In rural South Africa, women have less access to land for homes and businesses than men. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
circleWomen in rural South Africa have less access to land to live and operate their own businesses than men, hindering their economic independence, according to a new study.
The Gender Equality Commission report highlighted the barriers women face in accessing communal land in the North West, Limpopo and Eastern Cape provinces, stating that women are more likely to experience land tenure insecurity than men. Patriarchal laws favour men's access to communal land, and high prices also hinder women's access to communal land.
“Unequal access to land impedes efforts to achieve gender equality, economic growth, social development, and mitigating the gendered impacts of climate change,” the report states.
In the Eastern Cape, women own 26% of the land compared to 53% for men, with the rest owned by non-binary people. Similarly, in the North West, women own 28% of the land compared to 46% for men and 26% for non-binary people.
In Limpopo, 33% of land is owned by women, 51% by men and 16% by non-binary people.
Cultural practices vary across these regions, but even in areas where women are not excluded from community governance committees that decide on land use and allocation, they still face gender bias and do not occupy as much important traditional land as men, said Naledi Serebano, deputy research director at the Gender Equality Commission.
Men still have the final say, even if they are brothers, husbands, or fathers.
“Generally, there were very few women serving as village heads, but some of the participants spoke of where they come from, where women are simply not eligible to be traditional leaders in the villages. So when these structures existed, some villages had no women at all,” Serebano said.
In one case in the Eastern Cape, Serebano said, a 30-year-old woman who lived with her parents and ran a small farm tried to get a seven-year lease to run her own farm but was denied.
“It's even harder for women who are unmarried and childless, she said. So, those who are unmarried and childless are at the bottom of the pyramid.”
“She said her brother, who is also unmarried, has never experienced the same situation. He applied and was granted land use, but her case was rejected,” Serebano said.
In some cases, if a woman wants to purchase land, she needs her father's written consent.
In the North-West, decision-making power is vested in senior traditional leaders and the royal family, and cultural norms also limit women's access to land.
Mr Serebano said there was a “pyramid structure” that determined who would get the land first.
“The top of the pyramid is the first-born boy, and if he is an unmarried man he must be over 40 years old. Married men can be any age, but married women are represented by their husbands and unmarried women are represented by the oldest members of the family.”
One study participant said these norms are meant to oppress women.
“Even if we are represented on the council committees, it takes a lot of effort to convince them that we can do the job. Firstly, in the Bafokeng (a tribe in the northwest) we have never seen a female traditional leader, chief or village head,” she said.
“This shows that women are not valued and are not given equal opportunities. [to men]Also, women are still expected to sit and behave with dignity. When a man speaks in a meeting, women are not free to join in. So, I still believe that my place as a woman is still in the kitchen because I am treated as a woman here…”
Serebano said young women were fighting back against these norms and seeking greater control over land access and female ownership.
The study found that in Limpopo, land allocation decisions are made by the king, traditional councils, village committees and heads of each community.
Some people have to wait as long as two years to get land, but others have to wait longer, and the land is often given to others, with the village chief benefiting financially – an example of the economic barriers women face when trying to access land, the study said.
“These money-making schemes have resulted in women who are assigned stands being unfairly taken advantage of, especially if they are the only women, because the stand is assigned to you and the man at the same time and they know that the man will overpower you because you are only an unmarried woman or single woman in this situation,” Serebano said.
“Some of the women had no choice but to live with their boyfriends. They said it was a kind of security that at least a man was at home and they wouldn't be taken advantage of.”
South Africa's constitution, laws and land reform policies aim to ensure that people are not discriminated against on the basis of gender or race, but cultural norms remain obstacles.
“While we have such progressive legislation, [the Commission for Gender Equality] “Women's access to common land is also interconnected with other important issues concerning women and gender equality, including but not limited to women's unequal burden of unpaid reproductive labour, equal rights in marriage and family relationships, sexual and reproductive health rights, and the role of patriarchy in perpetuating violence and structural oppression against women,” Serebano said.
The Committee called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to ensure that legislative reforms on communal land are introduced and implemented to enable traditional and community leaders to enable women’s access to land and land ownership.
“Legislation reforms must address existing challenges such as patriarchal practices, sexism and exclusion that are currently justified under the guise of cultural beliefs and norms that oppress women and homosexuals,” Serevano said.