In many rural societies, men are leaving the land. Often they leave in search of work in cities. Armed conflict and HIV/AIDS are also taking a significant toll on male populations in developing countries. As a result, women now head many rural households. Increasingly, they are the farmers of the developing world. Yet women often have weak land rights, or are denied rights entirely, resulting in increased poverty for themselves and their families.

Monica is a 34-year-old widow from Kuria, in the Nyanza province of Kenya. She was 28 and the mother of six children when her husband died. Because of family tradition and land customs, in which land is passed on to future generations through the family or clan, she had to fight to keep a plot of land to grow food for her children.

“I had 1.5 acres when my husband was alive. After he died, my brothers-in-law grabbed one acre and built a hut on the remaining half acre,” she said. “I went to the chief for help, who explained that he would need the elders to make a decision. My brother gave them 500 shillings as payment. The chief and elders walked around my boundaries and said my brothers-in-law should give me back the land. At first my brother-in-law agreed, but as soon as the chief and elders left, he told me to get off the land and if I were to come back I would lose my neck.”

In Africa, less than 10 per cent of the land is registered under an official statutory system. Most land is held according to custom and tradition. Customary systems vary among countries, ranging from individualized family tenure arrangements to systems with a mix of family and communal tenure rights.

In theory, both statutory and customary laws recognize the right of a widow to continue using the land after her husband’s death. However, in an ever-growing number of cases, people no longer respect those rights, and the institutions responsible for enforcing them – chiefs and elders – are either unable or unwilling to do so.

In Kenya and elsewhere, IFAD is working with local leaders to help them recognize and enforce the original intention of the tradition to protect women’s rights. IFAD has learned that defending women’s rights requires comprehensive action on many levels. Women need to know their rights. They often need help with legal assistance and advocacy. And they need to learn how to strengthen their voices by working collectively.

When women have land security, they can earn more. When women earn more, they usually spend a higher proportion on food for the family than do men. Strengthening women’s land rights not only contributes to gender equality but also to wider food security and poverty reduction.