Rural Women as Catalysts for Sustainable Peace over Land in Haiti

Asha Kurien, Christian Aid (United Kingdom)

In Haiti, land is both a vital livelihood resource and a central driver of conflict, particularly in rural areas where land tenure systems are fragmented, informal and weakly regulated. Long‑standing governance failures, compounded by socio‑political instability, environmental stress and gender inequality, have systematically excluded rural women from land ownership and natural resources management. This short talk explores how the Christian Aid and partners' project ‘Fanm lidè k ap lite pou gen aksè ak latè ak lapè’: Rural women, catalysts for sustainable peace around the land issue in Haiti’, addresses these structural drivers of conflict by placing rural women and youth at the centre of peacebuilding and land governance.

From a peacebuilding perspective, land is not only an economic asset, but land access is a core governance and human rights issue. Weak and exclusionary land governance sustains local grievances, undermines trust in institutions and fuels recurring conflict, particularly in the North‑East and Southern regions of Haiti.

This presentation will reflect on women’s leadership, collective agency and participation in natural resource management and conflict resolution. Empowering rural women as rights‑holders and decision‑makers is not peripheral, but essential to sustainable peace in Haiti— equitable land governance can become a powerful foundation for social cohesion, accountability and long‑term conflict prevention.