Socially Inclusive Land Governance: Insights from Women's Rights and Leadership Forums in Kiteto District, Tanzania

Women's Rights and Leadership Forums (WRLFs) in pastoral Tanzania are strengthening women's voice and participation in land governance, improving livelihoods and driving social change, while the challenge of securing women's land rights persists. This presentation, delivered in the session on Women's Land Rights and Economic Empowerment at the Stand for Her Land Symposium, asks how WRLFs influence women's participation and decision-making agency in rangeland management and governance. It draws on 16 transcripts from four study sites in Kiteto District, Tanzania (Alolle, Kimbo, Napalai and Olengapa), combining focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews, with purposive sampling across gender, age, marital status, leadership role, institutional experience and location.
Findings emerge across six key themes. 1. WRLFs have become spaces for negotiation and influence, with women experiencing enhanced voice and collective agency; 2. Capacities to lead and act collectively are strengthened; 3. By addressing restrictive and harmful gender norms and practices, WRLFs are potential vehicles for social change; 4. Women can diversify livelihoods, with increased decision-making agency around income; 5. The forums serve as an entry point for integrating socially inclusive land governance and climate resilience; and 6. Though women can access land through husbands or village government, there is lack of formal land titles, and customary rules exclude women from inheriting land or livestock.
The presentation identifies persisting gaps — youth inclusion and intergenerational leadership, legal literacy and access to justice, and uneven engagement with customary leaders — and maps WRLF contributions against the Stand for Her Land pillars of awareness, participation, norm change, collective action and multi-level linkages. It concludes that grassroots women-led institutions are addressing barriers for women and marginalized people in pastoral land governance incrementally, unevenly, but consistently.