Makueni CECM for Lands, Urban Planning and Development, Environment and Climate Change Dr. Sonia Nzilani has said it’s high time women get equal rights to land ownership.
Dr. Sonia who spoke at a local radio station says that even though women make up the largest percentage of the farm labor force, lack of ownership has denied them the opportunity to invest well in farming.
“Generally in Kenya, specifically Ukambani, women lack land ownership rights. They cultivate farms, take care of the lands but when it comes to title deeds, their names are not listed. Only the husband’s name appears. This limits them to doing major investments because they do not have the power to control the farms “, she said.
As the world marked International Desertification and Droughts Day on Saturday under the theme ‘Her Land Her Rights’, she elaborated that theme reflects on the importance of women in environmental conservation especially farms thus urging husbands to include their wifes’ names on the title deeds as a way to empower them in agricultural pursuit.
“When the husband dies, other people such as relatives come out to claim the lands and this is one of the major challenges that the widows face when trying to transfer the ownership. A title deed can even contain five names. We urge people from Ukambani to include their wife’s names on the lists so as to motivate them to invest well in farms”, Dr Sonia added.
