Challenges and Opportunities in Inheritance Rights in Mozambique

Abstract

Recent laws, including Mozambique’s Family Law and Land Law, provide important protection and opportunities for equitable property and inheritance rights, including for women in so-called de facto unions (cohabitation without marriage). A key policy debate in the revision of Mozambique’s Succession Law is the legal recognition of inheritance rights of people living in cohabiting and unmarried unions, including polygamous unions. A priority will be to make the legislation’s principles and language clear and easy to understand and enact. With so many recent laws passed in Mozambique, there has been insufficient awareness and capacity building efforts throughout the country to ensure that these laws are understood and implemented. Practical efforts are required to realise the potential of Mozambique’s progress with its statutory law agenda. Customary law remains dominant over inheritance practices in many areas of the country; engagement with customary leaders and investment in decentralised access to services is essential to ensure protection of widows’ and orphaned children’s property rights.