Gender Inequality and Women’s Access to Land Ownership in Benue State

Land ownership is a critical determinant of economic security, social status, and political agency in agrarian communities across North Central Nigeria. Despite legislative provisions for gender equality, customary land tenure systems in Benue State continue to systematically restrict women's independent access to land. This study examines the sociocultural factors perpetuating gender inequality in land ownership among rural women in Benue State, focusing on three dominant ethnic communities: the Tiv, Idoma, and Igede. A qualitative design combining focus group discussions with thirty-six women and semi-structured interviews with twelve community elders and local government land tenure officers was employed. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings reveal that customary law in all three communities vests primary land rights in male lineage heads, with women accessing land exclusively through fathers, husbands, or adult sons. Widowed and divorced women were most vulnerable, frequently losing cultivable land upon spousal death or marital dissolution. Participants identified fear of social sanctions, lack of awareness of statutory rights, and absence of female representation in community land councils as primary barriers to asserting legal entitlements. Only 11% of women in surveyed communities reported independent land ownership, predominantly in urban Makurdi. The study recommends targeted legal literacy campaigns for rural women, inclusion of women in land administration committees, and formal integration of gender equity provisions into state-level customary law reform. Keywords: gender inequality, land ownership, customary law, Benue State, women's rights.