The Kenyan Constitution states that men and women are equal under the law. Despite the new legislation, women in Kenya still face discrimination for exercising their rights to own land with their name on it rather than their husbands’ name.
Women’s Land Rights in Kenya
Property and land rights for women recently expanded in Kenya, particularly for married women, a group denied land ownership in the past. Passed in 2013, the Matrimonial Property Act states that marriage between a man and a woman rests on a foundation of equality. It recognizes spouses as equal property owners and protects women’s rights to land ownership during marriage, divorce and separation.
The Act follows the repeal of previous gender-discriminatory laws, anointing a new progressive path for the country. Before the Act’s enactment, Kenya’s government enforced the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, a piece of legislation leftover from the era of British colonization, explained Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) Faith Alubbe in an interview with The Borgen Project. KLA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for equal land access in Kenya.
“For women, land ownership is very important for them to be able to feed their families, for them to be able to access or use land and to control it,” said Alubbe. “As it is right now, most women only access and use land. They rarely control and own it.”
Today, nearly a decade after the Act’s passage, only 10.3% of Kenyan women own land title deeds, according to statistics from KLA. Even with the implementation of this new law, varied customs and traditions that bar women from land ownership exist throughout Kenya’s 47 counties. Without complete and clear access to land titles, the disproportionate impact of homelessness and poverty on Kenyan women could worsen.
Land Advocacy for Kenyan Women
“How come women work on land a lot, use the resources, but they never own or control it?” This was the question Alubbe asked herself that propelled her deeper into land advocacy. Alubbe’s work in human rights and land justice in Kenya stretches back to 2006 when she worked for the Kenya Human Rights Commission, an NGO that promotes democratic change, and for the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-K), an NGO that extends free legal representation to women in Kenya.
From KLA’s efforts partnered with its network of 50 organizations, Alubbe informs Kenyan communities about their rights and helps individuals secure proper land title documentation to actualize land justice in Kenya and throughout East Africa. While Alubbe worked for FIDA-K, she was a member of the team that pushed for the passage of the 2013 Matrimonial Property Act.
Despite the Act’s intentions of creating greater land equality, as noted in a report by the Human Rights Watch in coordination with FIDA-K, it falls short of total enforcement. The Act does not recognize couples who are unofficially married although many Kenyan couples are not legally registered in their counties, disbarring them from protection under the law.
Justice System vs. Patriarchal Custom
Alubbe also believes the act has only been partly successful. Women rarely exit the court system empty-handed, but getting couples to trial, an expensive and often lengthy process, stands in the way of land justice for women. The financial hardships of covering court fees and paying lawyers can be enough to stop a woman from trying her case in the court system.
“With the precedents that are coming out of court, [the Matrimonial Property Act] has not been as successful as we had hoped it to be because [of] gray areas and a lot of discretion,” said Alubbe.
These “gray areas” could pertain to patriarchal traditions, customary laws and alternative justice systems found in countries that govern Kenyan communities, explained Alubbe. Customary laws, laws that oftentimes discriminate against land ownership for women, control more than 65% of the land in Kenya, according to HRW.
Rather than turning to the justice system, married couples in rural areas undergoing divorce will instead meet with community elders and chiefs for an efficient and affordable alternative. But, outside of court systems, customary laws that insist women have no entitlement to matrimonial property prevail, potentially leaving women with only their personal belongings and no roof over their heads.
“Those at the community level prefer [alternative justice systems] because it’s accessible and affordable. Though it can be very patriarchal, and since it’s not very regulated, it might also defeat justice,” said Alubbe.
According to customary laws in the Kilifi and Kakamega Kenyan counties, land titles are attributed solely to a woman’s husband or owned by his family. Any acquisitions or improvements to a couple’s property, regardless if they are made by the wife, do not belong to her. Although 96% of rural Kenyan women are responsible for farming, Oxfam reports, their contributions to the land are theirs only to sow not to reap for personal benefit.
If she can manage the costs, under the Matrimonial Property Act, she must also present proof of monetary or non-monetary contributions to her matrimonial property. But, what classifies as substantial evidence is not clearly outlined under the law, explained HRW. Unpaid care work, labor women are predominantly responsible for, can make or break a woman’s case, but it is also dependent on the judge’s interpretation of proof.
