A day-long provincial conference titled “Creating Space for Women’s Inheritance Rights in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” was held here on promoting women’s property through inheritance rights in the tribal districts.
The event was organized by the Community Appraisal and Motivation Program (CAMP) in coordination with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Secretariat.
Rukhshanda Naz, Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opened the conference by lauding the efforts of the KP government and civil society for collaborating on this important issue. She applauded the male civil society representatives for spreading awareness about women’s rights and property/inheritance in their hujras and other public spaces. Rukhshanda said we need to focus on changing attitudes and mindsets along with educating communities about inheritance laws. She also 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 also highlighted some structural gaps in the law, issues with institutions, and the need for policy-level debate. In the end, she acknowledged CAMP’s efforts for raising awareness about this law and spoke about how cases have started trickling in from NMDs due to the awareness campaign.
CAMP’s representative Asad Ali introduced CAMP NGO and the Da Khor Barkha project. He welcomed the honored speakers and guests to the conference. A short documentary and animation were shown at the event, which was appreciated by the participants. These are also available on CAMP’s social media pages and website.
Munir Khan, M&E Consultant shared findings from the field where local civil society organizations (CSOs) were provided small grants by CAMP NGO to educate communities about women’s right to inheritance. He highlighted that despite resistance from some quarters, it was encouraging to see the role of local activists and CSOs and the commitment of communities in taking the message forward.
In the second session, two pro bono lawyers Sabiha Iqbal Khattak and Amna Rafique spoke about how the “the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act” 2019 facilitates women in their property or inheritance cases.
Under this law, an investigation of property is done by commissioners and sent to the deputy commissioners to act on it within 14 days. The lawyers also shared their experience of working with the revenue department, whom they follow up with in determining the share and division of property.
Amna Rafique termed the property law and the related process a ‘miracle’ due to the transparency, and quick dispensation of justice.
