In his fight to end global poverty, inaugural Kravis Prize winner Roy Prosterman has made a difference in over 105 million families. Through his founding of Landesa, Prosterman has linked land rights to economic prosperity, determined to arm the world’s poorest communities with rights to their most valuable resource.
At the crux of these families are women, which led to the establishment of the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights (LCWLR). In a post on Reuters’ TrustLaw blog, Lian Carl shared his experience working with LCWLR over the past year, with chilling observations of life for women in sub-Saharan Africa.
“How can property own property?” was the question continually posed to Carl and his colleagues. Carl discussed how the unequal status of women in the region is crippling to the community as a whole as it has proven to affect a number of developing needs.
“Investing in women brings [our] impact to the household level where more of the investment will be made in children, which we know over the long run will improve the economic output of a country. By focusing on women’s land rights, we can significantly reduce poverty.”
It is accounts like Carl’s that illustrate the struggle of global poverty, and it is his passion and dedication that drive Landesa’s success.
“The Word on Women- A Year’s Reflection on Women’s Land Rights” [TrustLaw, September 17, 2012]
