Countries: Nigeria
Variables: LO-LAW-1

“In Nigeria, while the Constitution guarantees rights to property and equal protection without discrimination on grounds of sex, most of Nigeria’s customary legal systems do not allow women to inherit from their deceased husbands or fathers. For some time, the courts enforced this position, however, a string of case law has in recent years confirmed that it is unconstitutional to discriminate against women on the issues of land, housing, property and inheritance. These cases have allowed widows, daughters, and children born out of wedlock to inherit and it is progress that should be celebrated. Unfortunately, in practice, women continue to be deprived of the right to inherit and manage property....more

Countries: South Africa
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1

“However, legal reforms have sought to address these disparities by recognising and protecting women’s rights to matrimonial property. Matrimonial property laws in Africa have undergone significant developments in recent years, aiming to promote gender equality and protect women's rights within marital relationships. These laws address the distribution of property and assets acquired during marriage, acknowledging women’s contributions to the family and economic well-being. Many countries now have legal provisions calling for equitable distribution of matrimonial property that take into account direct and indirect contributions such as in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. In Cameroon, case law has established that both spouses have equal matrimonial property ownership rights. Such...more

Countries: Kenya
Variables: LO-LAW-1

“However, legal reforms have sought to address these disparities by recognising and protecting women’s rights to matrimonial property. Matrimonial property laws in Africa have undergone significant developments in recent years, aiming to promote gender equality and protect women's rights within marital relationships. These laws address the distribution of property and assets acquired during marriage, acknowledging women’s contributions to the family and economic well-being. Many countries now have legal provisions calling for equitable distribution of matrimonial property that take into account direct and indirect contributions such as in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa. In Cameroon, case law has established that both spouses have equal matrimonial property ownership rights. Such...more

Countries: Egypt
Variables: LO-LAW-1

“In some cases, upon divorce, the matrimonial property of a woman is tied to the custody of the child. In Egypt for instance, upon divorce, the wife may keep the matrimonial home when she has custody of the child but loses this privilege when the children reach the age of majority or when she loses custody” (17). “The family is ‘based on religion, morality and patriotism’. The Constitution also protects the right to own private property. Under Article 35 of the Constitution, ‘[p]rivate property is protected. The right to inherit property is guaranteed. Private property may not be sequestrated except in cases specified by law, and by a court order’”...more

Countries: Botswana
Variables: LO-LAW-1

“Spousal consent is required for certain legal transactions, such as the disposal of jointly owned property where the marriage is in community of property, but since this requirement applies equally to husbands and wives, it acts as a protective mechanism for women who were previously disenfranchised without their knowledge in countries such as Botswana and Kenya” (17). “Women married out of community of property are at a further disadvantage. In Botswana, the economically weaker spouse (generally the wife) will be greatly disadvantaged if during the marriage she had, for example, spent her time looking after the family, household and children while her husband worked. Despite her contribution to the joint...more

Countries: China
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"As China embraced market reforms starting in the 1980s, the government began taking over rural land for factories, railways and shopping centers. In exchange, villagers received compensation, often in the form of new apartments or certificates entitling them to dividends from the land’s future use. The government mandated that female village members be given equal compensation. But it left the definition of 'members' to the male-led village assemblies. And to many of those assemblies, one group didn’t qualify: married-out women" (para 15-16). "The law itself has loopholes. A top legal body last fall urged prosecutors to protect the rights of women who marry outside their villages, in line with constitutional...more

Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The law stipulated that women [in Saudi Arabia] must be granted their rights from inheritance and succession, especially real estate. A woman’s silence about her right to inherit does not mean that her right to inheritance will be forfeited if she asks for it" (para 26-27).

Countries: China
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1

"Already, Chinese women are not guaranteed their basic rights. Last month, Zhou Xiaoyu, a woman in Zhejiang, lost a lawsuit against her village for her rightful claim of land, just because she’s married. The village elders saw her as part of her husband’s family, and voted against giving her compensation for the land in the village, even though she had never moved out" (par. 15).

Countries: El Salvador
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Article 5 of the Act on the Promotion, Protection and Development of Microenterprises and Small Businesses establishes that the central Government and the municipal authorities must provide support to new and existing microenterprises and small businesses, encourage private investment in such businesses and promote a range of business and financial services under conditions of gender equity" (22). "In 2018, the Social Housing Fund launched the Homes for Women Programme, which offers special conditions for single women, female heads of household, single mothers and widows who wish to own their own home and whose household income is below two and a half times the minimum wage, which is equivalent to $760.43....more

Countries: India
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"In short, the Madras high court held that a wife as a homemaker is entitled to an equal share in marital property as she has performed household chores round the clock, thereby enabling the husband to engage in gainful employment and accumulate sufficient savings to purchase property" (par. 3). "Thus, as a matter of economic justice, both spouses should be the legal owners of property and other assets acquired during marriage" (par. 5). "Broadly, there are community property and separation of property regimes. In community property, all assets acquired during marriage are treated as belonging to both spouses. Assets acquired prior to marriage or inheritances received is considered individually owned...more

Countries: China
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The amendment to the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, which covers... social security, property, marriage and the family, and also provides for remedies and corrective measures and on legal responsibility, including penal provisions, in October 2022" (Page 2). "The amendment to the Law on Land Contracts in Rural Areas, which provides that all family members living in the same rural household enjoy equal rights and interests in land contracted in accordance with the law, and that land contract certificates or forest ownership certificates include all family members with the right to contract and manage the land, in 2018" (Page 2). "The Committee notes the high...more

Countries: Morocco
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"The public authorities have promoted gender equality in the use of traditional collective lands. They have implemented Ministry of the Interior circulars issued in 2010 and 2012 that urge the representatives of the traditional collective groups to include women in the registers of rights holders who benefit from in-kind and material compensation. In 2010, the Supreme Council for Religious Learning issued a fatwa affirming that women should benefit from the same material and in-kind benefits as men in real estate deals involving collective land. The 2010 Religious Endowments Code abolishes the favouritism granted to males over females. Article 113 provides that the dividend of family waqf endowments is to be...more

Countries: Kyrgyzstan
Variables: LO-LAW-1, IAW-LAW-1, IAD-LAW-1

"Legislation provides that citizens, both women and men, have the right to own, inherit and bequeath property. Women are entitled to set up legal entities on their own or together with other citizens and legal persons, to engage in any transaction that is not contrary to the law and to assume obligations" (35).

Countries: Guatemala
Variables: LO-LAW-1

"Under the State Land Regularization and Allocation Programme, the Government provides peasant families with legal certainty regarding land, granting titles to applicants and their spouses. Between 2019 and 2020, the Government regularized and allocated State land to 5,749 heads of household, with 8,590 families covered, including applicants and their spouses, in order to protect the nuclear family (the decision is issued in the name of both). Fifty-four percent of beneficiaries were women" (31).

Countries: Morocco
Variables: LO-LAW-1

“Each of the two spouses has an estate separate from the other. However, the two spouses may, under the framework of the management of assets to be acquired during the marriage, agree on their investment and distribution. This agreement is indicated in a written document separate from the marriage contract. The Adouls (public notaries) inform the two parties of these provisions at the time of the marriage. In the absence of such an agreement, recourse is made to general standards of evidence, while taking into consideration the work of each spouse, the efforts made as well as the responsibilities assumed in the development of the family assets” (16). The most...more