Women locked out of inheritance claims

Despite legal provisions guaranteeing property rights, thousands of pending cases remain unadjudicated

LAHORE:

For a society which still views daughters as migratory birds waiting in line to fly away to their ‘true’ homes, women are often raised as transient kin, who are conveniently otherized by their families as soon as they cross the threshold of marriage.

Unfortunately, under such an archaic social system, very few daughters receive their due share in property from their parents who usually only pass down diabetes and hypertension to their forgotten heirs.  

Despite the Punjab government introducing the Punjab Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2021 at the divisional level in order to facilitate women’s claims of their rightful share of inheritance, a large number of women remain disenfranchised of their property rights from their natal families even after the filing of complaints with the Ombudsman.

Bushra Bibi, a local, revealed that her inheritance case had been pending since the past three years. “I had submitted an application to claim my share in my father’s property; however, the case is continuously being delayed. Whenever the administration summons my family, only one brother shows up, while the other does not,” lamented Bushra.

Similarly, Ayesha, another local, revealed that she too had filed an application for her Islamic share in her family property however, her brothers had threatened her to withdraw her case. “I will not give up my rightful share in the property. My case has been in process for the last two years. Sometimes the report of the Revenue Department is reviewed while other times the value of the property is being rechecked. I am still hanging on the waiting line,” said Ayesha.

Like Bushra and Ayesha, Samina Nadeem, who too was in the same boat, shared that despite filing an application with the administration to claim her share in the family property, the issue remained unresolved, with new hearing dates given every one to two months.

According to Abdullah Malik, a lawyer and civil society representative, there are many loopholes in the Punjab Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2021, due to which most cases faced delays.

"The Property Cells which are legally established at the divisional headquarters do not get effective support from the district administration due to which the work is stalled. Furthermore, in many cases the pace of work is also slowed down due to the pending claims in the lower courts,” explained Malik.

According to the documents obtained by the Express Tribune, more than 7000 women have filed inheritance cases against their brothers in Punjab since 2021, out of which more than 3,000 applications are still pending, one third of which are from the provincial capital, Lahore. Furthermore, the combined value of the properties in the applications amounts to billions of rupees.

“Under the law, we have to resolve a case within 60 days; however, it takes five to six months. So far, more than 4,000 women have been given a share in their hereditary property, the value of which is more than Rs13 billion while the land area is more than 500 Kanals.

Delays in receiving immediate responses from the Revenue Department cause ownership issues, which hinder the process. Consultants at divisional headquarters have been directed to accelerate case resolutions, and it is planned that all cases will be resolved by the end of this year,” affirmed Nabeela Hakim Ali Khan, the Provincial Ombudsman.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Administration Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Rank Officer Muhammad Jaffar Gujjar maintained that whenever they received any complaints from the Women's Rights Cell, they were addressed. "However, sometimes due to legal dilemma’s, matters would hit a roadblock," said Gujjar.