When Timorese women marry, whether in patrimonial or matrimonial communities, generally they do not have the right to own land. In order to encourage the Government to address gender equality in future legislation on land and property, a Gender Land Law working group met on 16 July to focus on women's rights to matrimonial property, including land acquired before, during, and after marriage.

"The majority of women in Timor-Leste enter marriage with few assets, and have few opportunities to acquire personal assets during their marriage," Secretary of State for the
Promotion of Equality, Idelta Maria told the gathering. "Developing a mechanism to strengthen land rights is critical to increasing women's rights within the family and in particular the rights of women when it comes to the division of assets because of death, separation, or divorce."
Strengthening women's rights to land is a key goal for increasing women's access to land and reducing rural
poverty, especially for vulnerable women and their families. The participants in the working group - Government
officials, and representatives of UN agencies and NGOs - are developing concrete recommendations on how a
regime on marital property can be adapted for Timor-Leste and how this regime is managed. One of the key
issues discussed was the joint holding of land titles between husbands and wives.