Land reform and gender in post-apartheid south africa

Abstract

"Post-apartheid South Africa has embarked on a market-driven programme of land reform that can be described both as very ambitious, when measured against existing constraints, and as very modest, when measured against popular demand and need. But regardless of one s assessment of the actual programme that has been put together over the last few years, its goals are certainly impressive: to redress the injustices of a grossly skewed land distribution system, to reduce poverty, to contribute to sustainable land use and economic development, and to establish tenure security for all. Perhaps the most radical component of the programme is the explicit policy commitment to gender equality as a long-term goal, which involves targeting women as a major category of beneficiaries in the short to medium term. Gender issues are addressed in all three components of the land reform programme: (i) land redistribution, (ii) land restitution, and (iii) tenure reform. The commitment to gender equality grows out of the recognition that rural women have been systematically marginalized from access to and control over land, as a result of past land and labour policies based on race, combined with patriarchal structures of authority. Designing and implementing the land reform strategy remains a difficult task for a number of reasons, three of which are highlighted below."(pg ii)