Women’s Access to Land and Security of Tenure post 2013 Constitution in Zimbabwe

Rural women’s livelihoods in Africa are dependent on their rights and entitlement to land as well as security of tenure. Equally important is how land laws and land governance systems shape and reshape women’s access to land and tenure security. As such, this paper focuses on women’s access to land and tenure security after the adoption of a new Constitution in 2013 and Statutory Instrument 53 of 2014 in Zimbabwe. Whereas both legal instruments are progressive and guarantee women’s rights to property, their realization is shrouded in complexities and contradictions. Customary practices still insist on male privileges to own and allocate land whilst women have fragile usufruct rights and limited sole or joint ownership. State land administrators are also complicit in violating women’s rights. Overall, there is need to uphold both the Constitution and related laws to promote gender justice when it comes to women’s land rights and tenure security.