Access to land for women’s empowerment: The case of Basona Werana Woreda, North Showa, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

There was inequality between women and men-headed households on landholding in Amhara
region, so this study was conducted to examine access to land for women’s empowerment in
Basona Werana Woreda, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. The specific objectives
include assess the status of women’s access to land, identify factors that affect access to land of
women and analyze the role of access to land for women’s empowerment level in the study area.
In this study, multistage sampling technique was employed and samples of 150 representative
households were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Both qualitative and
quantitative research approaches were used. The data were collected from primary and
secondary sources. Household interview, focused group discussion and key informant interview
were major data collection methods. Descriptive and inferential statistics and econometric
models were applied for analysis. Binary Logit was used for factors affecting access to land of
women and ordered Logit to analyze the role of access to land for women’s empowerment level.
Among the total respondents, 52.7% were accessible while 47.3% weren’t accessible to land.
The result of binary Logit revealed that age of the household head, marital status, educational
status, household size, distance from the rural land administration office, access to information
and access to training significantly influenced access to land. The result of the ordered Logit
model revealed that marital status, access to land, land size, access to information and access to
credit significantly influenced women empowerment. The less accessibility of land for women
should be improved by provisions of land equally. In addition the government bodies and the
societies in the Basona Werana Woreda have to access education programs, roads, training and
credit for women