Women and land in Senegal: promoting inclusive and participatory governance

In Senegal, despite clear legislative progress towards gender equality and the huge contribution women make to the rural economy, they remain in the minority or even absent from strategic and operational land governance bodies at ‘commune’ level. Furthermore, the legal recognition of the principle of citizens’ engagement in public affairs is not accompanied by any working mechanism to ensure that grassroots communities are able to participate — effectively excluding women and other marginalised groups from taking part in land governance. In recent years, civil society organisations have worked with rural communities to develop tools for participatory and inclusive land governance which aim to increase the number of women involved in local land governance and improve the quality of their participation. Here, we share results, lessons and recommendations arising from these local innovations.