Perspectives of Rural Women on Access to Land in Zululand District

Abstract

Most literature on land reform in South Africa negates the rural community development. Hence, this paper analyses the perceptions of rural women on land reform efforts in the Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal. The paper aims to generate a body of knowledge on how rural women understand what is being done towards their access to land. The paper argues that patriarchy, authority figure and gatekeeping, conscious and unconscious linguistic sexism, delays and gender segregation, women`s lack of basic law and land-related law, and non-participation in local land processes impede women`s access to land in Zululand District, KwaZulu-Natal. The paper makes recommendations on the implications of individual women and women’s groups as well as policy structures at the local, provincial, and national levels. This paper uses a qualitative descriptive approach in analysing how rural women feel about the provisions of land access. Focus group discussions with thirty rural women in KwaZulu-Natal`s Zululand District were conducted. A thematic analysis was done to analyse their perceptions of provisions of land access.