Provincial conference: Awareness urged to ensure property rights to women

PESHAWAR: Speakers at an event have called for changing attitudes and mindsets along with educating communities about inheritance laws to ensure property rights for women.

They were speaking at the one-day Provincial Conference “Creating Space for Women’s Inheritance Rights in the Newly Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”.

Lawyers, media persons, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) representatives and others attended the moot.

The Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) in coordination with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Secretariat had arranged the programme to promote women’s property and inheritance rights in the newly merged districts.

Rukhshanda Naz, Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, Government KP, opened the conference.

She praised the CSOs men representatives for spreading awareness about women’s rights and property/inheritance at hujras and other public spaces.

Rukhshanda Naz reminded the participants that “the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act” was not only about inheritance but about the property of all types.

“This act aims at providing protection to women of their rights of ownership and possession of properties owned by them, ensuring that such rights are not violated by any means of harassment, coercion, force or fraud and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” she explained.

Rukhshanda Naz highlighted some structural gaps in the law, issues with the institutions and the need for a policy-level debate.

She acknowledged CAMP’s efforts for raising awareness about the law and spoke about how cases have started trickling in from merged districts due to the awareness campaign. The ombudsperson highlighted the process and powers related to the law, and how accountability is followed for cases.

Two pro bono lawyers, Amna Rafique and Sabiha Iqbal Khattak stated how the “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act” 2019 facilitates women on their property or inheritance cases.

They said under this law, investigation of property is done by commissioners, and the finding is sent to the relevant deputy commissioners to act on it within 14 days.

CAMP’s representatives Asad Ali Qureshi and Mariam Khan introduced CAMP NGO and the Da Khor Barkha Project. A short documentary and animation were screened as well.

Munir Khan, a monitoring and evaluation consultant, shared findings from

the field where CAMP provided small grants to local CSOs to educate communities about women’s rights to inheritance. A forum — “Newly Merged Districts Women Lawyers Network” — was launched during the conference.

The network with 32 women lawyers helps the members with information and preparation to facilitate women from merged districts in their claiming rights.