Assessment Report I NRC without consulting females in the household. Only 14 per cent of females, as compared with 78 per cent of males, reported that their name alone was recorded on documentation relating to home ownership, whilst 81 per cent of females reported that another person’s name alone (usually a male) was recorded on home ownership documentation. This may have extremely negative implications for women in the case of divorce from, or on the death of their husbands, as, in such cases, the female not named on ownership documentation is likely to lose her home in light of the fact that there is no law on the splitting of assets accumulated during marriage. It was reported by three quarters of both females and males that upon divorce, women are awarded property according to what is written in the marriage contract and, as already discussed, this is unlikely to include property that was accumulated during the course of the marriage. While it is clear that there is provision in Syrian law for divorced and widowed women, legal protection is sometimes conditional (for example, in the case of an irrevocable divorce, if the husband can prove that the divorce is the fault of his wife, she loses her right to the dower agreed in the marriage contract in accordance with Article 59 of Personal Status Law 59/1953). It is also clear that the law treats women differently from men in terms of the shares they receive through inheritance, with a general rule that males receive twice what females in the same inheritance group receive. 39 Women are, therefore, in a very different situation to men in terms of how the law of inheritance might protect their HLP rights. In the case of the death of a spouse, if a woman has no sons, grandsons or other male offspring, she will receive a quarter of the estate, while if she has sons or other male offspring, she will receive an eighth of the estate and if she is one of several wives, she and the other wives will share the quarter or eighth of the estate between them.40 In the case of death of a spouse, the husband will inherit half of the estate of his deceased wife if she has no sons or other male offspring and a quarter of the estate of his deceased wife if she has sons or grandsons. 41 These provisions of Syrian law are generally in accordance with Shari’a law. It was reported by almost four out of five males but only three out of five females surveyed that, upon the death of a husband, the wife and children inherit in accordance with Shari’a law. At the same time, around three quarters of males and females reported that they believed that Shari’a is the most important source of law in inheritance cases. This suggests that although many female IDPs know that Shari’a law is meant to apply in inheritance cases, a lower proportion of females, as compared to males, believe that Shari’a law is actually applied in practice. In the assessment, inheritance disputes were recorded as the most common form of HLP dispute by both women and men. It was also evident that it is often challenging for women to raise the issue of inheritance outside of the family. Shari’a courts in Idleb and Aleppo are actively dealing with inheritance cases; however, it was reported during FGDs that, due to cultural norms, there is tremendous pressure upon women not to realise their HLP rights, even if they are aware of their right to do so. Anecdotal evidence also strongly supports this trend. It was, therefore, found that while there is legal protection for women under Syrian law, in the form of the shares allocated to women in accordance with Shari’a law, which is incorporated into Syrian law, 42 many women are unlikely to be able to seek means of protecting their rights as a result of cultural norms as confirmed in FGDs. 39 Article 277 Personal Status Law, Legislative Decree 59/1953 40 Article 268/2 and 268/3 Personal Status Law, Legislative Decree 59/1953 41 Article 268/1 Personal Status Law, Legislative Decree 59/1953 42 For instance, in Personal Status Law Legislative Decree 59/ 1953, amended in 1975, 2003, and 2010. This law is based upon Shari’a law. NRC Assessment Report I 21