The following elements should be established as the core elements of any law on the maltreatment of widows:
- Prohibition against discrimination against women in all areas of life;
- Explicit extension of prohibition against discrimination to matters involving adoption, marriage, divorce, dissolution, marital property, inheritance and other personal matters;
- Equal property and inheritance rights for women and for girls;
- Equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and with regard to the family;
- Equal rights in land tenure and property reform;
- Victim protection and support;
- Public awareness and education about the maltreatment of widows, women’s human rights, laws, and remedies;
- Trainings for legal actors, religious, traditional and community leaders and NGOs on women’s human rights, laws and the dynamics of the widow maltreatment;
- Accountability for perpetrators who violate women’s human rights;
- Registration of all marriages;
- Harmonization of the legal framework that addresses women’s human rights and equality in family law, inheritance laws, land and property systems, regulations, customary laws, and criminal and civil codes.