Land Tenure System: Women’s Access to Land in a Cosmopolitan Context

Abstract

Land tenure is a concept that looks at how people gain access to land and how they make use of it. In various African societies, there are cases where women's land ownership is complicated by the gender ideology that women should not own property, particularly land and housing. Women who own property tend to be stereotyped as self-assertive and unruly, and therefore not marriage worthy. This study utilized primary data and combined quantitative and qualitative methods in analyzing the data collected. Focused group discussions (FGDs) were also organized as a source of qualitative information to support the quantitative data. Findings from the research are that there is an increase in net registration of titles to land by males over the period, compared to a reduction in females registering titles. There is a gender difference in the number of plots owned by males and females. Males owned more plots of land as compared to females. While the majority of male respondents directly negotiated for their land purchases, it was more usual for females to use male intermediaries in an effort to prevent being duped by predominantly male land sellers. Recommendation from the study is that equal inheritance rights to land should be guaranteed to both men and women.