Women Land Rights; An Analysis of Kenya’s Community Land Act 2016
Journal Title: International Journal of Research in Social Sciences - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 11
Abstract
The paper is aimed at establishing whether or not the law in Kenya secures and guarantees women‟s access, control and ownership to land in community land; one of the three tenure systems in Kenya. The background reviews the legal, policy and institutional frameworks that exist in the country relevant to women land rights within communal lands. This paper used qualitative methods by reviewing literature based on materials sourced from internet and books. The Constitution of Kenya, National land Policy and the Community land Act are among the key legislations reviewed in this paper. The author reviewed various papers and journal articles that have been written on the issues of women‟s land and property rights in Kenya in the context of the research topic. To answer whether or not the law guarantees protects, secures and upholds women‟s land rights in community land, the author analysed the Community land Act of 2016 and made policy recommendation on how to secure women land rights in community land in Kenya. The paper in its analysis found that despite existence of legal and policy frameworks, gaps exist that would otherwise jeopardize women‟s ownership of land in communal lands. Such gaps include among others neutrality in legal provisions that fail to specifically spell out requirements that ensures both women and men are protected in matters land ownership. Additionally, effective and efficient implementation of existing laws is still a challenge; thus women continue to be discriminated even with the existence of law. The author recommends among other things the need for Civil Society Organizations to hold the government and the relevant ministries to account in ensuring implementation of the law to the letter. Additionally, the need for civic and public awareness is recommended to ensure that women are aware of the existing laws that protect them and where to seek redress in case of violation. The author further recommends the need to build and strengthen capacity of religious and traditional platforms as custodians of culture and as key stakeholders in resolving land related disputes in the community.
Authors and Affiliations
Nana A. Ouko
Keywords
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- EP ID EP20656
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