Who has granted such sainthood to the habits? Do we lack to sacred things to canonize behaviors and habits which have been existed for a long time ago? These are Questions put forth by a group of people who aspire to a better society and seek to formulate more appropriate habits to their culture and thinking.
They are belonging to a village on the outskirts of the desert called Sadad. The beginning was at a website.
It was Mr. Safi Oeil's idea to establish dialogue and discuss the topics of society in the Internet. The first symposium addressed the topic of honor crimes in support of the national campaign launched by the Syria women observatory. The next symposium was entitled "who usurps the right of women to inheritance". All interlocutors agreed that there is no law bans women from the bequeathing and no law legalize women's right to inheritance. It is a social problem represented in the society customs which was strengthened by a document issued by the Patriarch and the village elders and limited property to males only!
Mr. Rajaa Barakat, the active seminar participants, expresses his view in the right of women to inheritance, saying: "Women in Sadad are exposed to a large injustice in regarding their right to inheritance. Unfortunately, it is an obsolete tradition in our village. No one denies their right to initiate legal proceedings, but that rarely happens, and if it happened it would be considered a shame! I will not go into the circumstances that led our forefathers to build this custom for nearly ninety years. What I know is that our generation has to restore the women's right to inheritance, and equally with men. We are working to take practical steps on in the near future. Of course we do not expect direct and instantaneous results because changing customs, habits and tradition needs a longer time than changing ideas, but the thousand miles begins with a single step. It needs different culture and education. The women must take into account that she has rights and duties, like men. I hope that the efforts will succeed in gaining the women's equity in Sadad, and I urge women to work on the subject of inheritance."
The group is working under the support of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop in Homs who told us: "the church does not discriminate women". He supports giving women their full right to inheritance as well as men. Christ did not distinguish between male and female. He told us that a committee was set up to study the emendation of Personal Status Law of Orthodox. He desires to unit all Christians with regard to family law. We also wish a unified family law for all Syrians.
The attorney Amal Younis says: "Syrian Constitution guarantees equal rights for all citizens, and stresses the principle of equality of all citizens in rights and duties and the removal of all restrictions which prevent the development of women's participation in the society. But the rules of inheritance in the Syrian personal status law are inconsistent with the Constitution. For example, Article 277states: woman inherits a half share of man and Article 464 prevents the wife to inherit if she was from a different religion."
All of this is unfair. Moreover, these texts were surrounded by sanctity. Thus amendment ion is required for many reasons:
1- 1 - The legacy of inheritance, kinship or marriage, is established for two genders.
2 - Man and woman work together in the practical life.
3 - Law and provisions must be changed by time according to interests.
4 - The equality is the absolute principle of justice and the basis of heavenly and mundane religions.
5 - In the Ottoman era, male and female were equal in inheritance.
6 - Human Rights, the Constitution and the natural law impose equality
7 - The development of women's statue imposes the amendment of unjust social and legislative thinking.
8 - We do not call for amending the Koran but for amending the doctrinal opinions which had gained more force than the original text and had been the result of interpretation in the interests of the interpreter.
All of this makes these provisions in urgent need to amendment.
To know the views of the society, as a first step, Sadad-Net has performed an opinion poll on the right to inheritance: 80 % of the participants say that depriving women of inheritance is injustice, and the status quo must be modified. This is what has encouraged the group to begin working to raise the subject: "who usurps the right of women to inheritance". On the ground, opinions vary from supporters / opposer to initiating / negative. It should be noted that the goal of the campaign is justice and breaking the tradition which says that the women waiver is normal. If she grants its share to her brother, we support that in case it is her desire without the community coercion.
by: Thanaa Assabaa, 23/5/2008, (Who usurps the right of women to inheritance? )