emeasoba-land ownership among the igbos of south east nigeria

Land Ownership among the Igbos of South East Nigeria: A Case for

Women Land Inheritance

Emeasoba, Uche R. B

Dept. of Estate Management, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus

E-mail: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFO

Article history

Received Sept 28 2011

Accepted Dec 12, 2011

Available online

January 20 2012

Keywords:

Land Inheritance,

Customary Law,

Land Ownership,

Patriarchy,

Cultural

Practices,

Gender Equality.

ABSTRACT

Under the Igbo culture, women are regarded as inferior to men.

This attitude is reflected in all facets of life, be it social,

economic or political. The predominance of patriarchy in law,

policy and practice in the political zone ensures that land has

owners but they are not women. Women are even seen as

properties inheritable by men. The issue of women inheriting

and owning land has achieved global attention with both

national and international women summits clamouring for

same. This paper x-rays the position of women’s land

inheritance and ownership rights in the south eastern states of

Nigeria and relates them to what obtains in some selected

societies in Nigeria and other countries. It then makes

proposals on how to come out of the quagmire, and concludes

that for law and policy to positively influence gender relations

in the land tenure realm in these states, there is need to

deconstruct, reconstruct, and reconceptualise customary law

notions as they pertain to issues of land inheritance by women.

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U.R.B. Emeasoba/Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 3, No. 1, (2012) 97– 117.

98

INTRODUCTION

Land is the foundation of all human

social and economic activities. It lies at

the heart of social, political, or economic

life of most nations especially African

nations. Throughout history, land has

been recognised as a primary source of

wealth, social status, and power. It is the

basis for shelter, food, and economic

activities; it is the most significant

provider of employment opportunities in

the rural areas and is an increasingly

scarce resource in urban areas.

According to Umeh (1983), land is the

social security of last resort for the

Igbos. Most African nations continue to

rely heavily on agriculture and natural

resources for a significant share of the

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), national

food needs, employment, and export

revenue (Toulmin, 2008). Agriculture,

natural resource use, and other land-

related activities are keys to livelihood

for majority of Africans. Land also has

major historical, cultural, and spiritual

significance (Joireman, 2008). In most

developing countries, it is not only the

primary means for generating livelihood

but often the main vehicle for investing,

accumulating wealth, and transferring it

between generations (Deininger and

Binswanger, 1999). It can provide both

direct and indirect benefits. Direct

benefits stem from growing crops or

trees while indirect benefits stem from

serving as collateral for credit.

Furthermore, land is an important asset

base for rural non-farm enterprises.

Despite the indispensability of

land to human existence across the

world, the traditional role of women in

the production of food crops, and their

crucial roles in providing and caring for

their households, women face

discrimination in land inheritance under

both customary and formal systems of

land tenure. This is as a result of

culturally embedded discriminatory

beliefs and practices, and male control of

inheritance systems. Rural women play

critical role in agricultural production

and in the rural economies of developing

countries like Nigeria. Agriculture is the

most important sector for female

employment in Asia and sub-Saharan

Africa (FAO, 1999). Rural women make

U.R.B. Emeasoba/Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 3, No. 1, (2012) 97 – 117.

99

major and multiple contributions to the

achievement of food security and

produce more than half of the food

grown worldwide. In sub-Saharan

Africa, this figure is higher, with women

contributing 60-80 percent of the labour

in production both for household

consumption and for sale (Millennium

Project, Task Force in Education and

Gender Equality, 2005). Despite these

contributions, customary practices

regarding land are not favourable to

women, who rarely have full rights in

land but must negotiate as secondary

claimants through male relatives- father,

brother, husband, or son. Succession and

inheritance rights remain problematic

since women do not usually inherit land

on the death of their spouses.

In the south east states of

Nigeria, access to land is governed by

both statutory and customary laws.

Customary laws emerge from unwritten

social rules derived from shared

community values and traditions. In the

traditional communities of south east

Nigeria, two customary land tenure

systems operate, viz the matrilineal and

the patrilineal systems. The matrilineal

descent system is a kingship system in

which inheritance is traced through

mothers and their blood relatives, while

in the patrilineal descent system

inheritance is traced through fathers and

their blood relatives. The matrilineal

system of land tenure operates in few

communities of Ebonyi and Abia states

while the patrilineal system is generally

more prevalent in the states.

