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

Latest items for LO-LAW-1

Feb. 20, 2024, 6:27 p.m.
Countries: D R Congo
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"[L]and law prohibits gender discrimination in access to land" (13).
Jan. 29, 2024, 6:01 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"[I]n 2020, the Jharkhand government even rolled back an ambitious scheme by the previous government that encouraged women, in general, to register the property under their names by paying a meagre amount of Rs 1, citing loss to the exchequer due to apparent 'misuse' of the scheme" (para 5).
Jan. 16, 2024, 6:33 p.m.
Countries: Botswana
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The Married Persons Property Act, 2014 makes provision for persons married under customary law to opt for the property to be administered under civil law. Those already married will further be permitted to change the status of their proprietary regime from out-of-community to in-community of property or vice versa depending on what works best for them" (8). "[Customary law is particularly enforced in rural areas, where local customs are still very vibrant. This can have great adverse impacts on rural women’s enjoyment of their human rights, particularly in the area of family law, inheritance and land tenure, among others" (11). "The Government has also taken affirmative action to promote economic...more
Nov. 6, 2023, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Registration and Certification of Homestead and Collective Construction Land, prescribed that 'rural women, as members of a family, are entitled to have their homestead rights and interests recorded in the real estate register and the certificates of title'" (26)
Oct. 5, 2023, 12:54 p.m.
Countries: Colombia
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Banks view women with criminal records as a risk and won’t let them open accounts. Doors close everywhere" (para 14).
Oct. 4, 2023, 6:58 a.m.
Countries: Angola
Variables: LO-LAW-1, GIC-LAW-3

"[T]he approval of General Labour Act No. 7/15 on 15 June 2015, provides for maternity leave and the availability of microcredits for women" (11).
Sept. 30, 2023, 4 p.m.
Countries: Kazakhstan
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the following: Programme entitled “Women in business”, conducted jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is focused on providing concessional credit to businesses run by women" (p.2). "The Committee welcomes the strategic development plan for the period up to 2025, but is concerned that the State party’s development efforts have not translated into substantive equality for women with increased social and economic benefits. In particular, it notes with concern the following: (c) The low percentage of female ownership...more
Sept. 28, 2023, 10:28 a.m.
Countries: Pakistan
Variables: LO-LAW-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-LAW-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"Women faced legal and economic discrimination. The law prohibits discrimination based on sex, but authorities did not enforce it. Women also faced discrimination in employment, family law, property law, and the judicial system. Family law provides protection for women in cases of divorce, including requirements for maintenance, and sets clear guidelines for custody of minor children and their maintenance. Many women were unaware of these legal protections or were unable to obtain legal counsel to enforce them. Divorced women often were left with no means of support, as their families ostracized them. Women are legally free to marry without family consent, but society frequently ostracized women who did so, or...more
Sept. 28, 2023, 9:21 a.m.
Countries: Bahrain
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1

"In paragraphs 70 and 82 of its report, the State party informs the Committee about the measures taken to grant divorced or abandoned women, childless widows and single orphaned women temporary accommodation. Please indicate measures taken to allow all women to own permanent housing, including with the State ’s assistance, without having to obtain the permission of their husband or ex-husband. Please provide information on measures taken to repeal legal provisions requiring the husband’s consent to prevent pregnancy, as well as for a woman to leave the marital home, and report on measures taken to allow the freedom of movement of all women without a legal guardian, including for their...more
Sept. 28, 2023, 8:59 a.m.
Countries: Bahrain
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Islamic law mandates that men receive more inheritance than women and that children take citizenship from their fathers. Moreover, it states that it is unacceptable for women to live outside their married houses. Thus, while CEDAW improved women’s rights in Bahrain, the country’s commitment to Sharia law prevents Bahrain from truly accepting these social reforms" (para 6). This indicates that women may have a limited ability to manage or make decisions regarding family finances (JLR-CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 22, 2023, 5:34 p.m.
Countries: Norway
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Marriage entails no limitation of the right of a spouse to dispose of what he or she owns when the marriage is contracted or later acquires, unless it is otherwise provided. Items of property that are acquired by both spouses become their common property. Act of 18 June 1965 No. 6 relating to community of property applies to such items of property unless it is otherwise provided or is a consequence of the special relationship between spouses. In assessing who has acquired items of property that have been used by the spouses in common and personally, such as a common residence or ordinary household goods, due consideration shall be given...more
Sept. 22, 2023, 9:52 a.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: LO-LAW-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1

