Brief – Women’s Right to Legal Property

Thematic Stream: Legal Property Rights for Women

Problem: As per international Human Rights Standards, women’s rights have been asserted and recognized. Moreover, constitutions and national laws in many Muslim majority and minority countries guarantee equality and non-discrimination to all citizens regardless of gender. However, in Pakistan, women remain governed by family laws and practices that discriminate against them in the name of religion and tradition. As a result, women’s right to property in Pakistan remains contested. The country ranks 153 out of 156 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2021; only 18% of the country’s labour goes to women; and economic opportunities for women in Pakistan were limited with only 32.7% of the gap between men and women in the workplace filled.

Property rights, including the equitable distribution of matrimonial property is key for gender equality within the family and society. Such rights ensure that women can live and are given autonomy and agency in their families, communities and the state. In Pakistan, women are usually excluded from the ownership and control of land or property. In a country where land ownership often signifies economic security and stability, women, despite being the poorest groups, are denied opportunities to main control and ownership over legal property. This exclusion impedes the financial empowerment of women and also violates a fundamental right granted under the constitution.

Goal: To strengthen women’s capacity to acquire and protect their legal property and to create a demand for women’s share in matrimonial property.

Programmatic Approach: With a community-centric feminist participatory approach, the thematic area focuses on creating legal awareness within community members in target districts to increase their knowledge about women’s right to legal property by focusing on various streams such as religious orientation, sects, and kinds of property. 

Under the program, capacity building of key actors within the system is guided through evidenced-based research to assist them in women property matters. Lastly, digital mediums are utilized to educate young women on their property rights through creation and dissemination of animated movies & documentaries.

Target Districts: Karachi, Larkana, & Shaheed Benazirabad.

Components:

Research:

Using evidence-based research as the guiding factor for all interventions, the program utilizes research for the provision of awareness for its primary stakeholders (women) and capacity building of key system actors such as lawyers and patwaris (village accountants).

Legal Aid & Awareness:

Access to property for women is aided through legal aid and awareness campaigns led by female community paralegals. Female community paralegals, also known as “grassroots legal advocates”, are women who are selected from targeted communities and empowered to become changemakers by equipping them with basic knowledge regarding property rights. Community paralegals serve as the bridge between real life and the law, allowing the impact to sustain beyond the project’s scope and equipping women with sustainable modes through which they can seek help.

Community legal awareness and aid sessions are conducted across targeted districts where in the first instance, community members are educated on their legal rights through IEC material in their native languages and then given legal aid and advice through field advocates who take cases on their behalf or guide them through the process of a legal case.

Advocacy:

Muslim women in Pakistan are governed by laws and practices that discriminate against them due to patriarchal and conservative interpretations of Islam. This discrimination curtails women’s access to matrimonial property and other financial rights during divorce. Using the Framework for reforming Muslim Family Laws, women’s share in matrimonial property is advocated through engaging with the legal fraternity and regional organizations.

Capacity Building:

A key factor in women’s access to legal property are the service providers who through their attitudes and lack of knowledge may create hindrance in women’s access to property. These key actors are incapacitated on women’s property rights.