Stand for Her Land launches in Bangladesh; Promoting youth land rights in Tanzania; Meet Susan Waruhiu.

This newsletter was sent on Jan 18, 2023
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STAND FOR HER LAND NEWS

Building a movement for gender equity in Bangladesh

A group photo at the Stand for Her Land launch in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, women comprise almost three-quarters of the country’s agricultural workforce, helping feed the South Asian nation of some 170 million people. Yet, only about 5 percent of women have legal rights to the land they farm – a gap that persists because of customs and social norms that exclude women from land allocation programs and from inheritance of family land.

Within this context, the Stand for Her Land (S4HL) Bangladesh coalition took an important step forward in closing the gap between policy and practice with the national launch of their campaign, held in the capital of Dhaka on Dec. 8. Campaign organizers, including local lead partner Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and global partners Landesa and the International Land Coalition gathered alongside representatives from government, media, civil society, and advocacy groups to call for equality in women’s rights to land and property. Campaigners said that social norms and behavior change and increasing women’s participation in decision-making would be key priorities.

The campaign launch coincided with the publication of a background analysis on women’s land rights in Bangladesh, which confirms the barriers many women face to enjoying equal rights to land.

READ THE BACKGROUND ANALYSIS

Here are several snapshots from the campaign launch:

Dancers with the Rupantar troupe perform a traditional song and dance. IN the foreground, a man in all yellow is playing a drum and dancing, and a woman is wearing yellow with some red and green while dancing and playing a tamborine.

Dancers with the Rupantar pot song troupe perform a traditional song and dance, with lyrics inspired by the S4HL Bangladesh campaign’s efforts to strengthen women’s land rights. Both live and recorded performances of the pot song will be used as a tool for raising awareness of the campaign.

Several large video cameras are pointing at a man speaking at a podium, who is speaking into a microphone and wearing a tan suit with a maroon tie.

M.A. Mannan, Honorable Minister of the Government of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Planning, was a distinguished guest speaker at the launch.

A group of seven women in colorful clothes are facing the camera and smiling on a tree-lined path.

These women from Shahorgram village in Dinajpur District have organized within their village to advocate for greater decision-making on land.

FIELD FOCUS BLOG

A growing momentum to promote youth land rights in Tanzania

By Godfrey Massay, Tanzania Program Director

Agroup of people in Indonesia are holding up a large banner that says 'Stop the theft of Maasai land in Loliondo, Tanzania' signed by the 'Indegenous youth of Indonesia'.

Since 2018, Landesa Tanzania has conducted a youth land rights assessment, published a policy brief on youth land rights, published two blogs on youth land rights, developed a training manual on youth land rights, and built the capacity of over 1,000 youth on land rights.

Most recently, Landesa Tanzania, in collaboration with PELUM Tanzania and Mufindi District Council, supported land use planning and the issuance of Certificates of Customary Rights of Occupancy (CCROs) in two villages of Ikongosi and Ikongosi Juu. A total of 2,128 CCROs were issued in which 1,000 (47%) women and 409 (19%) youth benefited respectively.

Now more than ever, there is momentum and opportunity to advance youth land rights in Tanzania. The government of Tanzania has recently developed and launched a strategy to engage youth in agriculture called Building a Better Tomorrow: Youth Initiative for Agribusinesses. The Ministry of Agriculture has identified poor access to land as one of the challenges affecting youth, which the strategy is set to address.

To tap the potential of the country’s agriculture sector, in July 2022 the Ministry of Agriculture launched the largest block farm (11,453 acres) in Dodoma, anticipated to generate more employment opportunities for youth through access to land. Two additional farms with 3,560 acres and 8,000 acres respectively are expected to be launched in Dodoma soon, and many other regions in the country will follow.

KEEP READING

Landesa in the news

A woman looks on at a man driving a tractor tilling a field with dust billowing behind.

Photo from The Citizen

	Economic gender-based violence: A driver of other forms of violence Landesa’s Khadija Mrisho discusses the safety net of rights to land and other links between land & gender-based violence in an op-ed for The Citizen Newspaper.
	Food Security, Climate Resilience Hinge on Women’s Land Rights Read about women’s land rights, food security, and climate change in an interview with Landesa’s Global Advocacy Director for S4HL Esther Wanjiku Mwaura Muiru and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.
	We must secure women's land rights to tackle climate vulnerability Landesa research was quoted in an article about centering women in climate decision making and shifting discriminatory norms that hinder women from accessing land.

Staff Spotlight: Susan Waruhiu

Susan Waruhiu is a Program Coordinator based in Nairobi, Kenya. Susan began working for Landesa in 2022.

What work at Landesa makes you particularly proud?
"Landesa’s approach to land rights for rural women and men not only empowers them about their rights but goes beyond knowledge to support communities better themselves. By rebuilding trust among members, Landesa equips them with the capacity to support themselves when the intervention ends."

READ SUSAN'S INTERVIEW

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