"Women generally remained marginalized. No laws prohibit women from owning land, but customary land tenure systems allowed only men to own land, with women gaining access to land only via marriage or family. Many customary practices also did not recognize a woman’s right to inherit property, and many widows became destitute when their in-laws took virtually all the deceased husband’s property. In March the Akwa Ibom High Court ruled that the Etinan council area must allow women to inherit property" (43).
Sept. 22, 2023, 8:51 a.m.
Countries: Angola
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Regulation 273/13 restricted refugees from obtaining the business license required to own and operate a business" (14).
Sept. 21, 2023, 9:57 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"A married woman shall be capable of entering into and rendering herself liable in respect of and to the extent of her separate property on any contract, and of suing and being sued, either in contract or in tort, or otherwise, in all respects as if she were a feme sole, and her husband need not be joined with her as plaintiff or defendant, or be made a party to any action or other legal proceeding brought by or taken against her; and any damages or costs recovered by her in any such action or proceeding shall be her separate property; and any damages or costs recovered against her in...more
Sept. 18, 2023, 2 a.m.
Countries: Bhutan
Variables: LO-LAW-1, LO-DATA-3, MARR-PRACTICE-7, GP-DATA-1

"Traditional society in Bhutan, which lies in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India, is matriarchal, and Bhutanese women do not have to contend with any institutionalized forms of discrimination. Participation in local and national decision-making is accessible to all genders, with female involvement reaching as high as 70 percent at the grassroots level. Women account for nearly half of land owners, increasing to 60 percent in rural regions" (para 2).
Sept. 18, 2023, 2 a.m.
Countries: Bhutan
Variables: LO-LAW-1, LO-DATA-3, MARR-PRACTICE-7, GP-DATA-1

"Traditional society in Bhutan, which lies in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India, is matriarchal, and Bhutanese women do not have to contend with any institutionalized forms of discrimination. Participation in local and national decision-making is accessible to all genders, with female involvement reaching as high as 70 percent at the grassroots level. Women account for nearly half of land owners, increasing to 60 percent in rural regions." (para.2).
Sept. 14, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Countries: Argentina
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"ARTICLE 469. Own property. Each of the spouses has free administration and disposal of their own assets, except as provided in article 456. ARTICLE 470. Community property. The administration and disposition of marital assets corresponds to the spouse who has acquired them. However, the consent of the other is necessary to transfer or encumber: a) registrable assets; b) non-endorsable registered shares and non-registered shares, with the exception of those authorized for the public offer, without prejudice to the application of article 1824. c) participations in companies not excepted in the previous paragraph; d) commercial, industrial or agricultural establishments. The promises of the acts included in the previous sections also require...more
Sept. 8, 2023, 5:17 p.m.
Countries: Niger
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The husband alone administers the community property. He can sell, alienate and mortgage them without the wife's help" (97). The most recent laws noted in the WomanStats Database (since 2005) relating to marital property administration are still current as of December 2022 and no changes have been made, as verified by consulting The Women, Business, and the Law database for 2022 (JLR-CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 8, 2023, 5:06 p.m.
Countries: Niger
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"A married woman has full legal capacity. The exercise of this capacity is limited only by the marriage contract and by law" (14). "Pursuant to the preceding article, the wife may, on her sole signature, have a special current account opened by representation of her husband to deposit or withdraw the funds he leaves in her hands" (14). "When the woman has the administration and enjoyment of these personal assets, or reserved assets that she acquires through the exercise of a separate professional activity, she can have a current account opened in her own name, under the conditions provided for in article 1538. The same applies if the husband has...more
Sept. 8, 2023, 3:32 p.m.
Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The spouses have equal rights and responsibilities during the marriage and in particular to choose the place of residence of the family; decide freely and responsibly the number of sons and daughters, as well as the interval of their births, counting for it with information, education and means that allow them to adequately exercise this right; exercise their profession or occupation, have property and dispose of the goods free of charge or for consideration" (16). "The economic regimes of marriage and stable de facto union will be those that the spouses or cohabitants stipulate in their capitulations. These may be: a) Regime of separation of assets. b) Regime of participation...more
Sept. 8, 2023, 2:36 p.m.
Countries: New Zealand
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"All property of either spouse or partner that is not relationship property is separate property" (9). "(1) Except as provided in any enactment, the rights, privileges, powers, capacities, duties, and liabilities of a married woman shall, for all the purposes of the law of New Zealand (whether substantive, procedural, or otherwise), be the same in all respects as those of a married man, whether she is acting in a personal, official, representative, or fiduciary capacity. (2) This section shall apply to every married woman whether she was married before or after the commencement of this Act, and whether the marriage was solemnised in New Zealand or not, and whether she...more
Sept. 8, 2023, 1:35 p.m.
Countries: Netherlands
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"1. By operation of law a marital community of property shall come into existence between the spouses from the moment of the contracting of the marriage. 2. The marital community of property encloses, as far as it concerns its assets, all assets of the spouses that are present at the start of the marital community of property and, as long as the marital community of property has not been dissolved, that are acquired afterwards" (art. 94). "An asset registered in the name of a spouse and an asset that he has acquired due to a succession by inheritance, a bequest, a testamentary disposition under a condition or a donation, falls...more
Sept. 7, 2023, 1:32 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: LO-LAW-1, ATDW-LAW-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

