These Nigerian women are claiming their “right to own land”
- In Plateau State, Nigeria, a group of women are challenging cultural barriers that restrict women’s access to land ownership, rental, and negotiation.
Image Description: A collage made up of a woman carrying tubers in a basket, with a farm and an image of 2 women drying grain in the background.
Plateau State, Nigeria – At 28, Talatu Yanzem’s* life took a devastating turn when her husband passed away, leaving her with five children and pregnant with their sixth. This tragedy resulted in the loss of both her home and farmland.
“My husband’s relatives showed no regard for my pregnant state,” recounts Talatu. “They threw me and my children out, seized our house and my husband’s farmlands which was the only source of our livelihood.”
The widow, from Shepwan community in Nbaal village, Shendam Local Government Area, sought refuge with her children in her father’s house in 1992.
This scenario mirrors the plight of 42% of widows in Nigeria, where cultural norms and laws permit the disinheritance of widows.
Talatu and her late husband cultivated and sold yam and rice in large quantities. After his passing, she was determined to continue the business to support her children, but without farmland, it was impossible. Due to cultural restrictions in Shepwan, Talatu could not rent or negotiate farmland without her husband’s consent.
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs reported in 2023 that only one in five landowners in Nigeria is female. It also noted that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could increase by $229 billion over a decade if women participated in the workforce at the same level as men.
Plateau State is a significant contributor to this disparity, with only 4% of women owning land compared to 22.2% of men. Although Nigeria’s constitution, under the 1978 Land Use Act, accords equal rights to men and women to acquire and own assets, the reality remains unchanged for women.
Due to the challenges she faced, Talatu’s children were forced to drop out of school.
Her fortunes changed, though, in 1997 when she met 19 other women facing similar struggles. Together, they formed Homsen Women Farmers Shepwan, a cooperative aimed at supporting their families through agriculture.
Despite producing 70% of Nigeria’s food, women farmers earn and produce far less than men due to limited access to land, inputs, labour, and extension services.
“Some of these women were battling with the habit of their husbands seizing their harvested farm produce and selling it off, leaving their households hungry for the rest of the season” Talatu explains. “We started Homsen Women Farmers Shepwan by collectively engaging in farming services for others, who compensate us with either farm produce or money.”
According to Ruda Ngwan, the Chairperson of the Homsen Women Farmers, in 2000, the women devised a defense and strategy of farming as a group, instead of individuals seeking to rent farmland.
“We started by contributing 500 naira each (0.35 dollars at that time) to pay the rent of our first farm in the year 2000,” she says. “We negotiated with anyone that was willing to rent their piece of farmland for a period of time, and in most cases, we were charged arbitrary fees.”
To navigate cultural barriers, they enlisted supportive men to negotiate with other men on their behalf.
Efforts to access federal and local loans were initially unsuccessful. In 2003, they secured their first loan of 20,000 naira (2,580 dollars at that time) from the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN).
By 2008, they registered with the Nigerian Agricultural Development Bank in Shendam LGA, enabling them to cultivate, store, and sell crops collectively while reinvesting earnings to support members.
Determined to secure permanent farmland, the women reached out to NGOs and donor agencies. Their request for a portion of Lower Benue River Basin farmlands was denied, but they persisted.
In 2019, they submitted a grant application in Hausa (a local language in Northern Nigeria) to the Netherlands’ Ministry for Foreign Affairs through Voice Global.
Cedric Owuru, the Linking, Learning, and Amplifier Officer at Voice Global, explains that the organisation, a grant facility implemented by Oxfam and other partners in West Africa, provides capacity building and grants to marginalised groups. This support enables these groups to demand civic participation, political participation, access to resources, social services, and employment opportunities.
“Although applications are typically required to be written in English, these women submitted a video in Hausa expressing their interest,” he says. “Since Voice Global prioritises inclusion, we translated their proposal into the acceptable format for the Netherlands’ Ministry for Foreign Affairs and we are glad they won the 25,000-euro grant and 34,658 euros for the second phase.”
According to Owuru, Homsen Women Farmers were trained and empowered to advocate for their “Right to own Land” and this has not “only given them a voice” but the power to resist any culture that limits them as they demand for change.
This grant helped the women to successfully purchase 24.7 acres of land, fertilizer, and seedlings.
“We held a groundbreaking capacity building session for the community women, conducted by the staff of the Plateau State Agricultural Development Agency,” Ngwan says. “They taught our women economical yet effective farming practices.”
Chief Wakutda Sitji, the ward head of Shepwan community, commended the women farmers for their courageous stand against the cultural norms that have historically prevented them from accessing farmlands in the village.
“Women are no longer second-class citizens in Shendam LGA, as women now have the right to own land” he declares.
The women also secured a female representative on the traditional council, a milestone achieved with Voice Global’s support.
However, the cooperative still faces some opposition from elders who try to reclaim the land, citing cultural traditions.
“We resist this threat by presenting our land documents. This is because we are enlightened,” Ngwan says.
Under the Land Use Act, lands are most commonly inherited in Nigeria, and land tenure, especially in rural areas, is governed by customary laws, making tenure security low and transactions largely informal. It is the reason statutory laws, in comparison to customary practices, are not always as effective in ensuring secure and equitable land tenure for women or even men, because the legal ownership of many such lands cannot be proven.
The success of the Homsen Women Farmers Shepwan inspired the women to launch the “MU MA AYI DAMU” (“GET US INVOLVED”) campaign in conjunction with Voice Global, extending their advocacy to neighbouring villages.
“Through this initiative, we have created a safe space for women to engage more effectively,” Ngwan states.
Now boasting over 50 members between the ages of 22 to 60 years, the cooperative continues to transform lives. Talatu, once landless, enrolled her children in school.
“My first child graduated as a pharmacist from the University of Jos,” she proudly shares. “Today, all my children have graduated and are thriving in their respective careers”.
* [not real names] sources pleaded to remain anonymous
Edited/Reviewed by: PK Cross, Uzoma Ihejirika, Samuel Banjoko, Caleb Okereke, Awom Kenneth and Adebola Makinde.
Illustrated by: Rex Opara
