Global campaign ¡°Stand For Her Land¡± aims to bridge gap between law and practice so that women can realize their equal rights to land
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2019 ¨C Women in half of the countries in the world are unable to assert equal land and property rights despite legal protections, warned members of a new global campaign that formally launches today. The campaign, , aims to close this persistent gap between law and practice worldwide so that millions of women can realize these rights in their daily lives.
¡°For men and women alike, land is the foundation for security, shelter, and livelihood, supports women¡¯s dignity and creates pathways to empowerment and economic opportunity,¡± said Karol Boudreaux, Chief Program Officer with the land rights group, Landesa, a founding partner of the Stand For Her Land campaign. ¡°For women, land truly is a gateway right ¨C without it, efforts to improve the basic rights and well-being of all women will continue to be hampered.¡±
Stand For Her Land founding partners , , , (GLTN) Partners, and the World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP are hosting a public launch event, ¡°Presenting Stand For Her Land,¡± at 3 pm, March 25, ahead of the opening session of the World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP Land and Poverty Conference 2019 at ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, D.C.
¡°Secure land rights are essential for women¡¯s economic empowerment and creating incentives for investment, providing an asset that can be leveraged for agriculture or business development, and offering a solid foundation for financial stability,¡± said Anna Wellenstein, Director, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP. ¡°Improving women¡¯s access to ¨C and control over ¨C economic resources also has a positive effect on a range of development goals, including poverty reduction and economic growth. We are committed to working with partners to close the gap and make land rights for women a reality globally.¡±
Persistent discriminatory social norms and practices are among the strongest barriers standing between women and their land and property rights. Weak implementation of policies, insufficient capacity to enforce laws, and a lack of political will further compound the problem. And poor access to legal services and a lack of understanding of laws within communities and households ¨C and by women themselves ¨C build an invisible but near impenetrable wall to women realizing land and property rights in rural and urban areas alike.
¡°Insecure land rights create obstacles for women engaging in farming and other agricultural activities, in starting and running a home-based enterprise, and, as we¡¯ve observed, in accessing safe and decent housing,¡± said Jane Katz, Director of International Affairs and Programs, of Habitat for Humanity International. ¡°As urbanization continues to increase, land rights are an issue for all those living in cities as well as in rural areas.¡±
With so much at stake, there is growing recognition ¨C and a growing movement ¨C to strengthen women¡¯s land rights around the world. The Stand For Her Land campaign aims to be a driving force behind this movement by catalyzing a consolidated push across settings and cultures ¨C urban, rural, customary, and indigenous ¨C to narrow the gap between law and practice towards secure women¡¯s land.
¡°Global and regional efforts, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, the African Union¡¯s Campaign for Women¡¯s Land Ownership and Agenda 2063, and U.S. Government¡¯s new Global Women¡¯s Development and Prosperity Initiative, recognize that women¡¯s land rights are critical to achieving gender equality and tackling some of the world¡¯s most pressing development challenges,¡± said Oumar Sylla, Leader of the Land and Global Land Tool Network Unit, UN-Habitat. ¡°The Stand For Her Land Campaign aims to translate these gains at the highest levels into real change for women in villages and communities across the globe.¡±
The main objective of the campaign is to drive real change on the ground ¨C consolidating local and national efforts by civil society groups, grassroots organizations, advocates and allies across sectors.
¡°This campaign is not a top-down effort but rather an approach to strengthening land rights from the ground up,¡± said Violet Shivutse, grassroots women¡¯s leader from Kenya and Chair of the Huairou Commission. ¡°Advocates, steeped in local contexts and the specific needs of communities, can apply their own expertise to overcome barriers for women and become the engines of social impact.¡±
Visit to learn more about on the Stand For Her Land campaign.
