My name is Janet Lapat, a grassroots woman leader from Pader District in Northern Uganda. Today, I proudly use my voice and personal experience to encourage other women to understand, claim and defend their land and property rights.
Before joining the Stand For Her Land Campaign, I had limited knowledge about women’s land rights. Although I had experienced the challenges many women face when it comes to owning and controlling land, I lacked the confidence to speak about my story. I often wondered whether my experience mattered or whether anyone would listen.
My journey with land rights is personal. I was married for many years and together with my husband, we worked hard to build our lives. We bought four plots of land and started a poultry farm. I contributed my own money and worked hard alongside my husband but I remained only as a witness when decisions about our property were being made.
When our marriage ended, I left with nothing. As a Christian I thought that maybe that was my fate and God’s plan. I went back to my father’s house and started life afresh.
Everything changed when I attended the Grassroots Women Leaders Academy in Lira in 2023. The academy opened my eyes and gave me the confidence to believe that I could start again.
“At the academy, I learned that I can start over with knowledge that women have rights to access, use, control and own land. I learned that a husband and wife can jointly buy and own land together. I also learned that as a woman, I can buy and own land and property because the Constitution grants us those rights,” I say.
Through the academy and continuous learning opportunities, I gained the courage to take action. I purchased my own piece of land, secured a land agreement in my name and have since applied for a formal land title.
I now use my story to educate and inspire other women and men in my community about women’s land and property rights. Sharing my experience has helped me build trust with community members and engage women, local leaders and cultural leaders in conversations about land rights.
I am a key resource person on land matters in my community and I am always called to mediate conflicts and speak to people during gatherings, opportunities I usually use to speak about women’s land rights.
For me, the Stand For Her Land Campaign did not only give me knowledge, it gave me confidence, a voice and the courage to become an advocate for other women.
