HARARE // As Maliyaziwa Malunga mourns her dead husband, she also battles against his relatives who plot to seize her house in a custom that affects thousands of women in Zimbabwe each year.
A Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday details how in-laws in the country routinely expect to take property and money from bereaved widows soon after their husbands die.
When Malunga’s husband died in 2013, his relatives locked her in her home, forced her to open her cash box, and stole US$4,000 (Dh14,700) and the title documents to her property.
“I lock my doors always fearing some of those in-laws will come and harass me,” said Malunga, who is still in a legal tussle to fight off the relatives.
“It is so painful to go to courts and it is stressful. I lose sleep, my blood pressure is high and I have lost weight because of stress,” the 53-year-old said.
Zimbabwean widows who are thrown out of their homes by their in-laws often have little chance of justice because many marriages are under customary law and not registered, HRW said.
“My advice is for married women to go to court and have a wedding certificate and we will not have problems like this one,” said Malunga.
“Widows must fight for their rights, they should be strong and should not give up,” she added, recalling that her husband’s relatives engaged in fistfights over her house in Chitungwiza, outside Harare.
The rights report called for the government to protect vulnerable, often elderly widows.
“The impact of property grabbing on widows is devastating,” said its author Bethany Brown.
“Women whose property was taken from them spoke of homelessness, destitution and loss of livelihoods.”
The study is based on interviews with 59 widows across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces last year.
“[My brother-in-law] has taken all of my fields,” said Deborah, 58, from Mashonaland East.
“Now, he says that I cannot walk on ‘his’ fields ... Maybe he is really happy to see us suffer.”
The Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), an organisation helping widows in Zimbabwe, said it alone had handled at least 1,700 cases in the last three years.
“Women have to register their estates and they should do so immediately after the deaths of their husbands,” said Lucia Masuka-Zanhi, legal programmes director at LRF.
“Women can assert their rights through the courts and each case will be decided on its facts.”
* Agence France-Presse
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
Company%20Profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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Wicked
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SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri