A Woman & her Land - Uganda Land Alliance

Editor’s RemarksTumusiime K. Deo, EditorTheGovernmentof Uganda haspledged accordingto the NationalLand Policy, tolegislatively ensurethat both womenand men enjoyequal rights toland.Indeed some cultural traditions for example inAcholi have also come up with guidelines to ensurethat this principle is realized. However, there’sneed to establish tangible implementation andenforcement structures to ensure that these rosypromises are translated into action at householdlevel. NGOs have performed quite handsomely asevidenced in the cases profiled in this publication,but the mantle of work needed to transform societalnorms is quite enormous.It is very evident that tenure transformation inUganda has moved at a whirlwind speed. Unlikedays of old, land today is considered a commodity,selling like hot cake. While the passing of theNational Land Policy drags on, a number of womenhave continued to lose their land, and this situationwill not cease until everyone rises up to say a bigNO to the infringement of women’s land rights.There are also conflicting legal provisions, forexample the law on compulsory acquisition of landfor development, whose implementation has hadcrude implications on previous land owners such asthe late Esther Aciro, the blind woman from Amuruwhose entire 60 acres of land was grabbed by AmuruTown Council. Such provisions must be refinedin such a way that the land owner is adequatelycompensated before they vacate the landOn the other hand, everywhere we visited duringthe documentation process, we were welcomedby very miserable old women, some of whom, atthe age of 70+, have never owned a piece of land.Why must our grandmothers suffer so cruelly likethis? As if having no land is not enough, there’s noslightest arrangement in any community we visited,aimed at ensuring the livelihood of the elderly-yetit’s on their tireless contribution that Uganda bearsher foundation.There’s therefore need for absolute good willand commitment from all key players in order toguarantee a brighter future for this and the nextgenerations to come.Tumusiime Kabwende DeoEditor,E-mail: tumusiimedeo@hotmail.com, tdeo@ulaug.orgviii