ECLAC (2007). "Women's Contribution to Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean ." X Session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean .
A recent publication by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carribean (CEPAL)- brings to the fore two key issues in the structural pattern of inequality between women and men: first, political participation and gender parity in decision-making processes at all levels, and, second, women's contribution to the economy and social protection, especially in relation to unpaid work.
This document also highlights the possibilities of generating virtuous circles that favour universal access to social protection, provided that policies are implemented to promote equality in the labour market, the family and politics.
CEPAL (2007). "El aporte de las mujeres a la igualdad en América Latina y el Caribe." X Conferencia Regional Sobre La Mujer de América Latina y el Caribe.
Recién publicado de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (ECLAC)- vuelve más visibles dos temas clave en la estructuración de la desigualdad entre mujeres y hombres: por una parte, la participación política y la paridad de género en los procesos de adopción de decisiones en todos los niveles y, por otra, la contribución de las mujeres a la economía y la protección social, especialmente en relación con el trabajo no remunerado.
CEPALC (2007). « La Contribution des femmes à l'égalité en Amérique Latine et dans le Caraibes. » X Conférence Régionale sur les Femmes.
Ce document « met en lumière deux aspects majeurs de la structuration de l'inégalité entre hommes et femmes: D'une part, la participation politique et la parité entre les sexes à tous les niveaux des processus de prise de décision et l'analyse de la contribution des femmes à l'économie et à la protection sociale, en particulier en ce qui concerne le travail non rémunéré. »
FAO (2007). "Gender, Property Rights and Livelihoods in the Era of AIDS." Technical Consultation - Rome , 28-30 November 2007.
http://www.landcoalition.org/pdf/FinalConsultationReport.pdf
Vulnerable groups, in particular rural women and children affected by HIV continue to experience deepening poverty and face the double threat of increasing demand for land and the HIV pandemic, which are undermining social safety nets in rural areas. Against this background, FAO convened a technical meeting to discuss more fully issues pertaining to gender, property rights and livelihoods in the era of AIDS. The small group of UN and NGO representatives discussed research findings, legislation, advocacy and policy in relation to the increasingly destructive link between HIV/AIDS and insecure property rights.
Ki-Zerbo, Francoise (2004). « Les femmes rurales et l'accès a l'information et aux institutions pour la sécurisation des droits fonciers. Etude de cas au Burkina Faso. »
http://www.landcoalition.org/pdf/fao_wal_bf_Ki-Zerbo.pdf
Cet article est une étude de cas des droits fonciers des femmes au Burkina Faso. Elle examine les bases légales du système foncier moderne et les mécanismes d'information ; l'accès des femmes à la terre suivant la tradition ; la participation des femmes à la communication sociale ; les initiatives locales et actions de la société civile pour améliorer l'accès des femmes à la terre et aux informations légales.
Women's Access to Land in Burkina Faso ." FAO.
http://www.landcoalition.org/pdf/FAO_Ki-Zerbo_WomenLand_BKF04_sum.pdf
In this study, Francoise Ki-Zerbo examines the theme of 'women, land and information' in Burkina Faso from several angles: the legal basis of the modern land tenure system; women's access to land according to traditional norms; women's participation in social communication; and local civil society initiatives to improve women's access to natural resources to land and to legal information.
UNEP et WEDO (2004.) « Les femmes et l'environnement. »
UNEP y WEDO (2004). "La Mujer y el Medio Ambiente."
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=428&ArticleID=4743&l=en .
Esta publicación revela los vínculos a menudo ocultos que existen entre la mujer y el medio ambiente, haciendo especial hincapié en los aspectos de la conservación y la ordenación de las tierras, el agua y la diversidad biológica que están relacionados con el género. El PNUMA espera que La mujer y el medio ambiente sea un instrumento de inspiración para que el sector del medio ambiente y el desarrollo sostenible comprenda mejor la importancia de las cuestiones de género e incorpore la perspectiva de género en todos los aspectos de su labor.
UNEP and WEDO (2004). "Women and the Environment."
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=468&ArticleID=4488&l=en
This publication shows that a gender perspective on environment and development calls for a specific focus on the contributions, needs and visions of women, as their positions have too often been neglected in environmental arenas. Designed to appeal to women and men alike and enhance their awareness of gender issues, "Women and the Environment" invites men in particular to take an active interest. The publication is based on 20 years of experience and on case histories submitted by women from around the world.
