Inheritance of women. Practices and laws in Africa

Scientific Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Sociology - Social System, Social Structure, Class, Social Stratification, language: English, abstract: From time immemorial, women have suffered greatly and disproportionately in comparison to their male counterpart. Most societies have been essentially patriarchal but in no area of political, social and religious life has the despicable plight of women been more conspicuously noticeable than in the aspect of inheritance. Over time, concrete efforts have been made in the Western world to stem this tide, while African societies, on the other hand, have not recorded much achievement in this area. National constitutions of African and other developing countries tend to prohibit discriminations against women in property inheritance, yet discriminatory traditional and customary practices persist. International treaties are merely ratified by these countries without committed implementation. This paper is posed to interrogate existing practices and laws in African and developing societies regarding the right of women to inherit property on the same footing as men in the light of developments in the Western world. At the end, recommendations are proffered so that those countries of the world which are lagging behind in treating women appropriately may have a second thought.