Land is a vital resource in Uganda, a critical factor of production and an essential pillar of human existence and development.
Agriculture accounts for 43% of the national GDP, 80% of employment, 85% of export earnings, 80% of the agricultural labour force, with women representing 80% of the agricultural work. Approximately 79.1% of activities demanding land resources such as agriculture, settlement, and forest and wildlife conservation.
Despite their essential contributions to the national economy, only few women enjoy secure rights to land they till, making land governance and management a substantial political, economic and social question.
The land tenure regime in Uganda is predominantly customary land tenure. The implications of this kind of land tenure system for Ugandan women is that the primacy of customary law means that women's rights over land depend significantly on the quality of their personal and social relationships, primarily with their intimate partners and to a lesser extent with other kinship groups.
Women therefore continue to face inequalities in access, control and ownership of productive resources of varying degrees that differs from region, custom and ethnicity in accordance with the culture.
Majority of the customary practices continue to override statutory law in recognition and enforcement of women's land rights, abating unnoticed land grabbing at family level and also for investment.
Government has proposed policy land reforms on compulsory acquisition of land, however, the important question is whether women, who constitute the largest population will benefit from the proposed reforms and how the National Land Policy, advances women’s land rights and ensures more protection measures for women’s land security.
Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) in partnership with OXFAM-Uganda and NTV-Uganda have organized a land debate in commemoration of the International Women’s Day under the theme:“Linking women’s land rights to women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work”
The national land debate is aimed at stimulating debate, taking stock of existing efforts to respond to women’s land injustices and documenting women’s efforts, successes and struggles for safeguarding women’s land security.
The land debate will bring together the public including women from the markets, women in business, women in politics, young women in and out of school, women in civil society and women in the private sector to interface with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, the academia, and civil society fraternity on the proposed government land reforms and it will ensure security of tenure for women in Uganda.
