Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Case study
In <strong>the</strong> Obed Toto Case (Vanuatu, has ratified CEDAW and CRC), women claimed a share
<strong>of</strong> lease money from <strong>the</strong> lease <strong>of</strong> “Champagne Beach”, to cruise liners. Tradition/custom
does not allow women (including mo<strong>the</strong>rs, sisters, aunts, daughter etc.) to claim a share
<strong>of</strong> lease money. Only males in <strong>the</strong> family can receive shares <strong>of</strong> lease money. Women
argued that this principle violated Article 5 <strong>of</strong> CEDAW and was unconstitutional. The Court
in Vanuatu held that women should be allowed to receive lease money and that <strong>the</strong>
customary practice did violate CEDAW and <strong>the</strong> Vanuatu Constitution.
In places like Tonga, however, discrimination seems to be entrenched in <strong>the</strong> constitution. The
constitution cannot be changed until <strong>the</strong> structure <strong>of</strong> parliament is changed, so women’s participation
in democracy is also an important area to focus on.
Many women in <strong>the</strong> Pacific cannot access credit and cannot claim <strong>the</strong>ir inheritance rights. They also
do not have <strong>the</strong> necessary collateral for accessing credit. For example, in Tonga, <strong>the</strong> Tonga Constitution
and Land Act (Section 111) excludes women from inheriting land. Widows can only inherit land if
<strong>the</strong>y are not sexually active. Therefore credit schemes, which require women to show <strong>the</strong>y are married,
in order to access loans for housing, directly discriminate against single mo<strong>the</strong>rs and female-headed
households. Along similar lines, an NGO in Fiji called HART discriminates against unmarried women
by providing housing assistance only to married women.
The key obstacles women face in realising <strong>the</strong>ir rights to housing, land, inheritance and property include:
• Discriminatory policies in lending and financial institutions – women who do not own land cannot
get loans;
• Lack <strong>of</strong> information among women on women’s rights - women cannot claim <strong>the</strong>ir rights without
knowing <strong>the</strong>ir rights;
• Traditional land ownership systems (both matrilineal and patrilineal) that favour men – where
men negotiate on behalf <strong>of</strong> men and women, <strong>the</strong>y promote <strong>the</strong>ir own interests ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> interests
<strong>of</strong> women;
• Negative gender stereotypes based on tradition and customary practices — for example, initiation
processes for young men may involve having sex with women;
• Traditional hierarchical systems <strong>of</strong> governance that discriminate against women;
• Religious practices that promote negative stereotypes <strong>of</strong> women;
• Donors (including UNDP) that observe traditional discriminatory systems. For example, UNDP
undertaking training with local courts <strong>of</strong> justice in <strong>the</strong> Solomon Islands, is providing training to
all men, and in deference to <strong>the</strong>ir culture, reinforces <strong>the</strong> gender discriminatory traditions in <strong>the</strong>
training.
Recommendations to States:
– Include women in land committees and all o<strong>the</strong>r decision-making committees in <strong>the</strong> community;
– Select women judges at all levels;
– Provide human rights training for <strong>the</strong> police, judiciary, legislators, government <strong>of</strong>ficials,
religious leaders and women.
46 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND