1. Women’s Access to Land and
Property from an Access to Justice
Lens in the Asia-Pacific:
Draft Discussion Paper
Dr. Ritu Verma
UNDP APRC Senior Consultant
Regional Consultation
June 9 – 10, 2014
Courtyard by Marriott Hotel,
Bangkok, Thailand

2. Outline
Background
Conceptual framework
Survey findings
Mapping (actors, laws, key/emerging issues, gaps)
Preliminary conclusions
Preliminary recommendations

3. Background: Process and Sub-Regions
InitialReview
Survey
Literature review
Stakeholder
inputs
DiscussionPaper
Survey analysis
Conceptual
framework
Gender analysis
Initial mapping
Framework
Regional
consultation
Participatory
engagement
Fine tune
discussion paper
Mapping
Programme
Post-Regional
consultation
Guiding
framework
South
East
Asia
South
Asia
North
Asia
Pacific

4. Conceptual Framework I
Access to
Justice
Human
Rights Based
Approach
Gender,
Land &
Property

5. Conceptual Framework II
•ability to seek and obtain remedy and advance rights
•gain protection, become enabled to use law, justice institutions
•In accordance with human rights standards
•legal empowerment vis-à-vis the state, market, customary and
social institutions
Access to
Justice
•conceptual approach for human development
•normative basis: human rights – international standards
•protection and promotion of human rights
•address inequalities in development problems
•redress discriminatory practices and gender power imbalances
that impede development
Human Rights
Based
Development
Approach

6. Conceptual Framework III
•material possessions owned, accessed or controlled, individually or
collectively (money, housing, infrastructure, household effects,
personal belongings and effects, harvested crops, seeds, agricultural
implements, vehicles and other modes of transportation, livestock,
etc.)
Property
• rights, restrictions, responsibilities with respect to land (U.N., 1999)
• different forms of land tenure - ownership, leasehold, common,
communal or customary land tenure systems/complex mixture of tenure
systems co-exist (public/private ownership, owner-occupied/rental
dwellings, etc. (UNGA, 2001)
• different meanings of land (commodity, identify, status, spirituality,
lineage, etc.)
Land Tenure
• systematic examination of context-specific socio-culturally constructed
roles, relationships, social institutions, agency and negotiation
processes, between and among women and men (heterogeneous)
• differences in power, wealth, decision-making, labour, access to justice,
as well as ownership, control, security and access to resources such as
land and property
Gender Analysis
(women focus)

7. Survey Findings: Overview
• Gender (67.4%/27.%9/4,7%)
• Country from = Country for
• Broad range of organizations
• Key inputs and identification of issues
• Shaped discussion paper

8. Survey Findings
Customary Laws &
Institutions (inheritance,
gender bias, lineage, decision-
making)
Statutory Laws & Institutions
(A2J, legal aid, reform,
policies, gender
discriminatory judiciary and
civil servants, advocacy)
Culture (status, identity,
power relations, livelihoods,
indigenous people, gender
bias)
Research & Action (women’s
leadership, awareness-
raising, decision-making
power, governance
institutions, collective action)

9. Mapping: Key Actors

10. Mapping: Legal Frameworks

11. Mapping: Key and Emerging Issues
Legal
Pluralism
•International Laws
•Statutory Laws
•Customary Laws
•Titling
•Family Laws
Drivers
of
Change
•Globalization and Economic
Framings:
•Patriarchal Framings
•Extractive Industries
•Simultaneous International
Crises (Food, energy and
finance)
•Conflicts and Post-Conflicts
Impacts of
Drivers of
Change
•Land Grabs
•Corruption and Elite Capture
•Commercialization of Land
•Common Property
•Privatization and Enclosure of Land
•Urbanization
•Other Issues (HIV/AIDS, GBV, Bonded Labor,
Backlash, etc.)

12. Mapping: Research Gaps
•Women’s ownership of landData
•Sub-region: PacificKnowledge
•Women at the grassroots (translation)Awareness
•Narratives and experiencesWomen’s Stories
•Impact: gender sensitivity: government agents and grassroots
womenAction oriented research
•Women pushing for change (3 B’s)Reflexivity
•A2J, HRBA, L&P, GA, APRegional analysis

13. Preliminary Conclusions I
•Statutory laws at national level and provincial laws (India)
•Statutory laws and customary laws (space to maneuver as well
as contradictions)
Differences in laws
•Suffer from lack of implementation and enforcement
•Justice and legal institutions are not always accessible,
especially for the economically poorest and most marginalized
women
•Local entry points (legal aid, district land offices, law
enforcement, etc) often discriminate against women
Good statutory laws
exist but
•Most accessed, cost-effective and known
•Need to work with men as gatekeepers
•Get women on board
A2J within the
domain of
customary
institutions

14. Preliminary Conclusions II
•Land titling, certification, etc.
•Statutory and customary laws and institutions
•Engaging with the international human rights system
•Voluntary codes, guidelines, etc.
Engage in key
debates
•Problem-solving and partnerships
•Engage in deeper scoping studies and consultations in-country
in planning phase
Inter and trans-
disciplinary
•National initiatives
•And regional exchanges and mutual learning
Regional
Programming

15. Preliminary Conclusions III
• Occurs through various institutions (state, markets, customary AND
social institutions (i.e. watch dog groups, women’s groups, etc.)
Legal
empowerment
• Is important (keeping in mind that access can change over time,
with back-sliding, over-turning of laws, etc.)A2J
• Require gender transformative change (i.e. change in actual gender
relations)
Longer-term
solutions
• Are inseparable, but are often fought on different “turfs”, with
different rules
Legal and social
battles
• Are absolutely critical to address: backlash, backsliding and burnoutThree B’s

16. Preliminary Recommendations
Legal and Policy Reforms,
Implementation &
Customary
•Adequate
implementation of
national laws and
policies
•Remover gender
discriminatory
provisions
•Monitor extent to which
MNCs are complying
with national laws (land
grabs)
•Strengthen awareness
raising with customary
leaders
Service Delivery
•Mitigate high costs
associated with
accessing services
•Strengthen women’s
access to legal aid and
counsel
•Engage with community-
based paralegals
•Ensure legal
empowerment of most
marginalized women
•Address gender bias and
discrimination in district-
level land boards and
institutions
Awareness-Raising
•Undertake awareness
raising campaigns
•Provide women with
legitimate space for
engagement,
information sharing, etc.
•Use multiple channels of
communication (radio,
flyers, drama, etc.)
•Partner with media
organizations
•Provide women with
psychological support
and counseling
Capacity Strengthening &
Knowledge Sharing
•Capacity strengthening
for state actors
•Support civil society
organizations, networks
and movements
•Strengthen capacities for
women’s collective
action
•Strengthen women’s
leadership and
negotiation skills
•Champion men as
gender champions
Research
•Regional comparative
assessment
•Context-specific
research
•Institutional analysis
•Fill urgent gaps in
gender-disaggregated
data and knowledge
•Collect women’s stories
and narratives

17. Thank you! Khob Khun Ka!
“Lack of social support combined with the lack of
information and economic independence means that
women whose rights are violated need greater
support from national institutions, and programmes
and policies for the promotion and protection of their
rights” (UNDP, 2005: 162).
Dr. Ritu Verma
rvermapuri@gmail.com
GAL | Gender, Agriculture, Land
www.facebook.com/groups/202371490608/