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Subject: [WUNRN] Gaza-Palestine - Challenges to Defend Women's
Inheritance Rights
WUNRN
Gaza-Palestine – Challenges to Defend Women’s Inheritance Rights
A Palestinian woman holds an umbrella to cover herself from rain as she makes her way to fill containers with water in the Shajaiya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, Oct. 19, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
http://www.wac.org.ps/en/viewer/archive/815/post
Gaza - Minister of Justice
Confirms Necessity to Reconsider the Legal & Judicial Systems on Women’s
Inheritance rights.
1 April
2015 – Gaza Minister of Justice, Chancellor, Saleem AlSaqqa confirmed necessity
to reconsider the legal and judicial system of women’s inheritance right to
facilitate women’s access to their shares in inheritance as it considered as a
fixed right in law.
Today during Women’s Affairs Center celebration, Mr. Chancellor Alsaqqa said
that “Women’s inheritance right is a sacred right guaranteed by the legitimate
laws and ordinances while unfortunately reality says otherwise so everyone
should stick to their rights and the community should work on enabling rights
and ensure their validity through the dissemination of community culture, so
that women can have access to their inheritance’s rights.”
And he added: “Lots of women were forced to relinquish their inheritance right
before getting married and few of them get it while few other didn’t get it
full due to their weak awareness in such issues as he mentioned that long-term
judicial procedures push women to relinquish their rights.”
As he declared: “We are in dire need of a legislative revolution to change
these judicial procedures to support women’s inheritance right so for all
stakeholders, you have to streamline the judicial process because when women
get their rights that would enable them economically and socially so there
should be a political and community will to change these procedures.”
For the fourth year, this celebration organized by WAC is to confirm necessity
of women’s inheritance right and to ensure that it is a sacred and a
fundamental right guaranteed by the legitimate laws and ordinances and that was
within the framework of “Women’s inheritance right Project 2 - Promote
Palestinian women's social and economic rights through the promotion of access
to inheritance” funded by the European Union through Dan Church
Aid Foundation (DCA) in partnership with the YMCA and Women Center
for legal Aid and Counselling in the West Bank, in the presence of a few
hundred representatives of civil society organizations and activists in defence
of women's issues and that was in AlMathaf Hotel in Gaza.
Mrs. Amal Syam, WAC Director, said that “Our celebration today coincides with
difficult political, social, and economic conditions, because of the continuing
Israeli occupation and repeatedly aggressions on the Palestinian people in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as the continuation of the siege, and the
failure to achieve national reconciliation, which impedes progress towards the
empowerment of women access to justice and equality especially their access to
inheritance”
And she added: “ Women are exposed to a clear deprivation
from inheritance right due to lack of public awareness on this
issue, and as a result of the inadequacy of the procedures that will ensure the
attainment of women of inheritance right without violating and procrastination,
and we must not forget the customs and traditions role in depriving women from
that right."
As she hoped that this celebration would be an annual tradition to emphasize
the importance of taking action and legal steps that guarantee the women’s
access right to access to inheritance and that reflects the commitment of all
human rights organizations in this field and she stressed the importance of
establishing a center specialized in inheritance issues to achieve equal access
to Inheritance rights through the equal distribution of the inheritance for all
heirs.
A press release issued by the center and partner institutions in the project
emphasized the importance of taking all measures and legal steps to ensure
women's access right to inheritance and that reflects the commitment of all
human rights organizations on this field and the importance of establishing a
center specialized in inheritance issues , carrying upon themselves to achieve
equality in access to Inheritance rights for all citizens, through equal
distribution of inheritance shares of all heirs .
Project’s
Achievements
During the celebration, there was a review of the most important achievements
of the project within the last two years and they are: Implementation of 291
awareness workshops on "women's inheritance right” where there were 7076
beneficiaries and 3309 young female women and men.
As well as, WAC has offered legal consultations for 316 men and women by the
project’s lawyers whether by awareness workshops, a telephone contact or via
the project social website on Facebook or by visiting WAC and ask for direct
legal consultation.
In addition, WAC has implemented 11 awareness workshops on "women's
inheritance right” to 286 teachers and many other awareness workshops on gender
sensitivity about "women's inheritance right" targeted civil society
leaders and organized an open meeting entitled "The role of NGOs in
advocating for women's inheritance right.”
