Rights Watch that her marriage was registered but that after her husband died her in-laws attempted to obtain her property through a district court. There was no will, but he [my husband] was clever and organized. The greatest protection, he believed, was a monogamous marriage. It's like he knew he might pass. He was always pushing, even when I was reluctant to go through the different steps to register our marriage. [After he passed], neither I nor my in-laws knew about any procedures. In the high court, my elder brother-in-law brought marriage certificates, birth certificate, and death certificate. The high court said that they would get back to us.… My older brother-in-law [received] a letter about the next appearance in the high court, but he did not [tell me].85 She sought advice from Legal Resources Foundation at this point, and, with the marriage certificate and documents she had, it helped her gain control over her estate without her in-laws. She now collects her husband’s pension and can pay her son’s school fees.86 Gladys, 43, also complained about court appearance notices only going out to a male relative. She was the second wife of her husband, who had five wives. She married her husband when she was 14. She told us about her attempts to secure property when the first wife colluded with her husband’s family to eliminate the inheritance of the other four wives and children: At the Harare master of the court, we were given a case number and asked to return in two weeks. We could not travel to Harare again, it was too expensive, and so I asked a relative to look into it for me. He said he needed a little money for transport and I agreed, then he said he needed a lot more, and I knew then that I could not rely on him. We couldn’t pay that money. With the cost of all of the back-and-forth, the other wives wanted to 85 Human Rights Watch interview with Zelda, May 26, 2016. 86 Ibid. 37 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JANUARY 2017