Leading the way for equal land rights in Bolivia
Leading the way for equal land rights in Bolivia
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 09:53 GMT
Source: member // Habitat for Humanity Great Britain
COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA (30/10/2012): Today the British Ambassador to Bolivia meets with women trained by international development organisation Habitat for Humanity who are advocating for equal land and property rights in Cochabamba. This comes in the light of Mr Cameron’s speech to the UN on 26th September 2012, when he stated that the building blocks which take a country from poverty to prosperity include property rights.
In Cochabamba, the third largest city in Bolivia, people often buy land from informal developers. All they receive in return is a sales receipt, under the name of the husband. This does not guarantee ownership of the land. As land becomes increasingly valuable, female heads of households consequently face violence and threats of eviction by pseudo landowners, neighbourhood leaders, agricultural unions and even family members. Women, especially those from poverty-stricken Quechua and Aymara communities face daily discrimination.
This includes single mother Leonarda who does not legally own the land on which her home stands. At their single-roomed house water is supplied just once a week and the extended family of nine, practices open defecation behind a cactus plant. Like nine out of ten householders in Cochabamba she does not have legal proof that she owns the land on which she lives.
But women in Cochabamba’s District 9 have, for the last three years, been taking action. Groups of women, including Leonarda and her sister, have been attending special schools for women leaders, organised by international development organisation Habitat for Humanity. Here the women learn about their rights; how to organise their communities and themselves and how to advocate. When they graduate they join the Network of Women Leaders to advocate for legal change in policies and laws and raise awareness amongst other women and their communities. Their aim is simple: to enable women to have secure land tenure so they can improve their living conditions. So far 200 women and 10 men have been trained.
More:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/leading-the-way-for-equal-land-rights-in-bolivia