Notes to broadcasters on women’s land rights:

    | December 7, 2009

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    The human rights of African women are often violated. The right to land remains one of the most pressing issues because it has a direct impact on food security of each African rural woman’s family. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women recognizes that rural women have an important role to play in ensuring the survival of their families, but that they face discrimination in terms of their access to the land that provides their livelihood.

    Here are some resources that can help you expand your knowledge on African women’s struggle for land rights:
    Land rights: The struggle of African women: http://www.afrik.com/article14727.html
    Resources for Journalists, produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute, on land rights in Africa: http://www.ifpri.org/media/20060518Land.asp

    Here are some Farm Radio International scripts that deal with women’s land rights in Africa:
    Promote gender equality and empower women (Package 78, Number 3, July 2006)
    Women, property, and inheritance(Package 73, Number 4, January 2005)
    Land ownership rights: Access denied – Why women need equal access to land (Package 57, Number 9, October 2000)

    Farm Radio Weekly stories on the issue include the following:
    “South Africa: Women farm workers say ‘no justice, no vote’” (Issue# 62, April 2009)
    “Kenya: New National Land Policy would mark important step for women’s rights” (FRW# 77, August 2009)
    “Africa: Women fight for equal land rights” (FRW# 50, January 2009)

    You may wish to produce a call-in or text-in show in which callers answer the following questions regarding women’s land rights:
    -Do you know women who have been evicted from their land? If yes, how were they expelled?
    -Did the evicted women go to court to defend their right to land? If so, what was the outcome? If not, what happened to the women and their families?
    -After the eviction, how did the women ensure their family’s food security? Did they have any support from their parents?
    -If an evicted woman is living with HIV and AIDS, how does the community help her? Are there any organizations that have helped evicted women regain their land and/or livelihoods?