(Ecofin Agency) - In a study it recently released, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) complained about women’s poor access to rural lands in Tanzanians despite all the positive efforts to insure gender equality in land regulation. The study depicts mainly the low number of women part of village councils and assemblies that have decision power over land transfers.  

Entitled “Mainstreaming gender in Tanzania’s local land governance”, the study suggests the integration of a gender approach in the local legislation to insure that women are more involved in decision-taking processes, thus have more access to lands.

Led by the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA), in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI), the study “has developed regulatory models which will improve women’s contribution in decision-taking process in relation to local land management. The initiative was carried out in Kidugalo and Vilabwa, two villages of the Kisarawe district. The new regulatory models were developed through a down-up participative process, and include explicit measures to help women significantly contributes in decision-taking processes in villages. The report describes the procedures followed to develop the regulations, results obtained so far, lessons learnt and development perspectives,” Médiaterre reports.

Among these perspectives, besides progressive national laws, there is the education of women in regards to the land issue and support programmes.

Souha Touré