Three decades on, women still ‘plead their cases’ for communal land

“The rules here are unfair. Men are people and women are their subjects. We have to be married to acquire land, but once you divorce, your husband can even bring another woman to take over, and you can either leave or stay there and be victimised.”

These were the words of a female participant in the recently released Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) study which found that land and property rights increase women’s self-sufficiency, reducing their dependence on men and possible entrapment in abusive relationships.

“Women’s self-sufficiency may enable greater control over sexual relations, empowering women and improving their ability to produce food for their families and selling the surplus produced,” the report said.

While women make up more than 51% of the South African population, less than 15% of the land rested in their ownership, according to the report.

The study took place in the North West, Limpopo, and the Eastern Cape, and was prompted by evidence indicating that women were more likely to experience land tenure insecurity compared to men in the country, the CGE said.

“The control of communal land, as one of the crucial economic resources, continues to exclude women from economic opportunities. The control of communal land is why the issue of inclusive land reform has been dominating discussions and political discourse during the post-apartheid era. Tenure, among other challenges, mostly affects farm workers and people living on former native reserves that are now privately-owned land known as communal land. This population constitutes approximately one-third of the South African population and remains the most poverty-stricken due to insecure land tenure,” the CGE found.

According to the report, the unequal status of women persists within the traditional authorities, as power remains “entrenched in the patriarchal social constructs that persist in present-day society. Access to communal land in rural regions reflects the influence and strength of traditional leaders. Women are not allowed access to property, residence rights, or land usage due to patriarchal systems guiding the land allocation processes within rural settings.

“The insecurity of land tenure for women in rural communities can be attributed to discriminatory land distribution laws that were created to favour traditional leaders and men.”

The legacy of past apartheid laws could also not be ignored, given the regulations that relegated women to the status of minors, subjecting them to the authority of their fathers and husbands in the area of land access and ownership.

In the Eastern Cape, overall, men and women own a total of 37 078 289 ha of farms and agricultural holdings in the country: men own 26 202 689 ha (71%), and women own 4 871 013 ha (13%).

“The manner in which the land issue is addressed varies from one leader to another. At the community level, there are a lot of issues. If there are ‘issuers’ that you don’t see eye to eye (with)... like political issues with that kind of leader, they will use that against you because you are a woman.

And if you’re outspoken, you can be punished and they will make sure you don’t get your benefits and your rights because you got a ‘big mouth’,” one participant in the province said.

Many of the rules and procedures in the province were clearly aligned with constitutional principles of equality and non-sexism. For example, during the focus group discussions, it was observed that everyone was eligible to obtain land in their villages.

However, there were subtle beliefs and practices of exclusion, such as married women having their land registered under their husband’s name and high application fees.

In the North West, men own 2 047 590 ha of farms and agricultural holdings (62%), and women only own 487 229 ha (15%).

“Widows and divorced women faced obstacles when trying to access communal land. Participants mentioned that widows and divorced women were often left out of meetings and community gatherings and had to ‘plead their cases’ when applying for communal land.”

In Limpopo, men own 1 022 742 ha of farms and agricultural holdings (58%), and women 275 057 ha (16%).

The participants’ indicated that single women who were allocated stands were particularly vulnerable, as stands would be allocated to them only to be given to another person, usually a man.

“If you don’t have a husband or boyfriend, the headman’s eyes will be on your stand, if you perhaps travel for a longer period, or you don’t erect a building structure quickly and they see no action, he can resell your stand, and you will hear from someone telling you that it’s their land, and usually it will be a man, and you will lose the stand. So being single and owning a stand here is very difficult,” one woman said.

The CGE recommended legislative reforms to address existing challenges of “patriarchal practices, gender discrimination, and exclusions that are currently being justified under the guise of cultural beliefs and norms”.

Spokesperson for Ilitha Labantu which advocates for the rights of women, Siyabulela Monakali said without land, women were denied the opportunity to escape poverty, assert their rights, and participate fully in the economy.

“In urban areas, the struggle to access affordable housing further entrenches inequality, with single mothers and their children disproportionately affected by unstable living conditions.

“Thirty years into our democracy, it is unacceptable that women still face these challenges. We call for immediate and comprehensive legal reforms to ensure women’s equal rights to land.

“These reforms must include clear national guidelines for land allocation, accountability measures for traditional leaders, and robust efforts to dismantle cultural practices that perpetuate gender discrimination. Targeted economic support programs are essential to empower women to purchase land or housing, overcoming the financial barriers that have kept them marginalised,” said Monakali.

Community activist Sarah Bakamela-Ngema added: “It is a very serious issue.

“It is very challenging especially with the disability sector as a disabled person myself.

“They should allocate to women; it changes our lives. We can feed ourselves, our families and communities.

They say they want people to prosper, to be hands-on, and there's always a lot they put on paper for women and children, but in reality it doesn’t happen.”

Cape Times