has
encouraged their female participants to raise their needs related to land access, such as obtaining a
land title (in a context where they have no access to steady income) or their need for empowerment in
this topic. However, the team has often expressed shortcomings meeting these requirements. The idea
of participating in the Route has been, above all, to visit the “sister” initiatives to draw lessons that can
be applied in the Malagasy context.
THE LEARNING ROUTE:
During the Route, three types of activities have been performed:
Presentations Workshops and Feedback
• Presentation of agencies participating in the Route.
• Feedback workshops and comments after field visits.
• Workshop on Innovation Plan.
Meetings with national agents linked to land tenure in the two countries:
• Presentation workshop of CALI project (that includes Uganda’s government and civil society in
developing a draft of the national land policy).
• Presentation workshop of activities of the Kenyan national platform and some of its members
on specific issues: gender and land, rural women training, the case of displaced camps (IDP)
that arose after the post-election violence.
Field Visits
• URDT (University of Rural Development and Training): visit to a community at Kibaale district,
SWAL10 beneficiary. The action-research project has led to the development of its “vision”, which
resulted in the establishment of women cooperatives (SACCO11). These women make loans
between them by mobilizing their own resources. Their objective is to acquire property titles in
order to ensure their access to land.
• AHURICA (Association on Human Rights and Civic Awareness) / FHRI (Foundation for Human
Rights Initiatives): Visit to a community in Kayunga district, SWAL beneficiary. Association still
embryonic, with little support from the organizations that have written action-research project;
lack of clarity about their results and activities, especially regarding the defence and awareness
of the consent clause for the sale of land belonging to the couple.
• IDP Network (Internal Displaced Persons): Visit to two refugee camps, which arose due to post-election
violence of 2008.
• SWAL beneficiary, Gatungu district. Involvement of multiple stakeholders in the district: its leader,
the elderly, women Watch Dog Group (WDG) and the head of land services. WDG Women play an
important role in the communities of this district.
10 SWAL: Securing Women’s Access to Land
11 SACCO: Saving and Credit Cooperatives
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LESSONS OF THE ROUTE
This route has enabled the Malagasy team to draw the following lessons:
• “Personal Visioning” is a method used by URDT for women awareness about their rights and,
above all, their land rights12.
• The Watch Dog Group model to start a behaviour change dynamic of the community in terms
of access and rights of women to land13.
• Impact of HIV-AIDS on communities and especially on women: the state of widow can lead to
women and children to be expelled from the community because of the illness stigma and the
land pressure.
• The success of a project requires a deeper involvement of community members, for example,
as volunteers.
• Importance of working closely with local authorities (on going dialogues, meetings, continuing
consultations...), especially for conflict resolution to enhance the implementation and gender
promotion at the community level.
• Effective awareness methods:
• Discussion forums on issues that concern community members. This allows to learn the
national gender problems about gender and land, and to achieve a spread effect (“oil slick).
Approach local authorities that are respected within the community: churches, associations,
local offices…
• It is necessary to support grassroots organizations in various topics to improve their vision:
organizational issues such as accountability and organization, technical support in useful
issues.
• Importance of partnership in carrying out the activities.
ACTIVITIES POST ROUTES
This route allowed the team to conceive a project proposing innovative activities drawn from the
experiences of the organizations and women visited. The team was particularly interested in the
initiatives proposed by URDT and GAMWI, as they may allow progress in permanent and inexpensive
solutions for rural Malagasy women.
The project has been accepted by ILC and this has allowed us to open a pilot experience, knowing that
existence of a specific case study that shows our purposes may help in the exchange of experiences. In
this framework, we have made in two areas of the country the following activities:
• “Personal visioning” workshops with the participation female leaders in their communities.
• Contacts and continuous dialogue between the administrative authorities and traditional
(local) on the land subject and women position.
• Sensitization to set up support groups within local communities, taking in account their
expectations and needs.
• Training workshops on issues that concerned women (simplified management, simplified
land legal framework, process of land security access, how to write a project...)
• Registration secures settlers’ land tenure. Support women to obtain recognition of their rights
to the land they occupy.
• YWAP (Young Widow Advanced Program): Visit to Kayole, Nairobi slum, SWAL beneficiary. This
visit allowed us to understand the situation of young widows (impact of HIV-AIDS) and the
actions taken by the organization to alleviate the problems of these women.