Consequences of Patriarchal Land Ownership
Due to ambiguities in legislation and customs that trump a woman’s ownership of land, less than 2% of land in Kenya is owned by women. These gaps in land title enforcement fail to protect women’s rights, intensifying the number of women who face the threat of eviction and poverty.
Separated, divorced and widowed women risk losing their homes to their husbands or their husbands’ families under customary laws. The Kilifi and Kakamega counties, where men are the majority landowners, also possess two of the highest divorce and separation rates in Kenya.
When women in Kenya are disbarred from owning land, which is a significant generator of income, they struggle to access other resources, including credit and agricultural crops. Alubbe adds that without disposable income or secure credit, education for women’s children falls through the cracks and malnutrition becomes a stark reality for families.
“Because land is the primary factor of production in Kenya, without land, then the level of poverty is quite high for women,” said Alubbe. Breaking down poverty by gender, Kenyan women are more likely to fall into poverty than men. For single, divorced and widowed women, this is especially true. Nearly 31% of divorced women fall into poverty while 38% of widowers fall into poverty, according to the World Bank.
Looking Ahead
Women in Kenya depend on land they can call their own. The law says women can finally own land — a crucial acknowledgment of Kenyan women’s contributions to their communities. This issue of land ownership extends beyond Kenya’s borders, though. According to the World Bank, only 30% of the world’s population has land titles today. Throughout rural sub-Saharan Africa, only 10% of the population has land titles.
Yet, Alubbe is personally working to expand access to land titles. This September, she personally drove herself to Kenya’s counties to train community members and assist with land registration and land rights for women in Kenya. After stopping in Laikipia, she noted that registration was going well and her key focus is for women to be part of the registration process.
“We are very hopeful because more women are gaining more knowledge,” said Alubbe. “Women themselves are being more sensitized and aware that to be involved, [they] should own land.”
– Grace Mayer
Photo: Flickr
How MUIXIL is Empowering Indigenous Guatemalan Women
The Effects of the War on Ixil Women
The Ixil region of Guatemala was specifically targeted during the civil war because of the indigenous population. As a result of the destruction of their villages, 29,000 Ixil people are estimated to have been displaced by the war. This displacement and destruction caused many Ixil people to lose their birth certificates and other forms of identification that are necessary for political participation in the post-war country, making it nearly impossible for many to vote in elections and creating widespread indigenous disenfranchisement.
The mass murders of Ixil people during the war widowed many women, making them solely responsible for providing for their families. This struggle was significantly more difficult for Indigenous women in Guatemala as they were often denied access to jobs and resources that could benefit them financially. Widespread poverty, malnutrition and the highest infant mortality rate in Central America at 23 deaths per 1,000 births are associated with the financial troubles of Ixil people.
Guatemala has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world, and in a two-year period ending in 2016, more than 2,000 women were murdered. Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by violence against women, which many researchers say is a result of the widespread violence against them and the lack of punishment for sexual and gender-based violence that occurred during the war.
The History of MUIXIL
MUIXIL was founded as Mujeres Sufridas de Area Ixil (Women Sufferers of Ixil) in 2003 to empower and support indigenous Ixil women, especially those who survived the civil war. The grassroots organization aims to promote the civil, political and economic rights of Indigenous Guatemalan women through the development of income-generating projects and a support system made up of other Ixil women.
The MUIXIL Weaving-Collective
MUIXIL partnered with MADRE, an international women’s empowerment nonprofit, to develop a weaving-collective for Ixil women. The project provides grants for women to purchase materials, such as yarn, that are needed to create products that can be sold at local markets. By selling their creations, these women earn additional income and learn entrepreneurial skills. The weaving-collective also preserve a culture that was nearly destroyed by the war as the women incorporate traditional designs into their creations. As of 2012, 45 women participate in the weaving-collective.
Also in partnership with MADRE, MUIXIL runs a sustainable chicken farming initiative. Indigenous women are given chickens to establish small-scale farms and grants to purchase the supplies needed for upkeep. At the end of 2010, 350 women participated in this project, supporting nearly 2,500 individuals. The initiative was later expanded in 2013 to three more communities with 50 additional women participating.
Like the weaving collective, the chicken farms provide Ixil women with income as they sell eggs at local markets. The chicken farming initiative also combats food insecurity in Indigenous communities as it provides access to protein-rich chickens and eggs.
