Women have ‘unequal, limited access over land’

Women are major actors in the global efforts to reduce and reverse land degradation.

However, in the vast majority of countries, women have unequal and limited access to and control over land.

This according to deputy environment minister Heather Sibungo, who was speaking at a commemoration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, celebrated on 17 June every year.

“Despite government efforts since independence, the vast majority of women in the 14 regions of our country have unequal and limited access to and control over land. In many regions, they remain subject to discriminatory laws and practices that impede their right to inherit land, as well as their access to services and resources.”

Sibungo added that the main objective of the day is to raise awareness on the disproportionate impact of desertification, land desertification and drought on women and girls, and the barriers they face in decision-making on land issues.

The theme for this year was ‘her land, her rights’.



Land and gender equality

“We cannot achieve land degradation neutrality without gender equality and we cannot exclude half of the population from land management decisions because of their gender.”

Sibungo said land degradation is caused by multiple factors, including extreme weather conditions, as well as human activities such as over-cultivation, overgrazing and forest conversion and fragmentation that puts pressure on arable and pasture land, consequently leading to the degradation of soil quality.

This inadvertently affects the production of ecosystem services that sustain us through food production and, to a greater extent, our livelihoods.

She added that desertification, land degradation and drought disproportionately impact women and girls, as they often do not have access to and control over land resources.

“They are most affected by reduced agricultural yields and increased water scarcity.”



Investing in the future

According to Sibungo, investing in women’s equal access to land and associated assets is a direct investment in their future and the future of humanity. Securing women's land rights can help advance global gender equality and land restoration goals, and contribute to the achievement of broader Sustainable Development Goals, she said.

She added that Namibia affirms its commitment to gender equality by raising awareness of the disproportionate impact of desertification, land degradation and drought on women and girls, and the barriers they face in decision-making on land issues, and highlighting women's contributions to sustainable land management.

According to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification landmark study, gender equality remains ‘unfinished business’ in every part of the world.

Nearly half of the global agricultural workforce is female – yet less than one in five landholders worldwide are women, it found.

“Women’s rights to inherit their husband’s property continue to be denied in over 100 countries under customary, religious or traditional laws and practices.”

Globally, women already spend a collective 200 million hours every day collecting water. In some countries, a single trip to fetch water can take over an hour.



Long track record

Sibungo said gender equality is the key to delivering sustainable, broad-minded and meaningful actions to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation.

According to her, Namibia has a long track record of placing gender equality firmly at the core of its development agenda, especially by prioritising the education of the girl child and promoting and protecting women’s land rights, and viewing women as a vital catalyst to our country’s progress.

“Government also promotes women’s access to finance through various development programmes in agriculture and other sector of the economy, and encourages businesses - especially financial institutions - to prioritise women and girls in their investments and facilitate access to finance and technology for women.”