Inside Maasai community where men are championing women’s land rights

As the scorching sun beats down on Musul area in Laikipia County, members of the Musul Community Land Management Committee (CLMC) gather to deliberate on matters affecting their community. Leading today's discussions is James Ruso, the local chief, who is meeting with the committee to address pressing concerns.

One of the key topics on the agenda is the management of grazing land, as the region braces itself for the impending dry season. With pastures expected to dwindle, the committee must devise strategies to ensure sustainable utilisation of the available resources, safeguarding the livelihoods of the local pastoral communities.

What makes this meeting extraordinary is the presence of more than half of the representatives being women. Just a few years ago, their attendance would have been considered a taboo, and their active participation would have been deemed even more abnormal.

Read also: One plot at a time: Pastoralist women shaping the land ownership narrative

According to Chief Ruso, in the past, Maasai women were not allowed to attend or address men in such important meetings. "Women were totally not expected to be here, and if their presence was required at all, they would merely be there to make up the numbers," he explains.

However, today, things are different. Women not only have the right to speak but also to voice their concerns and participate in decision-making and voting processes.

"It's not just men who have the right to talk now; even women will voice their concerns, and they are part of the decision-making and voting," explains Elijah Ruso, who, at just 22 years old. He has defied age barriers to become the community's grazing/rangeland chair.

The shift in dynamics is palpable, as traditional gender roles are being challenged, and women are asserting their rightful place in shaping the community's future.

This change is thanks to the 2016 Community Land Act (CLA) enacted by the Kenyan Government. "After its implementation, it replaced the Land Group Ranch Registration Act and the Trust Land Act, where community members were registered as land owners," explains Justice James Olalo of the Nyeri Environment and Land Court.

It also comes with the Digital Land Governance Program. According to Husna Mbarak, Land Governance Program Manager of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), this secures the land tenure system, a legal framework that defines the appropriate mechanisms for allocating, transferring, using or managing property rights in relation to land matters.

"Also, other than looking into the potential of a particular landscape concerning the available resources, there is an aspect of land zoning, which plays a crucial role in determining how it is used, for instance, space for settlement or cultivation," she adds.

Legal rights

In October 2020, the Musul community received the title deed to their community land. Before this, like thousands of rural and indigenous communities in Kenya, the Maasai community of Musul lacked clear legal rights despite living on the same land for generations, putting them at high risk of exploitation.

Before this enactment, only men were allowed to be on the land registry, and the few at the top had a superior say, which was almost absolute. "And this had tremendous negative effects on our community where a few high-ranking men within the group would make decisions pertaining to land, which in most cases turned out to be selfish," explains the chairman.

It was even more disadvantageous for women, who were not just disallowed from owning land but even from having their names appear on the land registry.

According to the World Bank, in Kenya, women run more than 75 per cent of its farms, yet currently, women registered in the titling systems in the country stand at just two percent.

"This is a challenge in the agriculture society. It also becomes a challenge because when you want to fund the women, they do not hold land titles," explains David Mwangi, a consultant on land governance and rural development.

It is worse among the Maasai women. For years, the Maasai society has been characterised by gender disparities, with women often marginalised and denied equal rights, especially when it came to matters of property and land ownership.

"In the Maasai community, land is controlled by men, while women are the caretakers of homesteads," explains Lekeita Komoiyan an elder from Loita, Narok County.

Read also: Owning land has offered me a taste of good life

But things are different with this law. For instance, Chief Ruso explains that with the transition, the community is allowed to have CLMC members, and according to the law, there must be gender parity, with women occupying more than five out of the 15 available seats.

As a result, more than half of the elected members of Musul's CLMC are women, including the committee treasurer.

"Initially, there was not a single woman in the land registry, but right now, women are fully involved in decision-making. Our Musul community land has almost 700 members, and women make up the largest percentage with 400," adds Jackson Nkaiduri, the community manager.

But it's not just about representation; women actually do own land here. "From the over 2,500 acres of land owned by the Musul community, everyone above 18 years is entitled to get a parcel. This includes the elderly, the youth, persons with disabilities, and specifically women," adds Nkaiduri.

Miriam Kenge, 25, is one of them. Apart from being a community member, she also owns a piece of land. "Before then, this would have been impossible, especially for an unmarried woman like myself," she explains.

This has had a huge economic impact for some women landowners. "Some have formed women's groups and set up cultural manyattas, which help them generate income through eco-tourism, and they use the money they get to pay school fees for their children," explains Chief Ruso.

Christine Larpei, also a community member and landowner thanks to this law, has already put her portion to work.

"I am currently practicing vegetable farming and also keeping some livestock, and this has become my source of income."

With this, she is certain that the land she owns is a ticket to a better life for her children because she can now send them to school without much worry.

Some women from the area have also cultivated grazing grass, thus during the dry season, the cattle will have plenty to eat.

"This will minimise contact during the drought, thus reducing conflicts among communities," explains Nkaiduri.

Even for the divorced Maasai women who were ostracised with nothing, the law came with massive relief. Like in many Maasai communities across Kenya, women in this Musul community were destined to live a life of poverty and cultural oppression, dependent on a husband.

"A Maasai woman was never allowed to divorce, except in the most egregious cases of physical abuse, and even if it came to that, the impact would be devastating on the woman. If there was a separation or divorce, women would lose their rights to the land, as cultural attitudes viewed women as their husband's property," explains Lekeita.

But with the transition, Chief Ruso says, even the divorced women now have the right to come back to their birthplace, apply for their names to be on the registry, and claim land.

Justice Olalo says this has also been a boost to conflict resolution. "Under the Community Act, conflicts within the community are to be solved through the alternative conflict resolution system."

"As a community, they use their cultural methods to talk about any challenges faced, and this has been very effective," he adds.

"This means that it has again made it safer for women and children, who have always carried the biggest brunt during conflicts arising from grazing land among the Maasai," explains Chief Ruso.

In a nutshell, experts agree that the land ownership transition has allowed for equal chances for both men and women to inherit and own family land, increased ability to undertake land projects, and the freedom to own their own livestock.

But other than just land ownership, this not only signifies progress but also represents the breaking down of traditional barriers that have excluded women from leadership roles.

"In our community, women in the Maasai community were considered just homemakers, and in some worst scenarios, they were seen as children; property to their husbands," says Lekeita.

But with this transition, what is certain is that some of the most patriarchal perceptions about women in this community are slowly being neutralised and becoming obsolete, and what is even more amazing, some of the most powerful men within the area are at the forefront of this.

Chief Ruso calls it a cultural revolution. According to him, the adoption of the Community Land Act in Musul has brought massive changes since women can now be heard and get leadership roles, particularly in the CMLC.

"Right from the beginning, we've seen men – even the elderly, whom you would think are still deeply influenced by Maasai traditions - coming out strongly to defend women's voices in our community, which is a big change."

This, he says, has led to inclusivity, especially in decision-making, and already the impact is being felt as the women of Musul take the lead, especially when it comes to land use. For the two women, Miriam and Christine, they hope that by setting an example through their own empowerment, they can inspire others in other communities across Kenya.

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