Promoting women’s rights to inheritance

About the project

In May 2018 the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a constitutional amendment to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. The merger brings the former FATA under the control of the laws and regulations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, and under the Constitution of Pakistan. The Newly Merged Districts are now subject to laws that protect women’s right to inheritance, as stipulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.

Although the tribal districts have been administratively merged with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the concomitant administrative structures and processes required for the implementation of these laws are not yet in place. This project will build the capacity of civil society to engage with local communities on the issue and to advocate with provincial legislators for the implementation of the inheritance laws. This will be achieved by:

• building the capacity of 30 civil society organisations (CSOs) to better understand inheritance laws
• forming an alliance of CSOs to mobilise grassroots support for women’s rights and to advocate for the implementation of women’s right to inheritance laws
• engaging in district level meetings to familiarise law enforcement representatives with women’s right to inheritance laws
• sensitising the general public on women’s right to inheritance using radio and other forms of creative expression
• holding meetings with tribal and religious leaders to sensitise them on the issue of women’s right to inheritance
• developing a video documentary which will be used as an advocacy tool and for outreach on social media.

The sustainability of results will be addressed through building the capacity of CSOs that will make up the alliance so they can continue to sensitise leaders and advocate for the implementation of women’s right to inheritance laws. The planning and monitoring of the activities of the alliance will be done independently by the alliance itself with support from the CAMP, in order to help build the skills and experience needed for the alliance to continue its work.

By the end of the project, it is expected that the relevant CSOs, tribal leaders, and policy makers will have a better understanding of inheritance laws and will contribute to a debate in the provincial parliament on these rights, as well as the need for the implementation of these laws in the Newly Merged Districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.