Political Empowerment for Indigenous Guatemalan Women
MUIXIL also hosts workshops to show Ixil women the importance of and teach the skills needed for political participation at the local and national levels. The nonprofit organization also assists Indigenous women with the legal system, “including in trials to hold perpetrators accountable for human rights abuses against Indigenous Peoples.” Women seeking the recognition of their human rights by the government are accompanied by MUIXIL’s members for support.
During the 2012 session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, MUIXIL advocated for the political rights of Indigenous women in Guatemala in the Report on Violations of Women’s Human Rights. In this report, the organization called out the national government for failing its constitutional duty to protect women and indigenous peoples by excluding them from the legal system. This exclusion takes on many forms, such as a lack of access to translators who are fluent in Indigenous languages, which effectively prevents many women from seeking justice. MUIXIL also provided recommendations in this report for how the government can better protect the rights of Indigenous women, including decreasing costs within the legal system, making courts more accessible by spreading them throughout the country and launching a program to document Indigenous peoples who were displaced or lost their forms of identification during the war to allow for more widespread political participation.
The Guatemalan Civil War witnessed genocide against the country’s Indigenous Ixil populations, leading to long-term consequences for these communities, especially women. MUIXIL combats the legacy of violence and discrimination against Ixil women by providing income-earning initiatives, political empowerment and a space where Indigenous Guatemalan women can find support and continue their cultural traditions.
—Sydney Leiter
Photo: Flickr
Aceli Africa: Strengthening African Agribusinesses
Agri-SMEs Lack Financing
Much of Aceli Africa’s work focuses on a data-driven approach to incentivizing financial institutions to provide loans for small and medium-sized African agribusinesses or “agri-SMEs”, as Aceli Africa calls them.
According to Aceli Africa’s research, agri-SMEs represent a golden opportunity to solve hunger and poverty throughout Africa and help fulfill key U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as gender equality and climate action.
This is because smallholder farmers consist of both men and women and provide direct access to food sources that are responsibly raised in accordance with the needs of the local environment. Furthermore, the expansion of the agricultural sector in Africa is two to three times more effective in eliminating poverty than growth in any other sector.
Despite the great potential of African smallholder farms, banks are largely unwilling to loan them much-needed financing to power additional growth. Banks do not have the risk appetite for small farms in Africa due to price volatility, the seasonality of farming, pest invasions and a weak regulatory environment.
The result of this is an investment shortfall of $65 billion per year for agri-SMEs in Africa. Initiatives focused on microfinancing do not provide enough financial injection for agri-SMEs, which are larger than the microenterprises that are the usual recipients of microloans. Agri-SMEs are thus left out of financing. However, the work of Aceli Africa aims to change these circumstances.
Aceli Africa Incentivizes Banks to Loan to Agri-SMEs
To bridge this gap in financing, Aceli Africa partners with numerous organizations such as USAID, the IKEA Foundation, Feed the Future and the International Growth Center to incentivize banks to loan and provide technical assistance to agri-SMEs.
This is where the aforementioned $30 million contribution has the potential to positively impact agriculture and African agribusinesses. One of the incentive programs that Aceli Africa employs is to cover the losses of the first loan that a financial institution gives to an African agri-SME.
This works by depositing 2-8% of the loan’s value in a reserve account that the lender can access when losses are experienced. This boosts risk appetite among lenders and makes banks and other institutions more willing to invest in agri-SMEs in Africa.
Aceli Africa also provides technical assistance for financial management for African agri-SMEs through online tools and other in-person approaches to help smallholder farmers optimize growth using the loans they receive. These approaches have the potential to put U.S. taxpayer dollars to effective use by addressing poverty and hunger abroad.
United States Outreach is Key in Combatting Poverty
USAID’s decision to partner with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the IKEA Foundation to contribute to the work of Aceli Africa symbolizes the value and power of international partnership in the fight against global poverty. When the United States decides to lead on an issue, the rest of the world follows. Key international partnerships are essential for the United States to take the lead and garner international support to address key global issues.
