Women’s land rights project launched
Milliam Murigi @millymur1
A new project with an aim of contributing towards increased access to women’s land rights has been launched in Kenya.
Dubbed Ardhi Kwa Kina Mama (Akkima), the project was initiated by We Effect in partnership with Groots Kenya and Pamoja Trust, all non-governmental orgainsations.
It is funded by European Union and will be piloted in four counties —Nairobi, Mombasa, Kakamega and Busia in the next three years. It advocates for safe spaces for women land rights defenders in Kenya.
Launching the project, George Onyango, Regional Director, We Effect Regional Office Eastern Africa said despite constitution guarantees to equitable access to land rights, efficient, productive and sustainable use of land by all, lack of gender policy in the land sector to guide implementation of the legal frameworks in the country.
“It is sad that 25 years after the Beijing Conference and as much as we appreciate a lot of noticeable progress in terms of reducing gender disparity, we are still not doing enough to protect women human rights defenders, especially on land rights,” he said.
Onyango said there is need to transform norms and practices that hinder women’s access and control over land, which is why the organisations have come up with the initiative.
He called for efforts beyond legislation and administration where governments take responsibility for working actively to transform practices at all institutional and administrative levels to affirm the right of women to own and control land.
“We hope that through strong movements of grassroots women and land rights’ defenders operating in a safe environment and having a big proportion of women exercising their rights to land will result to an increased access to women land rights by the end of project period,” he said.
Simon Mordue Ambassador of the EU delegation to Kenya said the project will improve responsiveness of duty bearers to land right defenders and women’s land rights violation at the national level and in the four counties.
