Traditional Leadership and Use of Cultural Laws in Land Administration: Implications for Women's Land Rights in a Transforming South Africa

In South Africa, the land in communal areas is held by the state and administered by traditional leaders who have historically discriminated against women, the book employs a case study method to show case how cultural laws are exercised when women apply for a piece of land at the three levels of traditional authority viz: village, sub-village and traditional council levels. Although women are often the de facto rights holders in rural areas as a result of male migration to urban areas, the author argues that it is difficult and/or sometimes impossible to translate ?paper? laws which are meant to mitigate the difficulty faced by women in gaining access to land into practice while cultural laws are still operating.