Rural Women's Access to Land and Their Food Security Situation: The Case of Hulet Ejue Ense Woreda, Amhara Region
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Date
2011
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study was designed to explore rural women's access to land and their food security
situation in two rural Kebeles in Hulet Ejue Enese Woreda, East Gojjam Zone Amhara
Re gion. The research applied both quantitative and qualitative methods to address issues
from a gender perspective. Survey of 89 households was conducted using the quantitative
method. While the qualitative methods applied, were interviews with rural women, men
and with relevant Woreda Office experts and Kebele Land Administers; focus group
discussions with rural women and men; case stories and observation. The livelihood
approach and feminist theories: Liberal and Marxists feminist theories have been the
theoretical frameworks that underpin this study.
This study revealed that ru ral women can get access to land through land distribution,
marriage and inheritance from parents. However, female-headed households have less
access to land than male-headed households and, as a result their production is less than
their male counterparts. The study findings indicate that rural women engage in various
agricultural activities though there are activities that women are not supposed to engage
due to cultural division of labour which put women in a more disadvantageous and
vulnerable position than men. On the other hand, , rural women's particularly, femaleheaded
households' role in community based activities such as edir, equb, mahiber and
other Peasant adminstrtion activities.
Women's access to credit, participation in community based activities and food supply in
Agam-woha kebele is better than in Shege-keranio kebele. This is because, Agam-woha
kebele is closer to market and town while Shege-keranio is faraway from all these.
Moreover, the result of the research shows that there is a link between access to land and
food security.
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Rural Women's Access to Land