PESHAWAR:A day-long Civil Society Organization (CSO) Alliance meeting was held here the other day on the role of CSOs in promoting women’s property and inheritance rights in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs).
The meeting was organized by the Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) in coordination with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Secretariat.
Mariam Khan from CAMP NGO welcomed the CSO members who participated in the meeting from across the Newly Merged Districts. This was followed by sharing of a video documentary and animated video produced by CAMP on women’s inheritance in the NMDs.
Asad Ali from CAMP shared CAMP’s experience regarding the awareness campaign carried out by CSOs, from the proposal development to the implementation process. He also held a detailed session on the reporting requirements for CSOs.
In the second session, representatives from local CSOs shared the achievements and challenges they faced when implementing awareness activities in their respective districts. Activities include Jirga meetings with religious elders and tribal leaders, sessions with law enforcement representatives, community meetings with men and women, radio and print campaigns for awareness and facilitating women to submit cases related to property with the Ombudsperson Secretariat.
Sabeha Iqbal shared issues that women face in trying to get their rightful share in inheritance. She said the ratio of cases from NMDs was very small, but it was hoped that with initiatives such as Da Khor Barkha project, this will increase. The number of cases had now exceeded 800, she informed the CSO representatives. She highlighted that they were not forcing anyone to claim their right to inheritance as they were only facilitating those who wanted to come forward and ask for their share in inheritance.
However, she said, it was important for men and women to know that this was a right that religion, Constitution and law had given to the women. Sabeha also shared the process for applicants and said the legal desk at the Ombudsperson Secretariat had been set up to help women. She added that women were welcomed at the Ombudsperson office and all efforts were made to finalize the proceedings within 60 days.
She shared that there were two successful cases from Khyber and Waziristan and hoped that there would be more from other districts as well as the acceptance of this law and awareness on the issue increased.
CAMP representatives concluded the event by urging the local CSOs to spread awareness about property rights of the women in the NMDs even after the project ends and to share cases with the Ombudsperson for processing.
The collaborative efforts of the Ombudsperson Secretariat and CAMP will promote women’s right to inheritance in Newly Merged Districts (NMDS) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where women are deprived of their share in inheritance. Although laws have been extended to the former tribal belt after it was ‘merged’ with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in May 2018, local traditions and lack of administrative structures hindered the implementation.