The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 showed that women still face significant bias in the ownership and control of land.
The survey showed 25 percent of women aged 15–49 own agricultural land.
Three percent own land alone, while 20 percent own land jointly with their spouse or partner only.
Only 7 percent of women own nonagricultural land.
The survey showed that 75 percent and 93 percent of women do not own agricultural and non-agricultural land, respectively.
The KDHS study showed that 62 percent and 44 percent of women who owned land in 2022 did not have a title deed on agricultural and non-agricultural land, respectively.
The statistics showed that land ownership among women increases with age.
It revealed that land ownership is highest among women aged between 45 and 49 years, with 38.4 percent having joint ownership and 9.5 percent owning land alone.
Statistics from the Kenya Land Alliance’s 2018 report paint a grim picture.
The KLA report showed that only 10 percent of the 3 million title deeds processed by the government between 2013 and 2017 were issued to women.
To help advance land ownership by women, the Kenya Land Alliance has put in place a program to advocate for land rights among women.
Over the years, KLA has played a fundamental role in securing equitable land rights and putting women at the center of land reform discourse in Kenya.
Its key result areas continue to amplify women's voices to secure their rights to own, use, access, and control land.
KLA says women get displaced from matrimonial land or inherited land; they are most of the time rendered landless due to a lack of proper proof of ownership.
The gender bias in land ownership by women is attributed to the deeply ingrained patriarchal system common in most Kenyan communities.
The bias still exists, even though the country has a legal and policy framework in place.
Articles 40 and 60 (f) of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) provide for the right of all Kenyans to hold and own property.
It also calls for the elimination of gender discrimination in practices related to land and property on land, respectively.
The National Land Policy of 2009 also protects women’s land rights by promoting their participation in land-related decisions.
In addition, Sessional Paper No. 2 (2019), themed National Policy on Gender and Development, calls for the integration of gender considerations and the inclusion of women in decision-making related to land and property.
Food and Agriculture Organization Natural Resources' Governance Sub-Programme leader Husna Mbarak decried that less than two percent of land in the country is owned by women individually or co-owned.
Mubarak says women play a crucial role in food production, and as such, they should have access to land.
She says the ongoing reforms, such as the Digital Land Governance Programme being implemented by her organization, will help empower women.
“The impact of the Digital Land Governance Programme is to improve food and nutrition security and sustainable development in Kenya through equitable and secure access and management of land as per Vision 2030,” she says.
Mbarak says the outcome of the programme is to improve security of tenure and equitable access to land and natural resources for enhanced livelihoods and sustainable socioeconomic development.
She says enhanced efficient and effective land governance through digitization and digitalization of land records and processes will fast track the ascertainment of rights and interests in land for all, including the marginalized, and hasten the recognition, protection, and registration of community land.
The digital land governance program, which runs from April 1, 2022, to March 30, 2027, at a cost of 20,848,805 euros plus co-financing from partners, seeks to help address some of the challenges in the land sector.
Part of efforts meant to empower women’s land rights have been brought about as a result of the transitioning of group ranches to community land as provided for under the Community Land Act of 2016.
The Act gives effect to Article 63(5) of the Constitution and provides for the recognition, protection, and registration of community land rights; the management and administration of community land; the role of county governments in relation to unregistered community land; and other connected purposes.
In Kenya, more than 60 percent of all land is communal.
The Community Land Act states that customary land rights, including those held in common, shall have equal force and effect in law with freehold or leasehold rights acquired through allocation, registration, or transfer.
Community land may be compulsorily acquired by the state only in accordance with the law and for a public purpose.
The community has to elect between seven and fifteen members from among themselves to be the members of the community land management committee, which will come up with a comprehensive register of communal interest holders.
Every member of the community has the right to equal benefit from community land.
Equality includes full and equal enjoyment of rights of use and access.
The Act says women, men, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups have the right to equal treatment in all dealings on community land.
According to the Act, a registered community shall not directly or indirectly discriminate against any member of the community on any ground, including race, gender, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, or culture.
A recent study showed that only 46 group ranches have successfully transitioned into community land nationally, representing 14.6 percent.
The study monitoring ‘the transition of group ranches to community land in Kenya’ shows that there were 315 undissolved group ranches at the time of enacting the Community Land Act 2016.
The study was conducted by the National Land Commission in collaboration with Namati in 2021 and concluded in May last year.
NLC collaborated with Namati to monitor the transition of group ranches to community land.
The research targeted county executive members, land officers from the state department of land, members of the community, and community land management committees.
Sixteen heterogeneous focused group discussions representing 16 undissolved group ranches were conducted, and 149 participants were sampled from both community members and community land management committees.
The latest attempts to allow women access to land rights come even as the Lands Ministry says it will continue issuing land titles.
In the strategic plan 2023–27, the ministry says it will issue 330,000 titles in the financial year 2023–24.
In the financial year 2024–25, some 420,000 new titles will be issued.
The ministry also has plans to issue another 420,000 new titles in 2025–26, 430,000 in 2026–27, and 480,000 in the financial year 2027–28.
The ministry says it seeks to decentralize five land offices in 2023–24, eight in 2024–25, 11 in 2026, 13 in 2026–27, and 15 in 2027–28.
In the financial year 2023–24, the ministry seeks to upload 150,000 land parcels into the national land cadaster, and 250,000 in the financial year 2024–25.
In the financial year 2025–26, the ministry seeks to upload 300,000 land parcels to the national land cadaster and a similar number in 2026–27 and 2027–28.
