Gendered Land Rights and Sustainable Development

In Kenya, women constitute nearly 80% of the agricultural labour force, yet severe imbalances in land rights persist due to deeply entrenched patriarchal practices. This study investigates the gendered nexus between land tenure, livelihoods, and sustainable development within the Isukha community of Kakamega County. Grounded in Raewyn Connell’s (1987) gender relations theory and the Gender, Agriculture and Assets Project (GAAP) framework, the study examines the extent of women's access to and control over land, and how these dynamics shape economic empowerment, household food security, and climate change adaptation. Employing a mixed-methods research design, empirical data were collected from 60 women respondents through structured questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews. The findings reveal that despite fifteen years of progressive statutory protections under the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, women’s actual land ownership community remains critically low. The local gender regime enforces male monopolisation of land property, forcing women to negotiate cultivation permissions from husbands or male relatives and undermining their food security and climate resilience. However, a new countertrend is emerging. Driven by adult literacy (Gumbaru) schools, NGO interventions, and financial cooperatives, women are increasingly overcoming the vicious cycle of land rights illiteracy. Collective investment in land plots, enhanced legal awareness, and the strategic adoption of digital land governance tools such as Ardhisasa are enabling Isukha women to bypass customary blockades and assert new forms of agency. The study concludes that securing women's land rights is structurally essential to dismantling the "poverty of feminism" and fostering climate-resilient, economically empowered rural communities. Strengthening enforcement institutions, expanding legal and digital literacy, and harmonizing customary and statutory frameworks are critical pathways toward sustainable development.