Women without inheritance rights in northeastern Syria

Enab Baladi-Reham al-Sawadi

After their father’s death, Fatima’s three brothers divided his inheritance among themselves, leaving her and her four sisters without any share.

As is customary in the town of al-Shaddadi, south of al-Hasakah governorate, Fatima’s sisters, aged 36, renounced their rights to the inheritance, while Fatima was the only one to claim her right.

Fatima told Enab Baladi that if her family of six were not under “harsh conditions,” she would not have filed a lawsuit in court to claim her share of the inheritance, which amounts to approximately 15 dunams (about 3.7 hectares).

Fatima, whose full name was hidden by Enab Baladi works as a teacher for the Autonomous Government of North and East Syria (AANES) for social reasons, as does her husband, and they both earn a salary of two million Syrian pounds (about $142).

Community and family barriers

Shams, who hails from Hawayej Bu Masaa in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor, fears that the community could accuse her husband of being greedy over her father’s land if she demands her share of the inheritance, despite it being a legal is justice that has been ‘punished’. by law and Sharia” for every girl.

Like Fatima, Shams would not have inquired about her inheritance rights if she did not need money to help her 17-year-old son leave the country for Europe in search of a better future and hoping to improve her family’s living conditions. , consisting of six members.

Shams, 48, told Enab Baladi that she asked her brothers to collect and sell her share of the inheritance, as “nobody these days” in the area lends money, but her request was denied.

The only way for Shams to get money, as is common in the region, is to buy a car from a loan shark at a certain price without paying for it immediately, and the price doubles after a period of time determined by the loan shark, a amount that Shams cannot afford. pay.

In addition to societal views, women fear that their brothers will be alienated from them if they claim their share of the inheritance, as happened to Fatima whose brothers cut ties with her after she filed the lawsuit.

An employee of the Zenobia Women’s Gathering affiliated with the Autonomous Government, who preferred to remain unnamed because she is not authorized to speak to the media, said Enab Baladi that the prevailing social inheritance in Eastern societies allows a brother or father to deny a woman her right to inherit.

She pointed out that the Gathering, together with other organizations working in the region, is working to increase women’s awareness of their inheritance rights and assist them in claiming their rights through the law by offering educational courses.

The Zenobia Women’s Gathering is a “political, social and environmental women’s organization” founded on June 6, 2021, to engage women from different cultures in Syria.

According to Shahrzad al-Jassim, spokesperson for the Women’s Body in Deir Ezzor, the Gathering aims to improve the reality of women at all levels, combat all forms of physical and cultural genocide, establish community values ​​and promote justice, equality and full participation in the achieve battle. public life.

Legal experiences

Fatima has been visiting the court again since last year, waiting for her “stolen rights” as she described, but the court continues to postpone this due to the absence of her brothers at the hearings.

Samah, from the village of al-Hajnah in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor, faces the same problem. She filed a lawsuit in court claiming her inheritance rights, despite attempts by her relatives to dissuade her from filing a complaint for fear of social judgment.

Samah (45 years old) attended several court hearings, but her brothers themselves were absent, eventually forcing her to give up without receiving anything from her share of the inheritance.

Meanwhile, Ahlam, from the village of al-Dahla east of Deir Ezzor, managed to obtain her share of the inheritance after filing a complaint against her six brothers with the Women and Justice Committee affiliated with the Autonomous Government.

Ahlam, 45, told Enab Baladi that after several hearings the judge ruled in her favor and awarded her 45 dunams (about 11 acres) of the inheritance of her father, who died more than ten years ago.

What made Ahlam claim her after such a long time after her father’s death, societal views aside, was her husband’s car accident in 2016, which left him unable to work.

The accident led to a deterioration in their living conditions and to difficulties in supporting her four children without help from her brothers.

Walid al-Mutairan, a lawyer in the city of Raqqa, under the control of the Autonomous Government, said Enab Baladi that men in the region, especially in the eastern rural areas, do not give women any share of inheritance, be it agricultural land, housing or movable property.

He added that the Autonomous Government generally establishes its own laws and applies them in its controlled areas, but that the laws regarding inheritance are the same as those applied in the Syrian regime’s personal status laws.

Regarding the procedures, al-Mutairan said that the case file will initially be sent to the Reconciliation Commission in an attempt to resolve the case without legal action, and that the file will be referred to the court if an agreement is not reached.

The court appoints an expert to divide the shares among the heirs and ultimately makes a decision in which each heir receives his share of the inheritance, according to the lawyer.

According to al-Mutairan, legal proceedings from the time of filing the complaint to the issuance of the judgment, if there are no obstacles, last on average six months.

Judge Roujin Osman, of Judge Diwan of the Autonomous Government in the city of Qamishli, told the North Press agency that the number of inheritance cases involving women, which were transferred from the Women’s Houses, Reconciliation Committees and Communes to the Courts of Justice, reached in 2023 89 trials in various regions of northeastern Syria, including 31 trials in Qamishli.

Although several articles and clauses related to women’s rights appear in the social contract ratified by the General Council of the Autonomous Government in January 2023, the details regarding inheritance were not specified, instead focusing on broad rights , duties and judgments.

a different perspective

Jassim, an employee of the Civil Council of the Autonomous Administration in the city of al-Sour, who comes from the city of Deir Ezzor, believes that some men, especially in tribal society, still view women as ‘commodities’ or just a ‘extra number’. ”, and that their participation in the inheritance is shameful.

Jassim, who refrained from revealing his full name because he is not authorized to speak to the media, criticized men for only remembering from religion that “men are the protectors and sustainers of women,” quoting the verse “For the male, a share equal to that of two females.”

The director of the local organization ‘Ataa’, Mane’ al-Sifer, from the city of al-Baghouz, said Enab Baladi that ignorance of religion and the dominance of customs and traditions, which stigmatize the transfer of money to a man outside the family (if the woman is married), prevent women from obtaining their rightful inheritance.

Al-Sifer also held religious leaders responsible for changing the practice of depriving women of their inheritance rights through sermons and religious lessons, in addition to the law which has not yet imposed “strict” clauses to protect women’s rights.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Deir Ezzor, Obadah al-Sheikh, contributed to this report.