Africa
African widows, irrespective of ethnic groups, are among the most ulnerable and destitute women in the region. Common to both francophone and anglophone countries in the region is the concept that death does not end a marriage. While the widow may have no rights to ownership
of her husband’s property, she is usually expected to fulfil obligations towards her deceased husband through her participation in traditional practices. In return she would be allowed to remain in her home and to have rights to cultivate land.
In the past, this pattern of reciprocal duties and obligations in an extended family protected the widow and her children. Today, the custom is more likely to be used to oppress and exploit them. The low status, poverty and violence experienced by widows stem from discrimination in
inheritance custom, the patriarchal nature of society, and the domination of oppressive traditional practices and customary codes, which take precedence over constitutional guarantees
of equality, modern laws and international women’s human rights
standards.
A widow’s husband’s brothers can be covetous and unscrupulous. “Chasing off” and “property grabbing” are common features of widowhood everywhere in this region, and even newly reformed laws have been ineffective in protecting the victims. Widow abuse is visible across ethnic groups, income, class and education. Legislative reform in compliance with international
treaties, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, has largely failed to take precedence over local interpretations of customary law.
Widowhood may deprive women of their home, agricultural land, assets and even their children. The poverty of widowhood causes children, especially girls, to be withdrawn from school. In some ethnic groups, degrading rituals such as ritual cleansing by sex, widow inheritance, the practice of levirate and accusations of witchcraft support institutionalized widow abuse of the
gravest nature. This type of gender related violence, unlike female genital mutilation and so-called “honour killings”, has yet to reach the agenda of international women’s human rights activities.
In many countries, widows’ coping strategies involve exploitative informal sector work, putting children into child labour, begging and, ultimately, sex work. Some women have been able to use determination and courage in the face of tragedy and, either individually or in cooperation with other widows, have become self-supporting and entrepreneurial, running small businesses, farming, and supporting their children and mother dependants.
The strength of widows’ groups in Uganda (such as The Aids Support Organisation (TASO) and
Philly Lutaaya) is a model of what can be achieved when widows organize themselves.
Widows’ groups in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Swaziland are heightening awareness of the issues and providing training in income-generation, health care and shelter for destitute widows and their families. More of these groups need to be encouraged to develop so that widows are not
just seen in terms of recipients of welfare relief but as women whose contribution to the economy and potential role in society should be properly acknowledged.
In Africa, armed conflict and HIV/AIDS have brought widowhood prematurely to millions of women. A wave of genocide created 500,000 widows in Rwanda. Sixty per cent of adult women were widowed by the wars in Angola and Mozambique. After the genocide, many widows
became victims of their husbands’ male relatives who, rather than protect and support them, denied them any access to their husbands’ land or property. The NGO called the Association of Widows of the Genocide of April 1994 (AVEGA) reports that six years after the mass raping of war widows by HIV- infected assailants, at least two of its members die from AIDS each week.
Similar NGO reports on war widowhood come from Angola, the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Somalia and northern Uganda. The linkages between widowhood, inheritance law, land ownership, armed conflict, HIV/AIDS and poverty are vividly illustrated in this region.
Inheritance has been the subject of law reform in many countries of anglophone Africa. Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe are among those Governments that have legislated for equality in inheritance rights in compliance with their obligations under the Beijing Platform for Action and human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, it is
clear that at the local level discriminatory customary rules on inheritance still apply, whatever constitutional guarantees or modern laws exist.
In rare cases where courageous women have defied threats of violence and taken their cases to court, some independent and creative judges have decreed that international law as laid down under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women takes precedence over custom and religion.
In the United Republic of Tanzania, widows of all ages suffer extreme violence due to lack of inheritance rights under customary law. Of great concern, especially in the context of communicable diseases, are the harmful, degrading and life-threatening traditional
practices as part of burial rites. For example, in a number of countries, widows are forced to drink the water that their husbands’ corpses have been washed in. Ghana is one of the few countries that has enacted specific legislation in this area. There is little awareness of this ambiguously drafted 1989 amendment to the Penal Code; and it has never been enforced.
