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New COHRE Publication
"In Search of Equality" (2007)
COHRE’s
Women and Housing Rights
Programme (WHRP) expanded its research of issues related to women’s
inheritance, housing and land rights to the Middle East/North African
region, examining Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco,
Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey. The focus of research was on the legal
situation of inheritance rights in these States, as well as women’s actual
experiences with respect to inheritance.
Research findings are presented in COHRE's newly released report, In
Search of Equality: A Survey of Law and Practice related to Women’s
Inheritance Rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.
The report includes contributions from sister organisations in eight MENA
States and reveals the complexity of the issues, identifies causes and
consequences of inheritance rights violations, and recommends key changes,
based on a human rights
framework.
The main finding of the report is that inheritance laws should be reformed
to embody full gender equality. Far more challenging will be the
eradication of the cultural roots of discriminatory customs, traditions and
notions. Education must also take high priority as most women are unaware
of their rights."
This report is available for download below.
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"In
Search of Equality" (2007)
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A survey of Law and
Practice related to Women's Inheritance Rights in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) Region.
 download pdf [en]
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The Denial of Women's
Inheritance Rights in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa
and its impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS etc.
 download doc [en]
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Human Rights Framework
Human
rights
provide a tool to combat the practices and laws that serve to subordinate
women. A human rights
framework of action provides both a legal basis for change as well as a
people-driven approach for transformation. Human rights,
to be truly effective, must be strongly advocated for, strategically
applied to law and policies, and purposefully implemented on the ground. It
is especially vital for women, a human rights
analysis reveals concerns of women themselves, going beyond mere lack of
economic or income indicators, and allowing for the inclusion of the
phenomena of powerlessness, subordination and social exclusion.
A human rights
approach to inheritance provides not only a legal basis for policies and
laws which grant women such rights, it also insists that women hold more
equal place in the family, that they be given more decision-making power
and that they be given equal standing. Their place within families and
communities must be recognized, as equal and without discrimination.
Women’s housing rights
are enshrined the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights,
the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and
recently, the UN Commission on Human Rights,
in its resolution 2003/22 entitled “Women’s equal ownership of, access to
and control over land and the equal rights to own property and to adequate
housing,” affirmed that discrimination against women with
respect to having access to, acquiring and securing land, property and
housing, constitutes a violation of women’s human rights
to protection against discrimination. The resolution confirmed a woman’s
right to inheritance.
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Inheritance Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa
The
countries of Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia,
Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa were chosen as the subjects of a
review of constitutions and national laws related to inheritance and
property as well of customary law and traditions that may impact
inheritance. The report, titled "Bringing Equality Home" can be
downloaded in full from the COHRE Library, Country Reports.
The Project has examined inheritance rights and its effects in the
sub-Saharan context. Subject to plural systems of civil and customary law,
entrenched patriarchal customs and traditions, and discriminatory societal
relationships, women in sub-Saharan Africa are especially vulnerable to
violations of their right to inheritance.
The first phase of the project was a research and consultation phase,
seeking to uncover and examine the issue of inheritance through human
rights, and more concretely a housing rights,
framework. A fact-finding mission in August 2003 brought COHRE to South
Africa, Zambia and Rwanda, to more fully understand the issues around
inheritance as they play out on the ground. A Workshop/Training in January
of 2004, brought 27 activists from throughout Sub-Saharan Africa working on
inheritance and women’s rights to one table to discuss the issues and
obstacles around inheritance, both legally and practically, and to examine
the strategies to address those issues. The workshop stressed a human
rights perspective and will seek to formulate potential
recommendations for improving the inheritance rights of women in the
region.
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"A
Place To Live: Women's Inheritance Rights in Africa" (2005)
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This short book comes
from the longer COHRE report (Bringing Equality Home). It is an easy to
read version for ordinary folk so that they can find out about what COHRE
and others think should happen to make things better for women.
download pdf [en]
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Phase II of the Inheritance Rights Project
Phase
II is designed to continue the momentum of the currently underway
sub-Saharan Africa Inheritance Rights Project. This project will take the
issue further and research additional countries, focused on the Middle East
and North Africa, and a variety of contexts, such as Islam generally;
personal law, or the Moudawana; strict patriarchal regimes; poverty and
economic disempowerment; and traditions and customs.
The Middle East and North Africa Phase of the Project aims to look at ten
countries, focusing on three for fact-finding missions, to investigate the
issue of inheritance and its effects on women at a ground level. The countries
chosen are Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran, Egypt,
Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Phase II will be carried out in a similar
fashion to Phase I in Sub-Saharan Africa, namely through research,
networking, fact finding missions and a training/workshop.
The Project will culminate with a Conference, or Summit, of representatives
from each region, to come together to discuss common themes and strategies
on inheritance, housing and land rights, to form a more global effort
towards combating discriminatory inheritance rights law and practices, as
well as bring important attention to the issue.
Through this Project, it is hoped that the issue of inheritance may be
regarded from a new perspective, and improved within a context of existing
international legal obligations and standards. Investigating inheritance
laws and practices though a human rights
perspective will provide a framework for innovative and sustainable
solutions. Key is ongoing and innovative advocacy on the issue, both
sensitizing the public on the intricacies of the issue and a need for
change in practice, and working with governments and officials to achieve
such a change in law and policy, both within the at issue ME/NA region and
the sub-Saharan Africa region
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