Women and Access to Justice
Corruption takes many forms. However, it affects people differently based on gender,socio-economic status, background, position of power and influence. In a country like Pakistan,where abject poverty, misogyny, lack of access to essential services, is a description of the dailylife of women in the rural areas, this means that due to their socio-economic background,women are often disproportionately affected by the corruption.
In fact, this gendered impact of corruption is far more glaring in cases where women have tostrive to claim their due entitlements and rights. For instance, Article 23 of the Constitution ofthe Islamic Republic of Pakistan guarantees the right to own property for every man and womanin the country. However, many women due to lack of legal awareness and the financial capacityto pay ‘bribe’ have to fight for their due right to ‘inherit’. According to the Demographic andHealth Survey of Pakistan 2017-18, “97 per cent of women did not inherit land or a house, while1pc each inherited agricultural land and a house. Less than 1pc of women inherited nonagricultural plots or residential plots”.
One such ordeal is of Bibi Sajida. In 2016, when Bibi Sajida’s father (Mian Ahmed) passed away,he left behind two wives, 6 sons and two daughters.Women Empower for the Fight Against CorruptionAfter Mian Ahmed died, his four sons from the first wife surreptitiously applied for the legalinheritance of their father’s property and bank accounts under the Pakistan Succession Act, 1925from the local court, claiming to be the only legal heirs of Mian Ahmed. Based on the successioncertificate, the four brothers obtained custody of the bank account of Mian Ahmed. The bankaccount had a deposit of Rs. 1500,000
Pakistan’s inheritance law entitles all children of the deceased (both male and female) as their legal heirs. However, all the four men illegally deprived their stepsisters of their inheritance rights.
During Covid-19, TI Pakistan regularly organized Access to Justice Campaign. As part thisawareness campaign, TI Pakistan regularly shared information on wide range of topics includingRTI laws, property and inheritance laws for citizens’ awareness, through social media. Thematerial was shared with partner organizations as well. During this time, one of the daughters ofMian Ahmed, namely Bibi Sajida had come across TI Pakistan’s Access to Justice Campaign andreached out to TI Pakistan Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) to seek advice for hergrievance.
TI Pakistan’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) advised Bibi Sajida that the PakistanSuccession Act 1925 entitles both the sisters and the two brothers who have been left out, withthe right to inheritance of their father’s moveable and immoveable assets. Bibi Sajida boldlytaken up on the legal fight to seek justice and expose her fours step brothers who deprivedthem of their inheritance.
After a long struggle spanning over months, Bibi Sajida was able to prove to the court and lat eron to the bank, through her family tree, that the two sisters and two brothers are also the legal heirs of Mr. Mian Ahmed.
In February 2022, when Bibi Sajida approached the local bank to seek share of her inheritance from her late father’s account deposit, she came to know that the four step brothers had already taken out half of the money i.e. Rs. 750,000 out of Rs. 1500,000 deposited in her late father’s account. However, based on the succession certificate issued from the local court, thebank has given Rs. 93000 to each of the two sisters as their legal share of inheritance.
Bibi Sajida is only one of a multitude of women struggling to claim their rightful inheritance inPakistan. To address this discrimination requires consistent efforts at creating awareness amongwomen about their rights and entitlements. TI Pakistan’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre(ALAC) is at the forefront to give women a voice, bringing about a more open dialogue amongthe broad strata of society around the prevalence of gender-based corruption anddiscrimination