Strengthening land tenure security and women’s land rights in Kenya: Policy analysis, implementation gaps, and gender-transformative pathways

Esther Obaikol and Augustine Okhale Iraoya

GCAN policy notes from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Abstract: In Kenya, the legal foundation for land governance was transformed by the country’s 2010 Constitution and reinforced by several subsequent laws that provide important entry points to strengthen women’s land rights. However, gaps in implementation remain significant; titles held by women represent less than 2 percent of all titled land, and women are less likely than men to own agricultural land and be named on title documentation. Evidence shows that women’s tenure security improves when legal recognition is matched with accessible implementation. The community land agenda is equally urgent; community land covers a major share of Kenya’s land area, especially in arid and semi-arid lands, yet the transition from former group ranches to registered community land has been slow. Investments should focus on five mutually reinforcing pathways: 1) strengthening sex-disaggregated land administration data, 2) supporting community land registration and inclusive bylaws, 3) combining legal literacy with paralegal support and alternative justice systems that meet constitutional standards, 4) promoting gender-transformative household and community approaches that shift norms around inheritance, joint titling, and decision-making, and 5) integrating women’s land rights into agricultural productivity, climate resilience, and market systems interventions.

Keywords: capacity building; land tenure; tenure security; land rights; gender; women; policies; Kenya; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Eastern Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07-30
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