– John Andrikos
Photo: Flickr
Reaching for Energy Self-Sufficiency: The Renewable Energy in Honduras
Types of Renewable Energy
The two particular renewable energy resources that Honduras will be able to use is its hydropower and solar power. As of 2018, most of the renewable energy being produced in Honduras has been from hydropower—it makes up 34% of country’s renewable energy. The country is estimated to be able to produce 5,000 MW with its hydropower alone.
Solar power is also another dominant form of renewable energy which makes up 10% of energy consumption. Honduras’ solar market is now the second largest in all of Latin America, with Chile being the first. Honduras is also one of the first non-island countries that has been able to use 10% of its solar energy for electric generation.
Other forms of renewable energy include biomass at 10%, wind at 7% and geothermal at 1%.
Honduras has switched to renewable energy as a means of being self-sufficient. This is especially important considering that it was the second poorest country in Central America as of 2017. Thankfully, the country can reach the energy self-sufficiency it desires with its abundant renewable energy sources.
Private Sector
One way renewable energy has helped Honduras has been by allowing private companies to be more efficient with their energy usage. One such company is the Invema Plant. The Invema Plant is the primary plastic recycler in Honduras. The company installed solar panels on its buildings and reduced their electricity usage by 30%. As a result, the company reinvests the monetary electricity savings to further recycle plastic.
Where it Stands
The transition to renewable energy has also been beneficial to impoverished rural communities. These communities are receiving electricity that they previously had no access to. Under the Honduran Renewable Energy Project for Rural Development, solar energy projects have been implemented in rural communities where there is limited access to electricity. The project has already benefited 1,075 communities spreading across Ocotepeque, Lempira, Copan, Intibuca, Santa Barbara and La Paz. This type of improvement in rural communities is especially helpful considering many impoverished Hondurans live in rural communities.
While it is impressive that renewable energy efforts have been made in Honduras to improve people’s quality of life and stimulate the economy, much work remains to be completed. Hondurans still do not have universal access to electricity. Only 87% of the population had access to electricity in 2016, which largely compromised of Hondurans living in urban cities. For citizens to feel the full benefits of renewable energy in Honduras, everyone must have access to electricity.
Regardless of the challenges that still face Honduras, that country has been able to make a good deal of progress in building energy self-sufficiency since the reform implementations.
—Jacob Lee
Photo: Flickr
Sus Hijos: Improving Life in El Salvador
Why would a parent ever voluntarily give up their child? In El Salvador, perilous circumstances pressure some parents to do just that for the sake of the child. Other children find themselves in orphanages because of an abusive or impoverished family. Amid economic malaise and violence, NGO Sus Hijos is improving life in El Salvador by helping Salvadoran youth find hope.
Poverty in El Salvador
In the United States, the poverty line is around $26,000 for a family of four. The same family of four in El Salvador would be making around $8,000 according to the World Bank. That is $5.50 per person daily. In 2017, the poverty rate among Salvadorans was 29%, with 8.5% of Salvadorans surviving in extreme poverty. If one compares this to 2007, these statistics are a win: that year, 39% lived in poverty and 15% in extreme poverty.
Still, the current situation presents a challenge to El Salvador’s government, other countries and private organizations as they try to reduce the poverty rate. El Salvador’s economy has grown slowly since 2000, at an average of 2.3% GDP annually, but the World Bank predicts COVID-19 will contribute to a -4.3% growth rate in 2020. Even if 2021 brings an economic rebound, growth will have stagnated and recovery will be arduous absent additional action. Gangs and corruption both present endemic barriers to anti-poverty reform. In fact, gangs have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic, as police have split their focus between law enforcement and containing the virus.
National efforts to fight corruption and violence can do good if implemented correctly but small-scale efforts should accompany them. These on-the-ground efforts can attain acceptance from the community, and help construct a bottom-up fight against poverty. One such charitable organization improving life in El Salvador is Sus Hijos.
Sus Hijos
Sus Hijos (His Children) is a faith-based NGO that has been serving in El Salvador since 2008. Its mission has expanded as its support has grown, and it now pursues a variety of poverty-reducing initiatives, such as a community feeding program, a home construction campaign and culinary and cosmetics training programs. It also uses its transition program to help Salvadoran youth stay out of gang violence and off the streets.
The Borgen Project interviewed Dave Sheppard about his work with Sus Hijos, where he served as the transition program director for more than three years, between 2013 and 2016. As the director, he helped 38 young adults through the program, 20 of whom successfully completed the two-year transition. He also observed the sights and way of life around him, in a country that hopelessness often plagues.
