News & Announcements
Women’s Inheritance Now! Network Launched in East and Southern Africa
This May marked the official launch of the Legal Network for Women’s Inheritance and Property Rights in Eastern and Southern Africa, also known as Women’s Inheritance Now! (WIN).
AIDS has dramatically magnified the effects of discriminatory inheritance laws and policies that deny women adequate protection throughout Africa. Widows, often disempowered and financially dependent, are more vulnerable to infection and have reduced ability to cope with illness. Advocates working to address these issues have so far worked in isolation. The WIN network will allow advocates and legal practitioners to share information, resources, and strategies at a regional level.
WIN is coordinated by Women and Law in Southern Africa—Malawi and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya). WIN will work in 15 countries in East and Southern Africa with a focal point NGO in each country. Participants at the initial network launch in Nairobi came from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
WIN is supported by OSI’s Law and Health Initiative, the Open Society Initiative for East Africa, and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa.