And carrying out a training course on gender sensitivity for 160 mokhtars and
another training on "Administrating local campaigns to promote women's
inheritance right " in presence of 30 of feminist CBOs, in addition to a
training on " Women legitimate and legal right taking in consideration her
inheritance rights " to lawyers.
Gaza – Male Family Members May Deny Gaza
Women Their Inheritances
By Mohammed Othman - August 3, 2015
KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip — Many Palestinian
women are being deprived of their inheritances in the Gaza Strip, and the
problem is widespread and growing, especially among families who own
land.
Amina Hassan (a pseudonym) and her three
sisters say they became the victims of their brother, who seized most of their
real estate inheritance.
Amina, who lives in the city of Khan
Yunis in southern Gaza, told Al-Monitor she and her sisters have been
suffering from social and financial problems ever since their brother
stole their inheritance in 2007 and they initiated legal procedures to
claim it in 2008. She said, “Until this date and for seven years, we have not
yet obtained our inheritance rights. Litigation procedures are taking several
years and seem to require even more time.”
According to Amina, many men proposed to
her, but her brother refuses to allow her to marry to ensure the remaining
part of the inheritance remains among family members.
Lawyer Islah Hassania told Al-Monitor,
“Although the inheritance is the right of any person, whether a woman or a man,
many families in many areas in the Gaza Strip deprive their daughters of their
inheritance. … I noted that [many] families depriving girls of their
inheritance are landowners.”
Hassania said land-related cases can
take years to reach the courts because of the necessary documentation, evidence
and follow-up.
“One of my cases remained
under litigation before the court for 14 years before it was recently
settled,” she said. “In some cases, the party depriving women of their
inheritance, or the party claiming inheritance, dies [yet] the case remains,
given the presence of other inheritors. The reason for the delay in rendering
judgments is the existence of several degrees of litigation.”
Hassania also believes many cases are never
even reported.
“Some of these women … are subjected to
several forms of pressure and coercion,” she said. “They are not allowed to be
married or are forced to waive their inheritance if they want to get
married. On the other hand, many women stick to customs and traditions and
believe that claiming their inheritance is shameful.”
Hassania added, “However, some women are
claiming their rights in light of the spread of education, as they are
becoming aware that this is a legitimate matter, thanks to women’s rights institutions
raising awareness.”
Several charity associations for
the support of women hold awareness workshops each month in the Gaza Strip.
Some associations even offer legal advice to women who have not submitted their
cases to court.
The Women’s Affairs Center (WAC) in the
Gaza Strip issued in 2009 a study titled “Women and Inheritance: Causes and
Effects.” The study noted a setback at the level of social
interactions due to the denial of women’s right to inheritances, despite the
existence of Islamic laws that guarantee a woman’s right to half of
an inheritance.
The study also addresses the greater extent
of the problem in villages and rural areas — the preference for males
over females and the practice of invoking false pretenses and pretexts based on
discrimination, injustice and violation of Sharia.
The study further indicated, “Among those
pretexts is the argument that allowing women to inherit movable or immovable
properties, such as land and real estate, disperses the family’s estate
since women will get married and their husbands and children will share their
inheritance.”
According to the study, the real cause
underlying the denial of women’s inheritance is greed. The study echoed
Hassania’s stance that women’s ignorance of their rights and the pressures
and threats they face from their families contribute to the spread of
the injustice and other related problems.
Lawyer Hala Nabhan, an official of
a WAC project on women’s inheritance rights in Gaza, agreed that the
practice is growing and creating other problems such as murder,
preventing women from marrying, violence and threats against women.
She also cited “the lack of religious influence.” Islam clearly
governs the issue of women’s inheritance and the need to do them justice.
Nabhan added, “The women’s inheritance right
project was launched five years ago and is now in its sixth year. We promote
women’s economic and social rights by speeding up their access to their
inheritance. We are convinced that giving women their inheritance will allow
them to acquire their economic rights and enhance their role in society. This
is done by raising their legal awareness and empowering them. We succeeded
during the last two years in convincing 60 women to claim their
inheritance rights and they resorted to the courts.”
At the end of June, the project
launched a lobbying campaign to establish a government department to
shorten inheritance procedures and save time, effort and cost. “This department
shall have a representative of all government departments concerned with
inheritance issues in order to ensure the legal representation of women
claiming their inheritance rights and to execute court decisions,” Nabhan said.
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