The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development takes the lead in ensuring the introduction of necessary national legislative reforms related to communal land.
The recommendation follows the commission's reports, which found that women in rural areas still face discriminatory and patriarchal challenges that pose significant barriers in gaining access to land.
The Commission launched the reports titled: "Exploring Barriers to Women's Access to Land in selected Provinces of South Africa" and "The State of Maternity and Neonatal Health Care in the Eastern Cape Province" on Thursday.
The study was conducted in accordance with the CGE mandate to investigate the obstacles to women's access to communal land in rural South Africa.
The research focused on the Eastern Cape, North West, and Limpopo provinces, examining legislative, procedural, cultural, and socio-economic factors that impede women's access to communal land in the country.
According to the research findings released on Thursday, there is a fragmented approach to the allocation of communal land in the three sampled provinces.
This is due to each senior traditional leader and their traditional councils adhering to their own cultural norms and beliefs, leading to disparities even within the provinces.
Findings
The study found that traditional leaders play a significant role in the allocation of land in all the communities visited.
Despite their involvement in traditional leadership structures at the local, provincial, and national levels, the study found that there is no coordination or consolidated framework to guide the allocation of communal land.
"It appears that the repeal of CLaRA (Communal Land Rights Act) created a legislative gap in the administration of communal land, with traditional leaders left to oversee processes, however, in an unguided and unregulated manner.
"There were no standard national guidelines or a policy for communal land allocation, resulting in corruption, gender discrimination, and queer invisibilising, resulting in inequitable access to land," the report revealed.
The research findings indicated that traditional leadership structures, such as councils and land committees, did not fully represent all interest groups, despite being constituted through democratic processes such as elections and representative quotas.
The report noted that women in these structures did not always effectively represent the views of other women in the community, perpetuating inequality, and gender discrimination in some cases.
However, it noted that this is not universally true, as in some instances, women's representation positively contributed to change.
Discrepancies
The study also revealed significant discrepancies in the procedures and costs attached to communal land applications, with no clear justification.
"While applicants in the North West paid a consistent fee of R500, those in Limpopo paid a fee ranging from R500 to R15 000 and from R100 to R100 000 in the Eastern Cape. In some cases, applicants were also required to pay application fees with sheep, chickens, and alcohol, particularly in the Eastern Cape.
"In Limpopo, communal land became increasingly expensive when designated for entrepreneurial activities, with traditional leaders and headmen demanding a 50% share of the business. In contrast, land for entrepreneurial purposes was provided at no cost in the North West," the report said.
Allegations of corruption and unfair pricing of communal land in Limpopo, along with claims of judgments based on appearance, were also heard.
During the research, one member of a traditional leadership structure in the province confirmed that land that was designated for residential purposes [and] was assigned a standard fee of R1 000 and R5 000 for entrepreneurship.
"The widespread corruption and deception had a negative impact on the economic situation of women in the province. In some areas, the allocation of communal land could take two weeks to three months, while in other cases, applicants had been waiting for years.
"Cultural practices that required women to adhere to certain dress and behavioural expectations also affected their access to communal land [and] clothing and behavioural expectations were used to marginalise queer persons in these communities, particularly transgender and gender non-conforming individuals," the report reads.
In the Eastern Cape, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals were ostracised, and this indicated that requests by queer persons for communal land access would not even be considered.
There are also cases where cultural norms required women to obtain access to communal land through their fathers or a male relative.
"In a village in the North West, it was mandated that land be allocated to the eldest male child in the family. Inheritance also posed challenges, especially in Limpopo, where women were at times denied the opportunity to claim property inheritance under the pretext of preserving the family legacy by passing properties to male children.
"Issues of marital status also discouraged women from independently accessing communal land. In some villages, women had a better chance of accessing communal land if they were married with children.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"In Limpopo specifically, a married applicant was considered 'stable' and therefore allocated land [while] unmarried women were often disadvantaged and risked losing their undeveloped land to reallocation and felt pressured to live with men for security as traditional leaders, who were often men, would grab their land," the report said.
Age requirement
In some villages in the North West, rules state that women had to be 40 years old and men between 40 and 45 years old to qualify for communal land allocation.
In the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, the age requirement was either 18 or 21 years.
These age restrictions, especially in the North West, delayed individual development and served as an economic stumbling block, particularly given that land is an economic resource.
The Commission said the legislative reforms must address existing challenges of patriarchal practices, gender discrimination, and exclusions that are currently being justified under the guise of cultural beliefs and norms, which subjugate women and queer persons.
"Such reforms must be in accordance with the Constitution, including the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act," the Commission said.
