WOM addresses women access to productive lands.

WOM addresses women access to productive lands. Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, BOLGATANGA Access to land determines one’s access to income-generating activities as well as one’s access to food. Despite the important roles played by women in the farm sector, studies shows that that men had greater access to and control over land in the Upper East Region. The Ghana land administrative project as of 2011, estimated that 80 per cent of the land in Ghana is owned and governed by our traditional rulers and the principal ways in which women acquire land is through their lineage, inheritance, marriage or by contractual arrangements. These processes of acquiring land however do not include family lands. The Intestate Succession Law fails to cover family lands. Wives and children therefore cannot inherit family property, no matter their contribution to its development. The case of widows Widows particularly in northern Ghana, have a peculiar case which causes them to lose access to land in most instances. Based on culture, men own lands and hence any woman who can access land can mostly access the husband' or son' land. In the case of the widow, she no longer has a husband hence she cannot access the land. Also in some instances even when she has a male child who is young, she is still prevented from accessing land. In instances where a widow manages to access land, it turns out to be the least productive one .On the other hand it is a known fact that proceeds from women's farms play an important role in household food security and generate cash for buying oil, vegetables, meat and, increasingly, extra staple foods. Infertile lands limit the crops they can grow. Example, they would not plant tree crops if they thought they might lose the land when the trees started bearing fruit. It restricts their access to credit from formal sources, as they do not have land collateral. It encourages low productivity and aggravation of food insecurity among others. WOM Interventions It is to address this and promote gender equity in access to and control over land, the Widows and Orphans Movement, (WOM), a non-governmental organization with support from Action Aid Ghana has been working on issues related to women's rights in the Talensi and Nabdam districts for the past seven years. The mission is to promote sustainable agriculture and control over natural resources for people living in poverty, majority of who are women. Commitments In June this year, WOM working with widows in five communities in the Talensi and Nabdam districts namely,Winkono, Wakii, Pelungu, Sakote, and Pwalugu managed to secure some commitments from chiefs and Tindanas, (traditional land owners). Among the commitments were that productive lands will be released to widows for cultivation when they demand for it. Again Chiefs and land owners will ensure that farm lands of widows are not destroyed intentionally by others, such as the intentional driving of ruminants to the farmlands of widows to cause destruction by community members. In the case of the Pwalugu community, it came to light that farmlands are commonly destroyed by cattle belonging to Fulani herdsmen and that even as attempts are being made to find a lasting solution to the problem, widows who still want to farm under the prevailing circumstances should be given farm lands to cultivate. Another commitment extracted from the chiefs was to the effect that lands being cultivated by widows will not be taken away from them without a one year prior notice. Follow up engagement meeting At a follow up meeting held in Bolgatanga, the National Director of WOM, Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai said following those series of engagements with the various widows networks in 23 communities in Talensi and Nabdam district some chiefs and Tindanas (traditional land owners) have made further pledges to support women's secured more access to productive land enabling us all to be food secured. "We have had instances where chiefs have led the campaign to help members of the widows network get between four and 10 acres of land to enable them carry out farming and also better position them to support the upkeep of their homes,"she said. The National Director of WOM expressed the hope that the commitments made by the Chiefs and Tindanas would go a long way to support women's secured access to productive land and enabling all to be food secured. In an interview with a cross section of widows over the weekend, the consensus was that the move by WOM have led to an improvement in their life's and they are now food secured and better positioned to take care of their families. The Chief of Winkongo, Moses Aganzuah lauded the initiative by WOM asters king that it will go a long way to help not only the widows but the entire society. He also emphasized the need for the widows on the need to demonstrate good character and self respect which he said will open doors for them and also grant them unfettered access to the palaces of the traditional rulers to discuss pertinent issues including asses to land. Ms. Juliet Jalia Adams, General Programme Officer of ActionAid Ghana, noted that as a result of the interventions, the women they have been working with have developed enough confidence to speak their mind even in the midst of their chief and elders and this is a great step forward. She added with joy that productive lands are being released to women for farming but stressed that they still have a log way forward in gaining assess to larger tracts of land to produce foods not only to feed their immediate families but also feed the society and enhance their economic status. She urged the widows to continue working effectively as a group in other to benefit from the many opportunities that exist. -End- Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh 1 Minute read -Violation of women’s property rights has its origins in customary tenure systems of land ownership that are patriarchal and do not recognize women’s claim over land except through their ties with men. -Under patrilineal land system, that is most common in African societies, land belongs to either the boys as brothers or men as husbands, from which women derive rights to till the land. On death, land devolves to the man’s sons and not the spouse or his daughters. -The traditional perception of women as minors means that under such systems, their control and access to land is subject to male dictates, which maintains the status‐quo whereby women today are still in a disadvantaged bargaining position to contract or gain access to credit facilities needed to engage in income generating activities and live self‐sustaining lives.