Socio-cultural and Policy Related Constraints to Women’s Land Right: A Case Study from Gamo Highland, SW Ethiopia

Abstract

Women are the most marginalized and disadvantaged group of society in relation to accessing and controlling land in rural Ethiopia. The study critically reviews and analyzes the status of rural women in access to and control over land in three purposefully selected rural kebeles of Gamo highlands, SNNPR on smallholder farmers. In the study mixed research approaches including qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyze data. Survey of 164 households mainly females were conducted administrating questionnaires in the quantitative methods. The qualitative method applied was group discussion and interviews and personal observation. In the study descriptive statistics and regression analysis were utilized. The findings clearly depicted that in the study area female headed households owned 0.52 ha farmland compared to 0.86 ha of their male counterpart, where the average holding at the national level and Gamo highland is0.96 and 0.92 ha respectively. Though, Ethiopia’s legal framework is progressive in its support to women’s land rights, due to harmful customary practices, patriarchal orientation and traditional social norms towards female in Gamo highland female do not own and control rural land, and even inherit land from their family and death of husband. The study further noted that among socio-cultural and institutional factors discriminatory cultural practices (60%), low awareness of women on their land right (19.4%), challenge of law enforcement (10.3%) and women’s position in the society (4.7%) are the most dominant constraints that impedes women’s land right in the study area. Moreover, in the study area women’s are less represented in leadership positions and rural land administration council. Of the independent socioeconomic variables sex, educational status and family size are appeared to be statistically significant association with land ownership. Finally it is suggested that awareness creation campaign and proportional representation of women in decision making process and local land administration councils needs urgent response.