12 A methodological sheet on this subject, may be provided on demand.
13 A methodological sheet on this subject, may be provided on demand.
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• Awareness of the existence of a land agency at the community level, that makes easier the
access to land tenure documents.
The implementation of these activities has established a strong base to exchange information. The
pilot has been shared with the SIF Platform and some of its members that are interested in gender
and land topics. The problem for this collaboration has been the members’ misunderstanding of
the gender concept and what is involved in integrating it. An evidence of this is that most members
consider that Malagasy women have no problems of land access. As a consequence, they have
requested the project team to give a session focused on information and training on gender issues.
This will provide a basis to continue sharing experiences with SIF members and offer them the tools
created during the implementation of the pilot project.
Similarly, the Platform members have not yet adopted the idea of integrating gender into land
activities, delaying the behavioural change required to progress in this issue. Towards the end of last
year, SIF created a group to discuss the vision and future action plan for the organization, without a
clear discussion about gender issues. The problem lies in the fact that members have conflicting views
on this point, so we need to identify how to reach consensus. The aim is to change the community vision
regarding women position and their land rights, which must begin within the Platform members.
In the entities that have participated in the Learning Route and pilot project implementation (FVTM
and HARDI NGO), FTVM has integrated the “personal visioning” approach and training modules on
land tenure in their training and awareness tools. Moreover, the FTVM undertakes the formation
of groups, using the Watch Dog Group as a reference, in the member organizations. Particularly,
the FVTM have used and implemented these tools developed for the women’s leadership training
programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and IFAD. HARDI’s team has been less
sensitive to this initiative.
Instead, FVTM team has progressed with partnerships actions out of the Platform and its members.
Indeed, outside its field experiences, the team has approached the SAHA program (funded by the Swiss
Inter-cooperation) to share the results of the pilot actions, through the exchange meetings with the
gender team of the program. SAHA has requested the establishment ways of cooperation to allow
supported producers’ associations to benefit from this approach that was considered interesting by
the gender team of the program. This collaboration will result in training workshops and follow-up
sessions, directly at the grassroots associations level.
The development of this pilot project has allowed us to see how is the best way to adapt the lessons
learned during the Route to the Malagasy context. The team has decided to write a larger project to
serve more members of the FVTM. Moreover, the methods used have been internalized at the FTVM
level, especially the “personal visioning” principle when implementing women promotion activities.
Also FVTM is now thinking the best way to adapt this SACCO model at their members’ level, so they can
count on the means to increase their members’ income at each grassroot organization.
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Resty Namubiru :
I came to realize that the challenge of women’s access to land and ownership is a global issue but
mostly affecting the welfare of women in developing countries. This is one of the contributing
factors why many women remain disadvantaged and financially unstable. This is because they lack
ownership on land yet land is a major factor of production. After noting this from my experience in the
learning route, I decided to at least start awareness creation amongst some women as I was doing my
community work; I used to stress issues of women rights on land.
During the Learning Route, I discovered the Young Widows Advancement Programme in Kenya that
help women with challenges of land and family matters like helping widows who have lost property
to fill forms required to start claiming for their property. Likewise at some point in 2011 I got a chance
to work in the URDT land rights office, I used the knowledge I got from the learning route plus what I
read in books of law to advise people who had land challenges on how to overcome them especially
women. For example I helped one community member on how to write a will, advised others on how
to safe guard their land by planting land boundary markings for systematic land demarcation and
safe guarding it from being grabbed by members of their late husband’s family.
Furthermore, I mobilized the local community where I was working and enabled them demand for their
rights through a platform called baraza/ open forum. Through this arrangement, men and women
put their leaders to task to explain important concerns that actually ranged from social, economic,
political and even issues of rights. This arrangement enhanced transparency and accountability and it
was such learning for many women and men who attended it. Issues of women rights were brought to
light and many women came to appreciate some of the information that they actually did not know.
Land rights questions and issues were enlightened by the land rights officers at Sub-county level.
The Visionary Approach was shared by the groups met in Kibaale District of Uganda, I believe it’s a
good approach to human development. In practice and in my daily life, I learnt how to apply it and it
has helped me a lot by guiding my actions until I reach what I want.
Because of the learning route I personally made friends who have turned out to be very useful in my life
in terms of sharing advice, experience, challenges and development concerns.
Personally I managed to buy a small piece of land with my husband but importantly to note is when
it came to writing the land agreement I persuaded him and he agreed to be written in the names of
both us as buyers and signed.
