African women’s land campaign turns 10 with demand for official ownership data

Women’s land rights advocates from 22 African countries meeting in Arusha to mark the 10th anniversary of the Mount Kilimanjaro campaign have demanded that governments publish official data showing how many rural women own land, arguing that the absence of figures makes it impossible to measure progress.

“It is high time that official data indicating how many rural women in Africa have managed to own land is made available,” said Eva Daudi, chairperson of the African Kilimanjaro Rural Women Farmers Forum. Anna Sangai of the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme said information on women’s land ownership remained inadequate across Africa despite efforts to promote their rights through a continental campaign launched in 2016.

The initiative was launched at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in October 2016, when 30 rural women climbed the mountain while more than 250 others gathered at its base, presenting the Charter of Demands and Aspirations of African Women on Land Rights to national governments and the African Union and calling for stronger protection of women’s access to land.

Dr Janet Edeme, director of the African Union Commission’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, said women’s access to and control over land were crucial to improving food security, noting that rural farmers play a central role in food production and must be able to own and control the land they cultivate.

Delegates also raised concerns about women’s vulnerability during natural disasters, noting that those without formal land ownership documents could struggle to obtain compensation for losses. Naomi Mwaiponya of Oxfam International in Nairobi said women were often disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters and cited the possibility of El Niño-related flooding in East Africa, calling on governments to strengthen protection for vulnerable communities.