The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for ATFPA-LAW-1

Feb. 13, 2023, 6:54 p.m.
Countries: Macedonia
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Married women and men have the same rights to decide on their mutual place of residence and the organisation of the household (Family Law, Article 32). Property of spouses is based on common property, meaning that everything acquired during marriage is part of the spouses’ joint property (Law on Ownership and Other Real Estates, Article 67). Spouses retain separate property on what they acquired individually before marriage (Law on Ownership and Other Real Estates, Articles 68). Parents have equal rights and duties to provide for the nurturing and education of their children (Constitution, Article 40). Women and men have the same right to be the legal guardian of their children...more
Feb. 13, 2023, 2:16 p.m.
Countries: Madagascar
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"In Madagascar, the Constitution and a number of written laws recognize women's equal rights to property. Relevant laws include: Law No. 2007-022 of August 20, 2007 relating to marriage and matrimonial regimes, guarantees both spouses the same rights and obligations, guarantees the spouses to jointly administer the property of the community, the spouses cannot alienate movable property and immovable without the consent of either. Law No. 68-012 of July 4, 1968 relating to inheritance, wills and donations establishes the equality of men and women Ordinance No. 60-146 of October 3, 1960 relating to land tenure, amended by Law No. 2003-029 of August 27, 2003, recognizes the right of the wife...more
Sept. 30, 2022, 9:36 p.m.
Countries: Burma/Myanmar
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, ATFPA-LAW-1

"FLL provides that a household head or household members over the age of 18 can apply for Form 7. The language of the law allows either men or women to apply for Form 7. In practice, government officials rely predominately on the household head system to allocate land titles. This system is based on traditional norms which assume that the oldest male is the household head, unless there is no adult male in the home" (9).
Sept. 16, 2022, 10:49 a.m.
Countries: Malta
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Under the subsection'“Of the Mutual Rights and Duties of Spouses' of the Civil Code, Maltese law stipulates that spouses shall have equal rights and responsibilities within the household: The law explicitly provides women with the same rights as men to be recognised as the head of household (Civil Code of Malta, s. 1238(1)). As an extension of these rights, the female spouse is not required to obey her husband, and will not incur legal consequences if she 3 disobeys him (s. 2(2)). ). Likewise, spouses are bound to jointly determine the location of the matrimonial home. If the title for the matrimonial home is only held by one spouse, the...more
Sept. 3, 2022, 1:41 p.m.
Countries: Armenia
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, ATFPA-LAW-1

"During the privatization of land following the breakup of the Soviet Union, property was assigned to heads of households. In this process, women acquired land exclusively in the absence of a male-head household" (9).
Sept. 2, 2022, 12:49 p.m.
Countries: Angola
Variables: LO-LAW-1, ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, ATFPA-LAW-1

"Past land reform programmes, together with the break-up of communal land holdings, have led to the transfer of exclusive land rights to males as heads of households. This ignores both the existence of female-headed households and the rights of married women to a joint share. However women, living in the customary law system, are often unaware of their statutory rights..." (5).
Aug. 1, 2022, 12:15 p.m.
Countries: Tanzania
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Is there no legal provision that requires a married woman to obey her husband? Yes. No applicable provisions could be located. Can a woman be head of household in the same way as a man? Yes. No restrictions could be located" (2). "Does the law grant spouses equal administrative authority over assets during marriage? Yes Law of Marriage Act, Secs. 58 & 60" (2). The most recent laws noted in the WomanStats Database (since 2019) relating to divorce are still current as of July 2022 and no changes have been made, as verified by consulting The Women, Business, and the Law database for 2022. (SFR - CODER COMMENT).more
July 6, 2022, 10:35 a.m.
Countries: Djibouti
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"However, it should be noted that laws on the subject have not changed much. Efforts are under way to bring the Family Code more closely into line with Convention" (27).
June 29, 2022, 11:33 a.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"[The Committee] is particularly concerned about:... The delay in withdrawing or amending discriminatory provisions in Law No. 16/2019 on marriage and in the Civil Code and other discriminatory provisions, including provisions that:... provide that the man is the head of the household" (15).
June 28, 2022, 2:56 p.m.
Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"The percentage of female- headed households increased from 13% in 2014 to 16% in 2017-18, possibly as a result of male labor migration in recent years. Over the same period, average household size decreased slightly from 4.5 to 4.3" (14).
March 25, 2022, 8:54 p.m.
Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, ATFPA-LAW-1

"The government excluded women from certain social and economic benefits, including land grants for building houses, because tribal family law often designates men as the heads of families" (29).
Feb. 23, 2022, 3:02 p.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"The [Family] code considers men to be heads of household, preventing women from taking legal responsibility for their children. Additionally, any childhood benefits are paid to the father. Women can become the legal head of household only if the husband formally renounces his authority before authorities or if he is unable to act as head of household" (15).
Jan. 8, 2022, 9:32 p.m.
Countries: Morocco
Variables: MARR-LAW-3, ATFPA-LAW-1

"The family code places the family under the joint responsibility of both spouses" (32).
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"No, there are no laws in place that specially designate a head of household" (1).
Sept. 17, 2021, 10 p.m.
Countries: New Zealand
Variables: ERBG-LAW-1, LO-LAW-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-LAW-1, ATFPA-LAW-1

"The law provides for the same legal status and rights for women and men, including under family, religious, personal status, labor, property, nationality, and inheritance laws. Although the law prohibits discrimination in employment and requires equal rates of pay for equal or similar work, academics and watchdog groups argue that the lack of pay transparency hinders pursuing pay discrimination claims" (10).
Sept. 8, 2021, 4:30 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Limited humanitarian access because of the deteriorating security situation caused delays in identifying, assessing, and providing timely assistance to IDPs, who continued to lack access to basic protection, including personal and physical security and shelter. Many IDPs, especially in households with a female head, faced difficulty obtaining basic services because they did not have identity documents. Many IDPs in urban areas reportedly faced discrimination, lacked adequate sanitation and other basic services, and lived in constant risk of eviction from illegally occupied displacement sites, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Women in IDP camps reported high levels of domestic violence. Limited opportunities to earn a livelihood following the initial displacement...more
Aug. 6, 2021, 4:21 p.m.
Countries: Niger
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Although the constitution provides for equal legal status and rights regardless of sex, women do not have the same rights as men under family law, which customary courts usually adjudicate. In customary law, legal rights as head of household typically apply only to men. Customary law does not consider a divorced or widowed woman, even with children, to be a head of household" (p 16-17).
May 18, 2021, 5:32 p.m.
Countries: Albania
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"...women are traditionally unable to sign as a 'head of the household' in legal affairs" (para 3).
April 30, 2021, 8:17 p.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"El Kosman said the bill doesn't reflect the reality of Egypt today, where 18.1 percent of women are the head of their households" (para 5). This statistic suggests that women can legally be heads of household in Egypt (RAO-CODER COMMENT).
March 6, 2021, 9:44 p.m.
Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-2, ATFPA-LAW-1

"The UAE has carried out some reforms [ . . . ] revoking legal provisions that had obliged women to “obey” their husbands" (para 6).
Jan. 18, 2021, 12:48 p.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"In late July, Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers promulgated landmark amendments to the three laws that will begin to dismantle the country’s discriminatory male guardianship system. [ . . . ] The changes allow women, along with their husbands, to be considered a “head of household” with respect to their children, which should improve Saudi women’s ability to conduct government business on their children’s behalf" (para 19 - 21). "Men can still file cases against daughters, wives, or female relatives under their guardianship for “disobedience,” which can lead to forcible return to their male guardian’s home or imprisonment" (para 23).
Nov. 18, 2020, 3:11 p.m.
Countries: Oman
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-5, MARR-PRACTICE-7, AOM-PRACTICE-1, ATFPA-LAW-1, PW-LAW-1

"The Committee is concerned that, despite efforts such as the Royal Decree No. 55/2010 to prevent the practice of dowry from limiting women’s rights to choose their husbands freely, this custom continues to negatively impact on the rights of women. In this context it is also concerned about the fact that the man is considered the head of the family and married women cannot freely choose their place of residence according to the Personal Status Code. Furthermore the Committee is concerned at reports that, despite the legal prohibition, marriage of girls under the age of 18 is still widely practised and accepted by Omani custom. The Committee is also concerned...more
Aug. 2, 2020, 5:17 p.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"The changes allow women, along with their husbands, to be considered a 'head of household' with respect to their children, which should improve Saudi women's ability to conduct government business on their children's behalf" (para 21).
May 31, 2020, 6:36 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: SMES-DATA-3, ATFPA-LAW-1

"15 percent of house-holds have female heads" (17).
May 31, 2020, 4:27 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"The Family Law provides that the husband and the wife shall have equal rights within the family (art. 18)" (3). "For instance, the Socialist Constitution stipulates that the State shall afford special protection to mothers and children and provide all conditions for women to play full role in society (art. 77). The Family Law provides that the State shall consistently maintain the policy of affording special protection to mothers and children and to providing conditions for mothers to bring up and educate their children decently (art. 6)" (4)."The Socialist Constitution provides that marriage and family shall be protected by the State (art. 78). The Family Law stipulates that the relationship...more
April 30, 2020, 12:34 p.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Women made up 7% of the constitutional assembly that drafted the Egyptian constitution. No wonder then that the document (approved by referendum in December 2012) refers to women only as sisters and mothers, and only within the framework of family -- not employment or public life, even though a majority of Egyptian women work" (para 13).
April 22, 2020, 5:16 p.m.
Countries: Lebanon
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"Regardless of religious affiliation, women face discrimination in relation to distribution of marital property following the termination of the marriage and marginalization as a result of inadequate spousal maintenance payments during marriage" (15). "The absence of any religious or civil law in Lebanon valuing women’s non-monetary contributions to the marriage at the time of termination—including household and family care, lost economic opportunity and her contribution to her husbands’ career—contributes to the discrimination against women. Further, because Lebanese law does not recognize the legal concept of marital property, property reverts to the spouse in whose name it is registered (typically the husband), regardless of who has made contributions to it" (15)....more
Sept. 5, 2019, 1:56 p.m.
Countries: Congo
Variables: ATFPA-LAW-1

"By law men are considered the head of the household, unless the father becomes incapacitated or abandons the family" (24).
July 19, 2019, 4:56 p.m.
Countries: Niger
Variables: ATDW-LAW-1, CUST-LAW-1, ATFPA-LAW-1

"No time frame is envisaged for repealing discriminatory legislation, including provisions in the Civil Code regulating, inter alia, the matrimonial home (art. 108), the status of head of household and paternal power (arts. 213 to 216), the legal capacity of a married women (arts. 506 and 507), remarriage (arts. 228 and 296), the exercise of guardianship over children (arts. 389 to 396 and 405) and the distribution of marital assets (art. 818)" (4).
July 8, 2019, 9:30 a.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: CUST-LAW-1, ATFPA-LAW-1

"The family code’s definition of paternal rights also remained an obstacle to equality between men and women. The code considers men to be heads of household, preventing women from taking legal responsibility for their children. In addition, any childhood benefits are paid to the father. Women can become the legal head of household only if the husband formally renounces his authority before authorities or if he is unable to act as head of household" (page 16).