Back to Index

Property and inheritance rights - Issue 1
Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA)
November 01, 2011

Download this document
- Acrobat PDF version (441KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here

Women whose names do not appear on title deeds face hardships

Women whose names do not appear on title deeds face hardships in Zimbabwe. The legal situation is such that husbands whose names appear on the title deeds can sell the immovable property to the detriment of the wife.

The law only "intervenes" at death in terms of the inheritance laws that state that the immovable property goes to the surviving spouse. Upon divorce, the immovable property is shared equitably using the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act.

The Honourable Makarau J stated clearly in the case of Muswere vs Makanza and others HC16-2005 that clearly the law in place " is unsatisfactory and palpably unjust"."

WLSA and the Property and Inheritance Rights Network of Zimbabwe has prepared a position paper for submission to the Law Development Commission.

Download full document

Visit the Women and Law in Southern Africa fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP