Poverty: Developing Countries

Baroness Gardner of Parkes Excerpts

Wednesday 27th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is right. DfID does indeed identify the particular problems of widows in the DRC and has programmes to support them. Again, he is right that widows often lose their land when widowed, and one of the programmes that DfID is carrying out not only in the DRC but elsewhere is to support the rights of women in that situation to land when widowed.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, I think it is a very good thing that the Government are supporting—

[Lord Avebury]

My Lords—

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

We have not had a question from the Conservative Benches.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde)]

My Lords, I think that it is the turn of my noble friend Lady Gardner.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

Returning to my point, I was for many years the chairman of the UK branch of PLAN International, which has a programme of helping to educate children and also provides great help to widows in many countries. I am glad that the Minister mentioned that the Government are doing what they can but one very big problem arises in countries where all inheritance goes to a male relative. Women find that they suddenly have nothing because their husband’s brother or one of their husband’s brother’s sons has inherited everything. I hope that she will press the Governments of the world on this matter. I think that Uganda has changed this law and that has made a dramatic difference to women. Will she press Commonwealth countries and other countries in general to look into this further?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right, and it follows on from the previous Question about equal rights, whether to land or other property. I do not know what hereditary Peers would make of that. Nevertheless, that is what we support.