Despite their crucial role in wealth creation, women have little or no access to land and production means. That is what the NGO Oxfam denounced in its “Reward work, not wealth” report published yesterday.

The report, which involves a survey done in 35 countries, points out that in Senegal, only 5% of women have sole property of their land, compared to 22% of men. In Burundi, this rate is 11% for women against 50% for men and in Uganda it is 14% for women against 46% for men.  

According to the authors, highlighting the fact that the phenomenon is widely spread, the inequalities are due often to sociological influences.

“Even when women do own land or have property rights, power dynamics within families and society often limit the actual control they have over those assets. Wives are sometimes thus deprived of their home and income after their husbands die. Female survivors do not have the same inheritance rights as their male counterparts,” they reported.