Kenya
In re Wachokire, (August 19, 2002)
Chief Magistrate's Court at Thika
Keywords: Discrimination-Gender/Sex
Brief Summary: Jane Watiri petitioned the court to award her one-half of a parcel of land that belonged to her deceased father on which she lived with her four children. Her brother objected, arguing that he had cultivated a larger portion of the land during his father's lifetime than his sister and therefore was entitled to that larger portion. Under Kikuyu customary law, an unmarried woman like Watiri lacked equal inheritance rights because of the expectation that she would get married.
CEDAW: The court held that this customary provision discriminated against women in violation of Section 82(1) of the Kenyan Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. It also violated Article 18(3) of the Banjul Charter and Article 15(1)-(3) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which provide for legal equality between men and women. Watiri and her brother were each awarded an equal share of their father's property.
Case Brief from International Association of Women Judges