Rural cadastral implementation and its effect on women’s landholding use rights in Amhara region, Ethiopia

For the last several years, access to and control over land has been one of the major problems encountered by women in many developing countries. As part of the effort to ensure the land right of the rural community, the Ethiopian government has been carrying out the preparation of rural land cadastre and provision of landholding certificates. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of rural cadastre to ensuring women's land rights and economic empowerment. The research employed mixed research method to generate quantitative and qualitative data and the data was subject to descriptive analysis. The finding of this research revealed that the practice of the rural cadastre has enabled women to get their land registered and certified and issuance of second-level land certificates has helped them develop a great sense of security on their landholding rights. This, in turn, has given them the opportunity to exercise land transactions with confidence to improve their livelihoods. This study also indicated that rural cadastral practice has immensely reduced women's land right disputes which occurred due to deceptive practices of men. Despite the positive outcomes, this study also realized gaps in the cadastral law provisions related to administering rural cadastral practice and enhancing the efficiency of land registration and certification. The participation of women in the process of rural cadastral practice was minimal. The incident was more visible in married women whose husbands claimed that they took responsibility for handling the case. Therefore, to ensure robust landholding use rights for women, this study suggests the need for providing continuous training for women on clarifying interests on land and rural cadastral practice. And, the training should be supported with a simple and easily understandable communication strategies that enable them identify and clear errors in cadastral maps showing parcels registered in their names. Further, rural cadastral law must be formulated to govern interests on land and cadastral practice properly. Public institutions such as courts and justice offices are essential partners that need to exhibit strong coordination to ensure women's land rights, to enforce laws and sustain good land governance in the region. These interventions need commitment of the government and active support from non-government organizations.