COHRE Women and Housing Rights Fact Sheet No.4 Customs & Traditions

Gender-biased policies, laws, traditions, norms and attitudes that women should not own housing, land and property independently from a man prevent women from realising their human right to adequate housing Under many systems of law, women - regardless of their marital status - cannot own or inherit housing and land in their own names Inheritance is a fundamental issue with regard to how wealth is transferred within a society, and it directly relates to the protection of a woman’s housing and land

Women and Housing Rights

CUSTOM, TRADITION and WOMEN’S HOUSING RIGHTS: Inheritance and Equal Rights to Marital Property

Stripping a woman of her marital property upon the death of her spouse is one of the most frequent methods used to deprive women of their housing, land and property. Activists in many parts of the world have championed the rights of women to “inherit” their marital property through succession, the method by which property is distributed when a person dies.

A key issue in succession is determining the extent of the estate of the de-

ceased (i.e. what property and other assets the deceased person owned). Succession not only determines who is entitled to share the estate, but also determines the relative shares and rights of the potential beneficiaries. The obvious and immediate heirs are usually the family of the deceased, including the spouse, children and, in some cases, parents or other family members, usually in that order. Too often, women are denied their right to benefit equally from marital property, and have their property taken from them once they are widowed.

The denial of women’s equal rights to marital property and inheritance violates women’s human rights in at least two respects. First, it denies women’s equality on par with men and represents discrimination on the basis of gender. In many parts of the world, especially in the developing world, women have fewer or no

legally recognised rights compared to men in marriage; this inequality is also reflected within the family, where family or household needs may be prioritised over those of women in the family. Even when women are taken into consideration, their rights are said to derive from their relationship with men within the family. Second, this denial prohibits women from reaping the benefits of ownership and control of property, including a primary means for achieving and maintaining an adequate standard of living. In many traditional societies, land in particular is a basis for economic status and power within social relations.

The failure to address this genderbased discrimination in both law and practice runs counter to both the spirit and the letter of international human rights instuments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

crimination, particularly with regard to customary laws that preclude women from inheritance.

For women, equal rights to marital property and inheritance are fundamental to control and access property. This is particularly true for poor women, who lack the financial resources necessary to enable them to purchase or otherwise acquire valuable property, including land. Control over property, particularly land, is the principal means of attaining social and economic status, especially in developing countries, where access to land for agriculture is the main determinant of subsistence survival and economic development.

In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, women produce up to 80 per cent of all food, and perform over two thirds of the labour. However, women suffer disproportionately the subordinating effect of discriminatory and op-

pressive laws, customs and traditions, including with respect to housing and land. In most parts of Africa, men control household land (and the house on that land) because of the deeply ingrained patrilineal system of property ownership. For many women, access to housing, land and property are entirely dependant on their relation to male relatives. Often, even if women are allowed to own formally property, they lack de facto control of that housing and land.

At the national level, a number of decisions relating to women’s inheritance rights have sought to address this dis-

At both international and regional levels, strong standards exist which recognise the right of women to control and inherit housing and land. Unfortunately, however, much work remains to be done to translate these principles into practice on the ground. Inequality in terms of power, in both the legal and cultural spheres, often makes it very difficult for ordinary women to realise and enforce their rights. Indeed, in some cases women are even unaware that they are entitled to be treated without discrimination, or they have been made to believe that they do not have their own rights and entitlements.

A human rights approach to marital property and inheritance provides not only a legal basis for policies and laws which grant women equal rights and protections, it also insists that women hold an equal place in the family and that they have equal decision-making power.