and micro-finance to fight poverty among widows in Egypt and Bolivia.15 And the Loomba Foundation produces the world’s most complete collection of global statistics on widows in its reports. Long predating these global initiatives, small groups of widows in countries around the world have banded together to help each other, and faith-based communities often provide some services or supports for widows. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which has been a cornerstone of work on equality and empowerment for women and girls for two decades, does not mention widows. Nor do the Millennium Development Goals or the Sustainable Development Goals, despite the risk of poverty widows face. The World Health Organization’s Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health also does not mention widows. Important development donors, such as the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), do not mention widows in their gender policies. The United States Agency for International Development, another development donor, does reference widows’ property rights in its gender policy, and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing note widows’ risk of poverty and widowhood rites. These are scant references compared to the scope of the challenges widows face. Harmful Practices and Widows in Zimbabwe Widowhood is common in Zimbabwe. According to the 2012 census, 14 percent of women in Zimbabwe are widows.16 That census found that over 587,000 women are widows, and many of these women are old or will become old.17 In terms of chronological age, the percentage of women who are widows increases drastically at older and older ages. In Zimbabwe, 37.8 percent of women aged 55 to 59 are widows, and 78.3 percent of women aged 75 and over are widows.18 Women who are widowed at a younger age are likely to 15 “Mission & History,” Global Fund for Widows, http://globalfundforwidows.org/mission-history/(accessed November 9, 2016). 16 Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, “Women and Men in Zimbabwe Report 2012,” http://www.zimstat.co.zw/sites/default/files/img/publications/Gender/Report2012.pdf (accessed July 29, 2016), p. 11. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 13 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JANUARY 2017