LAND REFORM POLICIES AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN IN LIMPOPO PROVINCE

Abstract

The land reform policies of South Africa sought to redress the imbalances of the past in terms of land access which were spawned by apartheid policies. Empowerment of women was regarded as an intrinsic part of this redress, with the aim of improving women‟s access to land by removing gender-related constraints that stifle acquisition of land by women. This study focuses on Limpopo province and sought to establish what the provincial government is doing to address the constraints and challenges that women experience in land matters, in order to empower women to access and use land more productively. A qualitative research approach was used with the Limpopo Department of Agriculture being the case study. The study focused on efforts made to empower rural women in Limpopo province so that they access land or use available land productively to obviate food insecurity. The research established that although some efforts are being made to empower rural women in Limpopo, they still face challenges in terms of access to land, access to resources and tenure security, a problem that is attributable to patriarchy and poor policy implementation. The research also makes recommendations which include Agri-BEE targets that emphasise gender and improving monitoring and evaluation.