Research into the nature and effect of widows’ mourning rites has been scant, although the practice violates many basic principles contained in all key international human rights conventions. One of Nigeria’s widow NGOs, Widows Development Organization, has undertaken a survey of traditional mourning practices among its members. However, taboos on discussing such intimate topics have allowed for little research on this aspect of widow abuse in Africa. This contrasts with the abundance of research, done in East and Southern Africa, into widows’ rights
to inheritance and land use.
Widowhood practices in Nigeria
In Nigeria, family law permits certain widowhood practices which discriminate gainst women, particularly women married according to customary rather than statutory law. Some of the negative practices derive from the belief that "the beauty of a woman is her husband". At his death, she is seen as unclean and impure, and the customs she must observe in the weeks following her husband’s death can undermine health. If she has no male adult children, she may be ejected from her husband’s house as both it and his land will have been inherited by his
oldest brother. In most cases, the husband’s kin do not provide the widow with any economic support, particularly if she will not accept the status of being an additional wife to one of her husband’s brothers.
In a study in Imo State, Nigeria, interviews and discussions were held with traditional rulers, leaders of women’s organizations and widows. Five factors that have an impact on the health and economic status of widows were identified: a long period of incarceration during mourning;
an obligatory poor standard of hygiene; deprivation of the husband’s property and maltreatment by his relatives; the enforcement of persistent wailing; and the practice of demanding that a widow sit in the same room with her husband’s body until burial.
Showing posts with label widowhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label widowhood. Show all posts
Friday, December 08, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
Women's Issue - Widowhood
A recent experience of a friend of my family started me thinking about the plight of widows. Onyeka Onwenu played the part of an igbo widow who had to shave her head and deal with a lot of inhuman treatment the moment her husband died. Nigerian movies constantly depict the cruelty facing widows. So i decided to do some more research about this. This post is quite long so i intend to make it a 2-3 part series. The family friend in question who i shall call Aunty J, is aware that i am doing this post so she is looking forward to reading it so please let your thoughts and comments be known. Aunty J has said many times over that if she had known, she would not have ignored financial security over love. Yes love is great but at the end of the day when her husband died, the love did not keep the inlaws away. So here goes:
"We are considered bad omens. We are excluded from all auspicious events."
(Lakshmi, India)
"I am accused of being a witch who killed her husband." (Terezinha, Mozambique)
"We are treated like animals just because we are widows." (Angela, Nigeria)
"I and my children were kicked out of the house and beaten by the brothers-in-law."
(Seodhi, Malawi)
"My husband died of AIDS and slept with many women; I am now dying, but his family blames me for his death." (Isabel, Kenya)
South Asia
India has the largest recorded number of widows in the world—33 million (10 per cent of the female population, compared to only 3 per cent of men), and the number is growing because of HIV/AIDS and civil conflicts. “Fifty-four per cent of women aged 60 and over are widows, as are 12 per cent of women aged 35-39. Remarriage is the exception rather than the rule; only about 10 per cent of widows marry again.” India is perhaps the only country where widowhood,
in addition to being a personal status, exists as a social institution.
Widows’ deprivation and stigmatization are exacerbated by ritual and religious symbolism. Indian society, like all patriarchal societies, confers social status on a woman through a man; hence, in the absence of a man, she herself becomes a nonentity and suffers a social death. Sati
(widow burning) is the ultimate manifestation of this belief. Widow remarriage may be forbidden in the higher castes, and remarriage, where permitted, may be restricted to a family
member. Further, a widow, upon remarriage, may be required to relinquish custody of her children as well as any property rights she may have. If she keeps her children with her,
she may fear they will be ill-treated in a second marriage. Indian widows are often regarded as “evil eyes”, the purveyors of ill fortune and unwanted burdens on poor families. Words in
the vernacular are crudely pejorative: “witch”, “dakan” and “whore” (similar verbal abuse is common in Bangladesh as well as in some countries in Africa).
Thousands of widows are disowned by their relatives and thrown out of their homes in the context of land and inheritance disputes. Their options, given a lack of education and training, are mostly limited to becoming exploited, unregulated, domestic labourers (often as house
slaves within the husband’s family) or turning to begging or prostitution.
