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132Security of tenureControl of land isparticularly importantfor womenquestion of how best to ensure that tenure security can beaccessible to all. For example, policies that focus on thepossession of freehold title as a means of increasing securityof tenure 60 tend, effectively, to leave out those who do notwish to, or who cannot, become possessors of freehold title.It is important to recall, however, that a nation’s wealth isnot invariably linked to the percentage of those owningproperty. For example, during the early 20th century whenthe power of the UK was at its peak, up to 90 per cent of itspopulation were tenants. Similarly, tenants today form themajority among the population in some of the world’swealthiest countries, including Germany, Sweden andSwitzerland. Tenants in these and similar countries havesubstantial security of tenure protections, grounded inenforceable law before independent and impartial courts,which may be a reflection of their overall share of the totalpopulation and corresponding political influence.WomenBox 5.15 Inheritance and genderBeyond the trends of increasing poverty and inequality,continued discrimination against women also contributes totenure insecurity and resultant forced evictions. The WorldBank notes that ‘control of land is particularly important forwomen… Yet traditionally, women have been disadvantagedin terms of land access.’ 61 In many (if not most) countries,traditional law implies that women’s relationship to menInheritance is often treated as peripheral to, or semi-detached from, general debates and policyformation concerning security of tenure, land rights, land reform or regularization. However,inheritance is one of the most common ways of women acquiring land or access to land. Sincewomen in many countries have not generally been able to purchase property or benefit fromland reforms, in many cases a woman could only become a landowner by inheriting land fromher husband or companion on his death.Issues related to succession and inheritance are regulated through the civil codes inmost Latin American countries, with the exception of Costa Rica and Cuba, where these havebeen laid down in family codes. In countries such as Panama, Honduras, Mexico and Costa Rica,absolute testamentary freedom leaves the surviving spouse defenceless in a marriage under aseparate property regime.In the Balkans, Serbia Montenegrin inheritance laws identify the surviving spouse andhis/her children as the heirs of the first inheritance degree who inherit in equal parts perperson. The laws also protect the spouse through a lifetime right to use the deceased’s realproperty, or a part thereof if such request is justified by the spouse’s difficult living conditions.Under compulsory Islamic law, only one third of an estate can be bequeathed, with theremaining subject to compulsory fixed inheritance rules that generally grant women half of thatwhich is granted to males in a similar position.Most of Southern Africa has a dual legal system where inheritance is governed by bothstatutory and customary laws. In a number of countries, including Lesotho, Zambia andZimbabwe, the constitution still allows the application of customary law in inheritance mattersand courts have upheld discriminatory practice. Under customary law and with only a fewexceptions, inheritance is determined by rules of male primogeniture, whereby the oldest son isthe heir (the oldest son of the senior wife, in case of polygamy).Property grabbing from widows of HIV/AIDS-affected husbands is a particularly acuteproblem in Southern Africa, although the act of dispossessing widows of property is a criminaloffence in most countries of the region.Source: UN-Habitat, 2006fdefines their access to land. ‘Legal recognition of women’sability to have independent rights to land is thus a necessary,though by no means sufficient, first step toward increasingtheir control of assets.’ Without such independent recognition,including structural discrimination in the areas ofinheritance and succession rights, women experienceconstant insecurity of tenure (as well as that of children).This is particularly highlighted in the context of theHIV/AIDS epidemic as the death of a husband (or father) maylead to the eviction of the rest of the household. Althoughwomen’s equal rights to housing, land, property and inheritanceare well established under international human rightslaw, major obstacles are still inherent in policies, decisionmakingand implementation procedures in realizing theserights. Hence, women are disproportionately affected bygender-neutral approaches to land inheritance and are oftenunable to access their formal rights (see Box 5.15).Moreover, when the lack of secure tenure facilitatesthe carrying out of forced evictions, women are disproportionatelyaffected, as noted by the Advisory Group on ForcedEvictions (AGFE):Indeed, for most women, the home is the singlemost important place in the world. Beyondshelter, it is a place of employment, whereincome is generated; it is a place to care forchildren; and it provides respite from violencein the streets. Evictions often take place in themiddle of the day, when the men are away fromhome. Women are left to fight to defend theirhomes, and the evictors meet such resistancewith violence, beating, rape, torture and evendeath. Violence and discrimination againstwomen are not only the result of evictions;rather, they are often the cause. Domesticviolence frequently drives women out of thehome, effectively forcibly evicting them. In allsituations, women forced from their homes andlands are further robbed of economic opportunities,ability to provide for their families’stability and means of autonomy. Women oftenexperience extreme depression and anger in theaftermath of forced evictions. As a result of alack of autonomy or stability, women becomeeven further marginalized. 62In many parts of Africa, for instance, women have access toland so long as they remain within their husband’s and/orparents’ land because ‘traditional law implies that women’saccess to land is mediated through their relationships withmen’. 63 Achieving security of tenure rights without a formallink to a male relative can thus still be impossible in anumber of countries. Women often face disproportionatechallenges in landownership even in cases where theirspouses have died and they should be the bona fide owners(see also Box 5.16). Yet, it should be noted that legal recognitionof women’s ability to have independent rights to land isa necessary, although by no means sufficient, first steptowards increasing their control of assets.