Transitioning from Tragedy
The situation Salvadoran youth face is especially saddening. In 2010, parents abandoned 66% of children, often because their parents were simply too poor to care for them. Abandonment is still high today, and for many, the orphanage is safer than home.
Gang violence contributes to this problem. Gangs in El Salvador may outnumber the security forces, and operate by dealing drugs, extorting business owners and human trafficking. As they often control entire neighborhoods, dividing San Salvador into regions of influence, gangsters frequently impress children as young as 10 into their network. Those who do not join experience threats, harassment and assault. Sheppard told The Borgen Project that many families willingly turn their children over to the government so that they can escape gang influence and danger.
Once children turn 18, however, they are no longer eligible to live in government care. As a result, they go back to their families as government employees cannot legally leave them on the street. With unstable family situations, many of these young adults end up on the street or in gangs.
This is where Sus Hijos and other charities step in. It picks up the children on their 18th birthdays and offers them a room, food and support for up to two years. Sheppard told The Borgen Project that Sus Hijos’ transition program targets “the worst of the worst cases” to help—often those who experienced sexual abuse as children or had to work for long hours in sugarcane fields.
Transitioning to Hope
Sus Hijos’ transition program aims to provide young adults with support while fostering work ethic and faith-based values. To enter the program, the children must agree to avoid drugs and alcohol and follow other rules that help promote their personal growth. They also had to pay $1 a day in rent—money that they would receive as a gift from Sus Hijos once they left or completed the program, Sheppard said.
While in the program, the young adults also continued their education, completed chores and worked a job to make money. A ninth-grade education is a requirement to work at certain food establishments, like McDonald’s or Super Selectos. Most children complete only a sixth-grade education in El Salvador, so moving through additional grades can translate into greater pay. Sus Hijos’ training programs in its restaurant and salon also offers the young adults real-world job skills.
In his role as director, Sheppard purchased a bus to ferry the youth between the residence and their jobs. He said that the gangs occasionally harassed him on his routes, but such harassment became “very, very rare” once they discovered who he was. “Once they knew who I was, they would leave me alone,” he stated.
Transitioning to Success
Sheppard told The Borgen Project about two individuals whose success was above average. The first was a young woman in government care through most of her teens due to domestic abuse. She completed Sus Hijos’ two-year program and graduated high school, which ends after 11th grade in El Salvador. Unlike many Salvadorans, she managed to get into a college and complete her associate’s degree. The college was the product of a U.S. doctor who had repaired a derelict hospital. The college paid full tuition while Sus Hijos and others helped out with living costs. Sheppard keeps in touch with the young lady, who now works at a call center where she makes about $600 per month.
The other success story Sheppard mentioned was of a young man whose parents had been killed when he was only four months old. He lived in a government facility until 18, at which point he entered the Sus Hijos program. He completed his seventh, eighth and ninth-grade education while at Sus Hijos, and then left the program to work at a local grocer, where he still has employment.
Even though Sheppard’s volunteer work ended in 2016, he keeps in touch with several of the youth from the program and its administrators. Today, the transition house is assisting nine kids through the program and Sus Hijos is continuing its other works. Its contributions are part of a small-scale, non-governmental initiative with a focus on improving life in El Salvador. If Sus Hijos’ efforts are a barometer of success, the country is bound to continue improving.
– Jonathan Helton
Photo: Flickr
Quality and Inclusive Education in India: An Update on SDG 4
Efforts to Create Quality and Inclusive Education in India
Looking Ahead
The implementation of such schemes by the central government has led to significant progress in achieving universal primary education enrollment for both girls and boys in India. With an increase in inclusive education in India, it is also imperative to prioritize universal quality education for all students. With an increase in enrollment rates for primary education, there is a need to overcome issues such as absenteeism of teachers, lack of proper infrastructure, unsafe drinking water and improper sanitation facilities.
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects the marginalized communities and economically weaker sections of society by making education inaccessible. The need of the hour is to invest in education by making it inclusive and accessible while bridging the gap in education outcomes that arises due to inequality of income, ensuring quality education for all.