Brody, Alyson, Justina Demetriades and Emily Esplen (2008). "Gender and Climate Change: Mapping the Linkages." BRIDGE.
http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=37711&type=Document
This paper outlines key linkages between climate change and gender inequality, focusing particularly on adaptation and mitigation policies and practices. It contains sections on food and water security, emphasising women's particular role and adaptation strategies in these areas. The authors seek to identify gaps in the existing body of work and review best practice on adaptation and mitigation, with an emphasis on research, policy and practice.
Sweetman, Caroline (2006). "How Title Deeds Make Sex Safer: Women's Property Rights in an Era of HIV." Oxfam GB.
This article argues that the lack of secure property rights is a major factor in propagating the HIV/AIDS epidemic and contributing to its destructive social effects. The author draws upon examples mainly from Africa, but also from Asia to demonstrate that women are made more vulnerable to the virus due to their lack of property rights and that this in turn has detrimental effects on the next generation. She argues that social change must be at the core of the solution to this problem, while legal changes can also make important contributions.
Policy Project-Kenya and KNHCR (2005). "From Despair to Hope: Women's Right to Own and Inherit Property."
http://www.policyproject.com/pubs/countryreports/KEN_InheritanceRights.pdf In response to increased tenure insecurity for Kenyan widows in the context of HIV/AIDS, the POLICY Project in Kenya and Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) came together to work on enhancing widow's access to inheritance rights. The document discusses the different project phases and how communication and discussion with local elders was seen as being vital to it's progression. In the first year of the project, more than 20 widows have been or are being reinstated back to their homes as a result of interventions by elders .
Aliber, Michael, Cherryl Walker, Mumbi Machera, Paul Kamau, Charles Omondi and Karuti Kanyinga (2004). "The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Land Rights : Case Studies from Kenya ." HSRC Publishers.
http://www.fao.org/sd/dim_pe3/docs/pe3_040902d1_en.pdf .
This is the report of research conducted in Kenya to analyse the relationship between property rights and HIV/AIDS. The basic finding of the report is that property rights are threatened as a result of HIV/AIDS but that previous literature has overemphasized the degree of tenure insecurity as dispossession and land loss is not always the result of land insecurity. The report bases its findings on case studies in three Kenyan districts in the Central, East and West region respectively.
Brants, Caroline, Beatrice Akua Duncan (2004). "Access to and Control over Land from a Gender Perspective : a Study Conducted in the Volta Region of Ghana ." FAO.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae501e/ae501e00.htm .
This article is the report of a research project conducted in the Volta region of Ghana concerning women's access to land. The authors conclude that women's land tenure in this area is pervasively insecure. They trace the specific cultural and customary norms in the matrilineal society that perpetuate this insecurity and demonstrate the lack of implementation of legal measures set up to protect women against property rights discrimination. They end by giving some recommendations for improving women's secure access to land, targeting the local community, NGOs and legal aid clinics as well as the government. Although the article is specific to the Volta-region, the article presents challenges that are similar to those in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Carpano, Francesca, Izumi Kaori and Mathieson Kirsten (2008). "Gender, Property Rights and Livelihoods in the Era of AIDS: Proceedings Report of FAO Technical Consultation, Rome 28-30 November 2007." United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/ES/data/ESW/HIVAIDS/FinalConsultationReport.pdf
This is the report of a meeting held for a group of UN, NGO and research institutions for the purpose of discussing the linkages between HIV/AIDS and property rights as well as effective ways of combating this destructive relationship. The topics covered in the meeting include research on the link between AIDS and property rights; gender, property rights and livelihoods; legal reform and training; advocacy and support of grassroots initiatives; and finally political dialogue. Much of the report concerns Africa as this is where the HIV/AIDS crisis is most severe.
Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (2004). "Impact of HIV/AIDS on Rural Livelihoods and Food Security. Interactive Ethiopia : Discussion Outcomes."
http://www.uneca.org/chga/Ethiopia/Interactive_ethiopia.pdf .
In the context of increasing infection of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa as well as its rapid spread to rural communities, this article considers how the rural socio-economy is being affected by HIV/AIDS. It describes the detrimental effects of HIV/AIDS on the level of production, the transfer of livelihood knowledge from one generation to the next, the security of land tenure, particularly for women as well as the access to market and credit. It goes on to consider ways in which these consequences can be alleviated or reversed focusing attention on the importance of community-level learning and action.
