Dennis Ndlovu |Zim GBC News
The government has been urged to strengthen laws that safeguard widows’ rights to inherit property after the loss of their spouses, with the call coming from Mwenezi West MP Priscilla Moyo.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate, Moyo introduced a motion calling on authorities to establish firm laws that ensure widows are not deprived of assets left behind by their deceased husbands.
The motion received support and was adopted for further debate, which is scheduled to continue on Tuesday.
Moyo raised concerns about the numerous challenges widows often face in managing and accessing their late husbands’ estates.
“We are also concerned that these overwhelming challenges come at a time when widows are still mourning their departed spouses, mindful of the complex legal procedures that come at colossal costs to the widows, particularly when dealing with property disputes, which are usually fuelled by other members of the families of the deceased and cultural practices in patriarchal societies,” She said.
She also highlighted that many widows are highly vulnerable due to a lack of understanding of their legal rights and the complex procedures involved in handling deceased estates.
“Therefore, this House urges the government to come up with strict policies in order to protect the rights of widows to inherit properties and assets that would be left behind by their late husbands,” she said before calling for an urgent need for the House to urgently considers the plight of widows, particularly those in rural areas.
“The death of a spouse should never mark the beginning of destitution for a widow. Yet in Zimbabwe, for too many rural widows, it does, despite constitutional guarantees of equality and non-discrimination.
Thousands of women are routinely stripped of their houses, land, livestock and other possessions upon the death of their husbands.
“This injustice is often perpetrated by in-laws, enabled by weak enforcement mechanisms and compounded by the lack of formal marriage registration and limited legal literacy among women,” she said.
According to the Human Rights Watch, many widows, especially those in unregistered customary unions, are unable to prove their marriage and thus excluded from inheritance claims.
Moyo noted that Zimbabwe has made significant progress in promoting gender equality within its legal system, particularly through the 2013 Constitution, which clearly outlaws sex-based discrimination and guarantees equal protection and benefits under the law for every citizen.
“Sections such as 3(g), 17 and 56(1) enshrine gender balance as a national objective and elevate equality before the law to a constitutional guarantee.
“These provisions were a significant departure from the previous Lancaster House Constitution, which allowed discriminatory practices in areas governed by personal law, including inheritance.
“For widows, this constitutional shift offered a beacon of hope. It had that foundation for challenging patriarchal customs that had long denied women the right to inherit property, especially under the customary law.
“In theory, the Constitution now overrides any law, practice or custom that contradicts its principles, meaning widows should be protected from dispossession and marginalisation.”
She highlighted the need to consider the plight of widows, saying they remain in a “deeply troubling” situation.
Moyo asserted that many still face exclusion due to unregistered marriages, lack of legal literacy and persistence of cultural norms that prioritise male heirs.
“Despite the progressive legal architecture, enforcement remains weak, and widows continue to be sidelined in State administration, revealing a gap between constitutional promise and lived reality,” she said.
“In addition, the administration of Estates Amendment Act No. 6 of 1997 was a transformative piece of legislation in Zimbabwe designed to correct longstanding injustices in State administration under customary law.
“It aimed to modernise succession practices, safeguard the rights of surviving spouses and children, especially women and dismantle the male primogeniture system that privileged the eldest son as the sole heir.”
Moyo mentioned that key reforms included granting widows the right to inherit immovable property, recognising polygamous marriages for equitable distribution and redefining the role of customary heir to symbolise inheritance rather than full control of the estate.
“The Act allowed women and girls to inherit property, challenging entrained patriarchal norms and aligning succession law with constitutional values of equality and international human rights standards, yet despite these progressive strides, the dispossession of widows remains alarmingly rampant in practice.”
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