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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

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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 The Tanzania Land Alliance (TALA)

The Tanzania Land Alliance (TALA)

About TALA

The Tanzania Land Alliance (TALA) is a membership-based organisation representing the leading land rights civil society organizations in Tanzania. In general TALA addresses the increasing land related issues due to the increasing interest over land where number of households are likely to lose their precious resource land. TALA aims to have all families with secured rights over their land through great laws and policies as well as systems and institutions to uphold such rights.

Services Provided

TALA advocates for:

  • Women’s land Rights
  • Small holder farmers access to land
  • Gender and Land Rights
  • Women legal aid Support

Events Organised by TALA
  • In 2019 from September, TALA will launch a big national campaign on Women Health Land Rights in Tanzania in collaboration with its member organizations
  • In March every year TALA participates in the International Women day by raising awareness on Women access to land rights, legal aids for women and land policy reform

Contacts

Tanzania Land Alliance (TALA)

P.O Box 76927 Plot No. 486, Garden Street-Mikocheni B

Dar es salaam Tanzania

Phone: +255 0689338721

E-mail: tanzanialandalliance@gmail.com

Website: https://www.tala.or.tz
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