Customary Land Tenure Reform and Women’s Property Rights: Evaluating Implementation Gaps in Post-Conflict Liberia

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 5, May 2026 | pp. 25–32

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/000104

Research Article

Title: Customary Land Tenure Reform and Women’s Property Rights: Evaluating Implementation Gaps in Post-Conflict Liberia

Names of Authors: Musu Thompson¹, Ngozi Ekwueme²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Liberian Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Monrovia, Liberia; ²Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract: The Land Rights Act of Liberia represented a monumental legislative step toward dismantling customary exclusions that historically barred women from owning land. This paper critically evaluates the practical implementation and community-level enforcement of these statutory provisions across rural counties in post-conflict Liberia. Employing an ethnographic case-study approach, the research engaged n = 150 community land development committees, traditional elders, and women's advocacy coalitions through structured interviews and legal audits. Data analysis exposed a profound divergence between statutory law and living customary practices: while national law guarantees equal tenure, 86% of local customary tribunals continue to apply patriarchal lineage rules that restrict women to derivative land usufruct rights only. Economic loss calculations indicate that female farmers suffering insecure tenure operate at a productivity deficit of 34.6 ± 5.2% relative to land-titled holders (t = 5.92, p < 0.001). The study concludes that legal reforms remain symbolic without robust grassroots legal literacy campaigns and formal harmonization between statutory courts and traditional governance structures.

Keywords: Land tenure, property rights, customary law, legal reform, post-conflict, Liberia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: 10 January 2026; Revised: 15 April 2026; Accepted: 28 April 2026; Published: 01 May 2026

Citation: Thompson, M., & Ekwueme, N. (2026). Customary Land Tenure Reform and Women’s Property Rights: Evaluating Implementation Gaps in Post-Conflict Liberia. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(5), 25–32.

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