Land access in rural Africa: Strategies to fight gender inequality FAO-Dimitra workshop – September 2008 Land access in rural Africa: Strategies to fight gender inequality FAO-Dimitra workshop: Information and communication strategies to fight gender inequality as regards land access and its consequences for rural populations in Africa 22-26 September 2008 – Brussels, Belgium For Marie Mwira © Dimitra Dear Marie, This publication is dedicated to you, the brave and tireless activist for women’s rights and peace in the Great Lakes Region. You impressed us with your courage and strength in such a difficult environment. The last time we met you, in February 2008, you told us how many of Africa’s problems were connected to customary discrimination against women and to land control issues. Your strategies for dealing with these problems – information campaigns to repackage and disseminate texts and conventions on human rights, education, exchanging experiences, advocacy, and so on – would have fit in perfectly with this document. We will never forget you. The Dimitra team and its partners Marie Mwira was President of the Réseau Femme et Développement (REFED – Women and Development Network) in North Kivu as well as President of the organisation Genre et Tradition pour le Développement et la Paix au Nord-Kivu (Gender and Tradition for Development and Peace in North Kivu). She died of a heart attack in Goma on 2 December 2008. © Dimitra Thérèse, a widow, lives in a camp for displaced people near her native “ hill (colline). Her brothers have refused to give her access to the family land, saying that you cannot mix clans and upset the patriarchal system. Marie lives in a camp for returnees. She does not have access to her father’s property, despite being an only child. Her uncles denied her access to the family property. Antoinette, a divorcee, came back to live at her family’s home while her mother was still alive. When her mother died, her brothers drove her away from the house and denied her access to the land. She asked “ neighbours for help, but they would not or could not settle the dispute. She went mad and now lives in poverty underneath an avocado tree. Extract from the presentation given by Concilie Gahungere, CAFOB, Burundi Thérèse, Marie and Antoinette are false names used to describe the very real experiences of women in Burundi and all over Africa, especially in rural areas. The fight against gender inequality as regards land access in Africa is the subject of this brochure, which was published following the workshop on this topic organised by the FAO-Dimitra project in September 2008. Table of contents Part I: Foreword [ 9 ] Ten years of the Dimitra network [ 10 ] Aim and key objectives of the workshop [ 13 ] A methodology based on listening and participating [ 14 ] Understanding the past and focusing on the present [ 15 ] Common issues [ 19 ] An inventory of the current situation [ 22 ] Action plan [ 24 ] Self-evaluation [ 2 ] Example of good practice: South Kivu – Solar-powered radios changing the lives of rural women [ 31 ] Speeches by officials [ 34 ] List of participants [ 4 ] Part II: Written contributions by the participants – Dimitra’s partners and FAO representatives [ 49 ] © Projet HUP © Projet 8 Part I Foreword Dear readers, On behalf of FAO, I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to the King Baudouin Foundation and the Belgian Ministry for Development Cooperation for their support of the Dimitra project. Since its inception, these two bodies have always shown genuine interest in the work and activities of this project that has become increasingly integrated in the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division of FAO. As well as supporting Dimitra’s activities in Brussels, they express their confi- dence in the project by cooperating directly with its partners in the field. We would also like to thank our colleagues from FAO’s technical divisions who participated in Dimitra’s 2008 workshop. Their presence and expertise made a huge contribution to the success of the work done there. Their enthusiasm and commitment will doubtless lead to further cooperation and will contribute to boosting synergies within our institution. Our thanks also go to Dimitra’s partners, who are at the heart of the action. Their presence in the field is a vital factor in the collection and dissemination of information as regards rural popula- tions. If the Dimitra network is constantly expanding and interesting an ever greater number of people, this is largely due to the commitment and determination of all of its partners. This document comprises a summary of the work accomplished during the meeting and a range of articles that were produced for the workshop by our FAO colleagues and the network’s part- ners. Dimitra is issuing this brochure in the aim of reproducing the participants’ discussions and making them available to a larger public. The participants’ expertise is a major source of informa- tion, inspiration and enrichment that could be useful for everyone. I would like to wish you all a happy reading. Marcela Villarreal Director, Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division FAO 9 Ten years of the Dimitra network 2008 marks the tenth anniversary of the Dimitra network’s inception as an FAO project under the auspices of the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division. This year’s workshop provides an excellent opportunity to stop and take a look at the progress that has been made so far. We should first of all mention the coopera- tion and commitment of all of our partners in realising common projects and objectives. At our most recent meeting in Brussels, one word came up again and again when defining the Dimitra network: a network dominated by a warm and open state of mind, the Dimitra spirit. Commitment, the ability to persuade people and the pleasure of working, sharing and learning together are the cornerstone of cooperation within the net- work. The joint participatory approach extends to the choice of topics to develop and to the trust, friendship and loyalty of all members. So here’s to ten years of shared experiences… No development without information and the ability to communicate In 1998, the following was clear: there was a huge shortage of information on and for rural popula- tions, particularly those in Africa. There was very little information available on the work of NGOs dealing with the issue of rural women and development. From its launch in 1994 and the publication of a first directory with information from European development NGOs working in the area, Dimitra became an FAO project with the mission of raising awareness of gender issues and gathering and disseminating information on the vital role rural women play in development. These themes are still at the heart of the network’s activities and interests. With a view to performing its mission, Dimitra set up strategies and tools enabling it to listen to the populations concerned. Links with NGOs, workshops and study sessions and Dimitra’s publications are the foundation of the network’s activities. Its partners in the field get valuable feedback on their initiatives and achievements, among others thanks to the Dimitra newsletter – a publication to which they are the main contributors. The newsletter, the workshop brochures, the on-line database that has just been published on CD-ROM for the third time and the revised website are tools that are available to everyone. These information and communication tools are also a vital way to raise the profile of rural women at all levels of intervention. Dimitra, a network based on partnership and participation Dimitra is not only concerned with informing rural populations, but also with ensuring that they can participate in the projects aiming to support them. This wish for involvement reflects the participative charac- ter of the network which aims to give rural women a voice. In the beginning, information collected from rural populations emphasised the involvement of women in health projects and the creation of income-generating activities. But it quickly became obvious that 10 rural women, once they had more information, were prepared to perform activities for promoting literacy, organising and structuring their groups, developing networks, creating synergies and increasing knowledge of their rights. The advent of the Internet has certainly made a major contribution to Dimitra’s development, but its expansion is primarily due to networking, sharing and the involvement of its partners. The first factor that springs to mind is local actors who work in grassroots organisations at local level and who have a direct line to the rural populations. Partnerships are mainly with intermediary-level organisations, which are a vital link to the grassroots level when it comes to collecting and disseminating information. These partnerships make it possible to develop an approach based on participatory communication. Strengthening the network and creating synergies The Dimitra network is becoming larger and stronger, relationships are being formed and syner- gies are being created. A clear example of this is the Round Table organised in Mbour, Senegal, in June 2008 (for more information, consult www.fao.org/dimitra). In this case, Dimitra’s partner organisations ENDA- Pronat from Senegal and RECIF/ONG-BF in Burkina Faso, joined the Dimitra team and cooperated with the © Dimitra 11 International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) on the topic of women’s access to land in Africa. This cooperation is set to continue in the form of an action-oriented research project led by these partners. It is also necessary to mention the renewed confidence of the bilateral and multilateral organisations in some countries. These organisations continue to support the fulfilment of the network’s objectives and work more frequently with Dimitra to set up new projects.