Gender and Asset Ownership in the Old and New Lands of Egypt
基于调查和访谈，研究了埃及新旧土地上男女在土地、房屋、牲畜、家禽和黄金等资产所有权上的模式、机会和限制，发现男女对资产价值的看法存在差异，并强调了提高意识倡议对实现性别平等的重要性。
The Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest level of women’s land ownership in the world, yet little research has explored the barriers and opportunities women face in land ownership in the region. This paper identifies patterns, opportunities, and constraints of ownership of land and other assets (houses, livestock, poultry, and gold) by women and men in the Old and New Lands of Egypt. Based on a survey complemented with qualitative interviews, the study finds that both women and men viewed land and houses as the most economically and socially important assets, but they differed in what assets they considered to be valuable for women. The findings highlight the importance of implementing policies that optimize women’s property ownership, even if they own non-land assets. The study concludes that while legal and economic interventions aid in accomplishing gender-equity goals, consciousness-raising initiatives are as crucial as pro-women policy reforms.HIGHLIGHTS Women are disadvantaged in land ownership in the New and Old Lands in Egypt, though not to the extent the literature has assumed for the MENA region.Patterns of asset ownership and control are similar to other regions: men own and control more land and housing; women own and sometimes control (liquefiable) livestock and goldMen underestimate women’s preferences for owning immovable property (land and housing) even in the New Lands, where 20 percent of land titles are distributed to women.Women who acquire land remained hesitant or unwilling to enable their daughters to inherit land at par with their sons.While pro-women policy reforms should be implemented, consciousness-raising initiatives are equally crucial.