Celebrating women's land right activists, Winny and Nadya

Meet Winny and Nadya , two women who joined the pilot for the Women 4 Women mentorship programme at ILC.

Winny Chepkemoi was sitting in her office at the Kenya Land Alliance when her colleague shared an opportunity to join a mentorship programme he received in an ILC newsletter. The call was unique in its objective: a safe space where women could empower each other in their careers. Given Winny's role as a Women's Land Rights Officer, her colleague insisted she apply. "At first, I was not sure whether I should be a mentee or a mentor. I only had 7 years of experience in the field, but I did have strong experience working with rural women and their communities. Eventually I thought, why not try?" she says.

In Madagascar, Nadya Randrianandrasana was also contemplating whether she should join the mentorship programme. Despite having worked as a Communications professional at Solidarity of Land Interveners (SIF) since 2013, Nadya had her doubts about being a mentor and decided to apply as a mentee instead.

"I did not expect to be matched with a mentee from a different country or that we could go on this journey together using online tools. I was also surprised that women’s issues in Madagascar are not very different. The region and context was very similar" says Winny. In fact, it would be their challenges and passion for women's land rights that would help them find common ground,

FROM KENYA TO MADAGASCAR: OBSTACLES IN ACHIEVING WOMEN'S LAND RIGHT

Winny and Nadya both highlight the challenge of getting people to talk about women’s rights to land. Nadya cites a 2013 study which found that the customary laws of Madagascar's 18 ethnic groups state that women should not inherit land.

As an advocate trying to influence legislation to guarantee women’s equal access to land , Winny faces a similar problem in Kenya, "We often discuss topics like gender-based violence, but where is the discussion about land? Today women are trying to get their inheritance and are being disinherited from their spouses’ property. Women are facing so many violations, and they do not speak up because they are not even aware there is help available."

Until recently, land titles in Kenya only contained names and title numbers. There was no information available on whether men or women owned land. For this reason, creating data with Kenya’s government to tell the women’s land rights story in the land sector has been an important task for Winny.

OBSTACLES AT WORK / A “WOMAN’S WORK’

The challenges Nadya faces in her line of work are many. The land sector is mostly male and requires frequent field work. For Nadya, this means being away from her family for long periods of time. "There is no shortage of challenges in a woman's career...I may not have the time to enjoy my family as much as I would like, but I can say that I enjoy every second of it.," she says. Despite the challenges , Nadya reflects on her experience as a working mother with optimism:

Winnie learnt that women's careers are blocked due to stereotypes. She recalls a moment when a management position opened at her office. She encouraged a respected female colleague to apply - who refused due to the organisation's history of only hiring men for management roles. "It left me questioning if this was a perceived stereotype. In that moment I observed that their own perceptions can also block women in their careers," she says.

Winnie learnt that women's careers are blocked due to stereotypes. She recalls a moment when a management position opened at her office. She encouraged a respected female colleague to apply - who refused due to the organisation's history of only hiring men for management roles. "It left me questioning if this was a perceived stereotype. In that moment I observed that their own perceptions can also block women in their careers," she says.

LEARNING TOGETHER IN THE WOMEN 4 WOMEN MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME

Reflecting on the mentorship programme, Nadya and Winny both learned lessons about themselves . After visiting Kenya for a training on women’s transformative leadership organised by GROOTS on behalf of the ILC, Nadya came to realise how valuable her work experience was to other women. This confidence has also led Nadya to ask herself hy she had not applied to become a mentor in the first place. "I realized that I had a lot to share, but I didn't know it. I learned to value myself in the process and to have more confidence in my work," she says.

By becoming a part of the mentorship programme, Winny met Nadya and other women land rights activists where she could consult with others when she had doubts:"when it came to changing and influencing local policy, I didn’t know if I could do it. Luckily, I was not alone. I could always turn to women from other organisations who were ILC members. We work together, share information and consult with one another."

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day calls for collective responsibility and collective action, by connecting women from different generations to realise women's rights. Winny concludes that working together is the only way to achieve women’s land rights.