– Anandita Bardia
Photo: Flickr
2020 Conference Pledges Aid to Afghanistan
Conditions Affecting Afghanistan
2020 Afghanistan Conference
International donations fund at least half of Afghanistan’s annual budget. This is unlikely to change anytime soon, especially as COVID-19’s toll on the country’s economy also decreases government revenues. There was concern that the 2020 Conference would see a diminished aid pledge from Afghanistan’s largest donors, but the meetings that took place on November 24 secured a minimum of US$3.3 billion annually for four years contingent upon a review of Afghanistan’s progress in areas of peace, political development, human rights and poverty reduction. The United States is one such donor, pledging $300 million for 2021 and promising another $300 million worth of aid to Afghanistan if the ongoing peace talks prove successful. To this end, the “Afghanistan Partnership Framework” details the principles and goals of Afghanistan’s growth in peace-building, state-building and market-building.
Rebuilding Afghanistan
While some have expressed concern that the donations for aid to Afghanistan are not enough to cover costs and that the contingency requirements will be very difficult for Afghanistan to implement without compromises, there nevertheless is hope that tighter restrictions will prevent fewer funds from being lost to corruption. Despite the future challenges ahead of Afghanistan, Afghan leaders reiterated their commitment to “finding a political settlement that can not only bring an end to the suffering of the Afghan people but strengthen, safeguard and preserve the gains of the past 19 years.”
– Andria Pressel
Photo: Flickr
The Blueprint for Ending Extreme Poverty in Moldova
IMF Focus on Poverty Reduction
In 2000, the IMF instituted a three-pronged approach for ending extreme poverty in Moldova, which involved major reforms in governance and the public sector. Economic development, health care changes, educational developments and social safety nets were the primary focus to kickstart growth in the country.
The Impact of Changes in Moldova
These changes were to undergo implementation by no later than 2003 and most changes are ongoing. How well did the changes work? In 2000, Moldova’s GDP per capita was at $1,439 and by 2019 the GDP per capita rose to $3,715, doubling the nation’s economic growth. The secondary education enrollment rate was 48% in 1999 and grew to an 86% enrollment rate by 2019. Though absolute poverty remains high, these strategies were instrumental in ending extreme poverty in Moldova. Even by 2006, the extreme poverty rate was down to 4.5%.
The World Bank’s Evaluation
The World Bank processed an analysis from 2007 to 2014 using data to determine how ending extreme poverty in Moldova was effective. Compared to most of Europe, Moldova is still impoverished, but extreme poverty no longer plagued the country by 2014. There were four primary factors that the World Bank determined to be the cause of this success. Economic expansion, advanced opportunities for workers, better retirement fiscal responsibility for aging populations and international work being funneled back into Moldova’s economy, were the most effective tools for alleviating extreme poverty.
Using Moldova as a Blueprint Worldwide
Evaluating the success in ending extreme poverty in Moldova helps pave the way to implement similar strategies globally. So, what is the blueprint for ending extreme poverty?
Ending Extreme Poverty by 2030
The U.N. aims to end extreme poverty by 2030, and when looking at Moldova’s success, it is not an outrageously unrealistic goal. With fiscal oversight, dedication to protecting the impoverished and the world’s willingness to engage, extreme poverty can disappear.
– Zachary Kunze
Photo: pxfuel
Exploring Land Rights for Women in Kenya
Women’s Land Rights in Kenya
Property and land rights for women recently expanded in Kenya, particularly for married women, a group denied land ownership in the past. Passed in 2013, the Matrimonial Property Act states that marriage between a man and a woman rests on a foundation of equality. It recognizes spouses as equal property owners and protects women’s rights to land ownership during marriage, divorce and separation.
The Act follows the repeal of previous gender-discriminatory laws, anointing a new progressive path for the country. Before the Act’s enactment, Kenya’s government enforced the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, a piece of legislation leftover from the era of British colonization, explained Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) Faith Alubbe in an interview with The Borgen Project. KLA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for equal land access in Kenya.
“For women, land ownership is very important for them to be able to feed their families, for them to be able to access or use land and to control it,” said Alubbe. “As it is right now, most women only access and use land. They rarely control and own it.”
Today, nearly a decade after the Act’s passage, only 10.3% of Kenyan women own land title deeds, according to statistics from KLA. Even with the implementation of this new law, varied customs and traditions that bar women from land ownership exist throughout Kenya’s 47 counties. Without complete and clear access to land titles, the disproportionate impact of homelessness and poverty on Kenyan women could worsen.
