Based on interviews with 59 widows in all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe between May and October 2016, this report documents the human rights vulnerabilities and abuses that widows in Zimbabwe face. Around the world, millions of older women—and older people generally—routinely experience violations of their human rights. This report focuses on abuses related to property grabbing from widows, predominantly older women. Chronological age is not the exclusive determinant of whether a person will experience old age discrimination. A widow who is perceived as being older because of physical and other attributes, such as white hair or wrinkles, could face age discrimination regardless of her calendar age. Most of the widows we interviewed could have been perceived as older and may have been targeted for property grabbing because of relatives’ real or imagined belief that they would be unable to defend themselves. Violations against older people are common and include discrimination, social and political exclusion, abuses in nursing facilities, neglect in humanitarian settings, and denial and rationing of health care. Most abuse goes undocumented and the perpetrators unpunished, as governments, UN agencies, and human rights actors have long ignored the rights of older people. The abuses documented in this report were experienced by older and younger widows. Human Rights Watch also interviewed representatives of nongovernmental organizations and legal aid organizations who provide support to widows and conducted an extensive review of relevant domestic legislation and policy documents. According to the 2012 census, Zimbabwe is home to around 587,000 widows, and most women aged 60 and over are widowed. Many of these older women are vulnerable to violations of their property and inheritance rights. Every year, in-laws evict thousands of widows from their homes and land, leaving them with no roof over their head, no means of income, and no support networks. Others face persistent harassment from in-laws who often accuse them of being responsible for the death of their husbands. More than 250 million widows around the world face multiple abuses, neglect, and social exclusion and too frequently are pushed into extreme poverty; the Loomba Foundation estimated that in 2015, 38,261,345 widows were living in extreme poverty. For some, the abuses they face as widows continue a lifetime of gender-based discrimination abuse and “YOU WILL GET NOTHING” 2