IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 158
Recognizing the importance of inheritance rights of women in Africa. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2003
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD (for herself, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. LEE, 
Mr. SNYDER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. KILPATRICK, 
Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. 
KILDEE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. STARK, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Ms. 
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. FARR, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Mr. WAXMAN) submitted the following concur-
rent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Re-
lations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the importance of inheritance rights of women 
in Africa.
Whereas access to and control over land, housing, and prop-
erty is one of the most critical factors in the overall 
struggle for women’s equality in gender relations and em-
powerment, as it is essential to women’s daily survival, 
economic security, and physical safety; 
Whereas in many regions of the world, and particularly 
throughout the African continent, land and housing have 
traditionally been regulated by customary law under
•HCON 158 IH 
which widowed women do not inherit land and housing 
but are allowed to remain in the matrimonial home until 
death or remarriage; 
Whereas over the past several decades, this social safety net 
has eroded drastically, creating a human rights crisis of 
enormous magnitude; 
Whereas, in some cases, religious law also plays a role in re-
stricting women’s right to inherit; 
Whereas statutory laws in some African countries have super-
seded customary and religious laws restricting women’s 
right to inherit, but nonetheless have had minimal impact 
on actual practice; 
Whereas the denial of inheritance rights to women devastates 
the lives of millions of women who become completely 
destitute upon the death of their husbands, when the 
family of the deceased husband often takes immediate 
possession of the land, housing, and property; 
Whereas the result is not only extreme poverty for individual 
women and their dependents, but a profound, negative 
impact on the social and economic development of coun-
tries in Africa; 
Whereas the HIV/AIDS pandemic has resulted in the expo-
nential growth in the number of young widows, orphaned 
girls, and grandmothers becoming heads of households 
and has led to the urgent need for secure inheritance 
rights for women; 
Whereas this phenomenon has been exacerbated by the hor-
rific conflicts that have gripped many African countries 
in recent years, in the aftermath of which there is usually 
an increase in female-headed households; and
•HCON 158 IH 
Whereas the denial of inheritance rights also results in vio-
lence against women, both at the time when they are 
forcibly dispossessed and after they become homeless: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—
(1) greater attention should be paid to the 
strong relationship between the denial of inheritance 
rights to women and its negative impact on eco-
nomic development, particularly in Africa; 
(2) when considering responses to the HIV/
AIDS epidemic, programs that focus sharply on en-
suring secure inheritance rights to widows and or-
phans of HIV/AIDS should be carefully considered; 
(3) ensuring secure inheritance rights for 
women should be included in strategies addressing 
the issue of violence against women; 
(4) in post-conflict and reconstruction situa-
tions, the rights of widows and other female heads 
of households to inherit land and property should be 
included in the priorities of reconstruction; 
(5) the Secretary of State should examine the 
issue of women’s inheritance rights in Africa in the 
annual human rights report of the Department of 
State;
•HCON 158 IH 
(6) the United States Agency for International 
Development should consider conducting a study of 
African countries in order to document and establish 
the effect of the denial of women’s inheritance rights 
on economic development of those countries; and 
(7) the Annual Day of Action on Women’s In-
heritance Rights, initiated in 1999 by the Inter-
national Human Rights Law Group and imple-
mented over the past three years by nongovern-
mental organizations throughout many countries in 
Africa, should be acknowledged and supported.
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