AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT N O T E S ISSUE 10 MAY 2014 Examples from East Asia on Strengthening Women’s Land Rights Land is one of the most valuable assets for rural people. This Note offers an overview of land titling, land First, it is a productive asset, and second, land is often the administration and management, as well as post- only available collateral for credit in rural areas. Despite disaster reconstruction projects in the East Asia Region. strong recent economic growth and overall development, It provides an account of gender actions that helped gender disparities in access to and control over land improve women’s access to land. The Note concludes by remain pervasive in the East Asia Region. Women remain summarizing lessons learned that can be used to inform less likely to own land than men and, even when they do, future interventions. their holdings are likely to be smaller and less valuable than those of men. LAO PDR — Land Titling Project (LTP, 1997–2005) and Land Titling Project II (LTP II, 2004–09) There are a number of distinct factors limiting women’s LTP I and LTP II ensured that women equally participate in, access and ownership of land in the region—from gender- and benefit from, land titling, by registering land in their biased legal frameworks to cultural norms and practices names. Compared to other East Asian countries, women that deem land to be a “male asset.” Therefore, effective in Lao have greater access to, and control over, land, since policies aiming to reduce gender disparities in land more than 50 percent of women live in areas with strong ownership, increase female land holdings, and improve matrifocal and matrilocal traditions. The project’s outcomes women’s livelihoods must take context-specific constraints also reflect these customary traditions, whereby women into consideration. In recent years, several countries in the are more likely to inherit land than men. Under LTP I, region have made headway toward increasing ownership gender-disaggregated data suggest that about 38 percent and control over land by women. For example, Indonesia of all parcel titles were registered under women’s names, and Vietnam identified and addressed gender inequalities 41 percent were joint titles and 21 percent were registered and adopted gender-sensitive reforms in land titling under men’s names. Under LTP II, the outcome of the land projects. titling system was highly satisfactory, with almost 38 percent of titles registered under women’s names, Protecting Women’s Land Tenure Rights • 37.5 percent of titles issued to women—compared to 23.4 percent to men. • 29.3 percent issued jointly to spouses under LTP II. • Over the life of both LTP I & II, the share of conjugal joint title issuance increased from less than 3 percent in PY 1996 to 1997, under LTP I to almost 40 percent, in PY 2008 to 2009, under LTP II. Annual percentage of joint titles issued LTP I & II — PY 1996 to 1997 to PY 2008 to 2009 Share of all titles issued (percent) Source: World Bank. Implementation Completion and Results Report: Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Second Land Titling Project. May 20, 2010. 23 percent under men’s names and about 30 percent registered rather than women as landowners. Overall under LMPDP, more jointly. These numbers were achieved by: than 23 percent of titles were issued to women owners and another 4 percent were issued jointly. The number of land titles a. Ensuring that women’s customary land rights are reflected in issued in the name of women increased as the project progressed, the new official land registration systems and are not altered with 46 percent of the titles distributed in 2009 issued in the name during the transition of women. In most cases, a woman’s name on a land certificate b. Promoting women’s employment in land institutions at all reflects the land she inherited and contributed to the marital levels property. Using both names on land titles demonstrates women’s equal status on inherited and commonly held marital property. c. Expanding women’s access to specialized technical tertiary education, thus ensuring they are proportionately INDONESIA — Reconstruction of Aceh Land represented in the medium- and long-term. Administration Project (RALAS, 2005–09) Engaging the Lao Women’s Union (LWU) during both projects The RALAS took place in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami and significantly contributed to the project’s effective implementation. focused on recovering and protecting land ownership rights in The organization facilitated village meetings, increased land rights’ the affected area. It focused on rebuilding the land administration awareness and improved information dissemination on inheritance system and promoting women’s rights by introducing the option law provisions and government land services specifically targeting of jointly registering land. Before the project less than 4 percent of women. joint titles had been issued, reflecting the registration practices of married couples whereby land is registered under the husband’s PHILIPPINES — Land Administration and Management name. Under RALAS, in conjunction with the Sharia courts, a Project: Learning and Innovation Loan (LAMP-LIL, 2001– manual provided guidance on inheritance and guardianship 04) and Second Land Administration