Women's access to land in the former Bantustans: Constitutional conflict, customary law, democratisation and the role of the state

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dc.contributor.authorMann, Michelle
dc.date.accessioned2019-03-06T09:50:52Z
dc.date.available2019-03-06T09:50:52Z
dc.date.issued2000
dc.description.abstractThe transition to local democratic institutions in the former bantustans of South Africa will not in itself fulfill the constitutional imperative for the promotion of gender equality, specifically in relation to women's access to land. In order for the state to balance its competing constitutional obligations, it must undertake a programme of community education, consciousness-raising, and support for women's organisation at the grassroots level. This paper provides an overview of land tenure in the former bantustans, focusing on the access of rural women to this land. It examines the potential conflict between the constitutional recognition and protection of gender rights on the one hand and the recognition of customary law/ traditional leadership on the other, especially the adverse impact of customary law and traditional leadership on the access of rural women to land. It then examines state initiatives towards implementing local democratic institutions in these areas, and considers whether these initiatives are sufficient to fulfill the state's obligation to promote gender equality. The paper concludes that state support for community activism and community education can serve to balance the constitutional imperatives for gender equality and respect for traditional leaders and customary law. Such an approach would allow the community to be active participants in, and the drivers of their own development.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMann, M., 2000. Women's access to land in the former Bantustans: Constitutional conflict, customary law, democratisation and the role of the state.en_US
dc.identifier.isbn1-86808-490-6
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10566/4357
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherInstitute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS)en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesLand reform and agrarian change in Southern Africa;15
dc.subjectLanden_US
dc.subjectBantustansen_US
dc.subjectConstitutional conflicten_US
dc.subjectDemocratisationen_US
dc.subjectStateen_US
dc.subjectCustomary lawen_US
dc.subjectWomenen_US
dc.titleWomen's access to land in the former Bantustans: Constitutional conflict, customary law, democratisation and the role of the stateen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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