READ THE WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS PAPER N.3 ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPOUSAL CONSENT IN THE KAYUNGA DISTRICT, UGANDA
WOMEN'S LAND RIGHTS IN UGANDA
Land is a very important source of livelihood for Ugandans, especially for those who live in Kayunga district, as it is one of the main agricultural districts of the country. As women usually cultivate land and produce food both for sale and home consumption, they are greatly affected when deprived of this resource.
Women are a vulnerable group as they have a unique status when it comes to issues of property ownership. The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda provides for the emancipation of women and this is reflected in the Land (Amendment) Act, section 38A which stipulates that the consent of one’s spouse must be obtained before the other spouse can make any transaction with family land, including selling, pledging, mortgaging, exchanging or transferring it. Nevertheless, many women still fall victim to land sales by their husbands.
The spousal consent clause is designed to protect women’s rights over family land, to accord them security of tenure and an uninterrupted livelihood. However, FHRI’s experience in Kayunga district indicates that the proportion of land sales without spousal consent in a period of five years was 34 percent. In 2007 alone, about 50 percent of the land cases reported were related to violations of the consent clause.
Women’s security of tenure is further threatened by social, cultural and economic impediments.
