Yesterday I joined in on the live Facebook chat with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) where we discussed rural women and their plight to gain equal economic status.

I asked this question to the to UNDP Associate Administrator and Under-Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan

Are there better ways for these women to own more land? I think the global community would really rally behind a movement of women buying more land.

Ms Grynspan answered

Thank you for your questions, many of which address the centrality and importance of women’s access to land, property and assets for their empowerment. Do no douibt education and health are necessary conditions but not enough. UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if women had equal access to productive resources, they could increase their yields on farms by 20 to 30 percent, raising total output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent. The right of women to own property, including land, is recognized under international human rights law. Yet, in many countries, women’s property rights are limited by social norms and customs, and at times by legislation. UNDP works with programme countries to strengthen women’s legal rights, with a view to making them consistent with international norms and standards. In Liberia, Mozambique, and Uganda, for example, UNDP has supported community land titling initiatives with special measures to protect the land claims of vulnerable populations and women.