Round table on “Gender equality during acquisition of property rights and real estate registration”

Within the implementation of „Real Estate Registration Project“ in FBiH, and with direct support of Swedish Donor Project “Capacity Building for Improvement of Land Administration and Procedures in Bosnia and Herzegovina” – CILAP, a public lecture on gender equality when registering property rights, was held in the Municipality of Kiseljak on 17 May 2018.

The lecture was held in a natural environment in the area of Kiseljak Municipality - leased space, in cooperation with cadastre and high school center „Ivan Goran Kovačić“ in Kiseljak. Mrs. Anđa Zimić together with Mrs. Jasminka Suša, head of the group "Integration of Gender Equality in Land Administration" addressed attendees on behalf of CILAP project.  The lecture started with presentation of CILAP project done by Mrs. Anđa Zimić and continue with lectures by Mrs. Jasminka Suša on:

• International and domestic legal framework with emphasis on the Gender Equality Act;
• The status of women has been presented through history regarding to property rights;
• The reasons for why gender equality and their linkage are important;
• The current institutional framework of land administration in FBiH was presented.

The FBiH Family Relations Act was introduced, with particular reference to family property and Inheritance Act. The process of registering in Land Book and the importance of trust in the land registry system have also been clarified. Mr. Šeho Zimić presented a movie with examples of those women who had problems and difficulties in solving the real property affairs.

The focus of the lectures was to familiarize the participants with the importance of gender equality, women and her ownership rights, the role of marital partners in real property affairs, novelties in family legislation and Inheritance Law, the principle of trust in the Land Registry Book and the consequences that can occur if a woman or one of the spouses does not register. Also, the emphasis is on economic empowerment of women through the acquisition of property rights.

Public lectures on gender equality are part of the Action Plan for Year 2018 for the purpose to increase the number of women in registration its property rights by getting them acquainted with the rights under applicable laws, developing awareness and breaking the prejudices that are traditionally present in these areas.