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

Latest items for IAD-PRACTICE-1

March 30, 2023, 12:18 p.m.
Countries: Central African Rep
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"The formal law does not discriminate against women in inheritance and property rights, but the government did not enforce the formal law effectively, and discriminatory customary laws often prevailed. Women’s statutory inheritance rights often were not respected, particularly in rural areas. Women experienced economic and social discrimination. Customary law does not consider single, divorced, or widowed women, including those with children, to be heads of households. By law men and women are entitled to family subsidies from the government, but several women’s groups complained of lack of access to these payments for women" (27).
March 30, 2023, 9:50 a.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Iqbal Dirndari [member of Saudi Arabia's consultative Shura council] said that some women in Saudi Arabia are still denied access to their inheritance shares by their male family members. 'The Islamic Sharia is keen to protect women’s inheritance rights. The state has also made efforts in this domain. However, we still see some women informally deprived of their inheritance shares at the hands of some family males who withhold those shares and give them [women] little or nothing, or force them to stop demanding their rights, or giving them up under coercion,' Iqbal said" (2-3).
March 28, 2023, 3:41 p.m.
Countries: Cape Verde
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Difficulties women faced in marriage, family life, inheritance and divorce were not due to the legal framework, but to the prevalence of informal systems" (para 49).
March 27, 2023, 3:38 p.m.
Countries: Cameroon
Variables: LO-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The constitution provides women and men the same legal status and rights. The government, however, often did not enforce the law. In practice, women did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. Although local government officials claimed women had access to land in their constituencies, the overall sociocultural practice of denying women the right to own land, especially through inheritance, was prevalent in most regions. The government did not implement any official discriminatory policy against women in such areas as divorce, child custody, employment, credit, pay, owning or managing business or property, education, the judicial process, or housing" (44-45).
March 27, 2023, 2:49 p.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The information gathered indicates that a process of adaptation of customary land rights is taking place, even if these are driven by households’ interpretation of the rules and not adopted as a collective and statutory reshaping of the kinship norms. In some of the communities where matrilineal kinship is in use, such as in Tampouan and Jarai, some of the families now include men as heirs of assets and land. This derives from the awareness that scarcity impairs young men’s ability to clear new land, and represents a serious disadvantage for them. However, women’s access, use and inheritance of land remain well established, and entitle women to exert their rights...more
March 24, 2023, 9:54 a.m.
Countries: Slovakia
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"Surviving spouses and children enjoy equal rights to inheritance, irrespective of their sex (art. 473, par. 1 and 2 of the Civil Code). The right of a surviving spouse is mandated in the provisions of the Slovak Civil Code 2009 regulating the statutory devolution of successions (art. 473 et seq), based on four groups divided into heir classes. Succession may be based on a will (art. 461 of the Civil Code). If the will is contrary to statutory requirements, it is voidable (art. 479 Slovak Civil Code). There does not appear to be de facto discrimination" (3).
March 23, 2023, 12:07 p.m.
Countries: Chad
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Although property and inheritance laws provide the same legal status and rights for women as for men, the government did not enforce the laws effectively. Inheritance, property, and housing practices frequently discriminated against women due to cultural and religious elements present in many communities. Women often could not inherit property from their father or husband. Additionally, local leaders settled most inheritance disputes in favor of men, according to traditional practice" (26).
March 23, 2023, 9:49 a.m.
Countries: Chad
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Laws protecting the right of women to inherit land are not enforced" (44).
March 16, 2023, 8:10 p.m.
Countries: Burundi
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"By tradition, women have fewer rights related to land inheritance and ownership than men do. Their situation is made worse by lack of access to modern farm technologies" (para 6).
March 16, 2023, 1:48 p.m.
Countries: Papua New Guinea
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"In most PNG societies women have rights to cultivate land, gather forest products and to fish for or collect marine and riverine resources but, regardless of whether their society’s descent and inheritance system is based on patrilineal or matrilineal principles, they are rarely considered to have ownership rights over productive resources" (9).
March 15, 2023, 2:39 p.m.
