Legal pluralism, gender and justice: women’s rights to property under marriage dissolution among the Oromo in Jimma, Ethiopia

Abstract

This article deals with the interactions among the customary, religious, and state laws to address property sharing upon marriage dissolution among the Oromo in Jimma, Ethiopia. Primary data were collected from the field through key informant interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and case studies. All the informants were purposively selected from local mediators, relevant government offices, divorcees, and judges. The article indicates the coexistence and interactions among the state, customary, and religious justice systems, while the latter two are points of entry to obstruct the rights of women to share common property upon marriage dissolution. The central argument of the paper is that legal equality alone cannot ensure women’s property rights in the context of legal pluralism, where religious and customary laws hamper the functioning of the statutory laws governing women’s everyday lives. The article shows that the prevailing patriarchal system accommodates and promotes unequal gender norms in the study area. Yet, the state law is predominant over the religious and customary laws in ending marriages with divorce. The pro-gender equality stance of the state law on the division of property upon marriage dissolution also results in an increasing number of women presenting their cases to the formal court.