Microfinance programs targeting poor women are considered a ‘prudent’ first step for international financial institutions seeking to rebuild post conflict economies. IFIs continue to visibly support microfinance despite evidence and growing consensus that microfinance neither reduces poverty nor breaks the cycle of domestic violence. In the case of Timor-Leste, a feminist political economy approach reveals how microfinance engendered debt allows for the control, extraction, and accumulation of profits and resources by an elite class and exacerbates gender-based violence.

This article reviews the invisibility and the recognition of rural female work in the Patagonian region of Argentina over time. The analysis is carried out based on (a) the systematisation of research articles (b) a historical study of censuses, and (c) the systematisation of rural development plans related to the subject. The article adopts an ecofeminist perspective. The results have been organised into four sections.

This report titled Land in India: Issues and Debates is part of an initiative under the aegis of India Land & Development Conference (ILDC) which has a long-term objective of bringing out an annual Status of Land in India volume. This report is a modest beginning in that direction by drawing on the works of ILDC partners to present a quick over view of some of the key developments and debates in India’s land sector. The report brings together 11key issues which currently engage the minds of the policy makers and researchers in India.

This document compiles four short reports and reflection pieces produced by Natural Habitats Group (NHG) during their involvement in a LEGEND project in Sierra Leone implemented by Solidaridad, which aimed to ensure that an NHG land based investment, undertaken by group member company Natural Habitats Sierra Leone Ltd (NHSL) to develop a large oil palm plantation respected existing community members and land holding families’ land rights.

Innovative technologies for land governance can promote clear land tenure and effective land administration, reduce corruption, and support economic growth. Mobile technologies offer real-time access to information and open communication between people and government services. These technologies are revolutionizing land governance around the world; however, without additional steps to ensure that women and men equitably benefit from the technology revolution, the application of these technologies may amplify the preexisting inequalities that women face.

The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges of women on land rights, in Tanzania customary practices often required woman to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men who control the land, so this makes women vulnerable and decreases agricultural productivity. When women loses 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.

Land is owned by the state and peoples of Ethiopia. Rural farmers and pastoralists have landholding right which contains bundle of rights. Women have equal right to fully use their landholding. Ethiopia has implemented a first level land certification (FLLC). Despite the achievements of the FLLC, gaps were identified especially as regards to local participation throughout the certification process. Ethiopia is currently implementing Second Level Land Certification.

In Zambia, security of tenure for communities residing under customary land tenure settings has in recent years increasingly come under threat owing to the pressures of high rate of urbanization, speculation, subdivision and conversion to state land, which effectively excludes marginal populations from accessing resources for their land. While customary land is a major resource for most Zambians, the inadequacy or total lack of documentation leads to tenure insecurity, making people susceptible to forced displacements, and frequent land disputes.

La pertinencia de esta Guía procede de los diagnósticos previamente realizados. En ellos se identificó que las mujeres rurales experimentan distintos obstáculos para acceder a la justicia y a la tierra, como la discriminación estructural, el desconocimiento general acerca de sus derechos sobre la tierra y sobre temas relacionados con situaciones de violencia de género. También se identificó que las mujeres tienen necesidad de obtener información sobre cómo acceder a la justicia para poder hacer efectivos sus derechos.

This commentary highlights the importance of land tenure security for women and indigenous peoples. Land titles are often used as a proxy for women’s land security;but focusing on titling alone does not lead to greater tenure security for women. To ensure tenure security;the development community;policymakers and practitioners must expand the range of interventions that address constraints women face when exercising their land rights.

With the feminization of agriculture, the role of women in the rural land transfer market is becoming increasingly important. However, at present, there is little research focusing on the relationship between the off-farm migration of female laborers and land transfer rates.

Evidence shows that women can benefit from having individualised land rights formalized in their names. However, similar evidence is not available for formalization of land rights that are based on collective tenure. Studies have estimated that as much as 65 percent of the world’s land is held under customary, collective-tenure systems. Improving tenure security for land held collectively has been shown to improve resource management and to support self-determination of indigenous groups.