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Botswana women allowed to inherit | Botswana women allowed to inherit |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Botswana High Court has overturned a customary law which prevented women from inheriting the family home. | The Botswana High Court has overturned a customary law which prevented women from inheriting the family home. |
The judge ruled that the law contravened the constitution, which guarantees equality for men and women. | |
Edith Mmusi and her sisters have fought a five-year legal battle after their nephew said he was the rightful owner of their house. | |
Correspondents say traditions which stop women from inheriting property exist in many African societies. | |
'Judicial midwife' | |
Judge Key Dingake said that in the name of fairness and equality women should have the right to inherit property. | |
"It seems to me that the time has now arisen for the justices of this court to assume the role of the judicial midwife and assist in the birth of a new world struggling to be born," AFP news agency quotes him as saying. | |
The BBC's Letloghile Lucas in the capital, Gaborone, says Ms Mmusi, the only one of the sisters at the High Court in Gaborone, was very excited by the ruling. | |
"It's a great day for us," she said. | |
Our correspondent says they first contested their nephew's claim in a customary court in 2007. | Our correspondent says they first contested their nephew's claim in a customary court in 2007. |
They lost the case and a subsequent appeal before turning to the civil courts. | They lost the case and a subsequent appeal before turning to the civil courts. |