Many women living with HIV are being denied their rights to inherit family property by their relatives. According to recent research carried out by Women’s Network for Rural Development (WNRD) with the support of UN Women, the women are often thrown out of their homes following the death of their spouses. This concern has also been affecting discordant couples, in which one partner is HIV+ while the other is negative. Marie Goreth Nyiransenga unwittingly married a HIV+ man much older than herself, who later passed away. A few days before her husband’s death, his relatives threw Nyiransenga and her children out of her marital home.“My husband’s relatives sent me and my children out of our home. They claimed that I too would soon die so there was no need for me to inherit my husband’s property,” she said. The mother of three HIV+ children now rents a two-room house in the outskirts of Kigali. “Life is very difficult now but we are trying hard to make ends meet,” Nyiransenga said, adding that life wouldn’t be as difficult had she inherited her husband’s property. Denise Umutoni, a researcher with WNRD, stated that the research was carried out as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS through enhanced advocacy and increasing their access to property. Henriette Sebera, a member of parliament, said that the women have every right to inherit property and their rights were being abused.
