Khalid Al-Sulaiman

Okaz



Some women are deprived of their inheritance by male members of their families. They do this with a strange justification that the wealth of parents should not go to their husbands who are alien to the lineage of their families or tribes. This excuse is an old and deep-rooted one and is not confined to any specific region.



This act contravenes the Islamic principles of inheritance. It is also contrary to the laws that guarantee the rights of all members of society to have their due shares of inheritance, as ordained by Almighty Allah.



The disaster here is not only the failure of brothers — and sometimes parents in case they are alive — in giving women their right to inheritance but also failure of the law in guaranteeing proper distribution of wealth among the heirs of a deceased person. There must be stringent penal action against all those who resort to such grave crimes without exception.



There are some parents who transfer ownership of their properties exclusively to their sons while they are alive. They are in fact invoking the wrath of God by partitioning their wealth in flagrant violation of Shariah rules.



As for some siblings, they force their sisters to give up their share of inheritance in return for nothing. These men grab inherited properties without giving their sisters even a little amount in compensation for the real estate, farm land and the like they inherit.



One may argue that the grievances of these women will be redressed when they approach a court of law with a demand to secure their rights to inheritance. But (male) repressiveness prevailing in the name of family, tribal and social customs will put women in a position where they cannot claim their rights nor do they have access to the concerned authorities in pursuit of their rights.



Hence, the authorities must initiate procedures for the partition of inherited wealth more effectively and fairly in order to ensure protection of the rights of women. This should be done in a way so male heirs cannot have an upper hand in inheritance matters by depriving women of their rights.



As for those men who devour the inheritance of their sisters, they should remember that what they earn in this world would lead to their losses in the hereafter.