Esther Mwaura-Muiru is Landesa’s Global Advocacy Director, Stand for Her Land based in Nairobi, Kenya. Esther started working for Landesa in 2022.

What brought you to Landesa?

I have had a deep respect for the work of Landesa throughout my professional career. I was privileged to join Landesa in 2022 as part of the team leading the implementation of the Stand for Her Land Campaign. The Campaign is a global initiative to advocate for secure women’s land, property, and natural resource rights through closing the implementation gap between laws/policies and the realities of women on the ground, as well as working to remove other barriers related to social norms and behavior in the community. The Campaign sees women’s land rights as critical to the achievement of women’s economic justice, food security, and community resilience to disasters and the effects of climate change.

What are your core responsibilities?

My core responsibility at Landesa is global advocacy, mainly for the Stand for Her Land Campaign. Additionally, I provide technical support to the national Coalitions in Ethiopia, Senegal, and Uganda on grassroots women’s voice, agency, leadership, and movement-building.

How do you spend your time when you’re not working?

Away from work, I am very involved in voluntary activities in my neighborhood. I am working hard to also reconnect with my social networks of family and friends, something I had neglected while establishing and leading a national organization, where I served for 23 years before joining global institutions.

Describe your vision for a better world.

I am passionate about social justice and believe that the world will only be safe, secure, and able to provide for all when those living in poverty and on the margins of development—particularly women and girls—are at the center of desired solutions and actions. Achieving secure land, property, and natural resource rights for women and girls is a precondition to guaranteeing current and future generations a better world.