Mozambique's widows accused of sorcery and robbed of land | Land Portal

By: Ray Mwareya


Date: 5 July 2016


Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation


Although the law gives men and women equal property rights, the reality is very different in eastern Mozambique, one of the country's poorest regions.


In the Chikwidzire district of Manica province, which borders Zimbabwe, deeply patriarchal cultural traditions stipulate that a woman without sons must cede her land to relatives upon her husband's death.


"Being sonless is viewed as a bad omen and embarrassment to the family," said Java Mtisi, founder of the Women Hands Together shelter which cares for evicted widows.


"Greediness for land, we suspect, is the reason for accusing widows of witchcraft."


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