THE government is at the final stages of reviewing the land policy with an aim to give more powers to women on land ownership and inheritance, Land Commissioner Nathaniel Nhonge has said.
According to him, the process engaged all stakeholders including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and that it was at the final stages of approval from authorities.
He was speaking during the Sixty-sixth session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW66) which kicked off on March 14 in New York and attended by the Minister of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups. Dr Dorothy Gwajima, among other Tanzanian delegates.
CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The priority theme of CSW66 which is expected to reach it’s climax on March 25 is “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”
In Tanzania, the meeting was conducted through zoom from the country’s capital, Dodoma, and moderated from New York by the Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Professor Gaston Kennedy. It was attended by government officials, representatives from NGOs, Media and the private sector, among others.
The meeting was organised by the Tanzanian government in collaboration with Landesa and Oxfam International. Landesa is an international Non-Profit Organisation that works to champion and secure land rights of the world’s millions of poorest, mostly rural women and men, to provide opportunity and promote social justice.
On 17 March, WHO will co-sponsored the side event “Changing legislation: when women move mountains” . The objective of the event is to recognize women and girls’ leadership in protecting health by promoting changes in climate change and environmental policies and processes, including legislation.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister for Community Development. Gender. Women and Special Groups, expressed the government’s commitment to intensifying equal rights between both men and women.
She underscored the need to have the Land Use Plan (LUP) which she said was crucial in bringing equality on land ownership and use. “Over 94percent of Tanzanian rural women are engaging in agriculture and the Land Act 1999 establishes principles to safeguard women’s land rights,” said Dr Gwajima.
Landesa Country Director Dr Monica Mhoja said Women and girls shouldn’t only be presented as victims of climate change and environmental degradation, insisting that they are also agents of change, and that it was crucial to ensure their meaningful participation in relevant climate change and environmental processes, including in legislation.
She noted that there were outdated customs, norms and cultures that were impeding women from owning land, calling for the government to amend some laws and policies to have both men and women owning land regardless of their gender.
At the meeting, the Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations said no one should be left behind, insisting on the role of women in contributing to the national development.