A/HRC/4/9/Add.3 page 20 70. Since over 40 per cent of the population is Muslim, sharia courts are used widely in the area of family disputes. In theory both parties should consent to adjudication by either the religious or local court system. In practice men often favour sharia courts because they are more likely to be successful in them, and women may feel pressured to accept this. Under the sharia court system, which has its own appellate level, there is no possibility of appealing a sharia court decision in a federal court. However, a landmark 2004 decision of the House of Federation upheld the right of women not to be judged by a sharia court without their full consent. 71. In Gambella, for example, local tribal customary courts are commonly used, and the rights of women are often not well protected; however there is an avenue of appeal to the formal local court system. Even within the regional court system, women are poorly represented as judges and may face discrimination by male judges who may be influenced by traditional practices and gender perceptions. The effects of discrimination on ethnic grounds were also mentioned, a clear example of the potential for multiple discrimination against minority women. 72. The Gambella Bureau for Women’s Affairs noted that surveys had established that women and children had been significant victims of conflict. They were unable to flee and suffered from secondary effects, including loss of property and the support of male family members. In many regions, women traditionally have no customary rights to own or inherit property. Even where males have fled violence, property is commonly appropriated by remaining male members of the husband’s family. In cases of divorce, property is generally retained by the husband, despite chapter 5 of the Family Code which establishes shared ownership of common property. The property rights of women generally were highlighted by the independent expert as an area requiring urgent legislative and practical protection. 73. The federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs works directly with regional women’s affairs offices to assist in issues of gender inequality and is responsible for implementation of a national Women’s Policy. All Ministries have departments on gender issues, a mainstreaming initiative which is extended to the regional level. Such attention to gender issues is considered a positive practice by the independent expert, although she notes that the federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs is relatively new, having been elevated within the past year from an advisory office to the Prime Minister. Its structures and methods of work are new and untested and its focus appears to be primarily on public education rather than implementation of the law. Dedicated attention is required to address the situation of women from the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in the most outlying regional states. VI. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MINORITIES 74. The independent expert considers that a crucial test of government efforts is whether minority groups feel that they have an effective voice in political decision-making. The vast majority of civil society actors interviewed spoke of being excluded from genuine political participation, or representation by authentic community leaders. This perceived exclusion, however, is relatively invisible, since representatives of diverse ethnic groups do hold office, often at a senior level, within federal and state administrations. There is a broadly held view that independent, ethnically-based political parties have been excluded in favour of others created by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and subordinate to it. The view is that ethnic political figure-heads have emerged and that senior officials, or advisors who hold the real power, are drawn from only one politically dominant ethnic group and party.