A characteristic feature of the

patrilineal system is male dominance in

land ownership and control. It is based

on the principle that land is a priceless

economic commodity and must be

vested in men to ensure the welfare and

continuity of the descent group. The

patrilineal inheritance system generally

sidelines women from land inheritance

especially in the case of exogamy, as the

men claim that it could result to the

transfer of land belonging to a deceased

member to another lineage upon re-

marriage of the wife. Fathers often do

not bequeath land to their daughters


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because they regard them as being on

transit and may marry outside the clan,

and will presumably take the land with

them to another clan, resulting in loss of

land to the clan. It is also presumed that

when the girl gets married, she would

gain access to land of her husband or of

his family.

Women access to and control

over land is very critical as land is a

major resource in all human endeavours.

However, women are discriminated

against in terms of realising their rights

to land. Although, in the recent past,

gender issues have gained prominence

on the development platform, not much

success has been achieved. International

women’s conferences held in Mexico

City in 1975, in Nairobi in 1985 and in

Beijing in 1995 were measures geared

towards realising women’s political,

social, and economic equality with men

(UN Action for Women, 2003). Many

gender issues which are very vital to the

well-being of women and girls around

the world got public attention after these

conferences. Despite this progress,

women have remained disadvantaged in

many ways. Gender equality has not

been achieved and women do not enjoy

equal rights with men in accessing and

having control over land and other

productive resources. Access to and

control over resources is determined by

socio-cultural norms which have

significant impacts on gender relations.

Some customary norms, religious

beliefs, and social practices that

influence gender differentiated land

rights include:

• traditional authorities and

customary institutions;

• inheritance/succession de facto

practices; and

• discrepancies/gaps between

statutory and customary practices.

Women’s demand for equality in land

rights is currently a global issue.

Governments in many countries have

entered commitments through ratifying

various women’s rights conventions. In

spite of these commitments, problems

still exist in many countries as regards

enforcing women’s equal land holding


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rights with those of men, mainly due to

deep-rooted patriarchal, gender-power

relations in societies. Women’s land

right issue has become critical in

developing countries like Nigeria and

more especially in the south east states of

the country.

Brief History of the South Eastern

States of Nigeria

In order to appreciate the area

under study, it is important to relate the

study area to its region (Eastern Region)

and then the nation (Nigeria).

The South East States of Nigeria are

mainly inhabited by Igbo speaking

people with minor variations in dialect.

The Igbos are people who speak a

common language which forms part of

the kwa group of West African

languages (Chubb, in Ogbuefi, 1988).

Their territorial distribution covers the

Niger River to the West, Cross River

State to the East, Rivers State to the

South and Kogi State to the North.

The South East States are made

up of Abia State with Umuahia as the

capital, Anambra State with Awka as the

capital, Ebonyi State with Abakiliki as

the capital, Enugu State with Enugu as

the capital, and Imo state with Owerri as

the capital.

Before these states came into

existence at various periods in the

history of Nigeria, there were four

regions in the country, viz the Eastern

region, the Western region, the Northern

region, and the Mid-western region.

South Eastern States formed part of the

then Eastern Region of Nigeria with

Enugu town as the regional capital. This

region was maintained until 1967 when

12 states were created in Nigeria and

East Central State became one of them,

with Enugu as the capital. In 1976, Imo

state was created out of the East Central

State with Owerri as the capital. The

remaining part of East Central State was

called Anambra State with capital at

Enugu. In 1991, Enugu State was carved

out of Anambra State with the state

capital at Enugu. Awka became the

capital of Anambra State. In the same

vein, Abia was carved out of Imo in

1991 with capitals at Umuahia and

Owerri respectively. In 1996, Ebonyi

State was carved out of former Abia and


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Enugu States with its capital at

Abakiliki.

It is evident that the states under study

share the same genealogy.

Land Ownership Pattern in the South

East Nigeria

The pattern of land ownership largely

reflects the type of society using the

land. Aristocratic societies tend to

encourage the growth of large estates

while democratic societies usually

favour a large number of small or

moderate sized ownership (Thorncroft,

1976). In Britain, for a variety of

historic, economic and social reasons,

the pattern of estates is generally a

mixture of both large and small units.

The pattern of land ownership in the

study area is a mixture of both large and

small units. The pattern of ownership

however does not remain static. Obioha

(2008) argues that due to the emerging

social and economic pressure on land in

the south eastern states of Nigeria,

coupled with increasing population

pressure, most aspects of the land laws

of the people, including land pledging,

communal ownership, land sales,

inheritance procedures, and gift land

among others, have changed.

One cardinal problem of the Igbo

people of south eastern Nigeria is that in

many areas, the population densities

have gone beyond the absorptive

capacity of the available land space. In

rural south eastern states, private land

ownership pattern comprises the

settlement (Obi Uno), home gardens

(Ani Obubo) and family-owned

farmlands located in the vicinity of the

settlement; the remainder of the land

(Ani Agu) is communal. With the

passage of time, land became scarce as a

result of increase in population.

Consequently, the people started

claiming total ownership to portions of

land that were hitherto communal lands.

The system of land ownership became

considerably individualised. Obioha

(2008) further notes that there have been

considerable changes in land inheritance

procedure, sale of inherited land, land

pledging, land gift and communal land.

All these changes have implications on

the land ownership pattern in the study


103

area. For example, in some areas the first

son of a deceased person no longer lives

in his father’s compound as the available

space may not be suitable for him. He

may, therefore, purchase suitable land

outside the father’s compound.

Also, the practice whereby the

youngest son inherits his mother’s hut

and the land immediately surrounding it

is no longer practiced as a result of the

modern system of co-habitation of

husband and wife, as against the

previous practice of separate houses.

Communal land is also giving way to

individualisation. With land becoming

scarcer as a result of population pressure,

plots of land became privately and

individually owned. Malthus (1978) in

Obioha (2008) postulates that continuous

population growth would cause

stagnation of economic growth as per

capita returns from land would decline.

Expounding the Malthusian thesis,

Obioha (2008) posits that as a result of

population pressure on limited land

resources, the land per capita dwindles

and to keep abreast with the demand for

food and other agricultural products, the

available land becomes over-utilised.

The pattern of land ownership in the

south eastern states of Nigeria has been

greatly altered by population pressure

from the hitherto communal system to

family, and finally to individual systems.

The pattern of individual ownership is

more pronounced in highly densely

populated areas than in low densely

populated areas.

In the traditional Igbo society,

the lands surrounding the settlement

(Ani Obubo) were meant for cultivating

yams and coco-yams, while the

communal lands, apart from their use for

farming also performed the function of

demarcating one village community

from the other. With population

pressure, the communal lands meant for

farming became eaten up by residential

uses resulting in the disappearance of

natural boundaries between towns. This

situation is more pronounced in some

states than in others. Also the Ajo Ofias

(evil forests) traditionally preserved only

for ritual purposes have virtually

disappeared. The traditional land


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ownership pattern in the south eastern

states has, therefore, greatly changed.

Women and Land Ownership

Nwabueze (1972) sees ownership

as the most comprehensive and complete

relation that can exist in respect of

anything. It is the fullest amplitude of

rights of enjoyment, management, and

disposal over property. It implies that the

owner’s title to the rights is superior and

paramount over any other rights that may

exist in the land in favour of others.

Ownership therefore connotes the

totality of or bundle of the rights of the

owner over and above every other person

or thing.

Tobi (1987) in affirmation views

ownership as a collection of rights to use

and enjoy property, including the right to

transmit it to others. One fundamental

feature of ownership is the right of

alienation of a property without seeking

anybody’s consent. A person owning a

parcel of land has the right to take

decisions on the land without consulting

anybody. Based on the above premise,

one is not wrong to conclude that

although rural women in south eastern

states of Nigeria gain access to land

through their male relations, the land is

never in their ownership and this has

serious adverse implication on food

production. Access to land does not

guarantee ownership of land. Access to

land is the right or opportunity to use,

manage, or control resources. Umeh

(1983) observes that in the very old days,

people in Igboland were able to acquire

ownership of land by dint of first

cultivation of previously uncleared forest

or virgin land. Sometimes land was

acquired by military conquest of their

original owners. Ownership of land can

also be acquired by customary

allocations, inheritance, gifts among

living persons (inter vivos), and

purchase. Rights acquired in any of these

ways become proprietary rights and the

owner is free to dispose of such rights

without consultation with anyone

(Famoriyo, 1987).

In modern times, land may be

acquired through the following three

main sources:

• Land allocation by government


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• Land bought from the land market

• Land accessed through family

inheritance

Government land allocations take place

mostly in the urban areas and men are

the major beneficiaries. Very few

women are considered, if they are

considered at all. Most women also do

not have the financial might required to

purchase land from the land market.

Where families are sharing out pieces of

land to their members, women are not

considered. A woman who has five male

children would get five shares of land

from the family land, while a woman

who has ten female children and only

one male child would get only one share.

Customary allotment of land is only to

the male members of the family.

Inheritance which would have made

access and ownership of land easier for

women is constrained by cultural and

customary practices and attitudes which

reflect the subordinate position of

women.

Women and Land Inheritance in the

Igbo Society

Inheritance is a critical mode of

property transfer in sub-Saharan African

countries as in Nigeria, especially in the

south east states. As a mode of transfer,

inheritance is highly dependent on social

conventions and norms. Anti-women

land inheritance group argues that

allowing women to inherit land would

open the way for women to transfer land

from their families, clans and tribes to

the families, clans and tribes of their

husbands, leading to alienation of people

from ancestral land. According to

Nwabueze (1972), in patrilineal society,

two main patterns of succession are

found, viz succession by all the

surviving issues jointly, and succession

by a sole heir. Among the Igbos,

however, land is inherited by all the sons

as family property and the oldest son, as

the new head of the family, is only a

trustee. The oldest son alone inherits his

father’s residential house (obi) but not

the rest of the real estate (Obi, 1963).

Where a man dies intestate, the prevalent

pattern of succession among the Igbos


106

practising patrilineal system is by all

surviving sons of the intestate jointly.

Daughters do not inherit land from their

parents. A married woman does not

equally inherit her husband’s land in her

own right. This is because in intestacy

under native law and custom, the

devolution of property follows the blood,

therefore a wife or widow, not being of

the blood, has no claim to any share. If a

widow chooses to remain in the

husband’s house and in his name, she is

entitled in her own right to go on

occupying the matrimonial home, and to

be given some shares of his farmland for

her cultivation and generally for the

maintenance of her husband’s family.

Her interest in the farmland or house is

merely possessory and not proprietary,

as she cannot dispose of it.

Traditionally under Igbo culture,

a woman is regarded as part of a man’s

property and so, in a patrilineal society,

upon the demise of a man, his relatives

while inheriting his property also inherit

his wife. Attempts by women to own and

control land are considered by men as

effrontery. Some men argue that women

should not own land for the following

(flimsy) reasons:

• Women are not intelligent and may

make wrong decisions on land

• Women are themselves properties

and cannot, therefore, own

properties

• Land belongs to the family and

women, traditionally, are not

regarded as family members

• Women are on transit and should

not own land

• If female children are given land by

their fathers, they will not respect

their husbands and will leave their

husbands at any least provocation

These reasons, apart from being flimsy,

smirk of ignorance as women who are

oppressed still leave their husbands

without gifts of land from their fathers.

Women have also exhibited high level of

intellectual achievements both at

national and international spheres.

Besides, there is no evidence to show

that few women who are privileged to

own land in the urban areas do not

respect their husbands. All their

arguments are geared towards covering


107

their determined and long-standing

discrimination against women.

According to Cooper (2010a), gender

discrimination in inheritance system is a

violation of human rights and linked to

asset stripping, poverty traps, inter-

generational and trans-generational

transmission of poverty. Joint acquisition

of land by both spouses to give women

some rights to land is not recognised

under the custom. Men vehemently

oppose joint ownership with their wives

as they claim that a wife will be tempted

to kill the husband to take over the

property. Out of 100 men interviewed by

the writer, only 3 said that they would

not mind, while the rest would not hear

of it.

Women, therefore, whether

married, unmarried, or widowed are

discriminated against on land inheritance

issues. Within their lineage, they are

deemed to have no right because they are

expected to marry out and benefit from

their husband’s property; when they get

married, they are considered to be

strangers who have no inheritance right.

Culture and customs continue to support

patrilineal inheritance, and thus exclude

women from rights to inherit land. This

has serious adverse implications on the

womenfolk. Widows are often

dispossessed by their in-laws and

rendered homeless. Likewise, brothers

often evict their unmarried sisters from

homesteads and the farms when their

parents die. In the event of marital

separation, divorce, and sometimes

widowhood, women who depend solely

on land for their livelihood become

destitute.

The fear of alienation of land is

prevalent and sensitive for many Igbos,

holding as it were both economic and

cultural dimensions. A major

vulnerability of inheritance rights

experience among the vast majority of

women in south east states is their

insecure recognition as spouses with

rights to marital property. This arises

because:

• Customary marriages may be

informally entered or exited in

which situation spouse status is

contestable during inheritance

disputes


108

• Customary marriages are rarely

legally registered and therefore

women cannot claim spouse

status under statutory inheritance

laws

The Nigerian civil marriage is modelled

after British law and this law is very

clear on the widow and her children’s

rights to share the property of the

deceased, including land. Despite the

clarity of the marriage laws, the rights of

the widows are often not upheld in

regular courts and almost never upheld

in traditional courts. The regular courts

often make their decisions based on

customary laws thereby compounding

the problem of women. Many widows

accept the loss of their property because

the emotional costs of challenging in-

laws in court are high.

Women Land Inheritance Rights in

Selected Societies: An Overview

The issue of women to own and

inherit land has in recent times gained

global attention. According to Komjathy

and Nichols, globally, women comprise

40% or more of agricultural workforce.

Providing food for the family is

primarily the responsibility of women.

Yet women’s direct access to land

resources and credit are not guaranteed.

The need for a revised land tenure policy

framework that explicitly addresses

women’s access to land is also

underscored by the women’s summit

findings that in most societies today,

women have unequal access to, and

control over land. This gave rise to many

nations paying greater attention to

ameliorating the marginalisation of

women in land inheritance and

ownership.

In Ethiopia, the country’s

constitution gives special attention to

women’s equal economic rights, equal

acquisition and inheritance of property

including land (Woldetensaye, 2007).

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for

action adopted in 1995 at the 4th

World

conference on women focused on

improving the situation of rural women

through equal access to productive

resources especially land. In 2000 at its

23rd

special session, the General

Assembly stressed the importance of the


109

right of women to own and inherit land,

and pointed to micro-credit and other

financial instruments as successful

strategies for economic empowerment of

rural women.

Resolution 40/9 of the

commission on the status of women and

economic and social council resolution

2002/5 of 24th

July 2002 urged

Governments and all appropriate actors

to give women the right to inheritance

and to ownership of land and other

property.

In Rwanda, the land policy

stresses the importance of inheritance

clauses that guarantee equal rights for

both men and women. It also states that

women, married or not, should not be

excluded from land access, land

acquisition, and land control, and female

dependents should not be excluded from

family land inheritance (Article 4).

The Ethiopian constitution

provides for women’s equal treatment in

land and other rural development

programmes. It states as follows:

“Women have the right to acquire,

administer, control, use, and transfer

property. They shall also enjoy equal

treatment in inheritance of property”.

In Nicaragua, the land titling

legislation grants men and women equal

rights to obtain land titles, and provides

for joint titling for couples. In Eritrea, in

1994, the government passed amendment

to the Civil Code and made a new land

Proclamation that gave women the legal

right to own and inherit land (Tekle,

2002).

Under the Yoruba customary law

in Nigeria, females are entitled to land

inheritance like males. The Efiks of

Calabar also recognise the right of

females to inherit land like males.

Among the Ijebus and Ondos, a

daughter’s share in her father’s land may

be inheritable by her issues. In

communities of Ekiti and Oyo, a woman

cannot transfer to her children any

interest in land of her own descent

group. Where such transmission is

allowed, the share so inherited by the

daughter’s children does not form part of

the child’s fathers patrilineal land, for

upon the failure of a daughters issue, her

share of her father’s land cannot be


110

inherited by her husband or his family,

but reverts to her family.

Women and Nation-Building

From ancient times, women have

been key contributors in many

subsistence or agriculture-based

economies. In addition to doing most of

the household and child bearing work,

they contributed substantial time and

labour working in the fields and

collecting produce from the farms. They

were also responsible for food and

livelihood especially when their

husbands were away in urban centres

engaging in trading or paid

employments. The position has not

changed in modern times. Cotula et al

(2006) in affirmation argues that the role

of women in agricultural production has

increased in recent years as a result of

men’s migration to urban areas and

absorption in non agricultural sectors.

Woldentensaye (2007) notes

from reports of experts, that women in

Africa contribute 70% of the continent’s

food production. They account for nearly

half of all farm labour, and 80-90% of

food processing, storage, transport, as

well as hoeing and weeding. Yet women

often lack rights to land.

In the traditional Igbo society,

women are the major producers of

household food supply. There are usually

customary provisions for their indirect

access to land in terms of use rights.

These rights, however, do not grant

enough security for women when

traditional family structures dissolve.

Obviously because women in Igbo

society do not have secure rights to

customary land and do not contribute

directly to decisions, women’s rights and

access to land can be lost and modified

outside their control. People who have

no secure right to land lose access to

livelihood and customary forms of social

insurance.

The economic and social well-

being of women and their children are at

increased risk when women face

widowhood and divorce. According to

the United Nations Human Settlement

Progamme (2008), there is a strong

positive association between women’s

land rights and poverty reduction. This is


111

because women’s control over land

assets enhances household welfare,

women’s cash incomes and spending on

food, children’s health and education.

Women and children’s risk of

poverty can depend crucially on

women’s direct access to income and

resources. Owning land would enhance

women’s self confidence and ability to

demand their due in government

programmes, such as health care and

education (Agarwal, 2003). There is

growing evidence of links between assets

in women’s hands and child welfare. In

urban Brazil, the effect on child survival

probabilities was found to be almost

twenty times greater for income that

accrues to mothers compared with that

that accrues to fathers. Kumen (1978)

found that among marginal farmer

households in Kerela, the mother’s

cultivation of home garden had a

consistently high positive effect on child

nutrition.

Women who have secure land

rights, therefore, have more incentive to

put time, money, and labour into making

land more productive and sustainable.

The Benefits of Secure Land Tenure

Secure land tenure is important for social

and economic prosperity and stability in

any society. Land tenure is the

relationship, whether defined legally or

customarily, among people with respect

to land. Land tenure provides rules about

who has access to use, control and

transfer land, and under what conditions.

Secure land tenure can be defined as the

certainty that a person’s or a group’s

rights to land will be recognised by

others and protected in cases of

challenge. Secure tenure can exist or

cease to exist with respect to any

landownership structure—freehold, state

or customary. The level of security does

not depend on who the owner is; it

depends on the cumulative recognition of

a person’s or a group’s rights to land by

others. Secure land tenure provides

important benefits for landowners,

communities and society as a whole. It

encourages people to invest in land and

develop businesses, homes and

communities. Few people will develop

land and property they might lose rights

to.


112

In the traditional society, secure

tenure enables an individual or family

with an allocation of land to use that land

for a particular purpose, such as

agriculture or hunting.

For a customary group, secure tenure

enables it to lease some of its land to a

member of their group, an urban settler,

or an outside developer in return for

income. For an investor, secure land

tenure is important for gaining access to

credit.

Land in someone’s ownership

can be used to borrow money, for

investment, from a financial institution,

provided that the property rights are

acceptable to the financial institution as a

valid form of security or guarantee (that

is, collateral) for the loan. Financial

institutions are reluctant to lend to

people who cannot offer clear and

transferable property rights as collateral.

Access to credit creates opportunities for

an individual, corporation or a group to

buy new equipment, develop the land,

start a business or extract natural

resources.

