Government has undertaken to enhance the enforcement of women's land rights throughout the country.
Speaking at the end of the two-day third National Women's Land Rights Conference in Uganda, the acting director in charge of land management in the Ministry of Lands, Naomi Kabanda said the conference had made pertinent recommendations in regards land rights for women that she said need to be implemented.
“The conference has provided positive feedback into interventions undergone at various levels and has provided the next steps to carry out as government to fill the gaps in both policy and regulatory frameworks,”Kabanda said.
According to the official from the Ministry of Lands, whereas there are numerous efforts made in the country to mainstream women and gender issues in a number of government programs, the conference has been useful in highlighting what is needed to be done to achieve total women land rights.
“This conference has benefitted all Ugandans especially in as far as women land rights are concerned since it has tracked the progress made politically, economically and socially. The recommendations made will be submitted to government to help in enhancing the women land rights agenda,” she noted.
She said that government is to look into other recommendations like the need to review land-related laws, the inadequate sensitization of women on land rights and the need to translate land laws.
“We shall study the report and come up with action plan to be implemented together with women land rights agenda for Uganda developed together will all the nine IGAD member states. The recommendations of this report will feed into the bigger agenda,”Kabanda said.
Speaking during the conference, Sarah Kulata Basangwa, a former commissioner in the Ministry of Lands, there is need to encourage more women have land registered under their names.
She noted that this is one of the ways of ensuring protection of women’s land rights in the country.
Kulata said that the trend of land being registered under women’s names is growing at a slow speed noting that whereas by 2000 the percentage of women landholding was at 16, it has just reached 20%.
“Something needs to be done to change this trend. Protection of women land rights should be seen in light of overall protection enshrined in article 33 of the Constitution where the state pledges to accord full and equal dignity of men and women,”Kulata noted.
The two day third National Women's Land Rights Conference in Uganda was organized under the theme, ‘Tracking progress on women’s rights to land in Uganda 2016-2021 and implications to national, social and economic transformation’
The virtual conference was organized by Action Aid, Oxfam, Spotlight Initiative, UN-Habitat and the International Land Coalition among others.
