Property and inheritance rights
Women's access to property is critical for their economic security and for the economic security of their children.
When women own their own assets, they also have more independence and a bigger role in decision making in their households and communities.
All this helps improve the strength and prosperity of societies. But around the world, women find obstacles in their way to owning property.
Long-standing traditions which put all land and property in the hands of men, inadequate laws, ineffective courts and a lack of education conspire against women's legitimate rights to assets.
These traditional and legal barriers often damage women, their families and development efforts.
Women make up half the world's population, but they own only a tiny proportion of the world's assets.
In Sub-Saharan Africa more than eighty per cent of farmers are women, yet very few have secure rights to the land they farm. Worldwide, women own just 10 per cent of all assets.
Tradition and customary law dictate that land use, housing and the transfer of land and housing within families and between generations, largely excludes women.
Even when national laws permit ownership or allow women to inherit property, courts often favour a male relative. Lack of awareness by women of their rights also prevents them from asking the courts to intervene.
This injustice is holding back progress. When women are able to control their own assets, it has a positive impact for their families and wider society.
The evidence shows that when women manage their own resources, they make choices which usually benefit their families. Women who own property are less vulnerable to domestic violence and abuse. Their children have better diets and they are more likely to send their daughters to school. There is also growing evidence that when women enjoy ownership rights, households are better able to cope should a family member suffer from illness such as HIV/AIDS.
There have been positive steps forward. In recent years, language recognising and respecting women's rights to property has been written into constitutions and national laws of many countries, not least in sub-Saharan Africa. But much more needs to be done by the courts and authorities to ensure that the equal right to own and inherit property is applied in practice.
Each nation must ensure that women's property and inheritance rights are legally enforceable, and that all owners, whether men or women, have the same rights.
It is time to cast aside outdated practices which block women's access to their own assets and undermine development.