Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5766 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0484 (Online) Vol.8, No.12, 2018 1 Impediments to Statutory Land Access Among Women: Case of Mumbwa District in Zambia Ndangwa Watala 1 Roy Chileshe 2 1.School of Graduate Studies, Dag Hammarskjöld Institute for Peace Studies, The Copperbelt University, P O Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia 2.School of the Built Environment, Urban and Regional Planning Research Group, The Copperbelt University, P.O Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia Abstract Women’s low levels of statutory land acquisition, is a growing concern in Zambia. Although several legal and institutional frameworks have been put in place to ensure equality of access to statutory land between women and men, women’s acquisition of statutory land has not improved compared to that of men. This paper explores impediments to statutory land acquisition among women. Empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions are explored using a case study of Mumbwa District. The paper argues that opportunity for women to acquire full rights of ownership of statutory land having rights guaranteed by the state through the constitution and to occupy, use and to transfer land at own volition, and also having the power to enforce such rights represent the strongest form of secure access to land. The paper concludes that access to statutory land in the study site is in favour of men, either by legal provisions and regulations that favour men’s rights over women’s rights or by socio-cultural norms. Further that important impediment to women’s access to statutory land include: lack of women awareness of land rights; traditional pre-marital counselling; financial constraints; bureaucracy in land acquisition processes; patriarchy and gender imparity in decision making structures. The impediments to women’s access to statutory land are a threat to women’s economic empowerment which is essential in promoting equality between men and women and elimination of poverty. It is submitted that it is imperative for land administrators to provide institutional structures that can protect and strengthen fairness in access to statutory land within the framework of a land policy and the law. Keywords: statutory land, equality, land acquisition, Zambia 1. Introduction Globally several commentators have noted the significance of land as a primary source of wealth, social status, and power. That it is also a valuable resource having economic and strategic value, and indeed political and cultural importance. Further that land is the basis for shelter, food, and economic activities, in rural areas a provider of employment opportunities and livelihoods and a critical resource in urban development (Toulmin & Quan 2000; FAO 2002; Tinyade 2009; John & Sally 2011). For this reason for individuals in households, decision-making powers are to a large extent conditioned by access to secure property rights in land (Villarreal 2006). Access to land here is understood to include processes that people use to gain rights to occupy and use land through the state, local authorities which have control over land and landowners (Quan 2006). Access to land is determined through statutory or customary land tenure systems whose rules define how rights in land are shared out in societies, specifically outlining who can use the land, the period of usage and the conditions of land use (Grover et al. 2006). Thus access to land is a critical issue which if poorly handled can negatively affect vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society and may result in inequities (FAO 2002; Katz 2010; ESA 2011). In the developing countries, women and especially those women living in rural situations are among the most disadvantaged people in relation to access to and control over land (Daley et al. 2013). This is especially true of Africa where land control continues to be concentrated in the hands of men despite the relatively high contribution of women in food production (SOFA 2011). For example in Eastern and Southern Africa, only up to 30% of individual land titles are held by women (FAO 2010; GIZ 2013). Further, women’s access to economic resources and to land has not improved to match the overall economic growth curve in Africa (UNECA 2007). Customary laws and norms of land tenure account for at least 75 per cent of the land in most African countries (Sage & Woolcock 2005). Under such systems, rights to access and use land are assigned by traditional authorities. It has been observed that although less strong than in the past, patriarchal power relations are deeply rooted in these systems and stereo types are recognized as a general challenge in achieving gender equality in access to land. This is observed to rely on the difference in social roles assigned to men and women under these customary laws and norms within African patriarchal communities (Ceci 2005; Spichiger & Kabala 2014). This challenge is related to the gender division of labour in which women’s roles are strongly associated with domestic responsibilities and reproductive functions which are traditionally regarded as having low value compared to highly regarded men’s productive role (Ceci 2005). In this way the traditional dominant social and economic position of men is extended to ownership and control over land and other productive resources. As a consequence of women’s subordinate social and economic position they remain vulnerable and to a large extent