A/HRC/29/40 (viii) In countries where several legal systems coexist, establish and implement national mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of guarantees of equality and non-discrimination between men and women in all areas and at all levels, offering women, especially rural and indigenous women, the possibility of removing themselves from the arbitral authority and jurisdiction of customary institutions. Bring parallel customary, religious and indigenous law systems into line with international human rights law, particularly in respect of gender equality, while acknowledging the importance of the wealth and diversity of culture and traditions. Grant women the right to appeal, in State courts, decisions of religious, customary or indigenous authorities, whether formal or informal, that have violated their right to equality; (ix) Make the formal State legal system accessible to all women, regardless of their social status, and address the shortcomings of the formal system. Formal justice should be preferred to informal justice for the settlement of all family matters, including those relating to sexual violence and domestic violence; (x) Set up gender-awareness training for all State civil servants involved in education, health, social services, law enforcement and judicial decisionmaking. Include women, on an equal basis, in all bodies that interpret and apply family law; (d) According to general recommendation No. 29 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the family is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. The Working Group recommends that States: (i) Take measures to ensure that families allow girls to access education on an equal basis with boys, by raising awareness in the community and providing families with financial incentives to allow girls to finish their studies; (ii) Ensure that women are free to participate in economic activities outside the house or village, without the supervision of male relatives; (iii) Ensure that women, on an equal footing with men, and girls, on an equal footing with boys, have the right to at least half the family property and inheritance in the event of divorce or widowhood. Facilitate the invalidation of any waiver of these rights obtained from a woman as a result of pressure from her family or community; (iv) Recognize the right of women living in polygamous marriages to end their marriage when their husband takes another wife and grant them a share of the family property, including the value of the house or land; (v) Recognize women as heads of family on an equal basis with men so that they may enjoy the same financial or social benefits; (vi) Assess, quantify and take account of the impact of women and girls’ status in the family in all poverty-reduction policies. 74. The Working Group recommends that international and regional human rights mechanisms: (a) Develop standards, principles and guidelines to combat all forms of gender stereotype, in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; GE.15-07003 19