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Women right to Inheritance

Dear sisters and brothers
Violence forms against women (formal, informal, physical and psychological) are numerous. Sadly, violations are often committed by family members. Under the same pretext (being a women). It looks as if women real enemy was their sex, a thing that they did not choose. Among the most painful societal violence forms practiced against women is denial of family Inheritance practiced in rural Egypt in general and mostly in upper Egypt.
In rural areas, men work mainly in farming which means that they earn a seasonal income. Hence, women in addition to being responsible for all household activities, raise domestic animal and prepare dairy products to insure sufficient income for daily spending. This should have been a reason to respect women and their rights. Instead they are humiliated, exploited and obliged to bare various forms of violence.
Historically, the idea of allowing wives to inherit and thus, allowing family property to be transferred to another family was always strongly contested.
First: Women inheritance in Judaism:
Inheritance system in Judaism is based on denial of women inheritance. Women inherited only in case of absence of male heirs. Wives can not inherit their husbands.
Second: Women inheritance in the Roman Empire:
Women and men had equal rights, except for wives who did not inherit their husbands. When the mother died, what she had inherited from her father went back to her brothers in order to keep the family fortune within the family.
Third: Women inheritance in ancient oriental civilizations:
People who lived in the east after deluge (great flood) and before the birth of Jesus. Their system was based on replacing the father by the eldest son, and if not by the eldest one alive, followed by brothers, uncles and then the step family (only males). It was characterized in addition to what we already mentioned by denying both women and children of inheritance.
Inheritance in Ancient Egypt:
The system was based on dividing the inheritance equally among all family members, with no difference made between adults and children or males and females. Parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts and wife all shared the inheritance.
Inheritance in ancient Arab lands (before the Islam):
They did develop their own system but rather followed the old oriental civilizations. The denial of women inheritance had other reasons also, one of them being that she was not fit to be a good soldier. In a society in which great value was attached to the heroic deeds and the power of fighting, women were denied inheritance, because they lacked the fighting capacity.
For this very reason, the pre-Islamic Arabs were opposed to women inheritance, who could not inherit as long as a male member of the family, howsoever distant, existed. That is why they were greatly surprised, when the Qur'an expressly said: "For men is a share of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether it be little or much - an appointed share', (Surah an-Nisa, 4:32).
Inheritance was only for adult males capable of fighting, where they were people of war and attacks. Moreover, sons inherited the late father's women along with the rest. He would come and throw his shirt on her and says I have inherited her as I inherited my fathers money. Then he could dispose her at his will and pleasure. He had the option of either marrying her himself, or giving her in marriage to someone else and taking her dower or keep her unmarried. This custom, which was not peculiar to the Arabs, was abolished by the Qur'an. In few rare cases, some did as the ancient Egyptians and the Romans and treated men and women equally in this respect.
Women inheritance in Islam:
The Islamic religion came to abolish this unfair system. It has defined a share in inheritance according to her position in the family. Sadly, a broad spectrum of society in rural Egypt oversee this right.
From the previous we can see that the fear of seeing the family fortune moving to another family dominated numerous civilizations over long periods of time throughout history of mankind. Even when women were allowed to share inheritance, it was under a condition, that the fortune goes back her brothers and sisters after her death so that it does not go to her husbands family.
The currant situation of women inheritance in Egypt:
As we explained earlier the Ancient Egyptian considered women as equal to men in rights and in duties. They shared equally in inheritance and were named goddesses and queens. Surprisingly, the actual situation of pharaohs has nothing to do with her ancestors as if time was going anti clockwise. Instead progressing, Egyptians fell under control of customs and traditions that have no bases neither in religion nor in legislation. Their only foundation is the perception of inferiority of women, whose rights can be violated and money can be taken away without reproof of conscience .
Prevailing customs and traditions in rural Egypt consider that land belongs to men while women are not allowed to share the inherited land. If a woman claimed her inheritance, her family would refuse and would cut all contacts with her. The crime of depriving women from their legal right to inherit is widespread in Upper Egypt, where women are obliged to content themselves with the little that their brothers are willing to give and keep their mouth shut. Women usually incline before these traditions no matter how unfair they are, and never claim their right to inheritance.
In addition, those who justify this practice by religion are certainly wrong. This tradition is the continuity of dark ages mentality, where women were perceived as a material belonging for man and had no rights to claim. The fear of seeing the family land going to another family is the only motif behind this practice. Women who dare challenge this idea and claim their rights are met with great severeness by their male counterparts and are submitted to violence since she is considered as being almost an outlaw by breaking the traditions.
Unfortunately there are no reliable statistics concerning the number of victims of this practice. In most of the cases, women are reluctant to complain in public or to claim their rights through legal means because of their fear of social judgment.
In order to fight this tradition, there must be a new legislation to allow for punishment of those who violate women right to inheritance. In parallel, a social education strategy is needed. Clerics in villages are respected. They along with local development associations should work on changing this unfair practice.
A new draft law to fight denial of women inheritance:
In order to change these wrong and unfair practice, there is draft law the might be presented during the next parliamentary round. The draft proposes and amendment to law number 77 for the year 1943, by adding an article to punish whoever refuses and denies the right of a legitimate heir (male or female) of inheritance by one year prison and a fine.
If the law is approved, brothers who force their sisters to give away their share shall be held accountable by the law. Concession by women will be a subject of investigation for fear of being tainted by for force or ignorance to accept.
Fathers who decide to give over a third of their fortune during their lives, will not be allowed to do so. Decisions shall be considered void.
Cases where ignorance or force are used to deny women of their inheritance shall be strictly punished.