Management procedures and introduced safeguards against the dispossession Project (LAMP2, 2005–14) risks usually faced by widows and children. Certain obstacles were In the past, women in the Philippines lagged behind men experienced regarding women’s participation in the titling process: in terms of getting their names on land titles, especially for conjugal properties. This was amended under the LAMP-LIL a. Women were insufficiently represented in field teams with the issuance of an Administrative Order in the Department b. Time and place of meetings were often inconvenient to of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which removed women caring for family members gender bias in the acceptance and processing of Homestead Patents and other Public Land applications. c. Presentations were not made in the local language A further step was taken under the next project (LAMP2). World Bank Specifically, the formal adoption of “and/or” between the names of the spouses was introduced in the title registration forms. According to sex-disaggregated data (2006–11) on the number of beneficiaries who had their lands titled under the LAMP2 52 percent of land title holders were men and 48 percent women. Women’s participation in LAMP-LIL meetings and mobilization activities was reported at 50–80 percent. The project adopted a Gender Mainstreaming Guidebook that provided specific strategies to ensure gender-sensitive mechanisms and activities in project implementation, such as the collection of sex-disaggregated data of land titling applicants and beneficiaries, showing that the project extended services to 55 percent men and 45 percent women. INDONESIA — Land Management and Policy Development Project (LMPDP, 2004–09) This systematic land-titling program aimed at ensuring women’s land rights. The traditional land-titling system accorded women land ownership even though formal titles usually named men Women apply for land titles, LAMP2. 2 d. There were no women-only meetings. administration system and further contributing to good governance. Women were identified as a vulnerable group; Despite these obstacles, women benefited from the land titling hence the project has a strong gender focus. The project funds process. Overall, almost 30 percent of the titles were distributed the re-issuance of a large number of Land Use Rights Certificates to women or joint owners (by 2008 the percentage was 45 (LURCs) in areas with no up-to-date land survey (and some percent). This number is consistent with inheritance practices in issuance of new LURCs in newly surveyed areas). Gender equality Aceh, whereby daughters inherit the land and sons inherit the is being promoted by issuing certificates in the names of both productive assets. husband and wife where appropriate, thus strengthening women’s CAMBODIA — Land Allocation for Social and Economic land rights and social status. From early on, the Center for Legal Development Project (LASED, 2008–14) Research and Services (LERES), a national NGO advocating for The project aims to promote and secure women’s land rights women’s land rights, has been actively promoting the issuance by prioritizing female-headed households in the land allocation of joint land use certificates with World Bank support. The project process. The project promotes participation of both women and built on this earlier successful initiative and expanded it. men in project activities and has specifically targeted support Following Vietnam’s 1993 Land Law, a matched sample measures for women. Given the sensitivity of land issues in of households from the 2004 and 2008 Household Living Cambodia and the importance of land to the livelihoods of Standards Survey1 examined whether increased land titling the rural poor, various social assessments identified issues and led to considerable improvements in the economic security opportunities to strengthen social equity in the project. A gender of households, and whether land titles in women’s names had assessment was carried out and several consultations were markedly different effects as compared to titles held by men. The undertaken in villages, and at the provincial and national levels. study found that on balance, land-use rights held exclusively by These assessments consistently highlighted the importance of: women or jointly by couples result in beneficial effects such as a. Effective information dissemination strategies targeting increased household expenditures and women’s self-employment, vulnerable groups, particularly female-headed households and lower household vulnerability to poverty. LURCs registered in women’s names only were found to increase per capita household b. Promotion of men’s and women’s participation in land expenditures by 10.4 percent; increase the share of household recipient households participating in Social Land Concession women who are self-employed in agriculture by 5.5 percent; planning and implementation activities and reduce the incidence of poverty by 6 percent. LURCs held c. Follow-up household visits by social support teams to identify jointly were found to increase the share of household women issues between men and women. who are self-employed in agriculture by 5 percent and reduce the incidence of poverty by 5 percent. In order to address these issues and further promote gender equality in terms of