Stronger Together: Defending Rural Women’s Land Rights in Anosy Avaratra

In rural communities of the Anosy Avaratra, located in the Antananarivo Avaradrano within the Analamanga Region of Madagascar, many women have occupied and cultivated their land for more than 50 years, often across generations. These lands are essential to their livelihoods, food security, and survival. Yet, due to limited knowledge of land rights, complex land documentation processes, and lack of access to legal support, women remain highly vulnerable to land grabbing.

Land grabbing has become increasingly common in rural communities. Land scammers and corrupt leaders exploit undocumented land and weak enforcement systems. As a result, women who have lived and farmed on their land for decades face intimidation and dispossession, risking the loss of land that has sustained their families for generations.

Community members unite in peaceful protest to protect decades-old land from being taken.

In May 2025, Mamisoa, a storyteller herself has reported in her blog the protest that was previously organized to defend women’s land in the rural communities of Anosy Avaratra. However, due to limited resources, they could not carry the action far, and the threat of land grabbing continued. This experience highlighted the urgent need for a more sustained, well-supported approach. Through this initiative, we are able to show up fully, provide legal and media support, train women in land rights, agriculture, and élevage, and protect peasant women’s decades-old land from land grabbers and corrupt leaders.

This initiative responds to this urgent challenge by combining legal support, media documentation, women’s land rights training, and practical land protection through agriculture.

This is a collaborative initiative between World Pulse members from Madagascar, developed and implemented intentionally together. The initiative is led in collaboration with Harena, a World Pulse new member and environmental defender committed to protecting land, ecosystems, and community rights. After having conversation both about this issue, Harena and Mamisoa agreed to collaborate together. Mamisoa run the Mamynysoa Association, a local association focused on community development and grassroots empowerment.

Both collaborators have consented to participate and bring complementary skills:

1. Harena contributes environmental defense expertise, land stewardship, and community engagement
2. MamynySoa Associatioin focus on women’s rights advocacy, coordination, training, and documentation

Part of the land that sustains generations of peasant women, now under threat from land grabbers.

Activities and Approach; Through this initiative, we will:

1. Provide legal assistance
2. We will engage a lawyer to train women on land rights, land tenure systems, and documentation processes, and to support cases of land grabbing through legal guidance and mediation.
3. Engage a journalist for visibility and accountability: A journalist will document women’s stories, cases of land grabbing, and community actions, increasing public awareness and amplifying under-heard rural women’s voices.
4. Train women on land rights and protection strategies: Women will receive practical training on understanding their land rights, documenting land occupation, and taking collective action to protect their land.
5. Train women in agriculture,livestock management and crop cultivation,
6. Providing seeds for land protection and food security: the initiative will provide food crop seeds and seedlings such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and beans (depending on the needs of peasant women, including what crops they want to plant or are skilled at planting) to support active cultivation. Visible and continuous land use helps deter land grabbers, strengthens legal claims, and improves household food security.

Use of Funds (Collaborative):The gift will be used collaboratively to support both World Pulse members’ efforts toward this shared cause. Funds will be allocated jointly to:

1. Legal fees and land rights training support
2. Journalist documentation and storytelling
3. Purchase of seeds and seedlings
4. Agriculture & élevage training
5. Communication and documentation costs for regular Initiative Updates

All decisions regarding the use of funds will be made collaboratively, with transparency and shared accountability.

Documentation and Updates: We have chosen to document and update the same initiative collaboratively. Both collaborators will contribute regular Initiative Updates, approximately monthly. Updates will track activities, challenges, learning, and impact throughout the year.

Intended Impact. This initiative aims to:

1. Protect women’s land rights and livelihoods
2. Reduce land grabbing through legal awareness and public visibility
3. Strengthen women’s leadership and collective action
4. Promote sustainable and environmentally responsible land use

While our initiative is peaceful and community-based, we recognize the potential risk of intimidation or arrest due to the sensitive nature of land disputes. To prepare, we will take the following measures:

1. Legal support on standby, our engaged lawyer will be available to provide immediate guidance and assistance if any community member faces legal issues.
2. Documentation and communication, all actions will be documented, and local authorities, community leaders will be informed of our activities in advance.
3. Peer support and reporting, we will ensure that at least two members are present during any public actions, and any incidents will be reported promptly to the community network for advocacy and protection.
4. Nonviolent approach, all protests, gatherings, and actions will be conducted peacefully to minimize legal risks.

These measures ensure the safety of all participants and both of us while maintaining the integrity and visibility of the initiative.

By combining law, journalism, agriculture, and environmental defense, this initiative reflects the true spirit of Stronger Together, women working together to protect land that has sustained their communities for generations.