Caroline S. Archambault is an anthropologist and Senior Researcher in the International Development Studies Group at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Annelies Zoomers is a human geographer and Professor of International Development Studies at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
This carefully researched book is a welcome new contribution to our understanding of the implications of major ongoing changes on the land front, which are taking place all around the world, especially in developing countries. The case studies - which span a range from Argentina to Zimbabwe - deepen our understanding of the risks as well as potential benefits for women and men, for productivity and growth as well as equity. The book provides relevant and important lessons and insights for anyone interested in development. Jeni Klugman, Harvard University, USA Powerful changes in land tenure regimes are taking place globally, yet all too often a gender lens is missing. Through 14 case studies, this volume documents the gender impacts of land grabs, the formalization of customary tenure, the privatization of communal lands, and post-conflict resettlement reforms and makes a strong case for the urgency of improving women's tenure security. This is a must-read for all those concerned with processes of agrarian change. Carmen Diana Deere, University of Florida, USA Gender is so frequently and scandalously overlooked in discussions of land tenure reform that one can only welcome this exciting new collection, which ranges across the continents and provides compelling examples of women's struggles to assert the rights which are so frequently denied them. Robin Palmer, Mokoro, UK This volume provides much-needed empirical evidence on the gender impacts of a range of transformations of land rights. The case studies provide nuance to our understanding of how many planned land tenure reforms as well as new economic opportunities have affected women's security of tenure. Alas, despite growing evidence of the importance of women's land rights, few of the reforms have strengthened women's control over land, but there are many lessons in this volume on what can be done (or not done) to improve this in the future. Ruth Meinzen-Dick, International Food Policy Research Institute, USA