- The mother of five said women are yet to fully take their place in the complex matters surrounding land.
- Land conflicts are not restricted to Kenya but is a global issue.
Image: AGATHA NGOTHO
Husna Abdallla Mbarak who does not shy away from speaking about land issues.
She sits at the land, environment and natural resources desk at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) office in Kenya .
She is of Arab origin born and brought up in Mombasa.
She sat for her KCSE at Mama Ngina Girls Secondary a national school in Mombasa and continued with her university education within Kenya and outside Kenya .
She pursued legal/law and management studies with a bias on land and environment. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental law.
Before coming to FAO, she has worked with state and non state organizations.
“I have also worked with other development partners for some time and she has worked for FAO for the last nine years which is a dream come true,” she said.
Her day-to-day work involves working around Land issues. Mbarak said she has worked around land, natural resources and environment issues for over 25 years.
“Of course what steered me into this direction is the aspect of addressing security of tenure for the communities and resolutions of disputes conflicts around land to unlock and allow for production and development," she said.
"These conflicts do not bring out optimal access and proper utilization of land, and most importantly, the role and recognition of women in land issues.”
Land sector according to Mbarak is male dominated, but there are a number of women getting into this space.
“For me, this is a passion despite being a professional . It's a passion in the sense that I feel satisfied when I see disputes resolved and land managed well. This is because I look at land in a spiritual component in the sense that I believe land was entrusted to us by God. The better we use it and protect it for our future generations the more blessings we get,” she said.
Mbarak noted that it is not about who is here now, but about the future generation.
The mother of five said as a professional and expert on environmental issues, women have been given space but it can be scary.
"This is especially looking at Kenya and how we take land issues. We always say land is emotive but I am not so sure if land is emotive or if the people who are emotive,” said Mbarak.
"We need to appreciate the environment and nature it with all our power. This is what keeps me going, especially looking into the policy and what is happening on the ground," she said.
She noted that land conflict is not restricted to Kenya, globally, people have land issues.
"Some have really secured these issues and have put proper policy and implementation structures in place. In Africa, we are not yet there and you will still see a number of disputes and conflicts," she said.
She served briefly in the TJRC. Some of the issues pointed out for reforms were on land, environment, natural resources, land use and sharing of these resources.
She acknowledged that Kenya has and is making strides, and she is honored to have taken part in this journey through FAO and with support by the various resource partners such as the European Union (EU).
" I am honored to be able to support Kenya make these strides around securing tenure, planning, and digitalization. In addition to ensuring women get the rightful space or claim their rightful space in the sector,” she said.
Mbarak said that one of the challenges in her career is that of being a woman and Muslim in this male dominated sector.
But she has been able to claim her space and is now at the forefront on land issues at the UN.
“Kenya has made progress in empowering women but we are still not yet at the helm, more needs to be done. There are opportunities and space and we need to grab and claim them," she said.
Mbarak said one of the notable stories is the women space in the management of community land. This has changed the whole paradigm pattern in the sector and specifics to decision making and land use.
She mentioned Agricultural patterns in the country will change to the positive if women are recognized and empowered.
She is advocating for Alternative ways of resolving disputes appreciating Kenya has set good policies framework to be actualized widely.
"There are land administration components which include boundary disputes, aspects to do with double allocation, and conflicts between pastoralists and farmers,” she said.
FAO has been able to partners with various organizations including the judiciary, through the steering committee on the implementation of Alternative Justice systems to be able to establish and support various fit for purpose models and institutionalize for resolution on land matters.
One of the iconic models is that of the Kajiado county government in being able to put systems and panels on resolution of land disputes.
"The county panels established is now able to solve their cases faster and amicably. There was a particular land case that lasted for over 30 years, but they were able to resolve it amicably in just a few weeks. This was done through a panel which consisted of the judiciary, county government, traditional elders, women and youth," said Mbarak.