By Zabihullah Noori
Date: October 11th 2016
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
In conservative Afghanistan, properties usually registered to men but there are plans to issue joint ownership rights to married couples
LONDON, Oct 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Afghan women should benefit from a project to issue property titles to homeowners in Kabul, where more than two-thirds of the houses have no formal planning approval, the head of the government's land authority said on Tuesday.
Disputes over land and illegal property ownership are major challenges for the government of President Ashraf Ghani, which is leading efforts to protect citizens' property rights and modernise the process of registering property.
The Afghanistan Independent Land Authority (ARAZI) launched a pilot project this month to register properties in Kabul that were built before 2001 without planning permission, as part of a drive to secure land rights for residents.
In conservative male-dominated Afghanistan, properties are usually registered to men but ARAZI plans to issue joint ownership rights to married couples.
"Our goal is to give the women their fair share in the property," ARAZI Chief Executive Officer Jawad Peikar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.
"Up to 70 percent of residential homes are unplanned constructions in all major cities of Afghanistan," he added.
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