Methodology Older women who are widows face two kinds of discrimination that made this report so pressing: they experience discrimination based on gender across their lives, which accumulates in old age, and they face intersecting discrimination based on their age, gender and marital status as widows. Their identities cannot be reduced to one or another of these traits. Rights in widowhood face unique threats because of this convergence. Human Rights Watch considered a number of factors when choosing Zimbabwe as the location for this report. Abuses against widows in the country have been documented, and local NGO partners and advocates were welcoming of an opportunity to work on the issue. The new constitution’s prohibition against laws that discriminate against women—even customary laws—and efforts to align national laws with that new constitution was a determining factor. The time is right for Zimbabwe to take stock of the insidious harm of property grabbing and a lack of access to justice is causing widows and their families around the country. This report is based on research conducted between April 2016 and October 2016, including visits to Zimbabwe. Field research was conducted in the capital, Harare, in Bulawayo, Gweru, and two small towns, with widows traveling to speak with us from towns and villages across each of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces. Throughout this report, a pseudonym is used in place of the name of each widow to protect her privacy. During these research visits and remotely, Human Rights Watch researchers conducted interviews with more than 85 different individuals, including 59 widows, 5 government officials, and 23 representatives of nongovernmental organizations. Human Rights Watch met with Nyasha Chikwinya, the minister of women’s affairs, gender and community development, to discuss the findings of this research. The minister promised to carefully review the report and its recommendations. Human Rights Watch also interviewed the master of the high courts, a local mayor’s office, and a member of parliament. We wrote to the minister of justice (see Annex 1), but had not received a response at time of writing. “YOU WILL GET NOTHING” 8