Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Women's Property Rights
Women's Property Rights
Women's Property Rights
Research Questions
• What is the role of Civil / Criminal / Revenue / Contract laws and special laws protecting women’s
property rights and their empowerment especially in Punjab Province of Pakistan?
• Which are the cogent differences of opinions / arguments being supported / advanced by Jurists of
different schools of thoughts with respect to women’s property rights and empowerment?
• What is the role of Civil and Revenue Courts in protection of women’s property rights?
• Which are the workable solutions to the problems relating to women and impediments / barriers being
faced by them in Punjab province of Pakistan?
Delimitation of the Research / Study
This study is limited to the Punjab province regarding women's property rights and women’s
empowerment.
Further in the assessed areas women were usually restricted from participating in private conversations
and public talks.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Progress in terms of women’s property rights
Pakistan has witnessed significant advancements in the domains of women's rights, gender equality, and women's
empowerment (Yilmaz, I. 2014).
From Independence to 1971
• No five-year plans did not include a section dedicated to the status and role of women.
• women were perceived as mothers and homemakers.
The Bhutto era
• prevalence of liberal perspectives concerning women.
• Constitution of 1973, granted women equal status as citizens.
• Article 32 of the Constitution, explicitly state that discrimination solely based on sex is prohibited.
• 10% of the seats in the National Assembly and 5% in the provincial assemblies were allocated for female.
Chapter on women in Sixth Dev. Plan
• Result of the collaborative efforts of a working group lead by Syeda Abida Hussain
• Goal was to implement a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing the status of women
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Martial law regime of Zia-ul-Haq
• a series of measures aimed at Islamization & legislation discriminated against women.
• Hudood Ordinance and the laws pertaining to evidence, Qisas, and Diyat.
• Excluded women from engaging in sports activities and attending sporting events,
• The practice of "Purdah" by mandating the use of "Chaddars" for female observers.
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Plans
• Inclusion of women's concerns in the planning process
• The formation of working groups
• development of women's human resources and the achievement of sustainable economic
growth.
CEDAW
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
• Strategies to be developed by Ministry of Women’s Development (MWD)
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Research Strategy
• Quantitative Strategy
• Survey Based Approved is adopted in this study.
This is a cross sectional study in nature and information and data were collected through survey
method by using close ended questionnaire.
•A descriptive frequency analysis is used to find the implementation status of women’s property laws and the challenges
encountered by them.
•The findings are presented in tabular format, describing the prevailing choices made by the participants for each
variable.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Gender of Participants
Male 45 30
Female 105 70
Intermediate 64
42.7
Matric 21 14.0
Primary or Middle 5 3.3
Illiterate 2 1.3
Working in Fields
23 15.3
Agriculture
Working in Govt.
44 29.3
Sector
Others 9 6.0
Urban 58 38.7
Rural 92 61.3
Multan 55
36.7
Vehari 23
15.3
Khanewal 37 24.7
Lodhran 35 23.3
Table 6 District of Respondents Figure 6 District of Respondents
Frequency Analysis of Questionnaire
Section-A (Awareness of women’s property rights laws in Pakistan)
Neutral
# Statement Agreed % Dis-agreed %
%
Women are aware of the existence of laws for the protection of their property rights.
1 43.3 13.3 2.0
Illiterate Women are more vulnerable to exploitation of their property rights than literate
4 ones. 40.0 20.0 3.3
The majority of Women are deprived of their legal rights due to ignorance / unawareness.
6 56.7 16.0 7.3
Frequency Analysis of Questionnaire
Section-B (Implementation status of women’s property rights.
Neutral
# Statement Agreed % Dis-agreed %
%
There are a number of loopholes in the ongoing system of Women’s property rights laws
1 implementation mechanism. 50.7 9.3 6.7
Majority of women in Punjab do not claim their property rights due to male dominant
4 society. 33.3 21.3 3.3
Family men discourage women to surrender their property in favour of their brothers.
6 50.7 12.7 8.0
Women are harassed after marriage if they claim their rights in Husband’s property.
7 57.3 21.3 4.0
Women does not prefer to visit to court due to non-availability of female judges in court of
4 law. 44.7 11.3 6.7
i. Awareness be given through electronic, social and print media campaigns regarding legal programmes on women’s property rights
with special focus on land record offices.
j. A mechanism may be devised at gross root level for safety and sensitization for the property rights as well as welfare of women in all
walks of life while effective utilization of all kinds of available resources.
k. Women must be taken on boards in all kinds of legislation regarding their basic rights as well as their property rights and their
empowerment in all spheres of life to improve their status and living standard in the country.
l. A separate counter for women in all offices with female staff may be established especially in land revenue offices to complete the
procedure of land registration / transaction.
m. Separate facilities like waiting room, breast feeding room for mothers, toilets etc. may be provided for women besides special
arrangement for disabled.
n. Hoarding Boards, Streamers, Pamphlets, broachers regarding information on women’s property rights should be displayed/made and
distributed among the women service seekers and in all offices for the general public as well.
o. The Ministry of Women, and Ministry of Commerce and Industry should take measures for the participation of women, who are
interested in entrepreneurship and marketing.
p. Microcredit loan facilities without interest from commercial banks be provided to the women for small and medium enterprises as
well as for the purchase of the property.
q. Scholars and researchers may be encouraged to continue their research work related to women’s issues especially related to property
rights and their empowerment in Pakistan.
Recommendations-continued
Factors to secure women’s Property Rights
a) Family support for women
b) Advocacy & Support for women’s Property Rights
c) Inherited Land as a source of income source
d) Awareness through social, electronic and print media
e) Female Legal Advisors/Counsels for free legal services
f) Workshop and training programmes to social workers
g) WhatsApp Groups for Coordination
h) Establishment of Woman’s right Watchdogs
i) Removal of barriers at land revenue offices
j) Entrepreneurs and Women’s independent business
k) Legal Reforms for Women’s property rights
Future Work
This research work is organized for study purpose with the time and budget constraints. Moreover, sample size selected in this study is also
small. Therefore, results inferred during this study are valid for South Punjab region. Moreover, this work is completed as cross sectional
study and all the data is collected at a specific point of time. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized for the whole Punjab. In future,
this work can be extended by selecting a larger sample size and can be performed as longitudinal study to get more generalized results.
Furthermore, target population selected during this study consist of Women and implementers. In future, this work can be performed by
selected specific regions to get more specific results.