Protect widows: First Lady

FIRST Lady Penehupifo Pohamba has called on traditional leaders and law enforcement agencies to ensure that women and orphans no longer fall prey to property and land grabbing.

Addressing a national conference on women’s and children’s land and property rights in Windhoek yesterday, the First Lady said some women and orphans lack knowledge on property rights, which paves the way for manipulation based on traditional norms and customs. “As a result, those who perpetuate land and property grabbing go unpunished, thus escalating the practice.I believe that the debate on land and property rights for women and children should go beyond sensitisation,” she said.A study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Namibia found that around 44 per cent of widows and orphans had lost cattle, which represent both wealth and status, while 28 per cent had lost livestock and 41 per cent had been forced to part with farm equipment.Pohamba said depriving them of possessions undermined their capacity to produce food and earn an income.The First Lady said the Ministry of Justice was drafting an inheritance law to deal with such problems and she hoped it would be implemented.”I believe that those found guilty of stripping and grabbing properties from bereaved families should face the full force of the law,” she said.UN Resident Co-ordinator Simon Mhongo said HIV-AIDS had exacerbated the insecurity experienced by women and children in connection with property rights and livelihoods.He said by robbing society of the most able-bodied and trained human resources, the pandemic weakened the capacity of the Government to provide critical services in health, education and security.”Families spend their savings caring for the sick and precious farming skills are no longer efficiently passed on between generations.As if all this is not enough, some of our harmful cultural practices have conspired with inadequate national legal instruments to deny widows and orphans their constitutionally enshrined rights to property, protection and livelihoods,” he said.In many rural settings, when the husband dies, relatives of the deceased claim all assets that used to belong to him, irrespective of whether he left a widow and/or children behind.”There are even instances where the widow will be simply evicted from the homestead, even before the soil on the late husband’s grave is dry,” he said.He said now was the time to act.”No longer should they be left to fend for themselves.We pledge our support to them in every way possible,” he said.Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Marlene Mungunda said they hoped the conference would give them new insights and ideas on how to protect widows and children.”As a result, those who perpetuate land and property grabbing go unpunished, thus escalating the practice.I believe that the debate on land and property rights for women and children should go beyond sensitisation,” she said.A study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Namibia found that around 44 per cent of widows and orphans had lost cattle, which represent both wealth and status, while 28 per cent had lost livestock and 41 per cent had been forced to part with farm equipment.Pohamba said depriving them of possessions undermined their capacity to produce food and earn an income.The First Lady said the Ministry of Justice was drafting an inheritance law to deal with such problems and she hoped it would be implemented.”I believe that those found guilty of stripping and grabbing properties from bereaved families should face the full force of the law,” she said.UN Resident Co-ordinator Simon Mhongo said HIV-AIDS had exacerbated the insecurity experienced by women and children in connection with property rights and livelihoods.He said by robbing society of the most able-bodied and trained human resources, the pandemic weakened the capacity of the Government to provide critical services in health, education and security.”Families spend their savings caring for the sick and precious farming skills are no longer efficiently passed on between generations.As if all this is not enough, some of our harmful cultural practices have conspired with inadequate national legal instruments to deny widows and orphans their constitutionally enshrined rights to property, protection and livelihoods,” he said.In many rural settings, when the husband dies, relatives of the deceased claim all assets that used to belong to him, irrespective of whether he left a widow and/or children behind.”There are even instances where the widow will be simply evicted from the homestead, even before the soil on the late husband’s grave is dry,” he said.He said now was the time to act.”No longer should they be left to fend for themselves.We pledge our support to them in every way possible,” he said.Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Marlene Mungunda said they hoped the conference would give them new insights and ideas on how to protect widows and children.