Access to Land - Madagascar

Access of investors to land ownership in Madagascar

Land legislation confers 3 land statuses:

• land belonging to the domains of the State, decentralized communities and other legal persons governed by public law;
• the land of private persons;
• land constituting areas subject to a specific legal protection regime.

Brief overview of the problems related to access to land in general and to women's access in Madagascar :

• The Malagasy legal framework grants women the same rights as men in terms of access, ownership and control of land, and allows them to participate in decision-making on land issues, yet in practice women remain in a situation of inferiority due to the persistence of certain customs and traditions. As a result, the number of women holding land in their names is a minority. Customary law, which is still practiced alongside constitutional laws, obliges women to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men.
• In theory, Malagasy women have the right to conclude contracts in their own name such as credit agreements, real estate transactions, commercial transactions, etc. but they face several failures due to society's deep attachment to customs.
• The laws governing access to land are complicated because they have been accumulated for several decades. They are only partially updated and are mainly written in French. Consequently, a limited number of citizens can have access to all of these texts and understand their spirit and procedures.