“You Will Get Nothing” Violations of Property and Inheritance Rights of Widows in Zimbabwe Map .................................................................................................................................... I Key Terms .......................................................................................................................... II Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 7 Methodology...................................................................................................................... 8 I. Background ................................................................................................................... 10 The Rights of Older People ...................................................................................................... 10 The Invisibility of Widows in Global Policy and Development ................................................... 11 Harmful Practices and Widows in Zimbabwe ........................................................................... 13 Zimbabwe’s Dual Legal System ............................................................................................... 17 Developments in Neighboring Countries ................................................................................. 18 II. Findings: Property Grabbing from Widows .................................................................... 21 Illustrative Cases of Property Grabbing from Widows ............................................................... 21 Registration of Marriages ........................................................................................................24 Widowhood and Child Marriage ............................................................................................. 26 The Impact of Property Grabbing on Widows’ Lives ................................................................. 28 Remedies ...............................................................................................................................32 III. Legal Standards on the Rights of Widows .................................................................... 39 National Law ..........................................................................................................................39 African Human Rights Law Relevant to Widows........................................................................42 UN Standards on the Rights of Widows ...................................................................................44 Recommendations............................................................................................................ 49 To the Government of Zimbabwe and the Parliament of Zimbabwe: ........................................ 49 To the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs .......................................................50 To the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development ............................... 51