PESHAWAR: Experts at a provincial conference Saturday called upon the stakeholders to take immediate steps to ensure women’s inheritance rights.
The Community Appraisal and Motivation Program (CAMP), in association with the Provincial Ombudsman for Anti-Harassment, organized a one-day provincial conference to protect and promote women’s inheritance rights in the newly merged tribal districts of Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Addressing the conference, Provincial Ombudsman Ms. Rakhshanda Naz appreciated the role of CAMP in raising awareness among the tribal people for protection of women’s inheritance rights. She said the laws should be easy to understand and equal for women.
She emphasized that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Investment of Women’s Property Rights 2019 ensures women’s share in the inheritance of all types of property and property. Can’t be deprived Addressing the participants in the conference, Mufti Ghulam Majeed, Senior Research Officer, Islamic Ideological Council, highlighted the hereditary rights of women in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Mufti Sahib said that in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty has given severe punishment to those who usurp the rights of women. She also briefed the participants on the steps taken by the Reform Ideological Council to protect the inherited rights of women.
Dr. Noorin, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Peshawar, called for an end to all forms of discrimination against women in the name of tradition in the tribal districts.
Dr. Noorin further said that women should be given equal rights as human beings. He said that the proportion of women in the newly merged districts is 51% and it is a matter of time before this large section of the population becomes economically stable.
Dr Samina Afridi, another lecturer at the University of Peshawar, said in her address that protection of women’s hereditary rights could not be ensured without creating awareness among the people. She said that since the formation of Pakistan, some traditional legal practices in the tribal areas have been termed as ‘customs’.
Dr. Samina said that these traditional laws often lead to women’s rights or finances. She said that due to lack of legal demarcation of land in the tribal districts and inadequate capacity of state institutions at the district level, it was difficult to determine the share of women in the distribution of land and property.
Union Afridi of the Khadim-ul-Amalq Foundation, representing social organizations, highlighted the ongoing district-level awareness activities under the “Dakhor Surkha” project and also spoke about the interest and positive results of local conferences in these activities.
Other speakers at the conference included CAMP CEO and Naveed Shinwari Director Programs Maryam Khan and Project Manager Asad Ali. The one-day provincial conference was attended by representatives of lawyers forum, media, NCHR, social organizations and education sector.
