The Constitutional Adjudication of Rural Women’s Land Rights in Ethiopia

Abstract

The legal regime on rural land rights in Ethiopia is decentralized, having the federal and regional land administrative legislations. Though many aspects of these laws are similar, there are few aspects of these legislations that vary in terms of substance and level of implementation. When analyzed from a gender perspective, the legislations differ in the scope and extent of promotion of gender justice in administration, control, transfer, and use of land rights of women. Questions arise as to the extent to which the diversity/ difference envisaged under these legislations affects women’s constitutional rights to use, transfer and administer land. This article analyzes landmark decisions rendered by the Council of Constitutional Inquiry (CCI) and the House of Federation (HoF) regarding disputes affecting women’s rural land rights. The article discusses the implications of a lack of uniform gender sensitive/ responsive approaches in the adjudication of rural women’s rights to land in Ethiopia. The methods of data collection and analyses include a dogmatic analyses of laws, case, and the literature, as well as key informant interviews. The article provides insights for policy makers and stakeholders working on gender equality.
Keywords: rural women’s land rights, gender-sensitive constitutional interpretation, legislative power on land laws, Council of Constitutional Council
131 Anchinesh Shiferaw is a lecturer and a PHD candidate at Addis Ababa University, Center for Human Rights