Diarra, Martha and Marie Monimart (2006). "Landless Women, Hopeless Women? Gender, Land and Decentralisation in Niger ." IIED. Issue Paper No. 143.
http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/12535IIED.pdf
This article considers women's access to land in the changing social environment in Niger . Women are increasingly being excluded from land and thus from agriculture. This article investigates the ways that they deal with this and the way they position themselves in regard to land rights. The article discusses the ways in which previous merit-based agriculture is changing and how women have reacted to this, depending on their status, age and ethnicity. The article concludes that because of these changes, poverty is becoming feminised, but also that some women have found alternate, often non-traditional, ways of gaining access to land or other natural resources.
Dipika, Jain (2006). "Women Property Rights and HIV in India."
http://www.kit.nl/net/KIT_Publicaties_output/ShowFile2.aspx?e=1055
This short article discusses the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS on women's property rights in the Indian context. The author, who works for Human Rights Law Network, describes the ways that women are deprived of property as a result of HIV and the pluralistic legal forums in which they can pursue their rights.
FAO (2003). "HIV/AIDS and Agriculture: Impacts and Responses: Case Studies from Uganda, Namibia and Zambia "
ftp://ftp.fao.org/sd/SDW/SDWW/ip_summary_2003-webversion.pdf
This report discusses the link between agriculture and HIV/AIDS through the study of three sub-Saharan African countries: Uganda , Namibia and Zambia . Through these case-studies, the report highlights groups that are most vulnerable to the impoverishing effects of HIV/AIDS. It emphasises the particular vulnerability of women and orphans whose insecure property rights further exacerbates the contraction and severity of the infection. Lastly, the report makes recommendations for a multi disciplinary response to the AIDS crisis.
FAO (2006). "Report of the National Conference: Women's Property Rights and Livelihoods in the Context of HIV and AIDS in Zambia." Report prepared for the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Southern and East Africa .
http://www.fao.org/hivaids/publications/reportzambia
This is the report of a workshop held to discuss the linkage between HIV/AIDS and the deterioration of women's property rights in Zambia . The workshop was attended by NGOs, CBOs, activists, academics as well as widows and orphans. The workshop highlighted the challenges of property security in the context of HIV/AIDS and also presented the ways in which women themselves as well as NGOs and CBOs have met these challenges. A key outcome of the workshop was the intention to lobby for a change in the law of inheritance as it was clear to the participants that the intestate law in existence was unhelpful.
FAO, UNIFEM, NAC (2002). "Property and a Piece of Land Give Women Peace of Mind - Report on National Workshop on HIV and AIDS, Women's Property Rights and Livelihoods in Zimbabwe."
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/landrights/downloads/zimbabwe_..
This is the report of a workshop held in Zambia concerning HIV/AIDS and property rights. The participants are women who are working to empower widows at the grassroots-level, the widows themselves as well as orphans who have been affected by insecure property rights. It also provides a set of recommendations for ways in which to increase land security for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Jefremovas, V. (1991). "Loose Women, Virtuous Wives and Timid Virgins: Gender and the Control of Resources in Rwanda ." Canadian Journal of African Studies . Vol.25. No.3. pp.378-395.
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0008-3968(1991)25%3A3%3C378%3ALWVWAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F
This article discusses gendered relations in Rwanda and specifically women's access to resources and surplus. The article describes the social and legal constraints that women face in negotiating rights to resources. It traces the history of land tenure development in Rwanda , considering the pre-colonial, colonial and current capitalist context. The main focus of the article is its description of how the moral and stereotypical language of "loose women, virtuous wives and timid virgins" is used to secure access to resources and surplus by both women and men.
Gray L and Kevane M (1999). "A Woman's Field is Made at Night."
http://lsb.scu.edu/~mkevane/femecon.pdf
This article discusses the complex social fabric in which women bargain for their rights to access and control over land in Burkina Faso . It emphasizes both women's rights and constraints in regard to land in their roles as daughters, sisters, mothers and wives. It cautions optimism over privatization and individualisation of land as it could be detrimental to women's means of access and would hamper the dynamic evolution in which gender equity could be negotiated and developed.
