Land tenure refers to a set of rights which a person or organization holds in land.
Security of tenure is not limited to private ownership but can exist in a variety of forms such as leases on public land or user rights to communal property. If tenure is secure, the holder can reasonably expect to use the land to its best advantage in accordance with the right, reap a timely and fair return and be able to enforce the right against non-holders. In order for women farmers, who are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of the food production in developing countries, to use land more efficiently and thereby make a greater contribution to food security, they need access to land, management control of land-based resources and economic incentives that security of tenure provides. Historically women's access to land was based on status within the family and involved right of use, not ownership. In Asia, the most prevalent barrier to acquiring real property is inheritance laws that favour male inheritance over female.