Latin American countries have pursued rural land titling and registration campaigns over the past several decades with a broad range of social and economic goals. These efforts represent a permanent or long-term legal recognition of rights to land as a primary economic asset for agricultural communities and a source of family subsistence, security, and social and cultural wellbeing. Land rights can provide multi-generational benefits to recipients.

Land rights are ascendant across the development sector. Movements addressing women’s empowerment, poverty, social justice, food security and climate change are all increasingly turning to land rights to strengthen their cause. In 2022, renowned philanthropist MacKenzie Scott joined these efforts by making an unprecedented $20 million investment in our work. Ms. Scott’s generous gift represents a profound endorsement of the power of land rights to improve the lives of women, men, and communities around the world.

There is a correlation between socio-economic development, human rights and the empowerment of men and women to participate at all levels of decision making. Secure land rights are an important precondition for the achievement of these goals, including and the realisation of a broad spectrum of human rights: adequate housing, equality, food, health, work and education.

Securing women’s rights, access to, and control over housing, land, and property (HLP) are important for livelihood generation, food security, a store of wealth, and other economic benefits. Ensuring women’s HLP rights also provides social benefits, such as improved bargaining power within the household and community. Data on women’s rights to HLP is limited, but available evidence from 53 countries shows that within those countries, over 70 percent of women do not own any land. Without action, women are at risk of being left farther behind.

Les politiques foncières redistributives suscitent souvent des débats controversés quant à leur équité. La politique de mise en valeur agricole, en cours en Algérie depuis 1983, a donné un nouveau souffle à l’agriculture algérienne et a considérablement élargi les perspectives de développement pour des milliers d’acteurs dans les zones arides du pays. En déverrouillant simultanément l’accès à la terre et à l’eau souterraine publiques, l’État joue un rôle d’allocation, ou dans certains cas de réallocation, des ressources productives.

Ces dernières années, le nombre de conflits d’héritage gérés par le tribunal de première instance de Cotonou a considérablement augmenté. Pourtant, même lorsqu’une décision est rendue, peu de familles exécutent le jugement. Partant de ce constat, cet article vise à comprendre la manière dont les héritiers comprennent et utilisent le droit dans la capitale béninoise. La justice y est mobilisée pour agir sur les hiérarchies familiales et l’accès aux ressources – un objectif qui ne nécessite pas toujours de respecter la décision du juge.

Land is being degraded rapidly worldwide. Our current agricultural practices are causing soils worldwide to be eroded up to 100 times faster than natural processes replenish them. At this critical moment, enabling the full contribution of women to halting land degradation and tackling drought is needed now more than ever.

Women comprise nearly half of the world’s agricultural workforce, producing 60–80 per cent of the food grown in developing countries1, so are poised to lead on sustainable land management practices while keeping their families and communities fed.

This report provides a critical update to the 2017 Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) analysis Power and Potential. It evaluates the extent to which national laws, as of 2024, recognize the specific community forest rights of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community women. The analysis covers 35 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that encompass about 80 percent of forests in these three regions and 42 percent of global forest area.

Property ownership is a male domain in Jordan, where women are dependent on men for housing. A patriarchal pattern of power dominates both inheritance and property. While the inheritance rights of women are formally enshrined in the constitution, in Islamic law (Sharia), and in the customary law particularly common in the steppe regions, female heirs continue to face social pressure to renounce their rights in favor of male heirs. Most women either do not receive the share of inheritance that the law entitles them to or they are simply denied their right to housing and land.

A patriarchal pattern of power dominates both inheritance and property in Jordan. This pattern affects women, but also the youth - which is much less studied. While the inheritance rights of women are formally enshrined in the constitution, in Islamic law (Sharia), female heirs continue to face social pressure to renounce their rights in favor of male heirs. Only one fourth of Jordanian women entitled to property inheritance receive it fully. Elder sons decide of the fate of the father, not always following the Sharia law.