Egyptian Women and Land Norms

Secure tenure of economic resources is an integral part of effective governance and ensuring the human security necessary to live free from fear, poverty, and humiliation. However, secure agricultural land ownership remains unattainable for many women across the world, regardless of their education or socioeconomic status. Women lack ownership of agricultural land and the freedom to dispose of it. Gender inequality is often rooted in cultural norms, which both allow for and exacerbate patterns of discrimination against women within the family and in economic transactions.

Rural women in North Africa, who constitute approximately 45% of the agricultural labor force, rely on government to respect, protect and fulfill their land rights for food sovereignty and economic security. However, they represent only 5% of landowners, despite their significant contributions to agricultural work, most of which is unpaid. Given that inheritance is the primary means of accessing, using and effectively controlling land, a lack of diligence and discriminatory practices significantly hinder women`s land rights. As a result, women own only 2–5% of agricultural land in Egypt.

To commemorate the International Day of Rural Women, The New Woman Foundation, within its Women and Economic Rights Program, and in collaboration with the Housing and Land Rights Network - Habitat International Coalition, organized a workshop (14–15 September 2024) on “Women`s Land Rights and International Mechanisms for Defending Them.” The workshop was presented by Joseph Schechla, HIC-HLRN coordinator. Participating were representatives of several small farmers` unions in the governorates of al-Minya, Beheira, and Bani Swayf, as well as researchers, journalists, and representatives of several civil society organizations.

Joseph presented an overview of the structure of the United Nations Human Rights System and Development System, which correspond to the three main axes of the UN Charter: human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. He presented the various bodies, the international treaty committees and their roles, periodic reporting their operations, in addition to the factual mechanisms available to civil society organizations to engage in complementary work, design advocacy campaigns, utilize networking mechanisms at the international level, and benefit from the tools provided by the United Nations System and periodic reports on states voluntary international commitments and treaty obligations.

The curriculum addressed the economic, social, and environmental functions of land and the continuum of tenure rights to housing and land in international agreements, particularly those contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment No. 26 and the CEDaW Committee’s General Recommendation No. 34 (2016), and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. On the Development System, Joseph addressed the voluntary commitments of states in the form of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals: Safe, secure, and sustainable cities and settlements. He focused on their respective targets and reporting indicators related to gender equality in the equitable and sustainable access to, use of, and control over land and other productive resources, as well as women`s and girls’ equal rights to inheritance.

Joseph introduced workshop participants to the New Urban Agenda, by which all states commit to measures ensuring secure tenure for all, empowering women, and recognizing multiple forms of tenure as legitimate and subject to legal protection. He also emphasized states further New Urban Agenda commitments to ensure the social function of land, support the social production of habitat, and combat forced eviction.

The ensuing discussions addressed various forms of land tenure in Egypt, including: sale and execution, valid signature, possession, and landless tenure (possession of poultry or livestock).

The unionists testified to the challenges rural women face to enjoy their rights of ownership or disposition of economic resources, the effects of agrarian reform laws, and expropriations. They referred to the fact that 95% of land tenure in Egypt is unregistered, and that customary land-administration mechanisms in rural and village settings are more powerful than the law; however, they also do not do justice to women`s rights to land. They identified an urgent need to ensure secure land tenure based on the criteria that not only empower women, but operationalize their respect, protect and fulfill their land rights.

The discussions also turned to the impact of climate change on women, particularly in rural areas. Cultivated areas have suffered in the quality and quantity of crops, and the proportion of the production that women receive. These forces impact women`s resources, as they are usually the ones responsible for the family`s welfare. Some participants suggested calculating the climate debt of major countries and deducting a portion of the debt owed by developing countries. They asserted that the global strategy set by capitalist countries influences agricultural policies, serving their own interests by determining what is grown, without regard for the needs of developing countries. This discussion culminated is a call for greater food sovereignty in Egypt.

Two working groups identified opportunities for engagement in the Human Rights System and the Development System, producing key recommendations of the working groups:

• Reporting to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Climate Change and on Violence against Women;
• Parallel reporting to the CEDaW Committee to work to improve the conditions of rural women and women agricultural workers, in particular;
• Networking with international organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC on land and women, focusing on the issue of women`s right to land in light of climate change;
• Establishing an alliance between civil society institutions and organizations working to promote women`s land tenure and address social practices that deprive women of their right to inherit land;
• Engagement with relevant national, regional, and international events and raise issues of ownership, tenure, and land rights as priorities, including:
  • The World Urban Forum in Cairo in November 2024;
  • The Conference of Parties to the climate conventions in Azerbaijan in November 2024;
  • The Universal Periodic Review of Egypt in January 2025, and
  • The Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2025.

Photo: The women initiating a community center in `Izbat al-Hamra, home to 25,000 residents, in Beheira governorate. Source: Louise Sarant / IWMI.