Land Advocacy for Kenyan Women
“How come women work on land a lot, use the resources, but they never own or control it?” This was the question Alubbe asked herself that propelled her deeper into land advocacy. Alubbe’s work in human rights and land justice in Kenya stretches back to 2006 when she worked for the Kenya Human Rights Commission, an NGO that promotes democratic change, and for the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-K), an NGO that extends free legal representation to women in Kenya.
From KLA’s efforts partnered with its network of 50 organizations, Alubbe informs Kenyan communities about their rights and helps individuals secure proper land title documentation to actualize land justice in Kenya and throughout East Africa. While Alubbe worked for FIDA-K, she was a member of the team that pushed for the passage of the 2013 Matrimonial Property Act.
Despite the Act’s intentions of creating greater land equality, as noted in a report by the Human Rights Watch in coordination with FIDA-K, it falls short of total enforcement. The Act does not recognize couples who are unofficially married although many Kenyan couples are not legally registered in their counties, disbarring them from protection under the law.
Justice System vs. Patriarchal Custom
Alubbe also believes the act has only been partly successful. Women rarely exit the court system empty-handed, but getting couples to trial, an expensive and often lengthy process, stands in the way of land justice for women. The financial hardships of covering court fees and paying lawyers can be enough to stop a woman from trying her case in the court system.
“With the precedents that are coming out of court, [the Matrimonial Property Act] has not been as successful as we had hoped it to be because [of] gray areas and a lot of discretion,” said Alubbe.
These “gray areas” could pertain to patriarchal traditions, customary laws and alternative justice systems found in countries that govern Kenyan communities, explained Alubbe. Customary laws, laws that oftentimes discriminate against land ownership for women, control more than 65% of the land in Kenya, according to HRW.
Rather than turning to the justice system, married couples in rural areas undergoing divorce will instead meet with community elders and chiefs for an efficient and affordable alternative. But, outside of court systems, customary laws that insist women have no entitlement to matrimonial property prevail, potentially leaving women with only their personal belongings and no roof over their heads.
“Those at the community level prefer [alternative justice systems] because it’s accessible and affordable. Though it can be very patriarchal, and since it’s not very regulated, it might also defeat justice,” said Alubbe.
According to customary laws in the Kilifi and Kakamega Kenyan counties, land titles are attributed solely to a woman’s husband or owned by his family. Any acquisitions or improvements to a couple’s property, regardless if they are made by the wife, do not belong to her. Although 96% of rural Kenyan women are responsible for farming, Oxfam reports, their contributions to the land are theirs only to sow not to reap for personal benefit.
If she can manage the costs, under the Matrimonial Property Act, she must also present proof of monetary or non-monetary contributions to her matrimonial property. But, what classifies as substantial evidence is not clearly outlined under the law, explained HRW. Unpaid care work, labor women are predominantly responsible for, can make or break a woman’s case, but it is also dependent on the judge’s interpretation of proof.
Consequences of Patriarchal Land Ownership
Due to ambiguities in legislation and customs that trump a woman’s ownership of land, less than 2% of land in Kenya is owned by women. These gaps in land title enforcement fail to protect women’s rights, intensifying the number of women who face the threat of eviction and poverty.
Separated, divorced and widowed women risk losing their homes to their husbands or their husbands’ families under customary laws. The Kilifi and Kakamega counties, where men are the majority landowners, also possess two of the highest divorce and separation rates in Kenya.
When women in Kenya are disbarred from owning land, which is a significant generator of income, they struggle to access other resources, including credit and agricultural crops. Alubbe adds that without disposable income or secure credit, education for women’s children falls through the cracks and malnutrition becomes a stark reality for families.
“Because land is the primary factor of production in Kenya, without land, then the level of poverty is quite high for women,” said Alubbe. Breaking down poverty by gender, Kenyan women are more likely to fall into poverty than men. For single, divorced and widowed women, this is especially true. Nearly 31% of divorced women fall into poverty while 38% of widowers fall into poverty, according to the World Bank.
