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Gendered land rights, legal reform and social norms in the context of land fragmentation - A review of the literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda

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  • Andersson Djurfeldt, Agnes

Abstract

•Legal reforms in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda aim to improve women’s security of tenure by formalizing land rights.•Enhancing women’s rights to land are contingent on other legislation and changing social norms.•Customary tenure regimes, social norms and lack of legal literacy lead to the continued discrimination of women.•Growing demand for land enhances this discriminization with negative effects for women’s livelihoods.•Theoretically, the findings point to the limited effects of land tenure reforms alone in redressing gender inequality.

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  • Andersson Djurfeldt, Agnes, 2020. "Gendered land rights, legal reform and social norms in the context of land fragmentation - A review of the literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:90:y:2020:i:c:s0264837718313516
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104305
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    1. Deininger, Klaus & Xia, Fang & Kilic, Talip & Moylan, Heather, 2021. "Investment impacts of gendered land rights in customary tenure systems: Substantive and methodological insights from Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Bizoza, Alfred R. & Opio-Omoding, James, 2021. "Assessing the impacts of land tenure regularization: Evidence from Rwanda and Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    3. Burrone, Sara & Giannelli, Gianna Claudia, 2023. "Do Households Where Women Own Land Fare Better for Food Security? Evidence for Tanzania," IZA Discussion Papers 16382, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Lecoutere, Els & Spielman, David J. & Van Campenhout, Bjorn, 2023. "Empowering women through targeting information or role models: Evidence from an experiment in agricultural extension in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Ngango, Jules & Hong, Seungjee, 2021. "Impacts of land tenure security on yield and technical efficiency of maize farmers in Rwanda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. Hyland, Marie & Djankov, Simeon & Goldberg, Pinelopi, 2021. "Do gendered laws matter?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118845, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Selorm Kobla Kugbega, 2020. "State-Customary Interactions and Agrarian Change in Ghana. The Case of Nkoranza Traditional Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Clements, Hayley S. & De Vos, Alta & Bezerra, Joana Carlos & Coetzer, Kaera & Maciejewski, Kristine & Mograbi, Penelope J. & Shackleton, Charlie, 2021. "The relevance of ecosystem services to land reform policies: Insights from South Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

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