Devolved units and the national government have been asked to put in place measures that will help support the ownership of land among women.
Women rights activist Bernice Kitum says currently, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to the inheritance of family land.
In an interview with Uasin Gishu News, Bernice argues that for society, especially urban areas to get the value of land, women need to be allowed to play a key role by allowing them to own land.
“It is easy for men to access land because of the patriarchal society that we live in but for women, unless they work hard for themselves, they are not going to get it,” says the women’s rights activist.
“Women are great in numbers and diligent in land usage. They are also very intelligent. To get value in land and benefit from economies of scale, they need to be supported to own land,” she adds.
Bernice argues that it is usually very hard to find a woman selling land inherited from her family, unlike men.
The Kenyan Constitution allows both male and female siblings to inherit land from their parents but the implementation of that provision under the Bill of Rights is yet to be fully actualized.
This is largely because of the traditions of many societies.
Educate community on women’s land ownership
But as a way of doing away with the traditional barriers hindering women’s land ownership, Bernice wants more sensitization done to communities.
“I ask that we do a lot of awareness to reduce barriers that stop women from owning land. Our people need to know that it is also okay and within the law for women to own family land,” notes the women’s rights activist.
Aside from culture, the long process of acquiring land title deeds is another hindrance to women owning land.
Bernice points out that as it is now before one gets a title deed, the sector is full of cartels and brokers who made it difficult for women to follow through the whole process.
She wants the government to put in place a special provision for women.
“Women need support to have titles,” the activist says, adding that “sometimes the process is difficult and opaque.”
“For them to get titles, it takes a lot of time. Brokers may eat their money and it takes a lot of time, some give up,” she says.
Bernice believes if women can be helped easily get title deeds for their land, they can be stronger and actively get involved in nation-building by using the document as collateral to get capital.
