Paper short abstract:

In 1999, land titling was introduced in Tanzania which guaranteed equal rights to own land for women. However, the social value of customary and religious traditions relating to property have proved resistant to change by statutory means.

Paper long abstract:

The 1990s saw a rising interest in land formalisation programmes in the form of registration and titling of farmland and property as the solution to ongoing conflicts over land on the African continent. The Land Laws of Tanzania, passed by parliament in 1999 encouraged the registration and issuing of certificates to villages and individuals for their land, in the hopes of solving the numerous land disputes and attracting investment. In the new Land Laws, women's equal right to own land and right to the family home was guaranteed, but, this safeguard is contradicted by customary practices and religious precepts. The expectation that titling would lead to tenure security has not been fulfilled and women can still find themselves out of the family home and dispossessed of their land. Land titles have proven to have limited powers to protect women from land grabbing when faced with customs which privilege male family members or adversaries with connections to the centres of power and wealth.