Lengthy court procedures complicate women’s inheritance cases

The Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment at Workplace Rukhshanda Naz has said that lengthy court procedures further complicate the situations in accessing the property rights in the country and specifically in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) where women are traditionally not given their share in inheritance.

She was talking on the occasion of launching a stakeholder’s guide for ‘KP Women’s Property Rights Act, 2019’ jointly with UN Women.

The purpose of the act is to build an effective and efficient redress mechanism to protect and secure women’s property ownership rights.

“Although, the ombudsperson’s office is situated at the provincial capital, women from far-flung Areas such as Mansehra, South Waziristan, Bajaur are also accessing the ombudsperson office for getting their property rights. Addressing this need, it is planned to introduce the same system at the regional level in the coming two years which will increase women access to property rights,” she said.

Women have the right to equality in the enjoyment of all their rights, including the right to access, use, inherit, control, and own land, she said.

To achieve gender equality, K-P shall fulfil their obligation to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. Upholding the agenda of women rights, UN Women provided technical assistance in the development of the stakeholders guide to help women claim their property rights.

It is worth noting here that the constitution of Pakistan gives due respect to the women in society and guarantee their right of ownership. However, the rights of ownership of women in inheritance are violated usually by their family members by means of coercion, fraud, fabrication, forgery and cheating etc. The event was attended by Bar Councils, lawyers, Social Welfare Department, Revenue Department, civil society, UN Agencies and officials from district administration.

The K-P Women Property Rights Act, 2019, has given vast powers to the ombudsperson's office established under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 and also extended its jurisdiction across K-P, including merged tribal districts.

Under this legislation, the respective office is equipped to handle cases of women who have been deprived of their ownership rights to inherited movable and immovable properties.

The ombudsperson had also been given the authority to enforce its decisions through the state institutions including district administration, police and revenue department and all authorities are expected to obey its orders.

The property right was also perceived to be an important issue in the fight to eliminate discrimination against women.

The event was also attended by Zulfiqar Ali Shah,Secretary Social Welfare, Special Education & Women Empowerment Department as the chief guest. He said that the provincial government has put in place the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Act to ensure that women's rights to property ownership and possession are guarded and that such rights are not violated through harassment, persuasion, force, or fraud, among other things.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2021.