Land and Gender Report

This report is the final output of Land Core Group’s Land and Gender Project, a mixed-methods research project exploring land governance through the eyes of women farmers in Myanmar. Research for this report was conducted between January and May 2017 using three methods: survey, key informant interviews and participatory photography. This research was informed by an earlier phase of the project which included Myanmar’s first Female Farmers Forum and preliminary research in and around Mandalay in July 2016. Several outputs from the project have been produced, including two policy briefs, two photo exhibitions and an information brief on our participatory photography project. The study limited its focus to three geographically and culturally diverse districts: Kalay District (Sagaing Region), Kawkareik District (Kayin State), and Dawei District (Tanintharyi Region).
The research builds on existing scholarship that finds that women’s roles in agricultural life
are often under-valued and that women face numerous obstacles to participating in land governance. Based on an understanding of land governance through the eyes of women farmers, this report explores opportunities to improve women’s participation in land governance and promote gender equality.
This report presents an analysis of the research across three main themes: (1) gender roles; (2) formal and informal land tenure rights; and (3) women’s opportunities for participation in land governance. Through this analysis, we examine how land governance affects women farmers in Myanmar. They highlight critical gendered differences in land use, as well as who has a voice to shape land policy, law and practice. The report also draws attention to the diversity of women’s experiences across the country, and the various factors that may influence their roles concerning agriculture and land governance. Based on an analysis of this research and previous scholarship, we recommend essential steps that should be taken to improve women farmers’ participation and promote gender equality in land governance. As the Government of Myanmar seeks to reform land-related laws and introduce a National Land Law, these recommendations are timely for government, as well as civil society organizations, non-government organisations and researchers.