{
  "id": 1260386,
  "title": "Women’s Month just ’empty platitudes’ if female property rights not prioritised, says IRR",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/womens-month-just-empty-platitudes-if-female-property-rights-not",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T11:43:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/womens-month-empty-platitudes-female-property-rights-irr/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has criticized the Department of Human Settlements for failing to prioritize the issuance of title deeds during Women's Month. The IRR argues that women have been disproportionately affected by the department's administrative issues, with female recipients of government housing benefits rising from under 50% in 2000 to 68% in 2023. Over one million title deeds, mostly dating back before 1994, remain undelivered, with Gauteng alone having 160,000 pending cases. IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Makone Maja stated that mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and aunts have waited decades for their title deeds and are now uncertain about their children's inheritances and financial security. The IRR demands tangible results from the government, stating that South Africans are tired of empty promises about women's empowerment. Research Coordinator and Economic Policy Analyst Anlu Keeve emphasized that a woman who owns her home has something legally hers, something she can protect, build on, and pass to her children. If the government is serious about improving women's position, it should ensure that their owned property is recognized and protected. The department plans to issue 17,016 title deeds and register at least 16,000 in the 2026-27 financial year, with approximately 19,447.40 hectares of state-owned land released for human settlements development.",
  "summary": "The Institute of Race Relations argue that women have been disproportionately affected by the government's title deed and housing backlog.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}