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Property Rights and Gender: a Training Toolkit

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Property Rights and Gender: a Training Toolkit Property Rights and Gender A Training Toolkit Land Law and Gender Uganda Property Rights Toolkit - Land.indd 1 10/7/10 11:48 PM ICRW and ULA thank the following organizations and individuals whose generous contributions made this toolkit possible: Funder An Anonymous Donor Partners and Collaborators Rita Aciro-Lakor Jacqueline Asiimwe-Mwesige Centre for Basic Research Luwero Nakaseke Paralegals Association © 2010 International Center for Research on Women and Uganda Land Alliance. Information contained in this publication may be freely reproduced, published or otherwise used without permission from the International Center for Research on Women and the Uganda Land Alliance. However, these organizations request that they be cited as the source of the information. Uganda Property Rights Toolkit - Land.indd 2 10/7/10 11:48 PM About this Toolkit Property rights economically empower women Trainers can do all modules or focus on ones by creating opportunities for earning income, of their choosing. However, we recommend securing their place in the community and beginning with “Rights and Gender in ensuring their livelihoods. When women are Uganda,” especially for community rights economically empowered, it spurs develop- workers with little previous training. This ment for their families and communities. module uses a human rights approach as a positive starting point to introduce women’s Property Rights and Gender in Uganda: rights, property rights and gender. A Training Toolkit seeks to strengthen understanding of property rights for women The modules use five different methods to and men as equal citizens. Because women engage participants: in Uganda are often not treated as equal ■■ Background sections introduce new mate- citizens, toolkit materials address what rights rial, explain new concepts and discuss the women have, how to communicate women’s gendered aspects of the module topic. rights, and the issues preventing women from Facilitators can use the Background sec- exercising their rights. tions as short lectures, reading exercises for The overarching goals of the training are to participants or segues to new topics. increase Ugandans’ ■■ Lecture sections provide specific informa- ■■ knowledge of their legal rights to property, tion about the module topic. Facilitators need to present all of the information in ■■ understanding and recognition of women’s Lecture sections clearly. and men’s equality before Ugandan law, and ■■ Discussion sections promote group conver- sation, encourage participants to ask ques- ■■ ability to exercise and protect their own tions and share experiences, and highlight property rights while respecting others’ differences between custom and written rights. law. The facilitator’s role is more to guide The first step in securing property rights is the conversation than present information. bringing knowledge to women, men, leaders, ■■ Exercise sections give participants a chance and communities of everyone’s legal rights and to practice a new skill or idea. Exercises can emphasizing that women’s legal rights exist, be used to make the ideas in Background, are protected by law, and are just as important Lecture and Discussion sections more as men’s. concrete. The toolkit has five modules: ■■ Handouts and Resources, at the end of every module, can be used during the train- ■■ Rights and Gender in Uganda ing and by community rights workers in ■■ Land Law and Gender their own outreach or sensitization work. ■■ Property Rights in Marriage and Family ■■ Inheritance Law, Wills and Women ■■ Monitoring Skills for the Community Rights Worker Land Law and Gender · 1 Uganda Property Rights Toolkit - Land.indd 1 10/7/10 11:48 PM Land Law and Gender Land in Uganda is a very important resource Community rights workers will bring to their for most households. People use land to communities: live on, grow food, keep animals, make their ■■ Knowledge and services to resolve land livelihoods and for other purposes. While the conflicts according to the law Constitution recognizes the right of all people ■■ to own land, the reality is that most land Knowledge and services to document in Uganda is owned by men, even if mostly property rights women work the land. Many socio-cultural practices discriminate against women and Handouts: discourage them from owning land. At the end of the module are handouts that Uganda’s collection of land laws is quite can be used both during the training and by complex and can be confusing even to lawyers. community rights workers in their own out- This module will not cover all the details of reach or sensitization in their communities. Uganda’s land laws, but will highlight the ■■ Handout 1: Land Ownership Systems in most important aspects that will enable the Uganda rights worker to pass on the basic message ■■ that women have a right to own and use land Handout 2: Women’s Rights in the Land Act just as much as men do. ■■ Handout 3: Land Management Institutions ■■ Handout 4: Land Dispute Resolution Module Objectives: Institutions ■■ Handout 5: Important Land Documents Community rights workers will understand: ■■ Handout 6: Story/Role Play for Community ■■ Uganda’s four different land tenure systems Sensitization: Mary & Gilbert ■■ Women’s and men’s legal rights over land Handout 6 is a story that can be used as an ■■ What different land documents do and how optional exercise. The story raises questions to get them about women’s and men’s land rights and ■■ The institutions that manage land and shows a positive example of a woman owning handle land conflicts and managing property. It creates opportuni- ties to open discussions about women’s and Community rights workers will be able to men’s rights over land and other property; communicate: how couples make decisions about land; how ■■ How some customary practices may violate to register land or document transactions; women’s rights over land inheritance issues; and who can help resolve ■■ The benefits of having documentation for disagreements over land. The story is divided land into chapters with discussion questions for each chapter. Total time: 8 hours, plus 3 hours of optional exercise 2 · ProPerty riGhts and Gender: a traininG tooLkit Uganda Property Rights Toolkit - Land.indd 2 10/7/10 11:48 PM Land and Culture Background Land, Property and is acknowledged that a wife can have inde- Gender in Different Cultures pendent property where she has bought it, inherited it or received it as a gift. Some According to many Ugandan cultures, women Bagandan men say that where a woman do not own land. Land often belongs to the has not made any financial contribution family or clan and is held by men, though to the property, such property belongs to women may have the right to live on land and the man alone. Even in this case, however, to farm it. the wife still has absolute user and control ■■ Among the Iteso (Eastern Uganda), property rights of the property as long as the mar- customarily belongs to the male members riage continues. of the society. Women may purchase and (Source: Uganda Law Reform Commission Domestic own animals and some household property Relations Study Report, Revised Edition, June 2008, and foodstuffs but not land. A woman pp. 108-109) may be counted as property if the man or Some people think that culture and custom his family has given bride wealth for her. hurt women’s land rights, while others think A woman therefore ceases to own even that culture and custom can protect women’s herself. right to use land. Because culture and the ■■ Among the Banyankole (Western Uganda), written law exist together, community rights a woman has no customary right to own workers need to show their communities that property except items such as pots. When they understand and respect their culture and women acquire property, it is still called the that the written law is relevant to everyone, man’s property. Married men have said that both women and men. when a woman buys property, particularly land or cows, it must be in the husband’s Discussion/Exercise Gender and names. Opinion leaders have noted that Land in Our Communities this keeps the family property in a pool and promotes family harmony. Married women do not like this at all. They are bitter that Part I (1 hour) husbands can use the property they, the The purpose of this exercise is to start discus- women, accumulate in order to marry other sion on the common challenges regarding wives. land that women face in their communities. ■■ Among the Alur (Northern Uganda), the The exercise is also meant to identify custom- husband has a customary right to own ary practices about women and land to start property. In most instances, his wife’s discussion on what the Constitution says property is also deemed to be his. A wife’s about women’s land rights. customary property rights are restricted to ownership of personal property like cooking 1. In pairs, have the participants discuss the utensils, pots, clothes, etc. following questions: ■■ What are cultural beliefs and practices ■■ Among the Baganda (Central Uganda), all property customarily belongs to the hus- about women and land in the commu- band. However, a wife can acquire and own nity where I work? property in her own independent names. It Land Law and Gender · 3 Uganda Property Rights Toolkit - Land.indd 3 10/7/10 11:48 PM ■■ What are common problems that Part II (30 minutes) women face in relation to land in my community? Have participants answer, present and discuss their answer to the following question: 2. Have all the pairs share the answers for ■■ As a community rights worker, what tools the first two questions. Write down the or methods have I used to sensitize the answers on a flip chart. community about women and land? Which 3.
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