Pr o m i s i n g Ap p r o a c h e s t o en g e n d e r i n g De v e l o p m e n t Land use rights and gender equality in Vietnam Legal rights to real property, clearly recognized in To recognize the interests of both women and men, property titles and registration documents, can the pilot project in Vietnam re-issued Land Tenure enhance the potential of both women and men to use Certificates (LTCs) for households in two rural property for economic purposes. In many countries, communes in Nghe An province. The certificates however, land is disproportionately controlled by now bear the names of both the wife and husband of men, even when rural women work as agricultural- a household. As joint holders of LTCs, women and ists and when the law dictates otherwise. A pilot men can both take advantage of the opportunities project in north central Vietnam has instituted an that such property rights entail for the well-being of approach to land titling that gives both women and the rural economy. men rights to use land. In an economy transitioning from collectives to smaller family farms, the project Gender-neutral policy benefits only husbands has increased opportunities for rural families to use The project idea is very simple, but it has far- their most productive asset to generate income, and reaching impacts. Between the 1980s and 1990s, has promoted a gender-responsive, low cost, and Vietnam's national policy of granting long-term land decentralized method of land titling. use rights to households presented significant Why this is a promising approach: opportunities for rural farming communities to Implemented after identification of gender improve their incomes and livelihoods. Although inequalities in access to land. the government remained the single owner of land in Provided a gender-responsive land adminis- Vietnam, a policy was instituted to grant households tration system. rights to use the land for economic purposes, Empowered women and men by providing including as collateral for credit. them access to land, the most productive asset in the community. Each of the over 10 million LTCs issued to date Enhanced local government capacity to under that policy registered land use rights to an implement land reform. average of 10-12 small plots assigned to families in Removed disparity between national law a commune. The LTCs had space for only one name and its application. Improved knowledge of national law in per family, and since registrants were often the male isolated rural communities. head of the household or the husband, the policy resulted in male control of those plots of land, despite the gender neutrality of the national policy. Joint land use rights In most low income and transition countries, land Vietnam's PRSP clarifies land rights registration documents, such as land tenure or use Vietnam's poverty reduction strategy aims to ensure certificates, often bear just the name of husbands or that by 2005 the names of both husband and wife another male head of households, leaving women will appear on all LTCs. Effective in October 2001, without opportunities to increase land productivity, Vietnam's Government Decree No. 70, on the sell or use land for credit. Women's access to land implementation of the Marriage and Family Law, often depends on their marital status, with the result states that all documents registering family assets that unmarried and divorced women who may and land use rights must be in the names of both contribute to family labor on the land are rarely husband and wife. However, the General Depart- named on title deeds. In this context, properly ment of Land Administration (GDLA), responsible documented joint land use rights for both wives and for rural land titling, lacked the capacity to provide husbands can significantly reduce gender asymme- all provinces with instructions to ensure compliance. tries in access to and control of real property, and Remote rural provinces and communes, in particu- thereby increase productivity. lar, needed assistance to effect these changes. SEPTEMBER 2002 ~ NUMBER 1 The World Bank's Vietnam office hired local consult- disseminate information about national land laws and ants to assist the Vietnamese government. At a half- provide LTCs bearing joint titles. The consultants day workshop, for GDLA's leadership, its Committee worked with the Land Administration Department of for the Advancement of Women, and local technical Nghe An, whose staff was able to reach close to 2,600 staff, it was decided that a pilot project to re-issue households in the two communes. LTCs was needed, and that a survey would be con- ducted to identify communes for the pilot. In partnership with the local government, leaflets about laws on gender equality in land use rights were printed Survey reveals land use patterns and distributed. Households demonstrated their in- Surveys were conducted in three provinces in northern creased knowledge of national laws by posting those and north central Vietnam, where the majority of leaflets on their walls. Village meetings and loudspeak- Vietnam's poor population lives. The surveys revealed ers were also instrumental in spreading the word about a common pattern: LTCs issued had space for only one the new LTCs. Once the LTCs were issued, consultants name per family. worked with government officials to update the cadastral record books. "One man said that his wife complains all the time that the LTC seems to have no value when Project lessons and applicability he is absent and the family needs to borrow The reasons why land titling often omits women's names some money from the bank. He said that vary from society to society, and need to be understood women here play very important roles but the before effective interventions can be designed. This LTC doesn't provide adequate conditions for case illustrates the use of surveys to uncover the reasons them." for land titling biases and a promising approach to ­ Hoa Thi Mong Pham, Operations Officer correct these in a legal context that endorses gender equality. It also highlights the cost effectiveness of The limitations and high risks of arbitrary action building joint titling into the design of land policies at associated with those LTCs began to emerge almost as inception. soon as they were issued. In Vietnam, women make up the majority of the agricultural labor force, and farming Within Vietnam, this approach will be used in the other is the one community activity shared by both spouses. parts of Nghe An province. This pilot will be expanded Despite their contributions to family labor on the farm, to other provinces where land allocation and consolida- without LTCs in their name, women had no legal proof tion efforts are under way, or when new LTCs are issued. of their rights to land. At a time when families may have the most pressing need to take advantage of these Further Reading usufruct rights, such as when husbands were away from the village for extended periods of time, wives could · Vietnam's PRSP at: http://www.vdic.org.vn/ not use the land as collateral for credit. · David Dollar, Reform, Growth, and Poverty in Vietnam, World Bank Policy Research Working Wives could assert their rights to land only if accompa- Paper 2837, May 2002. Martin Ravallion and Dominique van de Walle, nied by their husbands. Divorced women · Breaking Up The Collective Farm: Welfare were often left without enforceable land rights, as Outcomes of Vietnam's Massive Land estranged husbands could transfer this valuable property Privatization, World Bank Policy Research based on LTCs bearing their sole names. Once a Working Paper 2710, November 2001. marriage was dissolved, the husband could profit from the land use rights without consulting his ex-wife. Who to contact for more information: Partnership with local government successful Nisha Agrawal, Lead Economist Nghe An province's Dien Dong and Hung Thinh nagrawal@worldbank.org Dzung The Nguyen, Operations Officer communes were selected for the pilot. The People's dnguyen@worldbank.org Committee of Nghe An Province was planning to Hoa Thi Mong Pham, Operations Officer consolidate agricultural land and re-issue LTCs. Offi- hpham1@worldbank.org cials were willing to work with the consultants to Promising Approaches to Engendering Development showcase gender-responsive, innovative approaches to gender and develop- ment, applicable across regions and sectors. For more information please visit www.worldbank.org/gender/promising/ or send an e-mail to gnetwork@worldbank.org