Women’s Property Rights and Claims in Customary Justice Systems A Case Study of Ambo and Hawassa

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research focusing on lived experience of women in two designated areas, this study presents structural and perceptional challenges that impede women’s recourse to formal legal procedures in relation to property claims. The research investigates the norms, values, procedures, institutional structures and actors involved in parallelly functioning justice systems that frame rights and address disputes relating to property rights of women. Furthermore it sheds light on the obstacles women encounter in pursuing and enforcing immovable property claims. The study also explores the potential complementary role customary justice institutions play in safeguarding the rights of women over immovable properties. Last but not least, it examines if certain aspects of institutional competition exist, ostensibly flowing from the fact that their competences coextend over similar causes of actions.

Key Words; Property Rights, Women, Customary Courts, Cultural Norms, Ethiopia.