Published on 05th May 2021
The Department would like to congratulate Prof. D.L. Mwaseba for publishing an article titled, ‘Gender Inequality and Symbolic Violence in Women’s Access to Family Land in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.’ The article has been published in journal titled the Land 2020, 9, 468; doi:10.3390/land9110468
Abstract
We set out to unveil gender inequality with respect to women’s access to family landAbstract: We set out to unveil gender inequality with respect to women’s access to family landfollowing the surge in tree-planting in selected villages in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.Specifically, the study describes land-transaction procedures at the household level and shows howthe lack of women’s involvement in such land transactions a ect their access to and control over familylands. Gender inequality is portrayed in a variety of social and economic activities, with womenbeing deprived of access to, control over, and ownership of land. Although the current land lawsaddress gender inequalities pertaining to women’s access to, ownership of, and control over land,the impact of such reforms has been minimal. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence,we reveal how women su er symbolic violence through traditional practices of land management andadministration. Societies in the studied villages are strongly patriarchal, with men being dominant andwomen subordinate. In such a patriarchal system, women’s empowerment is urgent. Women requireknowledge and awareness of the laws and regulations that arm their rights not only to familylands, but also to participation in decision-making processes regarding family assets. We recommendnon-oppressive approaches to natural-resource management. As such, we call for existing authoritiesat the village and district levels, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and legal bodies topromote gender equality in land-management practices. We also advocate dialectical communicationbetween women and men in order to reveal and heal practices of symbolic violence, and enhancegender equality in respect of access to land and its control and ownership in villages in the SouthernHighlands of Tanzania. E ective implementation of existing land laws and regulations that addressgender inequality and associated violence is unavoidable.
Keywords: gender; inequality; access; land; symbolic violence; Southern Highlands; Tanzania