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

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSCOHRE:ESCR:FAO:GROOTS:JWOP :LADA:NGO:POSA:SAT:UNAIDS:UNDP:WLSA :YWCA:ZLDC:ZRP:ZWOT:Centre on Housing Rights and EvictionsEconomic Social and Cultural RightsFood and Agricultural OrganisationGrassroots Organizations Operating Together in SisterhoodJustice for Widows and Orphans ProjectLaw and Development AssociationNon Governmental OrganisationPolice Survivors’ AssociationSouthern Africa TrustUnited Nations Programme on HIV AND AIDSUnited Nations Development ProgrammeWomen Law in Southern AfricaYoung Women Christian AssociationZambia Law Development CommissionZimbabwe Republic PoliceZimbabwe Widows and Orphans TrustAcknowledgementWe would like to thank Zambia Law Development Commission and Justice for Widowsand Orphans Project for their partnership, and to Global Fund for Women, Women LandLink Africa Project (WLLA), Embassy of Finland and FAO Emergency Unit Zimbabwefor co-funding the workshop. We would also wish to thank all the speakers, participants,who contributed to make the workshop a success. We would like to thank Scott Drimiewho facilitated the workshop, Sithabiso Gandure who compiled this workshop report andKen Dixon who edited the report. Special thanks are given to Robin Palmer who chairedthe workshop and commented on the draft workshop report. We are grateful to Mr.Dong, FAO Representative to Zambia who shared with us his personal experiences fromChina, which inspired us all. Finally, we would like to thank to Angeline Matoushaya.Without her tireless assistance, this workshop would have never been materialised.Kaori IzumiFAOSAFR4
1.0 Executive SummaryThe context of the plight of widows and orphans is of extreme vulnerability to propertygrabbing, dispossession and destitution on the death of a husband. This situation isexacerbated in the context of HIV and AIDS. The victims often lack the power to seeklegal and social redress to their situation. It is against a background of continuedinjustices faced by women and children that the workshop on Women’s property rightsand livelihoods in the context of HIV and AIDS was convened in Lusaka, Zambia inJanuary 2006.The workshop was a creative blend of different people and experiences from Zambia andin the region 1 . The participation of magistrates and lawyers, members of the police,delegates from NGOs, Community Based Organisations (CBOs), activists and academicsalong with widows and orphans provided an effective mix of people seeking to findsolutions. As such the workshop sought to find practical solutions that are workable andthus make rights a reality. The workshop provided every opportunity for this, includingas it did moving experiences and powerful testimonies from widows, orphans, and from aUgandan woman living positively with HIV and AIDS. It was also evident that muchgood work has been undertaken by Zambian initiatives but these lack coordination andlinkages resulting in duplication and inconsistent efforts on the ground.Key distinctive outputs emanated from the workshop encompassing a press briefingsummarizing the proceedings of the workshop as well as key recommendations withspecific targets and timelines. Concrete steps on the Chilala case were immediately put inplace to seek redress for her. Mrs. Chilala is a Zambian widow, aged 79, who has had 17graves dug next to her home by her brother in law – because she refused to marry himand give up her property on the death of her husband in 1990.According to Senior Chieftainess Nkomesha, “the Zambian Intestate Act has outlived itsusefulness”. The Act has a number of gaps in terms of protecting the rights of widowsand orphans. Specific recommendations regarding the amendment of the Act will bepursued by the Zambia Law Development Commission (ZLDC) incorporating the currentchallenges that widows and orphans are facing. Practical solutions have been sought interms of linking property rights to livelihoods programmes. A range of “best practices”,spearheaded by community-based organizations and Non-governmental Organizations(NGOs) in Zambia and in the region will be documented to allow for wide distributionwith a clear dissemination strategy.In closing, Qingsong Dong stated that as a policy maker, he had been revatilised to workat addressing issues of property and inheritance with much urgency due to the exposureof the people to the HIV and AIDS epidemic and their determination to respondpositively.1 Region here means Southern and East Africa.5
Page 2 and 3: Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 6 and 7: 2.0 Welcome and Opening RemarksFlor
Page 8 and 9: 3.0 Legal issues of women’s prope
Page 10 and 11: grabbing. The category of widows an
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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