Funding cuts and the protection of widows in Tanzania
By Jordan Taylor – Student Researcher for Widows for Peace through Democracy. August 2026.
For many widows, bereavement is followed by the loss of their home, land and financial security. Discriminatory inheritance practices, limited awareness of legal rights and the cost of representation can leave women vulnerable to demands that they surrender property acquired during marriage. Although international law recognises women’s equal rights to property and inheritance, those rights offer little practical protection unless women can access organisations capable of enforcing them.
The decision in E.S. and S.C. v United Republic of Tanzania illustrates both the importance and fragility of that protection. E.S. and S.C. were represented by the Women’s Legal Aid Centre in Dar es Salaam and Georgetown University’s International Women’s Human Rights Clinic. After E.S.’s husband died in 1999, her brother-in-law demanded that she leave the jointly acquired family home. She moved into her parents’ home with her three children and received no support from the estate. S.C. faced a similar demand after her husband’s death in 2000.
The dispute concerned Tanzania’s customary inheritance laws. The relevant rules were patrilineal and provided that where a deceased man left members of his clan, his widow was not entitled to inherit. Instead, she was expected to be maintained by her children or the person inheriting the estate. This placed a widow’s housing and financial security in the hands of her husband’s relatives.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women found that these rules discriminated against E.S. and S.C. It recommended compensation and called upon Tanzania to repeal or amend the discriminatory provisions. However, the Committee could not restore the women to their homes, amend Tanzanian law or compel payment. Human Rights Watch reported in 2016 that they had not been compensated, and no later public confirmation of payment has been identified.
The case demonstrates the limits of a legal victory without implementation. Although the Tanzanian High Court accepted that the rules discriminated against women, it declined to invalidate them, and the women’s appeal was dismissed on a procedural ground. Their international success followed years of litigation, yet did not necessarily provide housing, compensation or financial security.
The involvement of the Women’s Legal Aid Centre was consequently essential. Pursuing domestic proceedings and an international communication required specialist knowledge and sustained representation. Women-led organisations also provide community education, mobile legal aid, paralegal networks and advocacy for reform. Without those services, many widows may never discover that an eviction can be challenged or obtain the assistance needed to protect their homes.
This vulnerability is heightened by Tanzania’s legal-aid funding structure. A 2023 national report noted that the Legal Aid Act 2017 did not establish a dedicated legal-aid fund and that services remain dependent upon government resources and international development partners. Cuts can therefore mean fewer lawyers and paralegals, reduced outreach and less capacity to pursue inheritance or land cases.
Official development assistance fell by 23.1% in 2025, while bilateral assistance to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 26.3% and core contributions to the United Nations system by 27%. Women’s rights organisations have historically received less than 1% of development assistance directed towards gender equality, and their funding fell from USD 799 million in 2023 to USD 578 million in 2024.
UN Women’s 2025 research shows what those reductions can mean. Among women-led organisations surveyed in humanitarian settings, 47% expected to close within six months, 72% had laid off staff and 51% had suspended programmes. Separate research found organisations reducing lawyers’ hours and legal services. These global studies do not prove that cuts have affected Tanzanian inheritance litigation, but they illustrate the consequences when women-led organisations lose support.
A recent Tanzanian example shows what funded legal aid can achieve. After her husband’s death, Adelaida Nyawlingo became involved in a prolonged land dispute and lost her home. In 2025, she heard about the National Legal Aid Campaign, supported by Tanzania’s Ministry of Constitution and Legal Affairs, UN Women and the Netherlands. A legal team visited her home, helped resolve the dispute and a new home was built for her.
Nyawlingo’s experience contrasts with that of E.S. and S.C. The latter secured an international finding but no publicly confirmed compensation; Nyawlingo obtained a tangible remedy through accessible legal assistance. Together, the examples show that rights depend upon outreach, lawyers, paralegals, women-led organisations and international support. Cuts to that infrastructure may determine whether a widow receives help before eviction or faces disinheritance and housing insecurity alone.
References
- E.S. and S.C. v United Republic of Tanzania, Communication No 48/2013, UN Doc CEDAW/C/60/D/48/2013 (2 March 2015) paras 1–2.8, 2.5-2.7, 7.7 and 7.8-9;
- Local Customary Law (Declaration) (No 4) Order, Government Notice No 436 of 1963, second schedule, rules 1 and 27;
- Human Rights Watch, ‘Letter to the United Republic of Tanzania on Compliance with the UN CEDAW Committee’ (18 April 2016);
- Women’s Legal Aid Centre, Annual Report 2021 (WLAC 2021) 2–4;
- International Legal Aid Group, Legal Aid Report: Tanzania (2023) 5;
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ‘A Historic Decline in Foreign Aid: Preliminary 2025 ODA Data (9 April 2026);
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ‘ODA for Gender Equality Is Plummeting: How Can We Protect It?’ (12 March 2026);
- UN Women, At a Breaking Point: The Impact of Foreign Aid Cuts on Women’s Organizations in Humanitarian Crises Worldwide (April 2025);
- Julia Zulver and Lily Breimann, At Risk and Underfunded: How Funding Cuts Are Threatening Efforts to End Violence against Women and Girls (UN Women 2025) 12–13;
- United Nations Tanzania, ‘For Dignity and Justice: Building Inclusive Legal Systems for Women in Tanzania’ (4 March 2026).
Jordan Taylor is a law student at BPP University and works within legal practice, with experience in legal research and a range of civil and property matters.
His wider interests include human rights, access to justice, and the ways in which law and policy affect individuals and communities in practice. He hopes to qualify as a solicitor and has a particular interest in how legal systems can respond to inequality and protect the rights of those who may face social, economic or institutional disadvantage.