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In Africa . . . How protected are women's inheritances?
Gboyega Akinsanmi
June 27, 2006

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=51559

In Africa, women’s rights to inherit and own property have been a subject of discussion on the continent. Widows have faced hard times following the demise of their spouses. They are not able to exercise their rights because customary laws have premium over statutory ones in many countries despite international conventions and declarations. These issues were discussed at a recent conference in Accra, Ghana. Gboyega Akinsanmi writes

One of the major challenges standing against the realisation of women rights in Africa in this age of globalisation has been the impervious nature of African traditions and societies to the trends in the new millennium. In many African countries today, one of the biggest problems that confront women is that they are not often allowed to own and inherit housing, land and property. When they are bereaved, they are denied rights to manage estates of their late husbands.

Issues pertaining to women's rights to own and inherit land and housing ranked foremost at a conference the Women and Housing Rights Programme (WHRP), a unit of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) recently organised in Accra, Ghana. The participants on the occasion agreed that most women are made homeless immediately their husbands died.

It was stated in its report titled "A Place to Live: Women Inheritance Rights Africa" that "women often do not have land and a proper house because people think that women should not be allowed to have land or a house of their own. Many traditions say that women cannot own land.

"If a woman tries to get her own land or house, she is punished. Not having land or a proper house makes it very hard for women to look after themselves and their families. Not having land or a proper house also means it is harder for women to be safe and to have control over themselves and their lives, and make their own decisions," the report stated.

Ms Birte Scholz, WHRP coordinator, pointed out in a statement made available to THISDAY that it was salient at this present age to build equality home, and promote and protect women's rights for women in Sub Saharan African due to avalanches of problems women have if they lose their husbands.

Drawing inferences from different countries on the continent, it was noted that Botswana became independent in 1966. Her constitution recognises men and women having equal rights. In 2004, statutory law, which entrenched that men did no have marital power over their wives, was passed. Yet women have problems to do with land and housing.

Ethiopia joined, she said, many human rights agreements which seek to protect the rights women already have and try to give them more rights. Her constitution too gives both genders the same rights to own and inherit property. But customary law is still used despite the enactment of Family Code which gives equal rights to men and women.

In Ghana, she continued, it is wrong under her constitution to treat women badly just because they are women. The same constitution states that a woman can inherit from her dead husband even though he did not prepare a will. But customary law is the most powerful law in family matters.

The situation in Nigeria is different from other countries on the continent, though there is a mixture of English, Islamic (Sharia) and customary laws that determine the rights for women. Under federal law, women are supposed to be treated differently just because they are women.

But the state, local and customary laws treat women differently just because they are women. In some traditions, the use of violence against women is allowed. For instance, female genital mutilation is common. Men beat and hurt their wives if they think they did something wrong. Many widows were made to observe traditional customs that can harm them. Government officials do nothing about these situations.

With all these developments, Scholz noted, it was important to take frantic steps aimed at advocating inheritance rights for women and ensuring that laws and policies entrenching women rights to own land and houses are enforced and implemented respectively to the letter and spirit.

The report identified the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and African Charter on Human and People's Rights as conventions and treaties that most African countries are signatories.

It stated that: "There are special agreements on women's rights. A good example is the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The African Charter on Human and People's Rights has a special part which is just about women's rights. This is called the Optional Protocol on Women to the African Charter.

"If your country has ratified the international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, then it has acknowledged your human right to have adequate housing. This covenant understands that adequate housing is expensive even though they state that countries can give its citizens those rights.

"There are many things a government could be doing to look after people's housing rights. A government must ensure that people are not evicted for no reason when they do not want to move from where they are living. People must feel secure where they live. If you are safe from losing your land or home and being forced to leave your home, then you have security of tenure," the report explained.

Mayra Gomez, research and policy officer for COHRE observed that the right to inherit was a human right, because without this right, women can lose the right to land and end up in abject poverty and impoverishment. She said it was important for African governments to rise up in defence of women's inheritance rights.

In the WHRP report, the basic priority areas African governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are expected to assist women in Africa to protect their rights include:

• Governments should make sure all their laws agree with international human rights. They should sign and ratify the Optional Protocol on Women to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.
• Governments should make all their laws protect (look after) women's rights to housing and land and inherit and make sure women are treated equally with men.
• Governments should educate members of parliament, judges, magistrates, the police, government workers and ordinary people about women's rights. These include their rights to be treated equally with men, their rights to suitable housing and land, and their rights to inheritance.
• Governments should educate women, especially those in the rural areas, about their rights and how they can get these rights. Government should set up special police unit and pay people to help women get their inheritance rights without fear.
• Governments should make sure that women do not become homeless when their housing, land and other property is stolen, by having places where women can stay for a short time (shelters).
• Governments should make it easy for women to access the legal system. The courts and the people who work with the law must not treat women badly just because they are women, and they must protect (look after) women's rights. There must be cheap or free legal help for women.
• Beside the role African governments are expected to play to protect women's inheritance rights, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and research institutes are equally tasked to join forces in resisting discriminatory law against women. The report recommended their priority areas to include:
• Organisations should declare how important housing and land is in women's lives. NGOs should talk to each other about ways to help with women's housing, land and inheritance rights. They should use international human rights laws and agreements to help them in their work on women's inheritance rights.
• Organisations should work with governments to make the laws in a country agree with international human rights law. They should work especially on women's rights to adequate housing and land women's rights to own and inherit in the same way as men.
• Organisations should use international organisations and committees to help with women's problems of inheritance. NGOs can give reports about how women are being stopped from getting inheritance rights to committees of the United Nations that check whether governments who have signed agreements are doing what they are supposed to do.
• Organisations should use the radio, TV, newspapers and other media to make sure more people know about women's problems with inheritance rights, and try to get all people to fight for women's rights.
• Organisations should make sure that communities know about all human rights and especially the right of women to be treated the same as men and not be treated unfairly just because they are women.

Gomez said the right of women to own and inherit land and housing would be better protected if both governments and non-government organisations could play their respective roles in the world of 21st century.

Working towards this agenda as earlier pointed out, she continued, would bring an end to the growing indigence and poverty among African women whose rights to own and inherit land; housing and property are denied in most countries in Africa despite that there are laws that recognise them having these rights under constitution and statute.

"There is no reason we should keep treating women in our society differently and badly all in the name of traditions and customary laws. We must work, both men and women, to break this jinx of tradition. We must save this generation from unending sorrow," Gomez added.

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