Date: 17 October 2024
Opinion Piece By: Javu Baloyi
A CRY OF RURAL WOMEN TO OWN AND FARM THE LAND
On the 15th of August 2024, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) launched a report titled: “Exploring barriers to women’s access to communal land in selected provinces of South Africa” The report resonated with me on many fronts. The first interesting aspect was that as a young boy growing up in Ximausa Village, Limpopo Province, my grandfather had a vast area of land to farm. Farming was the main source of income in the 70s and 80s.
The farming bug also bit my mother. Together with a group of women, they were allocated pieces of land by erstwhile indunas and chiefs in the village who understood that women in the majority took pride in farming. The land was not entirely theirs but leased to them by the tribal authorities. This aspect worried me a lot.
As the village grew exponentially in terms of population, the land was wittingly taken away from them to make way for new development and RDP houses. It was a sad sight to witness. Many of those women used the money earned from these farms to sustain their families and pay education fees for their children. The last remaining land that the cooperative had is under threat. They were promised all sorts of equipment to continue farming but nothing has come to fruition.
The research report reminded me of the unfortunate women outside Giyani who grouped themselves as “Hitekani”. Hitekani is a Xitsonga word meaning perseverance. These women 11 in number were allocated land by the Tribal council to start farming. Theirs was a mushrooming business. They could feed and sustain their households. However, the Chief in the area sold the land for housing development without any warning whatsoever.
These women were very much aware of their rights. After they sought the services of the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in Limpopo, their land was duly returned to them. They continue to farm and produce high-quality products.
This is one of the many realities that the Commission must deal with daily. Empowerment to some might mean progression in the world of work, which is fundamentally correct, however to me empowerment is for the Commission to be the voice of the marginalized and the often discriminated women in rural areas. The report has opened wounds to those whose land was taken away by some of the cunning traditional leaders.
Since the launch, men and women alike have been calling the Commission to register their anger on how their pieces of land were taken away. It is crucial as cited in the Commission’s report ensure that the recommendations are therefore implemented. We cannot talk about gender equality, yet women in rural areas are eager to access the land, not only accessing it but also ensuring that the land produces food. Many women in rural areas live in abject poverty. Empowering them to access land and supplying them with the necessary equipment and seeds to farm will not only alleviate poverty but will ensure that the dependency syndrome is averted.
This important report on “Exploring barriers to women’s access to communal land in selected provinces of South Africa” can be accessed at www.cge.org.za
Javu Baloyi is the Spokesperson of the Commission for Gender Equality