Customary Land Governance and Rural Women’s Access to Land in Sierra Leone: A Case Study of Tambakha Simibungie Chiefdom,North-west Province

Abstract

Gender inequalities in access and control over productive resources, land inclusive, have been and continue to be of grave concern globally. In many Sub-Saharan African countries, the problem has much to do with women’s access and control over agricultural land, which underlies their unemployment and underemployment, as well as the ensuing consequences in the rural areas. In Sierra Leone, the National Land Policy (2015) provides for women’s access and control over land. The reality could be otherwise, especially in the rural agrarian areas held under customary land governance. A mixed-method case study involving the use of questionnaires, key informant interviews, community interface and focus group discussions was conducted in the Tambakha Simibungie Chiefdom in Sierra Leone to explore the nature of the phenomenon in context. This study looked at customary land governance and rural women’s access and control over land in the area. It was established that the allocation of land within extended families was arrogated to male heads of the family in line with other male family members, and the final approval of any land issue rested ultimately with the paramount chief, the supreme traditional authority in the chiefdom. In Tambakha Simibungie Chiefdom, men were invariably the family heads and occupied key positions as local authorities. Women were not allowed to take part in any land-related decision-making process, a situation that sealed their subordination to men and tightly limited women’s empowerment. The good intentions of the National Land Policy had no trickle-down effect on customary land governance. This led to the conclusion that women’s access and control over land was tagged to their relationships with male counterparts, who stood out as ripely unbridled in this chiefdom.