Customary law still bars women’s access to land

Date

2010

Authors

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Publisher

Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)

Abstract

This article brings the problems of land administration, women’s rights and access to land, and hereditary law into focus. When her husband died, Namukasa did not struggle with his relatives for a share of his estate; she moved back to her own family home in central Uganda with her children. But when her father died, his sisters/her aunts decided that only her younger brother was entitled to a share in the land, and asked her to leave. Uganda's constitution grants women equality and legal protection against discriminatory traditional practice, but there have been no reforms to the law and the constitutional provision has had little impact.

Description

Keywords

GENDER DISCRIMINATION, LAND TENURE, CUSTOMARY LAW, WOMEN'S RIGHTS, OWNERSHIP, LAND RIGHTS, MARITAL STATUS, LEGAL PROTECTION, ACCESS TO JUSTICE, INHERITANCE, HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES, UGANDA, SOUTH OF SAHARA

Citation

DOI