February 3, 2011 -- A campaign calling for equal rights for women over inheritance matters is making waves in Algeria. When it launched its appeal for the equal treatment of women in inheritance last November, the Centre for Information and Documentation on Children's and Women's Rights (CIDDEF) was fully aware that such a request would cause a stir. "The subject is taboo," CIDDEF chairwoman and lawyer Nadia Ait Zai said. "There is a certain reluctance, and even ideological opposition. We want to move towards an egalitarian legal position, not confrontation. We are starting out from the principle that religion is for justice, not injustice. We want to be able to get our message across, because we're also thinking of parents who worry about their daughters." "It's an open debate, here and elsewhere," the chairwoman added. "At the national level, there is a strong silent demand at the heart of the population for equality in sharing the family inheritance, which expresses itself through the increasing use of sale and settlement procedures. Our call is just the start of the battle."

The issue of women's inheritance has been a subject of discussion in Algeria for many years. As stipulated by Algerian law and religion, women inherit half of what is passed down to the men. In Kabylie, the situation is altogether different: women are banned from inheriting, not by the law but by an ancestral custom which continues to this day. "In my village, women have no right to express an opinion when issues of inheritance are being discussed," Samia Akouche, who comes from Kabylie, explained. "They are simply excluded and dare not complain, even though they do not agree with it." "My mother's and grandmother's generation have suffered under this diktat without ever complaining, but things are changing. People in my generation think this situation is unfair, but no-one dares speak out. If a girl claims her rights, she will be despised. It's the most shameful thing in Kabylie," Akouche added. "The men explain to us that we have no right to inherit because, once we're married, we shall be looked after by our husbands; if we're unfortunate enough not to marry or if we get divorced, then it's our brothers who will look after us, but we can be certain that we'll be looked after," she said. "Why can't they let us look after ourselves by giving us what is ours by right? I support the CIDDEF initiative, and I hope it will achieve its purpose."

But not everyone agrees with her. Benbraham Fatma-Zohra, a lawyer and activist, is one of those opposed to the initiative. "This is an initiative that's come from the international organisations. The issue of inheritance comes from the Qur'an. The woman inherits half of what is passed down to the men because the woman is looked after by her husband; and if she is not married, she's looked after by her brothers. This initiative is doomed to failure," Fatma-Zohra said. According to Nadia Ait Zai, it is possible to make a change because inequalities between men and women are contrary to the spirit of the Algerian constitution. So far, however, the calls for equality by women's organisations have fallen on deaf ears at the official level. The current government has not taken a position on inheritance, preferring to avoid confrontations with clerics. Some religious leaders consider the issue to be settled based on religious texts that they say cannot have other interpretations.

The campaign will continue until the end of the year. Associations want a law enacted to enforce equality in inheritance by the end of 2011. It "will be faced with the rejection of large sections in society, especially clerics," according to Hamza Hamlaoui, a social issue researcher. This is in addition to "the rejection on the part of conservative lawmakers, who are the majority and who don't support the proposal because of their fears of reactions by the conservative street," he said, noting that amendments to the Family Law were defeated in the past. Hamalaoui said that the "government wouldn't include the idea of equality between men and women in inheritance in its agenda without running into conflict with the Islamic Sharia." "In some cases, there is actually equality between children in dividing the inheritance," he said, noting that this situation can't be generalised for everyone because it may spark social differences and conflicts within the same family.

But according to some clerics, the issue is more complicated. "There are so many issues for women as far as inheritance is concerned," said Sheikh al-Sedik, a mosque imam in the capital. "They may be equal with men in some cases, like brothers and sisters for the same mother, and parents in some other cases when there is an inheriting line. A female's share may even be higher than a male's share." He added that "women sometimes inherit while men don't, like a grandmother and grandfather for a mother, in which case the grandmother would inherit while the grandfather wouldn't." He claimed that the fact that the daughter inherits half of what the son would inherit "is something that is commensurate with the financial burden for both," saying that "the call for binding fathers to give inheritance in equal shares is not permissible because there should not be a will for the inheritor of more than one-third, and anything else may be allowed only with the consent of inheritors."

For his part, Salafi theologian Sheikh Ali Ferkous said in a fatwa that "the settlement in the Sharia-required inheritance between males and females with which justice would be realised is for males to receive double of what females receive in the division of inheritance." Ferkous said that "the preference of males in inheritance is because they have bigger needs, given that dowry and alimony for women and children are borne by males, and females receive all of that." "Therefore, there should be justice in what is given to children in their inheritance, and it has been like this in the good old times," the sheikh added.