Legal Assistance to Women’s Rights to Housing, Land and Property in Syria

Abstract

This paper aims to enhance the understanding of the Women’s Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Rights in Syria as a crucial pillar to ensure social and economic development and increase the enjoyment of human rights. The paper explores two perspectives to address women’s HLP needs: gender and legal aid services. It also addresses challenges in accessing land that women face in prescribed gender roles, unequal power dynamics, and traditional norms that deny women the chance to access land adequately. To this end, the paper presents the results of desk reviews of the national and international studies that revealed the importance of addressing HLP Rights of women in the post-conflict context to prevent increasing poverty and vulnerability faced by women although it has not focused on the Syrian context directly. The paper provides an analysis of the legal framework used to support interventions on the access to HLP rights by displaced Syrian women. Contrary to what has been assumed, the laws alone are insufficient to guarantee equal access to HLP Rights, when structural gender inequality compromises women’s HLP Rights. This paper may constitute the object of future studies that could investigate the association between HLP Rights and sustainable development. A complex and inclusive approach needs to be adopted by engaging the relevant authorities, community, and international organisations to promote gender justice in addressing women’s HLP Rights and contribute to peacebuilding, sustainable return and reinforcing the rule of law.

Keywords

• Housing
• Land and property rights
• Gender
• Legal assistance
• Conflict
• Women’s rights