NCHR Launches Campaign For Women Property Rights

Myra Azam

Islamabad: Over 80 percent of women report not receiving their legal share of inheritance, even after a 2011 amendment to the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act which grants women equal rights in property inheritance. Therefore, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) has launched an awareness campaign.

To raise awareness about this injustice, the NCHR, among other forms of legal redress, including writing to the Federal Ombudsman, has joined a social media campaign with the Legal Aid Society (LAS).

The campaign highlights the case of Tahira Sultana, a 91-year-old widow who has been waiting for the implementation of Supreme Court orders regarding her property share for the past 22 years. She has now reached out to the Commission to tell her story to the world.

“I have no more stamina and strength in me, but God willing, I still hope that someone will come and end my story of woe,” the campaign quotes Tahira in one of the Tweets shared through the NCHR Twitter handle.

The campaign also shares her photographs from today, comparing them with those from when she started her struggle. The photographs capture a widow’s 53-year journey for justice and access to her rightful share in her deceased husband’s property.

Tahira’s Ordeal

Tahira’s husband, Major S.S. Rashidul Hamid, passed away on October 16, 1964, leaving behind a widow and three children, all of whom were minors at the time of his death. Her father tried to negotiate for her share of the inheritance but talks remained unsuccessful.

Till now, even with two Supreme Court judgments in her favour, the lack of implementation has denied Tahira her inheritance.

“At the age of 33, I started this journey in strength and youth, believing that my battle for ‘haq’ would eventually be victorious. I have lost my daughter, who had a disability, as I could not provide for her medical needs; I have lost the little money I had in litigation; and beyond everything, I have lost my faith and pride in Pakistan’s ability to deliver justice,” says the letter written by the widow to the Commission.

On September 26, 2022, she lodged a campaign before the Ombudsperson Punjab, under Section 7 of the Punjab Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act 2021, for the implementation of Supreme Court orders. The next hearing regarding the plaintiffs’ right to their inheritance is scheduled for January 26, 2023.

The story of Tahira Sultana highlights the fact that claiming property rights through court is a hard journey for a woman; but for a widow, the journey is much tougher. The campaign also pays her tribute for fighting for her rights and not giving up.