A Woman's World

The entire history of land ownership in southeastern Madagascar is one of male inheritance. In death, a man’s land is divided among his sons, while his daughters are left to serve the land and property of a new man: her husband. If she outlives her husband, or if he divorces her—both common scenarios in this region—she is at the whim of her sons who inherit the land, or her parents who take her back.

This traditional legacy of land rights forces women to depend on the caprices of men. It is a system Fernande has devoted her life to fighting.

The 48-year-old knows firsthand the insecurity of being a dispossessed woman in Madagascar. When her father was still alive, he promised she would get a fair portion of the family plot. When he died, however, her brothers refused to share the inheritance. In her culture, the word of men is law, and a woman does not contradict it.

“Before, I did not have a place in society,” Fernande said. “If there is a meeting, I would not speak up. I knew that was not right, but I was afraid. I didn’t have the courage to fight for my right.”

When FIOVANA came to her community, she was asked to participate as a Mama Miova, or “Mother Changemaker,” a local woman who attends trainings and workshops on gender rights and shares what she has learned with the rest of her community. Themes include domestic abuse, family planning, early marriage, and economic violence, which encompasses the dispossession of women from their rightful inheritance.

“When I learned about human rights and gender equality, I started to express myself and to fight for my rights within the community,” Fernande said. “My life started to change after that.”

To dismantle the system of land dispossession, Fernande started at the very top.

“I went to the king of the village and asked him to allow the women in his family to inherent land. He said, ‘this is not the way our society is, a woman cannot inherit land.’”

Undeterred, she continued to advocate for the rights of women using the information she had learned from FIOVANA.

She explained the benefits to society when women have equal rights, and the limitations when they don’t. She made it clear that forcing a woman to return to her father’s land is not only a moral failure, but a practical failure as well, one that burdens society with the contrived limitations of a large demographic eager to develop themselves on their own property.

“I asked him to think about it,” she said. “In this era, we are changing, and women should also inherit land because this is our right. If we cannot inherit land, then women will be a burden on society.”

Shortly after, as if preordained to prove the point, a local woman was evicted from her home by an abusive husband and forced to return to her parents. The king had seen enough, and he made legal arrangements to share his land with his wife and daughters.

Armed with that unprecedented reform, Fernande secured her own portion of land from her brothers and set out to do the same for all the women in her community.

“Because I saw the change in my life, because I grew and developed, I want other women to experience that change in their own lives” she said.

“You must change yourself before you can change others.”

Andrine is one of the women who has seen the change in Fernande. She was eager to change, too.

“My husband, when he is drunk, he makes trouble for the family in the house,” Andrine said. “We have four daughters, one of whom married a man in the north. During a conflict, he chased her away, and she came back to live with us. The situation seemed hopeless: either she goes back to an abusive marriage or lives as a burden we cannot afford. I suffered, and I asked Fernande to talk to my husband. I knew he would not listen to me. I knew he would take my desires as an attempt to exploit him.”

With the authority of the local king, Fernande met with Andrine’s abusive husband and gave him the same speech she had given the king.