diff --git a/gtk/gtkmenusectionbox.c b/gtk/gtkmenusectionbox.c
index 89f01d3d6a..6d3251e341 100644
--- a/gtk/gtkmenusectionbox.c
+++ b/gtk/gtkmenusectionbox.c
@@ -309,6 +309,25 @@ submenu_hidden (GtkPopoverMenu     *popover,
     gtk_menu_tracker_item_request_submenu_shown (item, FALSE);
 }
 
+/* We're using the gizmo as an easy single child container, not as
+ * a custom widget to draw some visual indicators (like markers).
+ * As such its default focus functions blocks focus through the children,
+ * so we need to handle it correctly here so that custom widgets inside
+ * menus can be focused.
+ */
+static gboolean
+custom_widget_focus (GtkGizmo        *gizmo,
+                     GtkDirectionType direction)
+{
+  return gtk_widget_focus_child (GTK_WIDGET (gizmo), direction);
+}
+
+static gboolean
+custom_widget_grab_focus (GtkGizmo *gizmo)
+{
+  return gtk_widget_grab_focus_child (GTK_WIDGET (gizmo));
+}
+
 static void
 gtk_menu_section_box_insert_func (GtkMenuTrackerItem *item,
                                   int                 position,
@@ -369,7 +388,7 @@ gtk_menu_section_box_insert_func (GtkMenuTrackerItem *item,
     {
       const char *id = gtk_menu_tracker_item_get_custom (item);
 
-      widget = gtk_gizmo_new ("widget", NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+      widget = gtk_gizmo_new ("widget", NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, custom_widget_focus, custom_widget_grab_focus);
       gtk_widget_set_layout_manager (widget, gtk_bin_layout_new ());
 
       if (g_hash_table_lookup (box->custom_slots, id))