Reconciling Indigenous and Women's Rights to Land in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article examines the tension between state support of customary systems of land tenure and women's rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. The author explores the interaction between the separate frameworks for international protection of indigenous rights and women's rights. Polavarapu recognizes that the needs of women and indigenous communities need to be balanced as many hybrid systems of customary and statutory law have failed women in the region. The author advocates for a new transformative approach that would require more women to sit on councils in indigenous communities, to institute norms of equality, and for state representatives to be involved in land negotiation. This would leave systems of customary law largely intact, but would create accountability at the state level for any potential denial of women's rights.