such imprisonment.”106 Such prohibition of property grabbing and punishment may be effective, if properly enforced. Additionally, in some of the cases Human Rights Watch examined in the course of conducting research, customary laws were often interpreted and applied in a way that favors in-laws, even while those in-laws fail to fulfill the social expectation that they will protect and provide for widows. A 2004 research article notes: Under customary law, the heir to the estate takes over all responsibilities of the house-hold head. It is therefore assumed that the duty to maintain [a widow and her household] will pass to him, though this duty is rarely fulfilled nowadays.107 A dozen years later, the widows Human Rights Watch interviewed would likely still agree with this observation. African Human Rights Law Relevant to Widows Zimbabwe is a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which enshrines the principles of non-discrimination based on sex, and protection based on old age.108 The charter calls on states to eliminate "discrimination against women" and to ensure the protection of the rights of women, as specified in international human rights conventions.109 The charter also requires states parties to ensure the protection of the right to property.110 The African Union has articulated the rights of widows and older women even further in additional protocols and resolutions. 106 Deceased Persons Family Maintenance Act, sec. 10(2). 107 The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Bringing Equality Home, “Bringing Equality Home: Promoting and Protecting the Inheritance Rights of Women, A Survey of Law and Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa,” 2004, http://archive.kubatana.net/docs/women/cohre_womens_inheritance_rights_2004.pdf (accessed September 12, 2016), p. 165. 108 African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982), entered into force October 21, 1986, arts. 2 and 18. 109 Ibid., art. 18(3). 110 Ibid., art. 14. “YOU WILL GET NOTHING” 42