UN Faults Kenya’s Marriage Property Bill

{{A group of United Nations human rights advocates have urged Kenya to repeal parts of a recently enacted law that they say discriminates against women.}}

The Marriage and Property Act bars women from taking up land title deeds in the names of their deceased or divorced husbands unless they can prove they contributed to acquisition of the property during marriage.

{{EQUAL TREATMENT}}

“Such provisions are serious retrogressive steps in the protection of women’s equal access to land and property, and are in violation of Kenya’s international and regional human rights obligations,” said Frances Raday, head of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women.

These sections of the law that took effect last month are also squarely at odds with the constitutional guarantees of equal treatment, Ms Raday added.

She warned that very few women will meet the law’s requirement because it is rare for wives to have land title deeds in their own names or hold them jointly with men.

{{VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN}}

“Women will effectively have no security of tenure or place to live with their children if their husband leaves them or dies, which will also increase their risk of experiencing violence,” the UN representative said.

She added that the new Act will have “a detrimental impact on women and children’s right to food, adequate housing and standards of living.

The call for a repeal of the “discriminatory” sections of the law was joined by four UN special rapporteurs who include investigators on topics of extreme poverty, violence against women as well as rights to food and adequate housing.

{nation}