Land is power: act now to end inequality

By Rowshan Moni, ALRD and Beth Roberts, Landesa

On International Women’s Day this year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a bleak assessment of progress toward gender equality, noting the world is 300 years away from winning equality for women and girls. Why is this the case? There are many reasons, but one stands out: the tie between land, patriarchy, and power is centuries old, and cinched tight. Globally, land—and the wealth and power it generates—is primarily owned and controlled by men.

Violations of women’s land and inheritance rights too often go unrecognized. This discrimination is normalized by social custom in approximately half the world, and it takes place in private, among families and within households. While we must end all forms of discrimination, this particularly pernicious denial of women’s rights and economic opportunity forms a foundation for many other violations, from child marriage to dispossession of widows.

The world cannot wait three centuries for women to be treated as equals. Gender discrimination is the most urgent human rights issue of our time, undermining efforts to accelerate climate action, alleviate poverty, promote food security, and fully realize rights for women and girls. Our collective response to climate change hangs in the balance. We cannot effect meaningful climate action if half the population lack the equal rights and access to resources necessary to become agents of change.

Land is power: act now to end inequality