12: FOURTH TESTIMONY: SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM POST LEARNING
ROUTE ENGAGEMENT BY JACQUELINE AKELLO AND NAMUBIRU RESTY
ACTORS
Namubiru Resty is a graduate of African Rural University currently an Epi-Center manager at
Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme.
Jacqueline Akello is University Secretary and African Rural University and formerly Director
Programmes at the time the Learning Route took place in 2010. This story is jointly prepared by
the two people to give individual learning and Institutional learning based on our experience of
the Learning Route Organised by Procasur in 2010.
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Out of the learning route information, I developed a concept note with an inspiration to help fellow
women especially those whose rights on land are affected. I have tried to share it with a few women
with whom we do similar work of rural transformation but I haven’t identified a donor for support yet.
Jacqueline Akello :
I partially participated in the learning route. I was greatly privileged and honored to learn how the
learning Route works. The level of preparation involved, especially as demonstrated by Fred Luganda
and Ariel of Procassur. When I attended the capacity building workshop in Kampala and subsequently
participated in preparing the rural women participants to share and teach other women their
experiences, it opened a creative spark in me. We were getting to the conclusion of a participatory
Action Research on Voicing Women’s Aspirations on Land and Land Matters. The research was
financed by International Land Coalition (ILC) Small Grants Programme.
Yes we had documented the aspirations, what could be done at individual and collective levels to
realize these aspirations. There was a big challenge on institutional in-roads to enabling women in
rural Kibaale to attain their aspirations on land rights and land matters. I reflected on what next. The
Learning Route created an answer to the question I had had for quite some time. How can we support
rural women to be the lead agents to advocate for their land rights? After they have articulated their
visions, assessed their current situations developed action plans to bridge the gap between their
aspirations, developed individual and group level action plans, how were we to continue supporting
them now that the funding was getting over? I take it as a personal challenge to support women that
are disadvantaged through my institution by designing, testing out what works and sharing it wider
with others. That way we collectively plant the seeds of empowering women to secure their land rights
and subsequently build come economically less vulnerable.
Fortunately when Reste Namubiru and Ednansi travelled to Kenya and Kayunga District of Uganda
shared their lessons and Innovation Plan, I realized we could actually organize a min-learning route.
URDT Innovation Plan was supported with funding from ILC and the activities implemented. In our
mini-learning route, the rural women participants gained lessons from Central Uganda in Luwero
District. They realized that women could further attain their aspirations if they were economically
empowered, which was a possibility through organized agricultural cooperatives, linking farmers to
markets.
Three things emerged institutionally:
1. We were given opportunity to pilot the same processes (LR) we had gone through in working
with rural women articulate their aspirations on land rights in a project titled “Securing
Women’s Land rights in Northern Uganda”. This gave a new twist to our learning particularly
if we were to create the empowerment of rural women to secure their land rights in complex
situations of post war land related conflict in customary land ownership regimes. I cannot
say for sure that this pilot was a success as it is ongoing. More so it has an institutional
development aspect to it, building the capacity of a local organization to replicate what we
managed to do in Kibaale (for the LR). However, the rural women in the pilot programme have
been facilitators in the process (local women are active participants). In the second phase of
the pilot, they were to also have a learning route so that the women from these diverse cultural
settings learn from each other.
2. Another factor that the participating rural women facilitators in the learning route pointed
out was lack of education and ignorance of land laws in Uganda. This fact has taken us on
a journey of research to understand the knowledge levels of land rights amongst secondary
school going children in Kibaale. The findings were a serious reflection of the women’s
concerns. An excerpt of the baseline findings reads:
26. 26
a. The education policy – land education is not among the key programmes. The only
programs that offer functional literacy on land are only given by Non-Governmental actors
which are limited in scope and depend on donor funding and are not sustainable. The policy
recommends that government should make concerted effort to implement land rights
education to the population for development.
b. Several international instruments provide for rights to property and among them is the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform
of Action which recognizes the legal and customary barriers to women’s ownership of and
access to land. It called on nations to embark on legislative and administrative reforms to
give women equal rights with men to economic resources including rights to ownership and
control of land. At the national level, this encourages sensitization on human rights including
rights to land.
