This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
Kenya: Data on Rural Woman's Control of Land Paints a Dismal Picture ¶
On October 15, 2019, a group of about 100 women from rural counties gathered at the Christian Leadership Centre in Nairobi to mark the International Day of Rural Women.
The event aimed to recognize the contribution and vital role rural and indigenous women play globally in enhancing agriculture, food security, poverty alleviation, and rural development.
According to data from the Kenya Land Alliance, only 10.3% of the three million title deeds issued between 2013 and 2017 went to women.
Groots Kenya, a national movement of grassroots woman-led community-based organizations, is working to empower rural women by ending discrimination in land reforms and promoting economic empowerment.
However, the real economic empowerment of rural women requires their full involvement and recognition in land ownership, which is currently restricted due to discriminatory cultural practices and social norms.
Women's rights organizations argue that grassroots rural women need to be represented in land boards to curb the culture of illegal transfers of matrimonial property without spousal consent.
