carry that stigma with them for decades. The life expectancy for a woman who is 60 years of age in Zimbabwe is over 78 years.19 Widows have traditionally had a socially weak and therefore vulnerable position in Zimbabwe, made all the more vulnerable by old age and discriminatory practices in customary law and government procedures. Women and Law in Southern Africa produced a position paper together with the property and inheritance rights network of Zimbabwe on suggested amendments of inheritance laws. It found that women who do not have marriage certificates face challenges in court. They may be required by the court to bring affidavits or testimony from their late husband’s relatives to confirm the marriage. Sometimes these relatives completely deny the existence of the union and state that the customary law wife was a “mere girlfriend.”20 These practices contribute to the vulnerability of widows. This may explain how opportunistic property grabbing remains such a common phenomenon, according to women’s rights advocates, and also according to Human Rights Watch’s research. Some customary norms reinforce widows’ socially weak position, including certain aspects of customary laws on marriage and on inheritance. This is especially true in communities with patrilineal inheritance, which practice descent through males, as was the case with the communities where the widows Human Rights Watch met lived. While customary laws can evolve, and can offer opportunities to advance women’s equality, Human Rights Watch found that they are interpreted or applied in ways that disadvantage women, especially widows. Proving a customary marriage is a serious burden and impediment for widows in the existing legal system. There is no clear moment when a customary marriage begins.21 A 19United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, “World Population Ageing 2015,” http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ageing/WPA2015_Report.pdf (accessed November 16, 2016), p. 127. 20 Dorcas Makaza Kanyimo, “Law Relating to Succession and Inheritance in Zimbabwe,” Women and Law in Southern Africa, Research and Education Trust, http://slideplayer.com/slide/10229887/ (accessed January 11, 2017). 21 Slyvia Chirawu, Dorcas Makaza Kanyimo, Strengthening the Legal Framework on Women, Property, and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe: Harmonization of Marriage Laws and Equality In Marriage: Position Papers on “YOU WILL GET NOTHING” 14