Promoting Women's Rights To Own Land Across Africa

Olwyn are very proud to support women’s rights activists across Africa. In October 2016 at Kilimanjaro, 500 rural women from 22 African countries met in Arusha to launch their Charter of Demands for women’s land rights. Members of the Kilimanjaro Africa Rural Women’s Assembly have been able to continue their quest to secure access to and control over land and natural resources. The members have successfully engaged with their leaders at the local and national level and campaigned on issues including access to land and natural resources, participation in decision-making, financial support for small holder women farmers and increasing women’s access to markets. There were some great successes in this area including an increase in women’s access to markets and extension services in Malawi, Ghana and Nigeria. This will have a huge impact on the livelihoods of women in the future.

The second anniversary of the Kilimanjaro Assembly was held in December 2018 in Abuja, Nigeria. The event aimed to highlight the importance of addressing gender inequalities in improving women’s access to land and income generating activities. Owlyn and ActionAid supported 58 rural women from 15 countries to attend the event including Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana and The Gambia. These women collectively raised their voices on key issues relating to land rights. ECOWAS2 members of parliament also attended the event and we ensured that local women were able to take part in the debate alongside key government officials.