Abdelmonem Ali Mohammed, the Director of the Mosque Affairs Department at the General Authority for Endowments and Islamic Affairs in the Libyan government, requested the directors of the Endowments and Islamic Affairs offices in the regions, as well as the heads of Mosque Affairs departments, to address the topic of “deprivation of women from inheritance” in the Friday sermon on May 3, 2024.
Libyan journalist Maher Al-Sha’ari had previously published, on February 19, 2024, an investigation supported by ARIJ, titled “Libyan Patriarchal Customs Deny Women Their Rights to Inheritance”, addressing a traditional practice in Libya that enables men to monopolise inheritance of property to the exclusion of women, on the pretext that a woman might pass the property on to her husband, meaning the family property would be divided and lost, lowering the social standing of the family.
The request from the Libyan Director of Mosque Affairs came in a circular issued on April 30, 2024, referring to “the abundance of cases related to depriving women of inheritance or reducing their rights,” according to the head of the Benghazi Primary Court, contrary to Islamic law, considering it “pre-Islamic practices” and a violation of Law No. (6) of 1959.
