Determinants and challenges of women's land tenure security in Moshi district council, Tanzania

This study examines the determinants and challenges of women’s land tenure security in Moshi District Council, Tanzania, offering new empirical evidence on the influence of intersectionality in tenure security among rural women. Despite progressive legal frameworks such as the 1995 National Land Policy and the Village Land Act of 1999, rural women continue to face significant barriers in securing land rights. Guided by Feminist Theory, the study employed a cross-sectional design and a mixed-methods approach, collecting data from 266 women across selected villages. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a bivariate probit model, while qualitative insights were drawn from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Findings show that only 28.9% of women had secure land tenure. Key determinants included education level, household income, awareness of land laws, duration of land occupancy, method of land acquisition, and institutional support (p<0.05). Major challenges were patriarchal cultural norms, informal land acquisition, and limited legal awareness. Unlike prior studies, the current study explicitly examines the interaction of socio-economic, legal, and cultural factors, highlighting how intersectional dynamics shape tenure security. The study findings align with the Feminist Theory’s emphasis on patriarchal barriers in relation to women’s access and ownership of assets such as land while extending it by incorporating male perspectives on the role and influence of customary norms on the above. Therefore, the study recommends that the government and Moshi District Council need to conduct legal literacy campaigns and gender-sensitive land governance, In addition, there is need for the Tanzania government to strengthen institutional support to enhance women’s land tenure security.