Women, Land, and Empowerment Dynamics in Egypt’s Mubarak Resettlement Scheme

Abstract

Literature and development practice related to women’s access to land reveals two main
assumptions: one, that the land is empowering for women and, two, that this
empowerment is inherently linked to independence for women from their households. We
use a feminist political ecology approach to highlight the significance of multiple factors
(biophysical, economical, government policies, gender norms and kinship context and
their temporal variations) in shaping women’s experiences with land access. We examine
cases of women provided with land in Egypt through the Mubarak Resettlement Scheme
in two regions which differ markedly in these factors to showcase their importance for
women’s empowerment. The Egyptian cases illustrate that land access can be detrimental
to women. We argue for a more relational approach to women’s empowerment through
land access which considers multiple forms of disadvantage and has strategic life choices
at its heart. Joint titles seem to be a promising route in the respective areas