Africa: Advancing gender responsive land governance and women’s land tenure security

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is convening a high-level regional workshop to advance gender-responsive land governance across the continent. As part of the multi-country initiative on Gender-Responsive Land Governance in Africa, the July 22-23 workshop reflects a deepened commitment to transforming land governance systems to ensure that African women are empowered with secure and equitable land rights.

Land remains one of Africa’s most vital yet contested natural resources, central to food security, livelihoods, inclusive growth, and community resilience. For women, land serves not only as an economic asset but also as a foundation for agency, decision-making power, and social protection. Despite their indispensable role in rural economies, women continue to face structural barriers to accessing, owning, and controlling land, rooted in discriminatory norms, legal pluralism, and unequal power relations.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these disparities, underscoring the importance of secure land tenure in strengthening resilience against economic and climate shocks. In response, ECA and its partners initiated a project across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guinea, Malawi, and Tanzania, assisting Member States in developing and applying inclusive, gender-sensitive land policies and legal reforms.

The regional workshop will provide a participatory platform for stakeholders—including government actors, civil society, traditional leaders, and development partners—to validate policy outputs, share experiences, and co-create strategies to secure women’s land rights. Participants will engage in hands-on training sessions grounded in AU policy frameworks, such as the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa, and apply analytical tools to drive reform within their national contexts.

Expected outcomes of the workshop include strengthened stakeholder capacities, validated national action plans, improved monitoring and evaluation tools, and reinforced political commitment to gender equality in land governance. This workshop marks a critical step toward realizing the ambitions of Agenda 2063, the Maputo Protocol, and the Sustainable Development Goals, and ensuring that land governance systems work for all Africans, especially women.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).