Gender Gaps in Property Rights in Rural Communities of Tanzania: Challenges towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Gender gaps in property rights have remained a concern in both developed and developing world. Gender equality in property rights has been given attention by the international community as one of the pillars of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Despite the efforts made in achieving gender equality, Tanzania gender gaps emanating from the societal norms in rural communities still persist.This paper explores the existing gender gaps in property rights in rural areas of Kyela district and the associated challenges in achieving the sustainable development goals. Data collection involved documentary review, interviews and focus group discussions. Purposive sampling was used to select  study participants. The findings show that socio-cultural norms contradict the legal provisions aimed to brige gender gaps in property rights. Nonetheless, some progress towards attaining gender equity were observed in context of land co-occupancy. An illustrative example was the case of women whose name appeared in certificate of customary right of occupancy who the study noted were involved in decision making related to distribution of family land. Socio-cultural traditions do not offer equality in inheriting, controlling and transferring land. Gender inequality in opportunities for example education, limit women's knowledge about legal provisions which protect their property rights. The sustainable development targets in eliminating discriminatory practices against women will not be achieved if rigid societal norms remain undressed. In order to ensure that no one is left behind, there is a need to implement societal attitude change programmes.