The institutions that govern land rights in African countries determine citizens’ economic and political rights. They establish who benefits from the fruits of their labor on agricultural land, who has incentives to invest in entrepreneurial projects, and who has the right to residency and inclusion in a community. Scholars have long described cases in which women—and men—face weakened property rights as a result of local land institutions. Yet, both across and within communities, there is wide variation in the actual practices of gendered land rights.

This paper examines when and why gendered land institutions diverge from their historical social institutions in two Southern African countries: Malawi and Zambia. Governments in both countries, prompted by domestic and international civil society, have implemented laws that promise equal land rights to men and women. They have, thus, attempted to change gendered land institutions within their countries. In some cases, actual practice matches the de jure law, while in other cases, historically rooted institutional rules at odds with the law prevail. We examine the gap between the institutional rules and actual practices for two types of property rights: the powers to inherit and to manage land. We show how the variation in the state’s reach influences the likelihood of institutional change. This research addresses broader questions of heterogeneity and change within the social institutions that structure individual behavior, as well as the role that law and practice play in securing property rights for women in Africa.