Older women often lose their houses and land to other family members and are denied their right to inheritance.Women in Tanzania are at risk of losing their homes when their husbands die, a new survey shows. HelpAge International's partners surveyed 480 men and women of all ages in eight regions of Tanzania in 2005 to find out what they knew about inheritance laws and practices.
Contradictory laws cause confusionThe survey demonstrated the confusion people had concerning the law and showed discrepancies between what people said happened in practice and what they believed the law to be.

Customary inheritance law in Tanzania prohibits women from inheriting property or assets after the death of their husbands. However, recent statutes contradict these customary laws. For instance, the Land Act of 1999 affords equal ownership of land between men and women.When asked what the official government position on property and inheritance was:· Some 70% of respondents thought that widows were legally entitled to inherit the house and land· 23% thought widows could remain in the house without owning it · 7% thought the law supported eviction.Some 28% of those interviewed said that, in practice, women were evicted from their homes when their husbands died. Another 55% said that women remained in the house without owning it. Opinions differed between men and women. 30% of women said women were evicted, compared with 25% of men.

"Often one of the deceased husband's brothers takes possession of the house. In urban areas, a widow's home might be reduced to a few rooms, while the remaining rooms were rented out by the brother who keeps the rental income," explains Flavian Bifandimu, HelpAge International Tanzania programme officer. 

Progress on women's rights

The vast majority of respondents thought that widows ought to inherit the house and land. More than 90% of the women surveyed said that they would like to inherit the house, land and household assets. "It is clear that women are increasingly detaching themselves from customary laws that have for a long time made them refute their right of ownership," says Flavian Bifandimu.

Training community-based paralegals

The survey showed that village leaders, followed by family members, friends and neighbours, were the most common sources of information on property and inheritance rights for both men and women. As a result of the survey HelpAge International is training community members as paralegal advisors to educate communities about widows' rights. The programme is funded by Comic Relief.