Social Pressure Denies Syrian Women Inheritance

Enab Baladi, Wasim al-Adawi

Repeated testimonies and data show that depriving women of inheritance remains an entrenched social pattern in Syria, fed by a mix of family pressure and informal traditions, despite clear legal frameworks that guarantee these rights.

The experience of “Nahla Nasser” (a pseudonym) reveals how trust within a family can turn into a tool of deprivation, when legal ignorance or good faith is exploited to formalize a waiver.

The stories of two other women, who preferred not to disclose their names and were identified as “N. A.” and “Z. A.,” reflect a repeated pattern of nonbinding promises and practices that push women into silence or force them to turn to the courts after years of suffering.

These cases indicate that the gap between legal text and implementation remains wide. Social factors intersect with weak awareness and emotional pressure, placing women before a difficult choice between preserving family ties and demanding their rights, in an equation that often ends in personal and psychological losses before reaching any form of justice.

Many women refrain from demanding or speaking about their suffering after being deprived of their fathers’ inheritance for several reasons, foremost among them avoiding social and financial estrangement between their children and their families.

Social Pressure Prevents Women From Making Claims

“Nahla Nasser” (a pseudonym), a mother of four from Sahnaya in Rural Damascus, said she initially refrained from demanding her share of her father’s inheritance out of fear that doing so would strain her relationship with her brothers, especially amid social pressure that often pushes women to waive their rights “voluntarily” to preserve family cohesion. Over time, this silence became a psychological burden, deepening her sense of injustice and betrayal.

“Nahla” said she trusted her brother when he asked her to sign a legal power of attorney under the pretext of facilitating procedures for property transfer and share distribution among the heirs. He assured her it was a routine measure that would not affect her rights. In good faith, she placed her fingerprint on the document without carefully reviewing its content, relying on her family trust in him.

Later, however, “Nahla” discovered that what she had signed was not a power of attorney, as her brother had claimed, but a full waiver of her inheritance share in his favor.

This manipulation left a deep mark on “Nahla’s” life, not only materially, but also in terms of a family relationship that quietly fractured. “I felt unable to confront him, fearing a complete rupture between me and my family. I did not dare disclose it to my children or even to my husband, except later, so the matter would not escalate or become a daily subject of discussion and dispute with him, and so it would not affect my children in the future,” she said.

From Trust to Betrayal, Then Restoring Rights

“N. A.,” from rural Daraa governorate (southern Syria), went through a painful experience when her father died. Her only brother, “M. A.,” promised he would support her, cover her expenses, and prevent her from needing help, in exchange for her and her sisters waiving their inheritance rights. Trusting him, she accepted. But she soon discovered that those promises were merely words that were not translated into action, as her brother failed to honor what he had pledged and left her to face life’s circumstances without the support he had promised.

As time passed, the matter did not stop there. He also tried to pressure his sisters into giving up their inheritance rights, as if rights could be manipulated or waived so easily.

But “N. A.” and her sisters did not accept this injustice. They turned to community notables seeking fairness, and the brother was forced to return the rights to their owners. Yet the experience left them with a feeling of betrayal and a loss of trust, not only in their brother, but also in the idea of security that family was supposed to provide.

A Delayed Right and Ongoing Suffering

“Z. A.,” a woman from Masaken Barzeh in Damascus, faced an equally harsh situation when her brother, “A. A.,” invited her to a banquet after their father’s death, trying to show affection, then used the meeting to convince her that she no longer needed her father’s inheritance after her marriage.

This happened despite the fact that her husband’s financial situation was ordinary, which made the justification seem closer to an attempt to deprive her of her right than an act of concern or care. Instead of treating her fairly, her brother refused to give her her legitimate share of the inheritance, leaving her in a long conflict that lasted for years.

As the dispute continued, “Z. A.” was forced to turn to the judiciary to claim her right, a step that reflects the extent of the suffering she endured. Only then, and after her persistence, did her brother agree to give her a small part of her right, amounting to no more than one quarter of her share of the land, in a scene that reflected forced concession more than full fairness.

Social researcher Ghadran Najm criticized the authority of custom, habits, and inherited traditions, under which women are wronged in the name of preserving the family entity or under the pretext that “wealth should not leave the family.”

The researcher said this has social and cultural causes, despite clear religious texts. Among them is a mistaken interpretation of the concept of male guardianship, where the idea that a man is responsible for a woman is understood to mean he is the sole holder of financial power. His responsibility to provide then turns into a pretext to prevent her from inheriting, and she is told, “You do not need it, and I will spend on you.”

Between Sharia and Law

The phenomenon of depriving daughters and sisters of their inheritance rights reflects a clear gap between legislation and implementation.

Depriving any heir of their share is a clear violation of Islamic law, in accordance with the Quranic text: “Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.”

The Syrian Personal Status Law gives women their full right, like men, to inherit according to Islamic law. Social researcher Ghadran Najm said, based on the cases she has witnessed, that the problem lies in weaknesses in the Code of Procedure applied in Sharia courts, which often relies on acknowledgment or settlement.

The researcher noted that, in such cases, the woman reaches the court after she has agreed to waive her right under family pressure, and the court ratifies this. This happens amid the absence of deterrent penalties against a brother or father who withholds the estate or refuses to hand it over, as well as weak access to justice.

In rural areas of some governorates, women need to travel long distances and bear the high costs of filing a lawsuit, while fearing how members of their community will view them. This discourages and frightens them from resorting to the judiciary. For this reason, it is important to establish or activate specialized courts that are fast and free of charge, and to assign employees to raise legal awareness and educate people about it, according to the researcher.

Lawyer Ammar Nasser said Syrian law is clear on inheritance, as a woman’s inheritance right cannot be blocked through the court, regardless of her position in the family, except if she explicitly waives it. The judge is required to verify that this waiver was made of her free will by hearing from her separately, without the presence of any party who may exert direct or indirect pressure on her.

Nevertheless, the lawyer noted that there are cases in which women are deprived of inheritance in some rural areas, but these remain practices that violate the law. He explained that any transaction related to transferring ownership among heirs, including “furoogh,” a local term for transferring or relinquishing property rights, must be preceded by an inheritance inventory that includes all heirs without exception.

Afterward, the estate is distributed through waiver, sale, or gift.

Even in cases of forgery or manipulation affecting the right of one of the heirs, that person’s legal right does not lapse, and they can claim it later.

Najm and Nasser concluded that the solution to ensuring fairness for women lies in raising their awareness and enabling them to know their rights under Islamic law through state institutions such as the Ministry of Awqaf, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, and local councils. They also called for establishing economic protection units for women in courts, while renewing religious discourse to correct mistaken concepts and emphasizing that a woman’s right to inheritance is an act of worship, not a favor.

Syrian Law’s View of Inheritance

Personal Status Law No. 59 of 1953 and its amendments clearly recognize women’s share of inheritance and apply the provisions of Islamic law in inheritance matters.

The difference in shares between males and females does not mean depriving women of inheritance. Rather, it reflects a rule under Islamic law in specific cases, such as when a male and a female are in the same degree of kinship.

The legal texts also include rules of exclusion and return that affect determining who actually inherits when there are multiple heirs.