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Box 2 Coping with Legal Pluralism in Relation to Women’s Rightsin EthiopiaIn the Amhara region in Ethiopia, photographs of bothhusband and wife are required on the land title. Theprovision also restricts one spouse from selling or inany other way transfer the property without the knowledgeof the other. This also reduces confusion that mayoccur at the death of one spouse. Although Ethiopia isquite advanced from a formal legal perspective, theissue of women’s inheritance and property rights is stillcomplex. This is demonstrated for instance through theinter-relationship between the HIV/AIDS epidemic andwomen’s property and inheritance rights. Comparatively,a ten-country study on women’s inheritance rightsin sub-Saharan Africa suggests that unequal housing,property and inheritance rights increase women’svulnerability to HIV, because it is, in part, why womenremain in abusive marriages. Moreover women areoften blamed for the deaths of their husbands and subsequentlyforced from the household and left destitute.If they remain in the household, they are treated asservants or are married off to the father, uncle, brotheror another close male relative — a practice known as“wife inheritance.”To address the issue of HIV and women’s inheritanceand property rights an initiative was launched. Theaim was to build the capacity of the formal and informaljustice systems, to generate individual and collectiveaction and to empower women in gaining equaltreatment in owning and inheriting property. A comprehensiveanalysis of the legal framework was carriedout which included a review of the statutory, civil andcustomary laws. The study provided a solid empiricalfoundation and underlined the strength of Ethiopianlaw. However, the substantive laws are not being appliedor enforced. This is a result of a number of factors,including lack of awareness, lack of enforcementand ineffectiveness of the court system. Additionalchallenges include a lengthy and costly legal process,which most Ethiopians cannot afford, cultural barriers,free legal services are not yet readily available; the fearof being shunned and stigmatised by both family andsociety; and conflicting laws which cause confusion ordiscrimination against women.The conflict between religious law and constitutionallaw has also come to the fore. It stems from a clausein the constitution which recognises the adjudicationof personal and family matters under religiousor customary law, if both parties agree. Article 34(5)of the constitution states [on Marital, Personal andFamily Rights], ‘This Constitution shall not precludethe adjudication of disputes relating to personal andfam-ily laws in accordance with religious or customarylaws, with the consent of the parties to the dispute.’The conflict arises out of provisions in the Shariá lawthat contradict the terms set forth in the constitution.In reality, women are sometimes coerced into ‘consenting’by pressure from family or society. Although thesechallenges exist, Ethiopia is surpassing neighbouringcountries in the sense that they do not need to createnew laws or reform archaic ones. Initiatives and campaignshave been set in motion to counteract some ofthe problems and to respond to the challenges that aredemonstrating encouraging signs.expensive and inaccessible that customary lawis the only affordable option.) Some have arguedthat integrating the customary system of disputeresolution into the mainstream legal system maybe an effective way to import desirable features ofthe formal system — including norms of genderequality and regularity — into the more accessiblecustomary system (NCLEP Uganda 2007).Others praise NGO efforts that have not focusedon a formal integration of the formal and informalsystems (Golub 2007), such as the Bangladeshiprogrammes that have taken up the issue of legalempowerment for women (UNDP 2002). Rather,some of these efforts have used the threat or realityof litigation (that is, the formal system) as anincentive for resistant or recalcitrant parties to46