Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2020
Journal
Feminist Economics
Abstract
The Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest level of women’sland ownership in the world, yet little research has explored the barriers andopportunities women face in land ownership in the region. This paper identifiespatterns, opportunities, and constraints of ownership of land and other assets(houses, livestock, poultry, and gold) by women and men in the Old and NewLands of Egypt. Based on a survey complemented with qualitative interviews,the study finds that both women and men viewed land and houses as the mosteconomically and socially important assets, but they differed in what assets theyconsidered to be valuable for women. The findings highlight the importanceof implementing policies that optimize women’s property ownership, even ifthey own non-land assets. The study concludes that while legal and economicinterventions aid in accomplishing gender-equity goals, consciousness-raisinginitiatives are as crucial as pro-women policy reforms.
