Namibia’s new first lady Penehupifo Pohamba has come out strongly against the traditional custom practiced in northern rural areas where in-laws disown widows and their children of their homesteads, crop fields, cattle and household items once their husbands have died. Speaking at the opening of a three-day national conference in Windhoek on women and children’s land and property rights Wednesday, Ms Pohamba said the scourge of AIDS orphaned thousands of children and made women lose their husbands. Those orphans, together with their mothers became victims of some traditional customs that robbed women and orphans of their livelihood, she said. "The practice of evicting widows and their children from the land and stripping them of their properties should not be allowed in an independent Namibia", the First Lady urged. She appealed to traditional leaders to ensure that the practice is done away with. They should deal firmly with people who were involved in property grabbing, she urged.