ECA Hosts Workshop to Review Land Administration Gaps and Strengthen Women's Rights

This workshop is set against the backdrop of the Government of Malawi’s commitment to implementing the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa.

Land governance stakeholders have convened in Lilongwe, Malawi, to review an assessment study focusing on the gaps in land administration institutions, capacity, and training needs. Organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the workshop aims to facilitate collaborative discussions on the challenges and inadequacies in the policy, legal, and institutional frameworks governing women's land tenure security and gender-responsive land governance.

Workshop Objectives and High-Level Policy Dialogue

The validation of the study will be followed by a high-level Policy Dialogue designed to create a multi-stakeholder platform. This platform will allow participants to deliberate on issues affecting women’s land tenure security and consider the policy and legal challenges related to women’s land rights. The discussions will serve as an opportunity to gather essential input for a policy brief that outlines the government’s pathways toward implementing gender-responsive land governance. Additionally, the workshop aims to draft a strategy, action plan, and roadmap to ensure that women's land rights issues are comprehensively addressed.

Context and Government Commitments

This workshop is set against the backdrop of the Government of Malawi’s commitment to implementing the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa. This declaration urges AU Member States to review their land sectors and develop comprehensive policies tailored to their specific land needs. The review process emphasizes the need to mainstream gender in the formulation and implementation of national land policies, which are crucial for promoting economic growth and safeguarding the livelihoods of African communities.

Previous Initiatives and Progress

Between 2016 and 2018, Malawi participated in a six-country project that explored ways to integrate land governance issues into the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP). A key recommendation was to empower women and vulnerable groups in agriculture to promote equitable agricultural investments through programs aimed at securing land rights for women. Since then, Malawi has made significant strides in enacting laws that bolster land governance, including enhancing women’s rights to land.

Demonstrating its political commitment, Malawi sought technical assistance from the ECA in 2019 through the Ministry of Lands, Urban Housing and Development. In response, the ECA has supported Malawi in a project focused on Strengthening Women’s Land Tenure Security and Entrepreneurship, which included training for gender and land stakeholders conducted in December 2020.

Challenges and Gender Inequalities Amid COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed challenges for Malawi, particularly regarding food security and the availability of agricultural inputs due to supply chain disruptions. The pandemic has exacerbated existing gender inequalities, deep-rooted discrimination, and feminized poverty, disproportionately impacting women while increasing their responsibilities. In this context, the ECA secured funding to continue supporting Malawi under the project titled Gender-responsive Land Governance in Africa as a Pathway for Enhancing Women’s Resilience in the Context of COVID-19, which encompasses the current assessment study and policy dialogue.

Diverse Stakeholder Participation

The workshop has gathered a diverse group of stakeholders from various sectors, including representatives from the Ministries of Lands, Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Agriculture, Gender, Local Government, and Parliamentarians. Key participants also include representatives from farmer organizations, UN agencies such as FAO, UN Women, UN-Habitat, the UN resident coordinator, OXFAM, Landnet, the National Land Coalition, Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA), and various NGOs focused on land and women’s issues. Additionally, members from gender advisory committees, technical working groups on gender and human rights, representatives of the women’s caucus committee, the Land Justice Consortium, and academia, including LUANAR and the University of Malawi, as well as research institutes like Mwapata, are also present.

The workshop aims to foster collaborative dialogue that will inform policy recommendations and strengthen women’s land rights in Malawi, ensuring that gender-responsive land governance is effectively implemented. 4o mini  You said: