Bridging the policy-practice divide: a systematic review of the determinants and constraints on women’s land tenure security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorJesse, Angela Mcharo
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-28T12:10:23Z
dc.date.available2026-04-28T12:10:23Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.descriptionOriginal Article
dc.description.abstractSecure land tenure is a critical asset for agency, livelihoods, and resilience, yet a persistent gender gap in land ownership undermines development and equality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite a proliferation of gender-sensitive land policies, the disparity between legislative intent and on-the-ground reality remains a formidable challenge. This study employs a systematic review methodology, following a PRISMA-inspired protocol. From an initial pool of 2,446 studies identified across major academic databases, 56 met the inclusion criteria based on relevance, methodological rigour, and thematic focus, forming the basis for a thematic synthesis. The review identifies a triad of influencing factors: (1) Policy Mechanisms: including national land reforms, constitutional guarantees, and international frameworks; (2) Implementation Bottlenecks: such as weak enforcement, limited legal awareness, and lack of political will; and (3) Structural Barriers: primarily patriarchal customary tenure systems, discriminatory inheritance norms, and deeply embedded socio-cultural practices that privilege male lineage. The analysis reveals a fundamental tension of legal pluralism, where statutory laws coexist and often conflict with customary systems. The principal impediment is not a lack of policy but a governance disjuncture, a failure to align formal institutions with informal, socially entrenched norms that govern resource allocation at the community level. This review synthesises and advances theoretical frameworks at the intersection of political economy and property rights, demonstrating how patriarchal bargaining and institutional bricolage shape women’s land access within plural legal environments. It consolidates a fragmented evidence base to provide a comprehensive, region-wide analysis of the multi-scalar obstacles (from household to state) to women’s land tenure security, offering a coherent evidence map for researchers and practitioners. Transforming women's land rights in SSA requires moving beyond technical legal reforms to address the socio-institutional roots of exclusion. Key recommendations include: (1) implementing gender- responsive land governance that integrates customary and statutory systems; (2) investing in grassroots legal empowerment and awareness campaigns; (3) strengthening accountability mechanisms for policy enforcement; and (4) promoting systemic research on gendered outcomes of land tenure interventions.
dc.identifier.citationhttps://doi.org/10.37284/ijar.9.1.4858
dc.identifier.issn2707-7802
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/20.500.14820/7506
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEast African Nature & Science Organization (EANSO)
dc.relation.ispartofseriesInternational Journal of Advanced Research, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2026
dc.subjectLand tenure security
dc.subjectGender inequality
dc.subjectLegal pluralism
dc.subjectCustomary tenure
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africa
dc.titleBridging the policy-practice divide: a systematic review of the determinants and constraints on women’s land tenure security in Sub-Saharan Africa
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Jesse, Angela_SUA_Article_22 April 2026.pdf
Size:
434.95 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Original Article
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Articles, Conference and Workshop Papers Collection