Mediebou Chindji

Mediebou Chindji is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Yaoundé I. Her work is situated within social and development geography, with a specialization in land governance, environmental justice, and territorial dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa. She coordinates a professional Master's program in Urban Planning, Spatial Planning, and Urban Development. Her research focuses in particular on gender inequalities in access to land and on socio-environmental transformations. It contributes to the analysis of contemporary challenges related to the sustainable management of territories in the Global South.

The project

Title: Women, Land, and Territorial Transformations: Local Governance and Environmental Justice in Cameroon and Southwest France

"Secure access to land for women is recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (2012) as a major driver of food security, climate resilience, and social justice. Yet, in many Central African countries, pluralistic land tenure systems that combine customary rights, state legislation, and local practices continue to generate significant gender inequalities (Cotula, 2013; Meinzen-Dick et al., 2019). Cameroon provides a particularly illustrative example of these tensions: although women make substantial contributions to agricultural production and social reproduction, they remain largely marginalized within formal mechanisms for the recognition of land rights (Tchawa, Mediebou & Tchekote, 2024). In France, the issue of land equality is embedded within a specific institutional framework that differs from that of Cameroon, yet faces comparable challenges. The region of Occitanie offers a particularly relevant case for comparison with Cameroon due to the coexistence of a highly regulated institutional framework and emerging forms of agricultural commons, which provide promising opportunities for action, particularly for women.This research project proposes a comparative study of Cameroon and Occitanie, focusing on the institutional arrangements that facilitate or hinder women’s access to land and their participation in territorial governance. It aligns with the research priorities of PRODIG, particularly the themes of productive processes and territorial dynamics and environmental change and societal challenges. It also extends previous research on gender, land governance, and local development in Central Africa (Mediebou, 2022–2025). Drawing on the analytical frameworks of social geography, feminist political ecology, and commons theory, this project seeks to demonstrate how women, despite operating within contrasting institutional settings, develop practices of resistance, negotiation, and innovation that contribute to the reconfiguration of rural territories."

Hosting institution: PRODIG – Pôle de recherche pour l’organisation et la diffusion de l’information géographique – Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne

Selective Bibliography

• Mediebou., C ., Rudith King, (2025) special issue on the “Women and land policy” Vol.8 – Issue 1: Special Issue – January 2025 African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, AJLP & GS / e-ISSN: 2657-2664.
• Tchawa P., Mediebou C., Tchekote H., (2024). Les dynamiques de la gouvernance foncière en Afrique centrale au 21ème siècle, éditions premières lignes collection milieux naturel et environnement. 439p.
• Mediebou C., Tchawa P., Nguiffo S. (2023). Femmes rurales et accès à la terre en Afrique Subsaharienne, revue territoire Sud « 3 » n6, juin 2023. ISSN : 2709-4359 (online ISSN : 2709-4340 (Print), 140 p.
• Tchawa P., Moupou M., Mediebou C. (2022). De la croissance urbaine à l’aménagement du territoire : Mélanges en l’honneur du professeur Benoît MOUGUÉ, Editions de Midi. Yaoundé 803 p.
• Mediebou.C-K., 2012, Université, formation et développement du Nord-Cameroun : Essaie d’analyser géographique de la contribution des diplômés en sciences et techniques de l’Université de Ngaoundéré. Editions universitaires européennes, Allemagne, 401 p.