The Way Out of the Quagmire:

In order to free women from the

deplorable discriminatory situation, the

following recommendations are

suggested:

• Legislation should prohibit

discrimination against women and

girls in the inheritance and

ownership of land, and explicitly

allow females to inherit and own

land on equal basis with males.

Legislation should state clearly that

civil laws shall have supremacy

over customary laws and practices

that are discriminatory against

women.

• Policy and decision makers should

be educated on the need to advance

gender equality in order to achieve

poverty reduction, food security

and all other millennium

development goals.

• Key community actors such as

traditional rulers and others

responsible for interpreting and

applying customary law should be

made aware of the importance of

equal rights for men and women


113

for the progress of their

communities.

• All properties should be registered

under both husband and wife’s

names and documentary proof of

registration given to both.

• Women should be empowered to

be literate in order to understand

their legal rights as citizens and be

able to represent their own interests

in formal avenues

• Improving women access to credit

• Seeking women input to legislative

changes involving land

• Women and women’s group should

be involved in the management of

land resources

• Ensuring women’s full

participation in land registration

and mediation processes

• Lobbying governments by women

groups and building links with

media. This method was

extensively utilised during the

2011 electioneering campaign in

the country where the media were

used to project women.

• Integrating gender equality in land

inheritance and ownership into the

constitution now that it is about to

be reviewed

• Efficient networking should be

embarked upon by women groups.

The present situation where some

miscreant women are opposing

such change should be checked.

The men claim that women are

their own problems

• Religious leaders should be carried

along in the move for change as

they can provide a veritable avenue

for the dissemination of the idea.

Federal, state, local government and

traditional rulers who are the custodians

of culture, non-governmental

organisations, men and women, are all

needed to achieve the necessary change

against the high level discriminatory

practices on women’s land inheritance

and ownership. It may not be easy

considering that in the final analysis the

issue has to be legislated upon and

passed into law and most of the

legislators are men with their inherent

biases.


114

Women constitute a minority in

policy-making bodies, such as

parliament, cabinet, judiciary, and

managerial and executive positions in

both the public and private sectors and

this explains why these states have not

made any fundamental changes in the

patriarchal rules which favoured men

especially those related to land

inheritance and ownership rights. This

situation calls for more women

participation in politics. This would offer

them the opportunity to participate in

policy formulation and implementation

processes. Civil societies, especially

non-governmental organisations, can

play significant role in ensuring that

women have rights to land by advocating

and supporting gender inclusiveness in

national laws and policies, and in the

development of land. They can also

monitor, document, and publicise gender

issues arising from land development.

This should include raising awareness of

the benefits of ensuring that women have

input in managing and developing land,

and publicising violations of rights to

land where applicable.

Individuals and institutions

involved in land law and administration

can ensure that women have adequate

input in decision making and that

interpretations of custom that give

greater recognition to women’s rights are

favoured over interpretations that give

less recognition to them. Civil society

groups can also play a role by increasing

women’s awareness of their rights and

improve their access to justice.

Conclusion

Culture is dynamic. Many

oppressive cultural practices in Igbo land

such as killing of twins, apathy to female

western education, polygamy, human

slavery, among others, have all changed.

Only positive aspects of culture should,

therefore, be preserved. The importance

of women land inheritance rights cannot

be overemphasised. It would facilitate

increase in economic opportunities,

encourage investment in land and food

production, improve family security

during economic and social transitions

and lead to better land stewardship.

Human consciousness is however needed


115

for a cultural change in practices that are

discriminatory, oppressive, and

dehumanising especially culture that

opposes women land inheritance and

ownership rights. Since women inherit

and own land in some parts of the

country and even in some parts of Igbo

land, without disorganising the cultural

setting, it means that it is practicable in

the remaining parts of the south eastern

states. There is need, therefore, to

deconstruct, reconstruct, and

reconceptualise customary law notions

as they pertain to issues of land

inheritance by women. Concerted efforts

are required from all strategic actors and

stakeholders for women’s land

inheritance and ownership bill to be

moved and passed into law by the

lawmakers.

The time to act is now.

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