Gender Analysis of Landholding and Situation of Female-Headed Households after Land Registration: The Case of Machakel Woreda

Well-implemented and functioning land administration systems are able to improve the wellbeing of rural households and support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As cadastral data are an essential part of a modern land administration system for documenting and securing the boundaries of parcels, Ethiopia recently embarked on one of the largest land surveying programs for rural land registration in Africa. Cadastral and land registration data provided by the land administration office of the woreda were analyzed using a Geographical Information System to investigate whether parcels of female-headed households were disadvantaged compared to parcels of male-headed households with regard to parcel size, parcel features, and access to infrastructure. In addition, the situation of female-headed households after the land registration process was analyzed in more detail. To this aim, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the Ethiopian Machakel woreda through a household survey, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The results document no significant gender discrepancies in parcel features and access to infrastructures. In general, women confirmed an improvement in the wellbeing of female-headed households after the land registration and certification process.