Vulnerable daughters

SAUDI women are not only subjected to social injustice based on a narrow and hardline interpretation of Islam, but also suffer discrimination due to customs and traditions that clash directly with the teachings of the religion. Some customs and traditions continue to marginalize women because many people do not understand how important it is in Islam to give women their full rights. Perhaps the harshest of injustices experienced by a woman is when she is deprived of her inheritance, which is a right granted by the Islamic law. Often a woman’s brothers and other male relatives monopolize her right, ignoring the Qur’anic teaching as stated in the verse: “For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much — an obligatory share.” (4:7 Holy Qur’an) Okaz/Saudi Gazette recorded several cases of disinheritance, some of which have reached the courts and some where women are ashamed of having their problems exposed publicly. Injustice is imposed by fathers too while they are alive by depriving their daughters of their inheritance. This is exactly what one father of seven daughters did. When he felt he was on the verge of death he gave up all his possessions to his sons, depriving the seven daughters of their right to inheritance. He ignored the difficult conditions the daughters suffered and their urgent need for money, while the brothers agreed and accepted this injustice. Mazoon, an elderly woman who did not get married, is living on social security benefits after her father sold all his possessions to his three sons and deprived her of the right to inheritance. Umm Mufarah and her daughters have been living in difficult conditions. They were forced to let go of their right to inheritance after the head of the household died because social traditions often prevent women from inheritance. Legal adviser and lawyer Mohammed Al-Twairqi said the denial of women’s inheritance is prohibited because it rejects the commandments of Allah as stated in the Qur’an. The holy book stresses the need to give women their inheritance in the verse: “If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females. Allah makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allah is Knowing of all things.” (Holy Qur’an 4:176) Islam therefore totally prohibits depriving women of their right to inheritance. Al-Twairqi said any woman who is subjected to such injustice should file a lawsuit and request that the inheritance be divided in accordance with the Shariah. Al-Twairqi added that these cases are common in some areas where customs and traditions are in control of people’s views and where patriarchy does not take into account a woman’s right to inheritance. It means some parents dedicate their belongings to male offspring only based on traditions accompanied by a weak Islamic faith. Al-Twairqi said the denial of women’s inheritance was due to several reasons, such as women’s ignorance of their rights, and that women sometimes lose their rights when giving male heirs legal authority to conduct affairs on their behalf. “This is a very big mistake and lets the brother misappropriate the women’s right to inheritance through the delegated authority. There are many cases in which I have witnessed where justice was granted to women,” he said. Ibrahim Al-Tayyar, public relations and media official at the Ministry of Justice, said available statistics cover all inheritance cases in the courts and there are no special statistics on cases involving women’s inheritance. It means there is a need to collect statistics based on women’s issues in order to contribute to the support studies related to this subject, he added. Recent statistics reveal that the Eastern Province ranks top in the number of cases related to inheritance. Social researcher Ali Abu Talib said it is difficult to find statistics and figures related to the issue of denial of women’s inheritance, but that it can be inferred from available data on court cases that the largest proportion of women who are denied their inheritance rights is in the rural areas. He said only a small percentage of rural women raise grievances to the authorities, while in the cities women do not accept this because of a higher degree of social and legal awareness. Abu Talib said in most cases, women do not resort to the authorities to restore their rights for several reasons, such as the prevalence of collective opinion and power of men over women and women being regarded as subordinate to men. Social researcher Shadia Ghazali said Islam came to refute many misconceptions about women, especially the most serious forms of discrimination against women. Ghazali said in some rural communities women continue to suffer from deprivation of their right to inheritance.