Land use security within the current land property rights in rural South Africa : how women's land based food security efforts are affected.
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Date
2013
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Abstract
Rural women‘s land rights in South Africa remain secondary in spite of laws founded on a
constitution that promotes gender equality. Patriarchal customary laws prevail and women‘s
land rights and use security are inextricably linked to their relationships with their male
relatives. Rural women are key producers of agricultural products due to historical and
continued male outward migration, which has led to a feminisation of agriculture. Although
women farm the land, their land use security is poor and can be further threatened by divorce
or widowhood. Given that most vulnerable women are based in rural communal South Africa,
how can their land rights be secured under the customary law framework? While the statutory
law framework seems to provide a solution, it is less applicable in rural areas where
customary law and traditional practices prevail. If statutory law cannot be superimposed on
the existing customary law framework, how can women‘s land use be further secured to
support their household food security efforts? What kind of framework can be introduced to
strengthen women‘s land use security? A study was conducted in rural Limpopo Province to
explore this complex and yet important question. A mixed methods approach comprising
interview style questionnaires with a mixture of closed and open-ended questions, coupled
with focus group discussions and observation was employed. Qualitative data from the focus
group discussions and open-ended questions was analysed for common themes using content
analysis. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS to establish descriptive data, frequencies
and establish the relationships between variables. Results of the analyses were used for
building blocks to develop a land rights framework that is more gender sensitive and secures
the rights of the actual land users. Women‘s land rights were largely confirmed to be
secondary and land use security was linked to the continued relationship to male relatives
through marriage and natural blood lines. From these findings, a gender sensitive framework
that enables and improves land-based food security efforts has been proposed.
Description
Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.
Keywords
Right of property--South Africa., Rural women--South Africa., Land use, Rural--South Africa., Women--Legal status, laws, etc.--South Africa., Customary law--South Africa., Food security--South Africa., Theses--Food security.