• Key findings from primary sources
a. Knowledge land rights
i. 75% of students understood land rights to mean buying, inheriting and
owning land.
ii. 98% of Students knew how family land was acquired.
iii. Students participated in land management by tilling the land but were rarely consulted in
major decisions such as selling and buying.
iv. Denial of land rights affects development and leads to increased poverty at family level as
well as national level. The women cannot be very productive on land which they are not secure
on and therefore do not benefit from government programmes like NAADS.
b. Knowledge of laws and policies on land rights
i. All teachers interviewed knew about the 1995 Constitution of the republic of Uganda with
only 12.5% of the male being aware of the provision on the right on land. All the female
teachers did not know about this provision and no school had a copy of the constitution.
ii. 100% of the teachers did not know that the Land Act provides for protection of family land
and provides that no single spouse can sell, mortgage, transfer or do anything that affect the
land where the family resides and derives sustenance without the written consent of the other
spouse.
c. The current strategies for promoting land rights education in secondary schools include:
I. Inclusion of land rights in Secondary School Subjects by UNEB - Efforts have been made to
teach some aspects of land under Commerce and agriculture but land rights are not covered.
II. Teaching syllabus for Farm schools - In this syllabus soil and its management is the only
component on land however the Principals of these schools have requested NCDC to develop
a curriculum that is Ugandan.
III. Up coming Entrepreneurship Programme in secondary schools - This new Entrepreneurship
programme for secondary schools does not include land rights. Knowledge on ownership,
control and land tenure systems is necessary for any permanent or long term investment.
On consultation with the National Curriculum Development Centre, they have welcomed proposals
for possible inclusion in the ongoing Secondary Schools Curriculum review.
The above are two of the many examples of success from the learning.
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ENABLING FACTORS:
The reasons for the success are;
1. URDT as an institution at the time was receptive to staff creativity.
2. Cooperative local government institutions such as the Education Department and office of the
District Speakers
3. Collaborative networks especially in the then Rural Development Institute turned Landesa
to pilot the Kibaale Success in Northern Uganda and Charity for Rural Development, a local
community based organization.
4. The organization Volunteer Efforts for Development Concern (VEDCO) in central Uganda was
very receptive to our rural women to share lessons and interact with other people that they
had worked with in aspects of livelihood and linking farmers to markets.
At the personal level, I successfully set my aspiration to procure land and with my savings and support
of my father procured land where I have planted trees. Although they have been affected by drought,
the fact that I succeeded to enlist my father’s support of this aspiration was a turning point, since he
was a strong believer in boys having more right to land than girls.
In conclusion, Reste and I have managed to work as effective agents of change at personal, family and
the wider communities. Our institutional dispositions have enabled us to impact on many women’s
lives in talking about, negotiating with their spouses, clans and institutions regarding their land
rights. A new chapter in the developments within Kibaale District where previously men were the key
negotiators on land matters. They now consult with women.
A typical example is the story of Christine, in Atiak sub-country Amuru District. The first time I
interacted with her through a visit organized by Charity for Rural Development a Community Based
organization, she was devasted. As a single mother returning from Internally Displace Camps in
Northern Uganda, she did not have a specific place where to go. However as custom demands, she
had to return to her maternal roots. Land in Acholi belongs to the community and governed using a
hierarchy of clan leaders who are all men. A single woman who returns home can be given some land
to use for herself and children. She cannot build any permanent structure. However the land given is
dependent on the goodwill of a given elder in one homestead (comprises of several homesteads with
a common grandfather).
In Christine’s case, her mother had also returned to her maternal roots since her husband had died in
the course of the war. Christine, through it was her right to live with her biological mother. After three
months, her own mother burnt up the little grass thatched shelter and demanded Christine finds her
own place. This is because the land that she had been given would not be sufficient to produce enough
food for her and Christine’s five children.
When I met Christine, she was living with well wishers. On discussing various options, she took courage
to have a conversation with the clan leader. The clan leader allocated to her and the children 3 acres of
land. Christine joined a saving group. She allocated one acre of land so that she could produce crops
(sesame) sell and start savings to buy her own piece of land. Initially she did not know that women
had rights to land. Christine is not alone; several women served by Chaford have similar stories. They
strongly believe there is hope after having two sessions of training on how to have a personal vision,
analyze a situation and develop strategies on how to achieve one’s vision.
Another scenario is that of Agnes (not real name) on our initial contact, she said it was improper for
women to discuss land matters. Having gone through our training and mentoring, she participated
in the Learning Route at the community level. Subsequently she was trained with others in
communication skills. Agnes eventually became ambassador for other women in Kinaale in the
National Women’s land Movement Conference held in Kampala.
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