Gender Perspective to Land Conflicts in Mbale District:Analysis of Women's Rights to Land

Abstract

The research was designed to assess the effects of Land Conflicts on the Socio-Economic Aspects of Women in Mbale District in the selected sub counties. The study was guided by both the general and specific objectives which were: (a) Examine the causes of land conflicts in Mbale District, (b) Establish effects of land conflicts on income levels of women in Mbale District, Cc) Identify the social effects of land conflicts on women and (d) Assess the role of Local Councils (LCs) in disposing land disputes in Mbale District. The researcher adopted a descriptive research design; it employed both the qualitative and quantitative methods and the main instruments used in the study were questionnaires, interview guide as well as the focused group discussion methods to collect primary data. Data was analyzed using SPSS computer software methods and reduced to frequencies and percentages presented in tables and figures. The study revealed that women are the greatly affected by the land conflicts/disputes as they have lost property, they have been denied access to land, their incomes have reduced and LCs have not helped the women which has led to unbearable effects to the women in Mbale district. The researcher recommended that government efforts need to be doubled in sensitizing communities about land rights and responsibilities, people encouraged to make wills, and LCs strengthened as dispute handling organ at the community level.