Despite leading the Global South in legal land tenure reforms since 2016, 13 African nations—including Kenya, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—have made “alarmingly little progress” on securing Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and rural women’s rights to community forest governance, with some countries actively rolling back protections, according to a Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) report released this week.
Crucially, Africa remains the only region globally where no legal frameworks guarantee women’s right to vote in community-level decision-making, undermining climate resilience and gender equality goals.
The findings reveal a stark disconnect between legislative activity and tangible outcomes. While Mali, Madagascar, and the Republic of Congo diluted existing safeguards for women’s land rights through regressive reforms, Kenya emerged as a rare bright spot, enacting modest advancements in leadership rights. Still, not a single African nation analyzed provides adequate legal protections for women’s community-level voting rights—a critical gap as women manage up to 80% of household food production and 60% of informal forest economies across the continent.
“Legal reforms are meaningless if they exclude the women who sustain these ecosystems,” said Dr. Solange Bandlaky-Badji, RRI Coordinator. “Africa’s forests, which absorb 1.2 billion tons of CO₂ annually, depend on women’s stewardship. Yet their voices are systematically silenced.”
The stagnation contrasts sharply with Africa’s reputation as a leader in communal land rights recognition. Since 2016, countries like Liberia and Tanzania expanded community forest ownership, yet failed to embed gender-specific safeguards. In Ghana, where women comprise 70% of agricultural labor, only 10% own land—a disparity exacerbated by inheritance laws favoring male heirs. Similarly, DRC’s 2022 Forest Code, hailed for recognizing Indigenous rights, omitted provisions ensuring women’s participation in governance.
Regional backsliding risks derailing climate targets. Deforestation rates in Central Africa’s Congo Basin—the world’s second-largest rainforest—have doubled since 2020, with women-led conservation efforts often thwarted by exclusion from decision-making. “When logging companies negotiate, they sit with men. Our knowledge is dismissed,” said Marceline Mboyo, a community leader in DRC’s Tshopo Province.
The report urges African governments to align reforms with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which prioritize gender equity. “Policymakers must move beyond tokenism,” said Dr. Omaira Bolafios, RRI’s Gender Justice Director. “Climate finance and carbon markets won’t succeed without securing women’s tenure.”
With the 2030 SDG deadline looming, the clock is ticking. As Kenya’s Environment Ministry finalizes its Community Land Act amendments, advocates demand binding quotas for women’s representation. “Africa’s legal innovation must include its women,” said Bandlaky-Badji. “Otherwise, progress is just parchment.”
