Women’s Land Rights, Post-Disaster Reconstruction, and Climate Displacement in Coastal Regions

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2026 | pp. 141–154

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001325

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Women’s Land Rights, Post-Disaster Reconstruction, and Climate Displacement in Coastal Regions

Names of Author: Aminata Sylla¹, Mateo Vargas², & Freja Lindholm³

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Geography, Gaston Berger University, Saint-Louis, Senegal; ²Institute of Environmental Studies, National University of Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia; ³Department of Human Geography, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Abstract:
Accelerated coastal erosion, storm surges, and sea-level rise are forcing entire fishing and agricultural communities across the Global South to relocate inland. When state-led post-disaster reconstruction programs distribute replacement housing and land titles exclusively to registered male household heads, divorced, widowed, and unmarried women are routinely excluded from tenure security. Loss of coastal livelihoods coupled with discriminatory resettlement policies exposes displaced women to heightened economic precarity and gender-based violence in temporary shelters. This paper investigates the gendered politics of climate-induced relocation in Saint-Louis, Senegal, and coastal Colombia. Anchored in feminist political ecology and disaster justice frameworks, the study combines spatial mapping with 50 interviews involving displaced women and municipal planners. We argue that equitable climate adaptation requires joint spousal titling, female leadership on resettlement committees, and protection of women’s coastal processing zones.

Keywords: Climate displacement, women’s land rights, disaster reconstruction, coastal erosion, feminist political ecology, tenure security, Senegal, Colombia

Manuscript Timeline: Received: August 26, 2026; Revised: September 26, 2026; Accepted: September 30, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026.

Citation: Sylla, A., Vargas, M., & Lindholm, F. (2026). Women’s Land Rights, Post-Disaster Reconstruction, and Climate Displacement in Coastal Regions. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(10), 141–154. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001325

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