accessing land: Lessons Learned a. Guidelines on gender mainstreaming and extensive training • Projects in Indonesia and the Philippines showed that land materials for government staff at all levels were developed. titling is a powerful tool for empowerment and thus it is Specific materials were prepared for commune councils and critical to ensure it is accessible to both women and men. community members to enhance gender awareness related to the achievement of the project objectives and to provide • Customary land practices may often function as safety nets to protect the most vulnerable groups, including tools for ensuring gender balance in project implementation. women. Therefore, it is important to understand and not b. Key elements of gender mainstreaming were incorporated undermine these safety nets when transitioning from into regular project monitoring, the anticipated mid-term and customary rights to statutory land tenure. final evaluation framework as well as the impact assessment. For example, as of August 2012 it was documented that • The LTP (Lao PDR), LAP (Vietnam) and RALAS (Indonesia) experiences illustrate the importance of carefully more than 35 percent of recipients were female-headed designing an implementation strategy that takes households, while 50 percent of training participants were gender concerns into consideration, for example the women. time and place of meetings, women-only meetings, and literacy, language and other social barriers affecting women’s VIETNAM — Land Administration Project (LAP, 2008–15) The project aims to increase access of all stakeholders to 1. Kennedy, A., N. Menon, and Y. Rogers. 2013. Land Reform and Welfare in land information services by introducing an improved land Vietnam: Why Gender of Land-Rights Holder Matters. 3 World Bank Beneficiary shows the land she now owns, LAMP2. participation. In Vietnam public awareness campaigns awareness-raising and conducting women-only meetings. focusing on women emphasize the issue’s complexity Similarly, partnering with an NGO to focus explicitly on and make sure women are aware of the gender-sensitive protecting women’s land rights could have helped to better solutions provided under the project. meet the gender objectives of RALAS in Indonesia. • In a disaster context women have the potential to • Land agencies in the region (and worldwide) are usually subvert local traditions. In Aceh, women sought to not engaged in the collection of gender-disaggregated re-assert their land and property rights using a number of data. After the completion of land administration projects, innovative approaches. For instance, temporary markers it is important that governments continue to maintain a were used to claim land rights and women used the names system for collection of gender-disaggregated data for first of their male family members to mark their land, as women time registration, transfers, mortgages and other actions. are formally barred from owning land. Women also widely participated in community-level land mapping exercises. • The LASED distributes land to women by giving them access to agricultural land for production and Interestingly and quite contrary to commonly held beliefs residential land for building a home. Securing and about Islam, the Sharia courts supported the rights of protecting this land requires additional support measures women and their engagement in the reconstruction of land that enable women to productively use the land and rights. establish a sustainable livelihood in their new location. The • Local knowledge is an essential ingredient in order project had to design specific measures to address the to empower women. During the RALAS project in specific needs of female-headed households who often Indonesia, making local communities own the gender have limited physical (wo)manpower in their families, need agenda by building on local ideas and customs significantly to attend to children, and sometimes face other social empowered women. These were then integrated into constraints. A joint approach by government agencies and the public awareness campaigns to ensure that gender specialized NGOs was best suited to respond. sensitivity was a local requirement. • Finally, it is important that the issuance of titles (or • Establishing a formal relationship with a women’s other rights) in the names of women or jointly is seen organization during project implementation can help as an enabler to securing and ensuring gender equality overcome obstacles regarding women’s effective in tenure rights and not as the solution. It is the laws, participation. In the two Land Titling Programs in Lao PDR regulations, procedures and norms associated with access for example, engaging the Lao Women’s Union contributed to credit taxation, inheritance, marriage and divorce that toward providing useful information on local traditions, seriously circumvent women’s access to land. This AES Note was prepared by Victoria Stanley and Marialena Vyzaki. We would like to thank Helle Buchhave and Harideep Singh for providing guidance during the process; Keith Clifford Bell, Maria Theresa Quinones and Mudita Chamroeun for reviewing the Note and providing useful input and comments. For more information, please contact Keith Bell at kbell@worldbank.org. 1818 H Street. NW Washington, DC 20433 www.worldbank.org/rural