Is the South African land reform programme gender sensitive to women's food security and livelihood efforts?

Complexities created by the dichotomy between statutory and customary land laws and practices are proving to have an impact on women's efforts at deriving land-based livelihoods and food security. Water is required for sustained land-based livelihoods. This focus aims to provide insight into challenges of land-based livelihoods in two research sites in rural KwaZulu-Natal by considering questions around gender sensitivity of land reform and access to water for land-based livelihoods. Purposive sampling was used to select female land reform beneficiaries and those residing in communal areas. Focus group discussions complemented by a structured questionnaire were used for data collection. The results indicated the complexity in understanding, perception and values of land straddling the statutory and customary land laws and practice landscape. Women continue to be disenfranchised by the two systems, and their efforts at a land-based livelihood are undermined. A framework that allows functional elements of both land systems needs continued engagement and research to deal with this dichotomy. Ways to improve access to water should be sought, despite the challenges of the two land systems.