Women, land and the triple dilemma
Bensouda, Amie
The history of development is inextricably linked to the story of land. It is axiomatic that growth and development can only occur when a countryys natural resources can be harnessed for the benefit of the majority of its citizens. Over five decades after independence women have become a majority in The Gambia yet their situation in relation to land has remained virtually unchanged. The equation should have been simple women + land = development. Yet caught between three systems Islamic law, customary law and obsolete principles of the common law, concepts of immutabilityy and inalienabilityy, there is little appetite among policy makers to make any substantive or radical change that might upset the status quo, but improve the status of women. Instead, overt and not so obvious impediments (including a rising tide of fundamentalism brought about by the increase in madrassas and the teaching of puritanical versions of religion) threatens to high jack the chance at any real discourse that would favour women. This paper explores the land rights of women in The Gambia, the real impediments to meaningful solutions, and a possible way forward.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013
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