Arguing traditions : Denying Kenya's Women Access to Land Rights

Abstract

Two major approaches on how to address
 women's land security can be identified: reforming the
 formal legal sector, and embracing informal community
 practices. However, through research conducted among
 Kenya's agricultural communities, the authors find that
 these systems formal, informal, or hybrid are underpinned
 (and undermined) by the same local power dynamics that
 control and ultimately prevent women from obtaining land,
 leaving all of these systems inadequate in ensuring
 women's access to land. Community leaders play a key
 role not only as local power brokers, decision makers, and
 protectors of local practices, but also as gatekeepers to
 the formal system. Thus, their decisions to support local
 power dynamics and limit access to the formal system
 essentially supporting traditions? in lieu of rights can
 effectively deny women access to their land rights. Based on
 these findings, the authors argue that the policy debate
 must shift away from pitting formal legislative approaches
 against support for 'customary' systems. With
 economic and political contexts influencing individuals, the
 debate must look at the social context within communities,
 whose members must be pressed to reject attempts to
 'hijack' custom and legitimize abusive,
 self-serving behavior. This problem needs to be tackled
 using the same avenues that currently promote the
 marginalization of women, that is, the sociocultural value
 systems that determine which behavior, arguments, and
 actions are legitimate in a community. By working with
 existing positive values, the justice system used formal or
 informal becomes less important and a lasting, positive
 change on women's access to land rights might be achieved.