"The law contains discriminatory provisions. For example, the law on property rights favors men in land tenancy and the division of family property. The constitution, however, confers rights for women that had not previously received legal protection, including rights equal to those of their spouses in property and family affairs, and special opportunities in education, health, and social security" (27). "The law grants women equal shares of their parents’ inheritance and the right to keep their property after marriage, but many women were not aware of their rights, and others were afraid to challenge existing practice. The law also grants widows complete access to and authority over the estate of...more
Sept. 7, 2023, 1:05 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Any person shall be entitled to exclusively deal with his or her private property, subject to this Act" (140). "No person shall, without obtaining written consent of the coparceners in common, transfer a property in common to another person" (224-225). The most recent laws noted in the WomanStats Database (since 2017) relating to property ownership are still current as of December 2022 and no changes have been made, as verified by consulting The Women, Business, and the Law database for 2022 (JLR-CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 6, 2023, 10:07 p.m.
Countries: Namibia
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act with regard to the administration of a joint estate - (a) the common law rule in terms of which a husband acquires the marital power over the person and property of his wife is hereby repealed; and (b) the marital power which any husband had over the person and property of his wife immediately before the commencement of this Act, is hereby abolished. (2) The abolition of the marital power by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall not affect the legal consequences of any act done or omission or fact existing before such abolition" (3). "Subject to this Part, a husband and...more
Sept. 6, 2023, 6:31 p.m.
Countries: Mozambique
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The Committee remains concerned that discriminatory customary laws and practices continue to regulate marriage and family relations in the State party, including child marriage, as well as access to property, even though civil law prevails over customary law in cases of conflict. It is also concerned about: (a) The remaining discriminatory inheritance laws and the lack of protection of the rights of widows in the Family Act (No. 10/2014)" (14).
Sept. 6, 2023, 5:54 p.m.
Countries: Mozambique
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The administration of the couple's property is the responsibility of the spouses in equal circumstances. The couple should favour dialogue and consensus in making decisions that may affect the common heritage and the interests of minor children" (10).
Sept. 6, 2023, 1:13 p.m.
Countries: Montenegro
Variables: LO-LAW-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"The law provides for the same legal status and rights for women as for men. All property acquired during marriage is joint property. The government enforced these laws somewhat effectively. The NGO SOS noted, however, that women often had trouble in defending their property rights in divorce proceedings due to the widespread public belief that property belongs to the man. Sometimes women ceded their inherited property and inheritance rights to male relatives due to tradition and pressure from their families. Men consequently tended to be favored in the distribution of property ownership, sometimes limiting a woman’s options in the cases of domestic violence or divorce. Women continued to experience discrimination...more
Sept. 6, 2023, 12:58 p.m.
Countries: Montenegro
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Property relationships in the family shall be based on the principles of equality, reciprocity and solidarity, as well as on the protection of the best interests of children" (4). "Joint property, during the marriage, shall be managed and disposed of jointly and by mutual consent of both spouses" (43). The most recent laws noted in the WomanStats Database (since 2016) relating to marital property administration are still current as of December 2022 and no changes have been made, as verified by consulting The Women, Business, and the Law database for 2022 (JLR-CODER COMMENT).
Sept. 6, 2023, 12:39 p.m.
Countries: Mongolia
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Family members shall equally exercise rights to own, use, and dispose of properties of family common ownership, as well as possess, use and dispose them on the basis of mutual agreement" (41). The most recent laws noted in the WomanStats Database (since 2002) relating to marital property administration are still current as of December 2022 and no changes have been made, as verified by consulting The Women, Business, and the Law database for 2022 (JLR-CODER COMMENT).