Women, land and rural development in Egypt: a socio-cultural perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCEFTS-10-2021-0061 |
| Published date | 09 May 2022 |
| Date | 09 May 2022 |
| Pages | 261-278 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,International economics |
| Author | Yasmin Khodary |
Women, land and rural
development in Egypt: a
socio-cultural perspective
Yasmin Khodary
Faculty of Business Administration Economics and Political Science,
The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
Purpose –The relationship between women and land is not a mere legalor technical relationship but one that is
mediated through socio-cultural norms and notions. Building on the work of Feminism Environmentalism, but
moving beyond Agarwal’s materialist system, this paper aims to assess the level of change (if any) in the perceptions
and practices of rural communities in Sohag and Assiut towardwomen’s ownership and inheritance of land post the
implementation of some societal initiatives by feminist organizations and what this means for rural development in
these communities. In doing this, the paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of these societal initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper uses case study approach by focusing on societal initiatives
in two Egyptian Governorates. It also follows a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, whereby
quantitativedata is first driven by using a survey that assesses the level of change in the societal perceptions and
practices toward women’s ownership of agricultural land and its implication for rural development.Quantitative
data is then followed by qualitative methods, namely, eight focus group discussions with different societal
groups, to have a more in-depthunderstanding and explanation of the occurring change (if any).
Findings –The research finds that a positive shift occurred in the societal perceptions and practices with
regard towomen’s ownership and inheritance of agricultural land as a result of the societal initiatives. This, in
turn, had better implications for rural development in terms of improved socio-economic well-being and overall
quality of life. This improvement can be tracedback to the change in cultural notions and perceptions as a result
of four factors: capitalizing on the roles of influential groups, relying on influential activities, targeting men,
especially heads of households or elders, and building blocks or partnering with the various relevant entities.
Practical implications –The misperception of the natureof the women-–environment/land relationship
and its confinement to legal solutions undermines the likelihood of improving this relationship and,
subsequently, attainment of rural and sustainable development. This study provides some key lessons to
improve the women–environment/land relationship and, in turn, enhance the chances for rural and
sustainabledevelopment through addressing the underlying socio-culturalbarriers.
Social implications –In Egypt, socio-cultural barriers hamper women’sownership of agricultural land
leading to only 5% of agricultureland being owned by women compared to 95% owned by men; a situation
that is found in many other countries, suchas Kenya, where women perform 70% of the agricultural labor,
but possess less than 1% of the agricultural land.Improving women’s access to land, hence, solves a common
social problemin Egypt and Africa and enhances gender equality.
Originality/value –Little work has been done to investigatethe socio-cultural dimensions to the women–
environment relationship.Hence, this study fills this gap and concludes with some lessonslearned on how to
improve thewomen–environment, particularly land,relationship.
Keywords Women, Land, Rural development, Socio-cultural factors, Gender equality, Egypt
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Ensuring women’s equitableaccess to land and other environmental resources is crucialnot
only for gender equality purposes but also for rural and broader sustainable development.
Rural
development
in Egypt
261
Journalof Chinese Economic and
ForeignTrade Studies
Vol.15 No. 3, 2022
pp. 261-278
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1754-4408
DOI 10.1108/JCEFTS-10-2021-0061
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1754-4408.htm
The link between women, environment –particularly land –and sustainable development
was made clear in the fifth Sustainable DevelopmentGoal (SDG), which encourages states to
“undertake reforms to give women access to ownership and control over land and other
forms of property, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.”
However, in undertaking suchreforms, there has been an increasing emphasis on reforming
land–ownership legislations without considering the socio-cultural barriers impeding
women’s ownership of and access to land.Such misperception of the nature of the women–
land relationship and confining it to legalsolutions undermines the likelihood of improving
this relationship and, subsequently,the attainment of rural and sustainable development. In
Egypt, for example, socio-cultural barriers hamper women’s ownership of agricultural land
leading to only 5% of agriculture landbeing owned by women compared to 95% owned by
men [Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO), 2018]. This situation
is found in many other countries, such as Kenya, where women perform 70% of the
agricultural labor, but possess less than 1% of the agricultural land (Gallaway et al.,2009).
Hence, improving women’s access to environmental resources, particularly land, solves a
common social problem in Egypt and Africaand enhances gender equality.
To address the socio-cultural barriers impeding women’s ownership and access to
agricultural land in Egypt, a range of societal initiatives were implemented by feminist
organizations in the period from 2014–2018 in two Egyptian Governorates, Sohag and
Assiut [1]. This article aims to assess the level of change (if any) in the perceptions and
practices of rural communities toward women’s ownership and inheritance of land post to
the implementation of these societal initiatives and what this means for rural development
in these communities. Building on the work of Feminism Environmentalism, but moving
beyond Agarwal’s materialist system, the article explores the strengths and weaknesses of
these societal initiatives.It aims at answering the following questions:
Q1. What roles do societal initiativesplay in improving the women–land relationship?
Q2. What implicationsdoes this have for rural development?
Q3. What best explains thischange (if any) in the women–land relationship?
To answer these questions, the article relies on a case study approach that focuses on societal
initiatives in two Egyptian Governorates. It also follows a mixed-methods sequential explanatory
design, whereby quantitative data is first driven using a survey that assesses the level of change in
the societal perceptions and practices compared to a baseline study conducted prior to the initiatives
and the implication of this change (if any) for rural development.Quantitative data is then followed
by qualitative methods, namely, eight focus group discussions (FGDs) with different societal
groups, to have more in-depth understandingand explanation of the occurring change (if any) [2].
The remainder of the article is structured as follows. First, it provides a summary of the
literature on women and environment/land and the different perspectives involved, followed by a
section explaining the research design and methods. The third section presents the findings of the
survey in three sub-sections capturing the change (if any) in the perceptions and practicesof both
women and men toward women’s ownership and inheritance of agricultural land as well as the
implication of this change (if any) on rural development. In each sub-section, the quantitative and
qualitative results are displayed followed by discussion. Finally, the article ends up by providing
some lessons learned on how to improve the women–land relationship.
2. Women and environment/land: a complex relationship
The literature discussing the women–environment/land nexus suggests a variety of lenses
through which this relationship can be explained and improved. With their essentialist
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