Access to property

Property is defined as things commonly recognized as belonging to a person or group. Important types of property include real property (Access to land), personal property (other physical possessions such as a home, a car, etc.), and intellectual property (rights over artistic creations, inventions, etc.). Owners of property have the right to dispense with the property in a manner they sees fit: whether to use or not use, exclude others from using, or to transfer ownership. Some philosophers assert that property rights arise from social convention. Others find origins for property rights in morality or natural law.

Women are very often discriminated against in their access to property. This includes: the legal incapacity for women to sign contracts, Marriage needing their husbands to co-sign on or approve any purchase or administration of property, and women unable to inherit property. Even if there is no legal discrimination, de facto discrimination concerning the access to property can be important due to cultural values or traditions.

External links

• FAO, IFAT, ILC (2004), Rural Women’s access to Land and Property in Selected countries, pregress towards achieving the aims of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, Report Gender and Population Division (FAO) ,Technical Advisory Division (IFAD, and International Land Coalition (ILC).http://www.landcoalition.org/pdf/cedawrpt.pdf…

• ICRW (2006), Property Ownership & Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection – The South Asia Experience http://www.icrw.org/docs/2006_propertyrights-southasia.pdf…
• See also: Women and Land Tenure