Gelman, Nancy, Judy Oglethorpe (2008). "AIDS Women and Land Natural Resources in Africa : Current Challenges."
http://www.genderanddevelopment.org/display.asp?k=002j1287&
This article explores the links between gender relations, HIV/AIDS, environmental factors and access to natural resources. It emphasizes women's particular vulnerability to contracting the infection and the economic constraints they face in caring for themselves and for other family members. The text particularly focuses on the insecure access to natural resources which is often the result of women's contraction of HIV/AIDS. The article also provides plans of action for alleviating the adverse effects of the disease on access to and management of natural resources, highlighting alternative lifestyles and women's empowerment.
HRW (2003). "Double Standards: Women's Property Rights Violations in Kenya ."
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/kenya0303/
This is a human rights watch report describing the pervasive property rights violations to which women are victim in Kenya . It considers women's rights in Kenya more broadly and situates the issue in its historical context before relating in detail the ways in which widows, daughters, divorced women and married women are discriminated against and deprived of secure access to land and other resources. The report also makes recommendations to the government of Kenya as well as to donors and international organisations.
ICRW (2007). "Women's Property Rights, HIV and AIDS and Violence in South Africa and Uganda ." International Center for Research on Women.
http://www.icrw.org/docs/property-rights/2007-sa-and-uganda.pdf
This short article reports the preliminary findings of a study concerning the relationship between women's secure property rights and their experience of HIV/AIDS and violence. The study found that secure property rights seemed to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS but did not seem to have an effect on contraction itself. Rather than secure property rights, the mitigation of HIV/AIDS and violence seemed to depend on the strength of social relationships, able to support women in claiming their rights to property. The type of property also appeared to have an effect on its mitigation potential, as agricultural land provides more economic security than residential land.
Izumu, Kaori (2006). "Land and Property Rights of Women and Orphans in Zimbabwe ." HSRC Publishers.
http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/freedownloads.asp?id=2167 .
This report is the result of a study done in Zimbabwe concerning the property rights of women and orphans who are at risk of dispossession due to HIV/AIDS. It found that widows due to HIV/AIDS are often chased away from their land, returning either to their natal homes where they seldom receive land or are forced to seek employment. The article also evaluates and considers policy implications for the Zimbabwean government and ends with a list of recommendations.
Izumu, Kaori (2006). "Reclaiming our Lives - HIV and AIDS, Women's Land and Property Rights and Livelihoods in Southern and Eastern Africa . HSRC Publishers.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/landrights/downloads/eBook_reclaiming_our_lives.pdf
This is a collection of narrative accounts from those who have suffered from tenure insecurity as a result of HIV/AIDS as well as the grassroots organisations who have responded to the needs and injustices of this destructive link. The narratives are organised according to countries including Zimbabwe , Zambia , Uganda , Kenya . Tanzania , Swaziland , South Africa , Rwanda and Eritrea .
Jackson, Cecile (2003). "Gender Analysis of Land: Beyond Land Rights for Women?" Journal of Agrarian Change, Vol. 3, No. 4. pp. 453-480.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1471-0366.00062
This article is a response to one written by Bina Agarwal and concerns methodological approaches to research done on women's access to land. Her paper mainly concerns India but she uses studies from Africa to compare and inform her discussion. She emphasises the need for ethnographic research and a thorough understanding of the social relationships that determine land access and security for women. She also calls into question the assumption of increased efficiency and empowerment as a result of secure land access and holds that it should be subject to research. The basic thrust of her argument is that research and policies promoting land access for women must be clearly situated in a specific social context and must consider land as one of many factors influencing women's poverty.
Masika, Rachel (2002). "Gender, Development and Climate Change." Oxfam GB.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/downloads/FOG_Climate_15.pdf
In light of ongoing and immanent climate change that disproportionately affects the Global South and the poor, this publication is a set of essays considering the connections between gender, poverty and climate variability. The essays explore the ways and extent to which gender determines the effects of climate change and to what extent poverty is the fundamental determining factor. They also consider ways that climate change may have positive results for women's empowerment and poverty alleviation.
Strickland, Richard S (2004). " To Have and to Hold: Women's Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa ." International Center for Research on Women, 2004.
www.icrw.org/docs/2004_paper_haveandhold.pdf
This article considers the link between women's property rights or lack thereof, and the spread and severity of HIV/AIDS. The article discusses the potential for women with secure property rights to avoid infection or to mitigate its effects. It further highlights the ways in which women gain access to land as well as the factors that make them vulnerable to land insecurity, providing examples from several countries in sub-Saharan Africa . Finally, the article considers ways in which formal land rights can translate into real benefits for women and provides a list of suggestions for future work.
