Report of the National Conference: Women's Property Rights ... - FAO

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grabbing. The category of widows and orphans who suffer most are those already inpoverty stricken areas with low income. According to the NGO report, these suffer tripleabuse of their rights, are impoverished and subjected to destitution. They are notrespected by society and are not empowered to claim their rights. Despite theGovernment and civil society organisations efforts to address these issues of abuse onwidows and orphans there are still many horrendous reports in print and electronic media.Thus the problem of widows and orphans calls for concerted efforts through advocacy,research on human rights of widows and orphans as well as human rights education andsensitisation.3.4 DiscussionThe level of debate generated by the presentation on the Intestate Succession Act wasevidence of limited awareness of the Act among the general public. The Act is framed inlegal language that may be too difficult to understand by lay persons so as to serve itspurpose in protecting women’s rights. The key questions thus, converged onclarifications of details contained in the Act, such as the administrator’s source of fundsfor his travels, definitions of “dependent”, differences between family property andvehicles, and how the contribution to the estate is measured.There was a general consensus on the need for more greater sensitisation programmesand interpretation of the Act into local languages that could be easily understood by all.As a general observation, Annette Nhekairo noted however, that most people disagreewith the context of the Act when it is not in their favour. She also observed that attitudeschange according to situations and the apparent response in most cases was to say the Actwas contrary to customary law.4.0 Lessons on women’s Land and property rights in Zambia4.1 An Introduction to the Copperbelt Land Rights Centre: John Kangwa (BoardSecretary), Copperbelt Land Rights Centre, Kitwe.The Copperbelt Land Rights Centre is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profitmaking body launched in March 2004 in Kitwe. The centre was launched in response tothe socio- economic needsaffecting communities in theCopperbelt after a workshop onland issues sponsored by Oxfam.The role of the Centre revolvesaround providing equitableaccess to information, assistingpoor women, men and childrengain control over land. They alsoparticipate in poverty reductioninitiatives by promotingBox 2: Highlights of the Copperbelt Land Rights Centreproject activities• Familiarisation tour among partners in Ndola, Mufulira,Chililabombwe and Chingola in October 2005.• Assisting to Luano Land Alliance in dealing withIPAFU/KAWAMA land settlement issue.• Collaboration possibilities with Copper belt Universitydepartment of Real Estate Studies.• Preparation of two major proposals on Land Rights,Advocacy and Research as well as land and media.• A planned visit to traditional leaders in the Copper belt andengaging them on land matters10
ownership of land through information sharing and advocating for fair policies and lawsthat protect the rights of the vulnerable. In addition the Centre commissions and conductsresearch on land matters in Zambia and the region. Although still in its infancy, theCentre has made some progress towards advocating for the rights of the poor andvulnerable. However, it currently faces challenges around the finalisation of the centre’sconstitution and registration under the Perpetual Succession Act.Like many other NGOs in the region, a source of funding for sustaining the Centre’sprogrammes is also a major challenge. Initial funding provided by Oxfam came to an endin October 2005.4.2 LADA experience on women’s property rights: Mr Eslony Hatimbula, DistrictAnimator (Law and Development Association -LADA)The main activities of LADA consist of advocacy and lobbying, provision of training andparalegal services as well as endeavoring to reduce poverty. Among their main thrusts isthe improvement of the status of women and the girl child in Zambia. Empowerment ofwomen and girls will allow them to question their position in society.The main driver of property grabbing as described by Eslony Hatimbula is greediness.Property grabbing is observed to be more prevalent where the deceased was rich. LADAhas over the years realised that information access and awareness by communities ofinheritance laws and property grabbing is critical. As such, LADA has embarked onvarious strategies to address this need through• Community sensitisation workshops• Training workshops for both men and women with legal desks opened in manyvillages• Paralegal Kids Programme where kids are trained to give advice within their ownlevel of understanding.• Translation of books and radio tapes on inheritance and property grabbingIn these efforts, LADA has learnt that NGOs need to use the voice of the poor inaddressing problems that affect them. Community efforts need to be enhanced byorganising them and finding common issues to be addressed. Networks are better toolsfor advocacy and these should be encouraged among NGOs. There is a need for broaderconsultation at all levels before legislation is passed. Major challenges come whenparalegals fail to attend court cases because of lack of resources such as transport. Thereis also a growing trend of law enforcement officers becoming the perpetrators themselvesthrough property grabbing. In view of such complicated cases there is a need forcollective action if women’s rights and those of children are to be protected.11
Page 2 and 3: Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 4 and 5: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSCOHRE:ESCR:FAO
Page 6 and 7: 2.0 Welcome and Opening RemarksFlor
Page 8 and 9: 3.0 Legal issues of women’s prope
Page 12 and 13: 4.3 Rights of widows and orphans in
Page 14 and 15: Chieftainess Nkomesha proposed that
Page 16 and 17: I used the pension money from my la
Page 18 and 19: among female-headed households. The
Page 20 and 21: 7.3 Zimbabwe Republic Police Progra
Page 22 and 23: discovered through the Home Based C
Page 24 and 25: Gradually, the marriage became viol
Page 26 and 27: Act has a number of gaps in terms o
Page 28 and 29: move a little, within the same area
Page 30 and 31: • National Gender policy in need
Page 32 and 33: Why these targets?Policy makers•
Page 34 and 35: also traditional land administered
Page 36 and 37: The workshop concluded with partici
Page 38 and 39: Distinguished guests, ladies and ge
Page 40 and 41: • Third, ways must urgently be fo
Page 42 and 43: • Continue sharing experiences•
Page 44 and 45: inspiring testimonies from Uganda,
Page 46 and 47: STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ON HOW TO MOVE
Page 48 and 49: Annex 3: Workshop Programme and Lis
Page 50 and 51: List of participants, organizations
Page 52: Moreen Mudimba Ntengwe Orphan Manjo

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