Towards gender-equitable land policy and lawmaking in the Mekong Region

Truly gender equitable land policies and laws require equal say for all in shaping the legislation that will affect their rights and access to land. Numerical parity among men and women has long been considered the standard for gender equality in consultations around policy and legal drafting. Not only is this rarely achieved in practice, but it is also clearly not sufficient. A paradigm shift is needed towards inclusive consultative spaces that incorporate the whole spectrum of gendered views and knowledge while challenging and breaking down structural inequality.

This study explores the extent and effectiveness of gender-equitable consultation mechanisms to ensure the inclusion of the views and experiences of diverse groups of women in processes of developing laws and policies on land, resource governance and agriculture in Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Viet Nam.