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  • Access to Land

Quick information guide

In Tanzania, women with strong land rights:

  • Are three times more likely to work off-farm;
  • Earn up to 3.8 times more income; and
  • 35% more likely to have individual savings than those that do not

Read more here

Both the Constitution and a number of written laws recognize women’s equal rights to property. Relevant laws include:

  • The Constitution of 1977, [27], [28] as amended, guarantees every person the equal right to own property and declares deprivation of property unlawful,
  • Law of Marriage Act of 1971;[23]
  • Land Act of 1999 (establishing “The right of every woman to acquire, hold, use and deal with land
  •  Village Land Act of 1999;[25]
  • Mortgage Financing (Special Provisions) Act of 2008 (amending the Land Act of 1999 to require additional safeguards for spouses in the mortgage context).[26]

Tanzania has also signed a number of international rights conventions that uphold property rights for women and girls:

  • The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
  • The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);
  • The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);
  • The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
  • The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
  • The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; and
  • The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).[35]    

Read more for Women’s Land Rights

Access to land in Tanzania

The Tanzanian Constitution and Customary Law grant women the same rights as men to access, own and control land, and allows them to participate in decision-making on land matters. However, only 20% of women hold land in their names. 

Customary law which is still practiced in parallel with the constitutional laws obliges women to access land through their fathers, brothers, husbands or other men.

When women lose their connection with the male through whom they got the land, either through death, divorce or migration, they can lose their land. The current constitution upholds equal rights to the property for men and women but it is not clear whether the law or custom takes precedent in a case of conflict. This makes it hard for women to have the same rights as men.

 Women need to have access to land in the Tanzanian context because when they own land they have greater bargaining power at home and various societal levels.
 

Access to land opportunities 

In Tanzania, both citizens and non-citizen legal investors can rent land through:

  • Formal arrangement: Through village council, or village land committee, the tenant can rent village land or individual land 
  • Land for crop exchange: The tenant pays to the landlord a certain quantity of the harvested crop. The land is hired out for 12 months. This is common in the remote villages of Tanzania.
  • Land for Cash: The tenant pays a certain amount of money to the landlord to rent a piece of land for 12 months. The cash modal applies in both peri-urban and rural areas but more common in peri-urban areas where land is more rewarding. The rental is only for up to 12 months and the cost depends on the location and demand for land. An acre costs 200,000 Tanzania Shillings where demand is high. 
  • Land for Free: In places where demand for agriculture is low or land is idle for several years, the tenant can obtain such land from the landlord for free. In most cases, this applies among relatives or those who know each other and it is common in the remote areas and most of the landlords are old or sick people who cannot till the land at that time. The owner can give the land for free for a year or so. In most cases, as a custom practice, the tenants can share a small portion of the harvest with the landlord as a thanksgiving.
angle-left HAKIARDHI (Land Rights Research and Resource Institute)

HAKIARDHI (Land Rights Research and Resource Institute)

About HAKIARDHI 

HAKIARDHI is a non-profit organisation, which was founded in 1994. The organisation addresses village land rights related issues for small holder farmers and pastoralists (cattle keepers)  

Services Provided

  • Conduct research on land disputes and propose alternative solutions
  • Educate the public and land tenure administrators on how to settle land disputes
  • Train on land rights and land disputes management
  • Provide advice, counselling and assistance on land tenure issues to peasants and pastoralists
  • Mobilise for financial resources to support land related rights for small holder farmers
  • Organise and or sponsors land related events such as conferences, seminars, workshops and meetings

Events Organised

  • Monthly seminar series on land topical matters each last Friday of each month
  • Yearly land rights events

Contacts

Plot 236 Block 47 Kijitonyama Area Sinza Mori Street
P.O.BOX 75885 Dar es Salaam Tanzania
info@hakiardhi.org
Phone: +255 22 2771362
+255 784 646752
+255756647652
http://www.hakiardhi.org
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