Gender and the Trajectories of Land Digitalisation in Kenya: Recounting Gains and Losses

Abstract

The digitalisation of land administration systems in Kenya has been widely promoted as a means of enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in land governance. Leveraging technologies such as satellite imagery, drones, geospatial databases, and computerised land registries, these initiatives often supported by institutions like the World Bank, aim to simplify land registration processes and reduce the logistical burdens of accessing title deeds, particularly for smallholder farmers. While the potential benefits of these reforms are considerable, emerging evidence suggests that digital land governance may also reproduce and deepen existing structural inequalities. This paper critically examines the gendered implications of land digitalisation in Kenya, arguing that such processes can unintentionally reinforce patriarchal norms and exclusionary land tenure practices. In many marginalised regions, digital systems have been found to privilege individuals with formal land claims—often men, while neglecting the customary and informal tenure rights that many women depend upon. Moreover, the default listing of male household heads as landowners within digital registries risks entrenching women’s historical disenfranchisement from land ownership and control. The paper contends that unless gender-sensitive safeguards are integrated into digital land reforms, such initiatives may exacerbate rather than alleviate land-related injustices.