COHRE MEDIA RELEASE
March 8,
2006
On
International Women’s Day, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), a
Geneva-based international human rights organisation, called on governments to
take active steps to protect the rights of women to housing and
land.
Scott Leckie, Executive Director of COHRE said, “When women do not have secure tenure of housing and land, they often are forced to live on the streets or in slums. For example, as many as an estimated 60 per cent of single women are living in Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya as a result of having evicted from their homes by relatives, especially after the death of their spouse.”
Leckie
added, “If women do not have secure housing or land tenure, entire communities
suffer. For instance, the practise of communities shunning women victims of
HIV/AIDS is common in some parts of Africa. They are evicted from their birth or
matrimonial homes and have few income generating opportunities. They are often
forced to turn to prostitution to earn a meagre income - and
thus contribute to the further spread of the HIV/AIDS virus. It is time that the
negative impact of this discrimination is recognized, and more than just lip
service is paid towards women’s housing rights.”
Leckie
said, “Despite the fact that many countries’ constitutions and statutory laws
provide for equality for women, this is not the reality on the ground. Unless
states recognise the central importance of women’s rights to land and housing,
and take positive steps to ensure such rights are realised, some of the world’s
most pressing contemporary problems such as the AIDS epidemic and debilitating
poverty will not be successfully remedied.”
Though
women account for 80 percent of agricultural labour in some parts of Africa,
producing close to 70 percent of the food, they own less than one percent of the
land. Women are rarely able to access formal credit or benefit from improved
technology- due to discriminatory attitudes and practices. This, in spite of the
fact that statistics show women make stronger borrowers than men- with a higher
and more consistent pay back rate.
Birte Scholz,
Coordinator of the Women and Housing Rights Programme at COHRE said, “In rural
areas, women do the work, yet are denied the benefits. In
urban areas, women protect and care for the entire household, from children to
extended families. Women are at the heart of community development, yet they are
often victimized by violence, abuse, disrespect and
discrimination.”
Scholz
said that the positive steps that need to be taken by governments include:
ensuring laws and policies serve to effectively eliminate discrimination against
women in housing and land; increasing awareness of women’s rights to housing and
land through campaigns and use of media; supporting community initiatives led by
women; engage with women community leaders on formulation of policies and
programmes; make women the focus of land and housing policy
implementation.
For
interviews or additional information please contact:
Ms
Birte Scholz
Coordinator
COHRE
Women and Housing Rights Programme
Telephone:
+ 233 (21) 238. 281