National Implementation of the Women and Land Campaign in Tunisia and Libya

In 2021, UN-Habitat and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) launched the regional Women and Land Campaign. The campaign, targeting a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the Arab region, is promoted by UN-Habitat as part of its mandate to achieve a better urban future for all, and by partners of the Stand for Her Land Campaign, including the World Bank, the International Land Coalition, Landesa and Habitat for Humanity.

Building on the regional campaign, on 12-13 September 2022, UN-Habitat Tunisia Country Programme and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) launched the National Implementation of Women and Land Campaign in Tunisia and Libya through a workshop held in Tunis, Tunisia, to raise awareness about how to overcome the barriers that women face in gaining access to their housing, land, and property (HLP) rights.

This campaign aims to raise awareness on how to overcome the challenges faced by women in accessing and enjoying their housing, land and property rights, empower women in Tunisia and Libya to claim their HLP rights, raise awareness of the role stakeholders can play in promoting women's right to land and access to land; and, to create a dialogue between stakeholders on women's right to land.

Protecting women's right to housing, land, and property will require efforts to change patriarchal attitudes and social norms that govern various aspects of family life. This is a difficult challenge because it requires holistic interventions that go beyond changes at the constitutional and policy levels alone, and requires a combined set of short, medium, and long-term interventions at all levels, starting with raising awareness and promoting dialogue about the socioeconomic benefits of promoting women's rights to housing, land, and property, and the challenges they face in legitimately claiming these rights. Tunisia, however, remains an inspiring example of change and is paving the way for a more egalitarian and women-friendly future in the Arab region and the Muslim world at large.

In Libya, after the 2011 revolution, laws protected women's property rights on paper, reports indicate that in practice women's rights are tied to their relationships with male family members. It is also unclear whether the next constitution will include gender-specific provisions protecting women's rights, including property and inheritance rights. In this context, it is important to raise awareness and defend women's right to housing, land and property and to promote dialogue on women's right to land at all levels.

Follow the campaign through the hashtag #WomenAndLand and #HLPrights and through the following social media channels:

• Website: UN-Habitat Tunisia

• Facebook: @UN-Habitat Tunisie, @Arab Land Initiative, @National Commission For Lebanese Women

• Twitter: @UNHabitat_inTN, @GLTNArabLand, @GLTNnews

• LinkedIn: UN-Habitat Tunisia, Arab Land Initiative

• YouTube: @un-habitattunisia402, @LandGLTN