Women Property Rights

Written by: Samira Haleemzai

Men and women have the same right to have properties but in some parts of Afghanistan, women are not allowed to buy properties like house, car, land, shop and so on and this restriction might cause some problems.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some people about this issue.

A woman who doesn’t want to mention her name, says, “When I was a girl, I had been teaching in several private schools and educational courses and I had been getting a salary. My brothers are in foreign countries and they were also economically supporting me and had earned enough money. After some years, I got married. One day, I told my husband that I have enough money and I want to buy a shop near our house. My husband allowed me. When I wanted to sign the document of the shop, my husband prevented me and said that it’s not fair for women to sign documents and he added that women do not have the right to have their own properties. I lost my money and now I have nothing.”

What do people think about the causes of this issue?

Nasibullah, a resident of Kandahar province says, “This is our tradition that women do not have the right to have their own properties and some women also do not know about their rights to have their properties.”

A woman from Qarabagh district, Kabul province says, “Some people think that giving the right to women to have their own business of own properties is shameful for the men. They say that men are the lords of the houses and they could solve any kind of economic problems.”

How people solve this issue?

Mariam Habib, a resident of Nangarhar province says, “I had some money and wanted to buy a shop. I shared the

issue with my husband and my father-in-law but they prevented me and said that I do not need to have my own properties.

I discussed this issue with my husband and convinced him. I told him that if I have a shop, we would solve our economic problems from the benefit of it. He talked to his father and they allowed me and I bought a shop. I earned some money from the benefit of the shop and later we bought a house from the benefit of that shop.”

Sayed Muhammad Amin Hashim, Professor of Sharia at ustad Burhanuddin Rabani University, Kabul city says, “Islam has given the right of properties to women. There were some women at the beginning of Islam who had their own business. Khadija, the wife of Muhammad (PBUH) had her own business. Article 40th of the civil law of Afghanistan says: “All personal properties are save from assault and no one has the right to interfere in it.”