Looking Ahead
Women in Kenya depend on land they can call their own. The law says women can finally own land — a crucial acknowledgment of Kenyan women’s contributions to their communities. This issue of land ownership extends beyond Kenya’s borders, though. According to the World Bank, only 30% of the world’s population has land titles today. Throughout rural sub-Saharan Africa, only 10% of the population has land titles.
Yet, Alubbe is personally working to expand access to land titles. This September, she personally drove herself to Kenya’s counties to train community members and assist with land registration and land rights for women in Kenya. After stopping in Laikipia, she noted that registration was going well and her key focus is for women to be part of the registration process.
“We are very hopeful because more women are gaining more knowledge,” said Alubbe. “Women themselves are being more sensitized and aware that to be involved, [they] should own land.”
– Grace Mayer
Photo: Flickr
The State of Hunger in Lesotho
Despite the government’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 2, hunger in Lesotho is worsening. Most recently, drought has ravaged Lesotho, exacerbating the problem and diminishing any effects of progress. This El-Niño-induced drought has left Lesotho in a food security crisis, causing 30% of the population to face acute food insecurity. On top of this, 508,125 people in Lesotho are already food insecure.
Pervasive Hunger in Lesotho
More than half of the population in Lesotho lives on less than $1 a day, which is categorized as extreme poverty. Nearly 80% of the population lives in rural areas and approximately 70% of those people engage in subsistence farming. As a result, agriculture provides not only the majority of the food for families but also provides much of their income. Countries with high rates of subsistence farming are even more susceptible to food insecurity than others. When subsistence farmers do not produce sufficient yields, they struggle with no food and no income to purchase food. This can quickly turn into a food crisis implicating the health and lives of many people.
On top of the high rates of subsistence farming, the climate in Lesotho makes it challenging to maintain high crop yields. Droughts are not a rare event. Weather in Lesotho is very unpredictable, with inconsistent rainfall and persistent droughts common. Despite many citizens engaging in subsistence farming, only 10% of the land is arable. Soil erosion is especially pervasive in Lesotho, exacerbated by droughts. All of these factors contribute to the state of hunger in Lesotho and stand as reasons why hunger in the country is particularly concerning.
Negative Effects of Hunger
Hunger can and does kill many people every year. Aside from food standing as a necessity for the survival of human beings, there are other negative ramifications associated with hunger in Lesotho.
Hunger exacerbates inequality, including gender inequality. Women who are food insecure often have to travel long distances to find work. As a result, they are more susceptible to sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. The work they travel to do is often exploitative as well as many become “domestic workers trading sex for money or food.” Annually, women and children are the recipients of 75% of the aid provided by Help Lesotho. They are the hungriest and need the most help.
There is also a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger. Poverty affects hunger and hunger affects poverty. Many individuals can find themselves in a poverty trap when faced with hunger. When people are impoverished, they may not be able to afford food. When people go hungry, they endure low energy levels and struggle to work to earn more money. This cycle has a hold over many citizens in Lesotho. More than 27% of women in Lesotho have anemia. If women do not have access to adequate nutrition, they cannot work. This cycle also impacts the country’s economy as Lesotho loses an estimated 7.3% of its GDP due to chronic malnutrition.
Actions to Address Hunger in Lesotho
To address pervasive hunger in Lesotho, many organizations are making this issue a focus of their efforts. Here are three of those organizations.
Despite all of the work in progress to alleviate the effects of food insecurity and hunger in Lesotho, more can and needs to be done. While many things would help the situation in Lesotho, helping the government gain the resources to succeed on its own is probably the most helpful in the long term. Hopefully, with increased efforts, hunger in the country will decrease in the near future.
– Keagan James
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8 Facts About Depression and Mental Health in South Asia
South Asia, a group of nine countries including India, Pakistan and Nepal, is home to more than 1.8 billion people. Of this population, between 150 and 200 million people suffer from mental illness. However, the severity of depression and mental health is often overlooked throughout the region, leaving millions without treatment and support. Here are eight quintessential facts about depression and mental health in South Asia and how the conditions are currently being addressed.
8 Facts About Depression and Mental Health in South Asia
Improving mental health in South Asia requires not only the social recognition and normalization of depression and mental illness but the continued action of both government and non-government programs. With increased access to mental health care and support in South Asia, the expansive issues of poverty and illness will be positively affected.
– Karli Stone
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