Women’s network advocates for equal rights to legal tenure in Bolivia
Seeking to improve equality in Bolivian property rights policies, the Women’s Leadership Network for Secure Tenure to Land, Housing and the City, situated in Cochabamba’s 9th District, presented a supplementary proposal to the country’s Plurinational Assembly.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (April 3, 2012) – On March 29, a group of 30 women from the Women’s Leadership Network for Secure Land, Housing and City Tenure, joined with nine key social leaders in presenting a gender-focused proposal that would supplement the Urban Property Owner Regularization Law.
The Women’s Leadership Network is a highly organized group of women from Cochabamba’s 9th District who have participated in the Secure Tenure Leadership School. Here, the women receive training in legal rights, citizenship, secure tenure, Bolivian law, political advocacy and awareness-raising. The school is just one outcome of a strategic partnership between organizations Habitat for Humanity Bolivia, Ciudadanía and Gregoria Apaza.
The supplementary proposal was presented by the Women’s Leadership Network at the Plurinational Assembly in La Paz, during a Social Policy Commission session. The Assembly meeting was presided by Bolivia’s House of Representatives Vice-President, the Social Policy Commission President, members of the Habitat and Housing Committee and other House representatives.
Representatives from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bolivia and the AMUPEI Women’s Network in La Paz were also present.
The proposal received an overwhelmingly positive response from the authorities present, and the Network leaders were congratulated for contributing to the legislative process with a proposal developed by the women themselves. The proposal will be included in the Assembly’s upcoming debates.
The women also presented the proposal to the Vice-Minister of Housing and Urbanization, Architect Bony Morales, who, together with his team, pledged to support it.
The Network is committed to continuing to advocate locally, regionally and nationally, as well as to raise awareness among other civil society organizations about the importance of supporting the proposal.
The activities were part of the project, “Improving Access to Urban Land and Property Rights for Women and Excluded Families in Bolivia,” financed by UKAID and implemented by Habitat for Humanity Bolivia along with strategic national partners Cuidadanía, Gregoria Apaza, the National Work Group for Participation, the Women’s Leadership Network for Secure Land, Housing and City Tenure and, most recently, the Swedish Cooperative Center in Bolivia.
The supplementary proposal is publicly available on La Red’s website at www.mujerysuelourbano.org.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International is a global Christian nongovernmental housing organization that brings together people of all races, nationalities and religions to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by building and improving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.
Habitat for Humanity first opened its doors in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 1979, and has since helped more than 100,000 low-income families to access adequate housing in the region.