Digital Land Governance and Women’s Land Rights in Isiolo County, Kenya

Digital land governance in Kenya, implemented through the Ardhisasa platform, marks a major shift aimed at restructuring land services to ensure efficiency, transparency, and equity. This transformation is particularly consequential for women in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), such as Isiolo County, a semi-arid area where land is deeply tied to cultural identity, economic survival, and a source of livelihood for these communities. Despite global commitments and national legal reforms, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5 and 15), the Constitution of Kenya (2010), and the Community Land Act (2016), which aim to promote gender equity, women in arid and semi-arid regions in Kenya continue to face persistent barriers to secure land rights. This study adopts a qualitative desktop research approach to examine the nexus between digital land governance and women’s land rights in Isiolo County, Kenya, focusing on how digital land registration, service efficiency, digital literacy, and digital record-keeping and documentation processes impact women’s land rights in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions. The findings of the study indicate that women in Isiolo County continue to face challenges in navigating digital land registration systems. Limited digital literacy level of women in Isiolo County constrains their ability to access online land services, and gaps in digital documentation hinder secure land record management. While digitalization has improved efficiency in land service delivery, including reducing delays and manipulation in succession disputes for women, most women in Isiolo County are facing challenges with digital record keeping and documentation of their land in the digital platforms. The Study underscores the need for gender-sensitive digital land governance policies to ensure women’s inclusion in land distribution, offering insights for policymakers to strengthen land governance frameworks, support Sustainable Development Goal 5, and foster equitable access to land resources in Kenya’s drylands, particularly in Isiolo County.