International Widows Day
SOLIDARITY MESSAGE
June 25, 2016
The international Widows Day comes at a time when millions of
widows worldwide have nothing to celebrate about, except to reflect their
plight pain that has been either ignored or not attended to. This has left them
isolated and excluded in societal and community development issues.
It is my pleasure ladies and gentlemen at this very
important day to share with you some of the some of the catastrophes bewildering
widows internationally and locally.
As we share these thoughts it is my call today that everyone here and elsewhere must bear in mind that the widows that we are
talking about here are our mothers, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin or great-great grandmother, hence what is
affecting them affects everyone one way
or the other.
Before I share with you some of the these issues it is
important at this juncture to make it clear that what pains most is that
although widows have tried to register their plight in several platforms and in
such days as this one, their concerns have not been given befitting attention
and up to this moment they still languish in dire poverty, nevertheless it will
be unfair to keep quiet about these issues, but to keep on pressing until such
a time when there is meaningful change in this regard.
Internationally, widows are facing challenges which range
from internal displacements, poverty, abuse, and rape, deprivation of
fundamental rights such as the right to property, food, shelter, peace and
other basic needs, which has made them to feel like alien species in their
countries. As we commemorate this day let us bear in mind and reflect on these
issues and lets also remember that the
struggle for the realization of widows rights is an ongoing struggle that needs
all of to seriously think about.
Bringing the issue closer home, Zimbabwean women are among
the worst affected, discriminated, abused, poorer and in all these challenges,
widows are the one at the day bearing the harsh conditions families are
enduring.
At this point let me waste no time but hasten to bring to
your attention some key areas widows are finding themselves in.
The countries s inheritance laws are unclear and unfair when it come to inheritance process, most
widows have been left homeless ,
land-less because they couldn’t access properties left by their husbands as
they have been left to the mercy of the cruelty of their husbands families, and
is regrettable ladies and gentleman that
unfortunately the law does not protect them.
Although the law recognizes that when a husband dies, their
spouses must inherit the left property, the same law does not empower widows to
rightfully inherit the property. Because of this we see today widows failing to
send children to school and living in the streets without shelter and other
basic needs.
Land ownership in Zimbabwe is one area that government must
address as a matter of urgency, traditionally , land belongs to men and when
they pass away, women are unfairly removed from that land and it is given to
the brothers of the deceased especially is the women refuses to be forcibly
inherited by the husband`s brothers. At the end of the day, it is the families
left who suffer.
The current laws of the country makes it difficult for women
to own property, for example it is difficult for widows to occupy houses left
by their husbands as there are exorbitant fees charged by for them to process
the documents , these fees are beyond the reach of many widows and they end up
giving up on the properties .
It goes without saying that in
the current economic hardships , women particularly widows are the most
affected , a lot of people in Zimbabwe are unemployed and it is disheartening
that when widows try to venture into some form of income generation project
such as vending , the hash hand of municipal police descends on them harshly,
women constitute the largest number of
people in the informal sector in Zimbabwe yet they face abuse every day in the
streets as they are not allowed to work to look after their families.
It is our call today as we
celebrate this day to authorities that this must come to end.
Currently widows cannot access
their pension and the meager pension of their late husband’s has been depleted
by hyperinflation, because of this, many widows cannot access decent shelter,
water, and food water and health facilities.
As I conclude, I call upon the
government of Zimbabwe to consider prioritizing the plight of widows in
Zimbabwe in its endeavor to address gender imbalances that exist in our communities.
As I conclude, it is a fact that
women constitute the a large part of the country`s population and it must be
remembered that there is no meaning full development that can be attained
without the full recognition of women rights and most importantly the rights of
widows.
Linda T Masarira
Founder and National Director
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