LHR lawyer Louise du Plessis speaks about how land reform policies are failing women and the poor in South Africa.
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The government - both national and local - is failing the poor when it comes to land reform and housing in the country, especially women are feeling the brunt of this.
This is according to Lawyers for Human Rights head of Land Housing and Property Programme, lawyer Louise du Plessis.
Small in stature but fierce and fearless when it comes to the rights of the marginalised, Du Plessis focuses on housing, property rights, and protecting communities from forced evictions. She frequently engages in high-level advocacy against illegal evictions.
Du Plessis says at this stage, land reform, which also has an impact on women’s rights, is not doing very well. "My personal view is that the political will is not there to really continue with land reform, and we see it on a daily basis, where big land claims are not resolved."
In her view, even the Expropriation Act, which makes provision for the expropriation of land in certain circumstances, is not really being used. "It is actually a wonderful tool for the government in justifiable cases to expropriate land to make sure there is distribution of land."
In urban areas, it is not going much better, Du Plessis says. One of the biggest problems is the fact that local governments don’t comply with the law. They would rather turn to court than attempt to engage on these issues, she says.
"In many cases in which we, as well as non-profit organisations, are involved, we ask time and again to discuss issues. The local government is not interested in engagement, so on that front, it is not going very well."
According to Du Plessis, the problem is becoming even bigger when it comes to urban matters. One of the issues is the apartheid legacy of spatial justice that is not properly addressed by local governments in their planning process. She says this is something she and her team will pursue.
Other challenges faced in urban areas are the migration of people into the bigger cities, forcing impoverished people to move into informal settlements and invade land, where they cannot afford to pay backyard rent.
"I also feel that, following recent litigation, the courts are not really applying the current judicial prudence that was created through many litigations. It is almost as if we are moving back when we talk about big evictions. We see it in court cases time and time again.
"It is as if people are tired of people who are homeless and who are, out of desperation, moving onto vacant land. This is also something we will have to take up to try to pull back to those wonderful legal precedents that were created in the Constitutional Court and Appeal Court over the years."
Meanwhile, on the back of International Women’s Day, the LHR honoured all women who continue to advance justice and push for gender equality. It, in particular, recognised the work of Du Plessis and her team in strengthening women’s property rights through the land and housing programmes.
This is particularly in the context of where discriminatory family and patriarchal practices, insecure tenure, and administrative barriers often result in women losing their homes.
Through legal advice, representation, and strategic litigation, the programme assists women facing eviction, exclusion from family homes after the death of a spouse or partner, and disputes over inheritance and property ownership.
In many cases, these disputes involve township properties and rural areas, where formal ownership and occupational rights are contested.
Through litigation, mediation, and legal guidance, the programme works to ensure that women are not unlawfully dispossessed and that their rights to remain in and benefit from family homes are protected.
The team also supports women living in informal settlements, who face constant threats of eviction and lack secure tenure. In these communities, the programme runs advice clinic outreach, works with community-based organisations, and provides legal support to women seeking recognition of their housing rights.
In addition to casework, the programme engages municipalities, government departments, and traditional authorities on policies and practices that affect women’s access to land and housing.
One of the teams’ biggest victories was the landmark Constitutional Court case of Mary Rahube, in which the LHR challenged provisions of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act that had the effect of excluding many women from property ownership.
The judgment recognised that the law had entrenched gender inequalities in property ownership and affirmed the need for processes that allow women to assert their rights.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za