Verma, Ritu (2001). "Gender, Land and Livelihoods in East Africa : Through Farmer's Eyes." International Development Research Center , Ottawa .
http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/283-x/
This book presents a thorough study of the gendered aspects of natural resource management in Maragoli District, Western Kenya . It is concerned with describing the power-relations present in households and communities and the ways in which women use their less powerful position to further their own interests, and what effects this then has on natural resource management. Although the book is not primarily concerned with women's access to land, this issue permeates the work as it is central to soil management.
Villareal, Marcela (2006). "Changing Customary Land Rights and Gender Relations in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Africa ." Paper presented at the Symposium at the Frontier of Land Issues: Social Embeddedness of Rights and Public Policy.
www.mpl.ird.fr/colloque_foncier/communications/PDF/Villarreal.pdf
This article considers the effects of HIV/AIDS on women's rights and access to land. It highlights the ways in which decreased access to property, increases women's vulnerability to the disease and the ways in which the infection increases women's vulnerability to land insecurity. Increasing numbers of women are widowed as a result of HIV/AIDS and due to the deterioration of societal rules and institutions that protect the interests of widows; these women are often denied access to land. In turn, women whose land access is insecure are more likely to engage in risky behaviour in order to sustain themselves and/or their children. According to Villarreal, this is not just a women's rights issue but an integral part of the perpetuation of HIV/AIDS in particularly sub-Saharan African societies.
Warner, M.W.,R.M. Al-Hassan and J. G. Kydd (1997). "Beyond Gender Roles? Conceptualizing the Social and Economic Lives of Rural Peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa ." Development and Change Vol 28. pp. 143-168. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford UK .
The central claim of this article is the need for development policies and programs to take into account the complex nature of social and economic roles in rural Africa , rather than relying on the widely accepted and simplistic notions of "gender roles." Through a case study of the Dagomba in Ghana , it illustrates the importance of identifying categories of women (and men) that are meaningful in a given African rural society. The contribution of the article is its explicit demonstration that access to economic and natural resources in rural African societies is not simply a matter of women and men, but within these categories, of other social constructs, such as marital status or seniority. The implication for development programs is to be aware of, and specifically target those categories that actually determine access to land other economic resources.
Jacobs, Susie (2001). "Land Reform: Still a Goal Worth Pursuing for Rural Women?" Manchester Metropolitan University .
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/livelihoods/landrights/downloads/pursu\ingrtf.rtf
This article calls into question whether, in the context of other pressing needs and insecurities, women's secure access to land should be a priority concern. Jacobs considers the arguments against pursuing land rights for rural women, including the negative effects on women in land reform processes, women's lack of access to other important productive inputs even where they do have access to land, the increasing opportunities outside of the agricultural sector as well as the range of other insecurities poor, rural women face. However, she concludes the article with a reaffirmation that pursuing land rights is a worthy goal because it does provide increased food security and increased bargaining power for women in gaining increased security in other areas.
Joireman, Sandra F (2008). "The Mystery of Capital Formation in Sub-Saharan Africa : Women, Property Rights and Customary Law." World Development. Vol. 36, No. 7.
This article argues that women's unequal status and customary law are fundamental obstacles to clearly defining property rights in sub-Saharan Africa . This lack of clarity in property ownership impedes economic development and poverty alleviation. The article claims that policies attempting to clarify property rights must take into account the difficulties of implementing laws and practices that counter customary practice and discrimination against women.
Kameri-Mbote, Patricia (2006). "Women, Land Rights and the Environment: the Kenyan Experience." Development . Vol. 49, No. 3. pp. 43-48.
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/development/journal/v49/n3/pdf/1100274a.pdf
This article claims that rights to land and other natural resources should be determined by the roles played by individuals who use those resources, rather than by ownership, traditionally understood. As poor rural women are generally the cultivators of land, this would empower them to manage and control the land, their own production, as well as acknowledge their role as stewards of the environment. The article specifically concerns the Kenyan context, but has implications for other sub-Saharan African countries.
UN Secretary General's Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa (2004). "Facing the Future Together: report of the United Nations Secretary General's Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa ."
This is the report of a task force set up to respond to the crisis of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa , which has hit women particularly hard. It considers property rights as one of the issues that must be addressed in order to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS. The task force makes concrete, time-bound recommendations for women's increased empowerment in the face of HIV/AIDS, including advocacy, policy development, prevention, property rights and treatment programs.
