Women in #Tanzania set for equal land rights – let’s make sure it happens | Jennifer Duncan and Scholastica Haule | Global development | theguardian.com
▻http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/oct/15/women-tanzania-equal-land-rights
Women in Tanzania have until now had tenuous rights to the land they rely on to feed their families. Though Tanzania’s Land Act and Village Land Act (both passed in 1999) provide for women’s ownership of land, customary practices regarding marriage and inheritance continue to discriminate heavily against women. The current constitution upholds equal rights to property for men and women, but does not clarify whether the law or custom take precedent when there is a conflict. And such a conflict exists in communities across the nation, undermining women’s rights.
In Tanzania, as in much of Africa, customary practices often require women to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men who control the land.
This makes women vulnerable and decreases agricultural productivity. When women lose their connection to this male relative, either through death, divorce or migration, they can lose their land, home and means of supporting themselves and their families.
The new constitutional language would override customary practices that weaken women’s rights to land, according to local news reports.