Countries: Philippines
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Manila (AsiaNews) – The Supreme Court of the Philippines unanimously ruled that children born out of wedlock have the right to inherit. In a statement, the Supreme Court Public Information Office says that the court 'reinterpreted article 992 of the civil code, which prohibits nonmarital children from inheriting from their siblings who are marital children, as well as relatives of [their] father or mother'" (para 1-2). "The ruling brought to a close the Aquino vs Aquino case in which Amadea Angela “Maggie” Ho Aquino claimed the right to inherit from her grandfather Miguel, even though her father, Arturo, had died before she was born and could marry her mother" (para...more
March 15, 2023, 12:07 p.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Female children inherit half of what their male siblings do, and custody agreements skew in favor of fathers as the legal guardians" (19).
March 10, 2023, 8:33 p.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Information related to customary, religious, or traditional practices that may discriminate against female spouses’ and daughters’ legal rights to inherit is limited. Available research suggests that in rural areas, youngest sons typically inherit parents’ land and house and are expected to care for aging parents" (4).
March 10, 2023, 8:23 p.m.
Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Despite efforts of the gender mainstreaming mechanisms of Bosnia and Herzegovina and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to raise the awareness of the same rights of women and men in inheritance procedures, it is still customary that sons inherit land and non-land assets (house, company, etc.) rather than daughters" (4).
March 10, 2023, 8:11 p.m.
Countries: Brazil
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Notwithstanding the provisions protecting women’s land ownership rights, local customs commonly infringe the enjoyment of women’s land rights over inheritance or after divorce" (8).
March 9, 2023, 12:06 p.m.
Countries: Netherlands
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The Dutch tax office has lost a case and been ordered to pay all costs after trying to make a woman pay €40,144 inheritance tax on money she never received. The verdict, published on Thursday, involves a woman who was made the sole beneficiary of her father’s will when he died in 2017. But although the value of his cash and effects, including a small chalet, came to almost €480,000 in theory, the woman – who has no savings and lives on benefits – has not received a cent. She has spent years taking court action against the son of her father’s late partner, who was named as the will’s...more
March 4, 2023, 3:17 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, PW-PRACTICE-3

"Under Nigerian law, if a man dies without having made a will, his estate is apportioned among his heirs by customary law, which differs by tribe and region. In Northern Nigeria Sharia law governs property distribution, while in Yoruba regions an estate is divided differently between polygamous families and monogamous families. In polygamous families the estate is divided equally between the deceased’s wives, with the children of each wife receiving an equal share. In monogamous families the estate is subject to the OriOjori method where each child of the deceased, male and female, receives an equal share. In Igbo culture, in the absence of a will, the oldest son of...more
March 4, 2023, 3:17 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, PW-PRACTICE-3

"Under Nigerian law, if a man dies without having made a will, his estate is apportioned among his heirs by customary law, which differs by tribe and region. In Northern Nigeria Sharia law governs property distribution, while in Yoruba regions an estate is divided differently between polygamous families and monogamous families. In polygamous families the estate is divided equally between the deceased’s wives, with the children of each wife receiving an equal share. In monogamous families the estate is subject to the OriOjori method where each child of the deceased, male and female, receives an equal share. In Igbo culture, in the absence of a will, the oldest son of...more
March 4, 2023, 3:06 p.m.
Countries: Niger
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"In the absence of a formal will stating otherwise, a daughter’s share of a deceased parent’s property is half the size of a son’s share" (22).
March 3, 2023, 5:32 p.m.
Countries: Morocco
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"While the constitution provides women equal rights with men in civil, political, economic, cultural, and environmental affairs, laws favor men in property and inheritance. Numerous problems related to discrimination against women remained, including inadequate enforcement of equal rights provided for by the laws and constitution. According to the law, women are entitled to a share of inherited property, but a woman’s share of inheritance is less than that of a man. Women are generally entitled to receive one-half the inheritance a man would receive in the same circumstances. A sole male heir would receive the entire estate, while a sole female heir would receive one-half the estate with the rest...more
March 1, 2023, 3:06 p.m.
Countries: Morocco
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"Moroccan law stipulates that after the death of a parent, daughters of the deceased inherit half of what their male relatives receive" (para 1). "However, the relatively progressive Moroccan family code, a document outlining the laws and rules relating to family matters, fails to uphold equality in matters of inheritance. Inheritance law relies on the ta’sib rule, which declares that 'female orphans who do not have a brother must share the inheritance with the male relative closest to the deceased…even if [he is] unknown and [has] never been part of the family'" (para 4). "She adds that 'more women are heads of households now and more older people live alone…women...more
Feb. 25, 2023, 3:08 p.m.
Countries: Mongolia
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Gender disparities reveal themselves in property inheritance as well, and the tradition of passing land and other immovable property down to sons is still strong" (20). "However, fathers and mothers turn out to give preference to their disabled children irrespective of the latter’s gender in passing down their property" (20).
Feb. 24, 2023, 11:27 p.m.
Countries: Brazil
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Most women – especially in the rural areas – receive their land through inheritance from their husbands, fathers, and other members of the family. When marriages and successions are not formally documented, women find they have no legal claim to family assets after the deaths of their husbands or family members" (para 16).
Feb. 24, 2023, 9:36 p.m.
Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Although the data are incomplete, the general pattern of land ownership in Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly favours men...Female-headed agricultural households have significantly smaller land plots than male-headed households. Women’s ownership of real estate and other property follows a similar pattern...As partial co-owners, women tend to own less than half of the share in property" (16). "Women’s property ownership rights are enshrined in the law, but in practice, traditional attitudes prevail in which property is inherited by male family members. Several initiatives on land rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina have included awareness-raising on the importance of recognizing women’s formal rights to property. Nevertheless, patrilineal patterns of property ownership mean that rural...more
Feb. 24, 2023, 12:54 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The Constitution provides separate provision on rights of women and guarantees the following: (a) Every woman shall have equal lineage right without gender-based discrimination;" (5)(NF- CODER COMMENT - Since the constitution had to have this provision added in, it implies that there was once a time that daughters were unable to inherit certain assets from male relatives). "As the outcome of the broad-based consensual political discourse, the Constitution has integrated gender equality by eliminating all forms of discrimination against women through clear provision from women’s rights framework and the spirit and intent of CEDAW. The Constitution provisions that ‘every woman shall have equal lineage right without gender-based discrimination’ and ‘the...more
Feb. 23, 2023, 7:39 p.m.
Countries: Greece
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Indeed, the provisions for women focus on providing their future families with a house, whereas for young men the housing strategies presuppose a more active role on the construction of their houses; it is anticipated that they will contribute to the ‘construction’ of their own housing solutions. This notion can be linked to various family strategies, since, in agricultural communities, a daughter accepted her inheritance in the form of a prika (cash for housing acquisition in a city or as part of the family’s property), whereas the son had to wait to receive his portion of the family property after the death of the family patriarch (although granted rights were...more
Feb. 23, 2023, 11:20 a.m.
Countries: Belize
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"There is no legal discrimination regarding inheritance and it appears that there are no practices which may restrict those rights" (3).
Feb. 23, 2023, 10:48 a.m.
Countries: Mauritania
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Unequal legal rights mean that women and girls inherit half of what can be inherited by men or boys. Access to land is a major obstacle to women’s participation in agriculture" (6).
Feb. 22, 2023, 10:06 p.m.
Countries: Belgium
Variables: IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The Committee notes with concern that...The amendments introduced in 2017 in the legislation on inheritance could have a negative impact on women and girls. The Committee recommends that the State party:...Monitor and take all necessary measures to ensure that the new law amending the Civil Code with regard to inheritance and gifts, and amending various other provisions in this matter, does not negatively affect women and girls" (16-17).
Feb. 16, 2023, 2:38 p.m.
Countries: Mali
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"This legal progress is notable, but in fact women still face major obstacles to accessing land, especially in rural areas where customary norms regarding control and transfer of land still dominate and are patriarchal in nature. These norms generally emphasize that land is the domain of men, and since women cannot perpetuate the patriarchal line, land must be transferred to men. Women generally do not have land rights under Malian customary law, even though they provide over half of the agricultural labor force and produce most of the food to feed their families. One estimate is that only 20 percent of women engaged in agriculture have access to land" (para...more