Morgan Moone
Nchilalon Segelan, Chairperson of Merigo Women Group, with her tree nursery for supporting landscape restoration in the dry Logologo area, Marsabit County. Photo: Lucy Mulenkei
For many communities in Kenya, all sustainable development challenges are linked to land rights. The Kenyan constitution guarantees ownership rights for land equally between men and women, and the Community Land Rights Act ensures the inclusion and participation in decision-making of indigenous women. The Matrimonial Property Act also guarantees land rights for women. Despite this, landgrabbing is rife in the communities, both by local leadership and because of megaprojects. This occurs without the free, prior and informed consent and participation of the women affected. Entrenched patriarchy ensures that women are not aware of their rights, and even when they are, the legal system is of no use to women with limited financial resources. Young widows are also often dispossessed of their land and rights to it. The women understand that in order to ensure their land rights they must commit to supporting and educating each other, and demand their rights themselves.
“In the Rendille community, you cannot talk about development without discussing land and our rights to land. Women’s land rights are important if we are to ensure women’s empowerment and the development of the community as a whole. Now it’s Rendille women leading landscape restoration initiatives and advocating for land rights.”
Nchilalon Segelan, Merigo Women Group
