he wanted a wife. They left me no choice.”60 Her marriage was unregistered, which left her with higher hurdles to protect her home and property after her husband passed away. Women who married as children without the opportunity to go to school were less likely to have independence from their husbands during their marriages. When they become widows, they may have fewer resources or ability to pursue a remedy in the face of property grabbing. Gladys, 43, was married when she was 14 because she “was an orphan with no money for school.” Her husband was 45 years old at the time. He passed away at the age of 70. She told us how the son of her husband’s first wife tricked her out of her home. He picked her up for her husband’s funeral in a car, and after the funeral he told her that he would not bring her home because her home was now his. “Because I was in mourning, this confused me, and he was not providing any food. There was no will. Everything was distributed by the family ‘according to custom.’”61 Some widows said they married when they were children because their parents were poor. Zelda, 56, told Human Rights Watch she married when she was 16 and remembered how she was looking for a way out: I saw the poverty of my family. My family worked as laborers and did farming. Life was very tough. We had no options. I just thought that if I could find a responsible man who would think of them, things would get better.62 Today, she sees the effects of that early poverty and her status as a widow. She told us: “People have taken advantage of me because I didn’t go to school and I am a widow with no husband to protect me.”63 60 Human Rights Watch interview with Michelle, May 27, 2016. 61 Human Rights Watch interview with Gladys, May 27, 2016. 62 Human Rights Watch interview with Zelda, May 26, 2016. 63 Ibid. 27 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JANUARY 2017