By HeapNews
The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), in partnership with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, has asked the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to issue an advisory opinion clarifying African governments’ legal obligations to guarantee equal inheritance rights for women and girls, the group said on Friday.
The request seeks guidance on whether inheritance laws or practices rooted in statutory, customary or religious systems that discriminate against women violate the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).
Inheritance rights remain a major barrier to women’s economic security across Africa, where discriminatory laws and traditions often deny women equal access to family property after the death of a spouse or parent.
According to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report, 18 African Union member states do not grant equal inheritance rights to sons and daughters, while 19 countries do not provide equal rights to widows and widowers.
PALU said customary and religious practices frequently override statutory protections, leaving widows, women in polygamous or unregistered unions and daughters born outside marriage particularly vulnerable to exclusion.
The legal filing asks the court to clarify states’ obligations to eliminate discrimination in inheritance systems, ensure equal legal protection and access to justice for women, and strengthen enforcement of gender-equal inheritance laws.
Advocates say improving women’s inheritance rights could have wide economic and social benefits. Evidence from across Africa shows that secure land and inheritance rights can significantly raise women’s incomes, improve access to credit and reduce food insecurity.
Studies cited by the International Monetary Fund and UN Women suggest that closing gender gaps in economic participation, including inheritance could add trillions of dollars to the global economy.
PALU said recent court rulings in countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Botswana have affirmed that constitutional guarantees of equality override discriminatory customary or religious inheritance practices.
An advisory opinion from the Arusha-based court, PALU said, would help guide legal reforms across the continent and support advocacy aimed at ending discrimination against women in inheritance systems.