Hannah Mwesigwa

Advancing Women’s Land Rights: From Commitments to Implementation Our Executive Director @frances_birungi Odong has called for stronger implementation of existing laws, greater accountability and collective action to secure women’s access to, ownership and control of land in Uganda. Delivering the opening remarks at the 4th Women’s Land Rights Conference at Hotel Africana in Kampala on 15 October 2026, Frances emphasised the need to close the gap between legal commitments and the realities women face in accessing and owning land. “Rural women feed us every day, yet too often they do so on land they do not own and cannot control,” she noted, highlighting the importance of secure land rights to women’s dignity, livelihoods and participation in community development. Convened by the Women Land Rights Movement (@UG_WLRM ) and the @Stand4HerLand Campaign, the two-day conference is being held under the theme “From Demands to Action: Securing Women’s Land Rights for Equality and Empowerment.” UCOBAC coordinates the Stand for Her Land Campaign in Uganda ( @Stand4herlandUg ) under the auspices of the National Land Coalition (@nlcuganda ) . Through this work, the campaign has supported grassroots women’s leadership, strengthened advocacy and promoted efforts to address harmful social and cultural norms that continue to undermine women’s land rights. Frances highlighted the Grassroots Women Leaders’ Academies, through which 80 women from Uganda’s four regions have gained skills in land rights, leadership, coalition-building and advocacy. She also underscored the importance of gender-transformative community dialogues, engagement with cultural institutions and creating opportunities for grassroots women to contribute to national, regional and global advocacy spaces. She stressed that laws alone are not enough to guarantee women’s land rights. Effective implementation, accessible land registration and justice services, legal literacy, reliable data and the meaningful participation of grassroots women in land governance are essential to turning legal protections into lived realities. She called on government, civil society organisations, development partners, cultural and religious leaders, and academic institutions to strengthen accountability, support gender-responsive land reforms, improve access to justice and sustain investment in grassroots women’s leadership. As the conference calls for practical action, Frances emphasised that securing women’s land rights is a shared responsibility that requires sustained commitment and collaboration across all sectors. “When we stand for her land, we stand for her dignity, her livelihood, her voice and her future.” #4thWLRConf26 #StandForHerLand #WLRC26 #EmpoweringAndTransformingCommunities @giz_uganda @ZOA_nl