The sexual and economic exploitation of widows, abandoned by their families to the temple sites has been sensationally documented in the media. Thousands of India’s widows live in abject poverty and degradation in these centres. Younger widows are forced into prostitution, and older ones are left to beg and chant for alms from pilgrims and tourists. Older
widows may have lived the greater part of their lives in these temples, having been brought there as child widows many years before. The ordeals of the temple widows and the occasional satire publicized in the international press. But the day-to-day suffering of Indian widows,
who are emotionally, physically and sexually abused by relatives, who or migrate to cities to live on the streets and beg, remains largely hidden.
Legislation criminalizing child marriage, sati and violence against women has not succeeded in
eliminating such traditions, which persist in villages of some Indian states. Lack of legal literacy, threats of violence and the insensitivity of the legal profession to women’s issues bar widows from seeking justice. As in other regions of the world, bitter disputes occur between widows
and brothers-in-law and sons and daughters-in-law over inheritance, residence and support, often resulting in physical and mental violence, including sexual abuse.
Restrictions on residence, dress, diet and social intercourse force a widow to a life in the shadows affecting both her physical and mental health. Cruel mourning rites may confine the widow within a designated residence for many months or years.
However, two factors distinguish India’s treatment of its widows from that of other developing countries. First, a number of states have set up widows’ pension schemes. Secondly, India is home to a vibrant and dedicated women’s movement, which is fighting intensely for the protection and empowerment of all women, and offers special programmes for widows.
In Bangladesh, the Muslim widow is, in theory, better off than the Indian Hindu widow. The Koran encourages remarriage and a widow cannot be disinherited. Under sharia, a woman
is entitled to one eighth of her husband’s estate, and half her male siblings’ share of the parent’s estate. In practice, however, many Bangladeshi widows, especially those who are illiterate and live in rural areas, are subject to oppressive patriarchal traditions.
Widows are the poorest and most vulnerable group since they are often deprived of their rightful inheritance. According to a recent report, many rural widows receive nothing from their in-laws and are often victims of violence, evicted from their homes and robbed of their household possessions. In return for shelter, many Bangladeshi widows are forced to work long hours as unpaid domestic servants in a relative’s house. Others may be brutally forced out into homelessness and thus are statistically uncounted.
Because arranged child marriages still occur in rural areas in Bangladesh, and age differences
between spouses can be great, child widowhood is not uncommon. Polygamy enables second wives to be brought into a marriage when the first is considered too old for sex or
childbearing. Daughters of poor widows represent an economic liability and are most likely to be given away in such arrangements. They commonly encounter problems with the new family and the adult sons. Before long, they may find themselves child widows in a hostile setting, encountering abuse or eviction. Illiterate, young and vulnerable, they may be passed on to a series of older, frail or disabled men, thus enduring serial widowhood.
Bangladesh, like Nepal, is allegedly a major centre for trafficking young girls to the brothels of India.
Widows’ daughters who are without male protectors and not enrolled in school are especially at risk to this trade. The numbers of young Bangladeshi girls disappearing in this way is purportedly reaching astronomical proportions. Poor, homeless Bangladeshi widows
make up a sizeable percentage of women marketed as domestic servants, forced to leave their children behind in the hope that the meagre income which they send home will
be used to feed, clothe and educate them.
In Pakistan, destitute widows are reported to be supported by a small pension or zakat. But, as in India, the allocation system is often corrupt, and the most needy widows are frequently neglected. Furthermore, the Honour Codes oppress all women, with a blanket of silence hiding
the cruelty; and sometimes imprisonment, or even death, is inflicted on young widows who are
suspected of bringing dishonour to the family.
In Sri Lanka, war widows from both sides of the conflict experience poverty and marginalization. In Afghanistan, it is estimated that approximately 40,000 widows live in
Kabul, most of whom lost their husbands in the war that killed an estimated 50,000 civilians. Under the Taliban, widows were doubly victimized. Denied paid employment, these widows further lost access to international food aid, since it was decreed by the Taliban
that such aid had to be collected by a male relative, which these widows do not have. The Taliban ban on women working outside the home has drastically increased the numbers
of widows and children begging in the streets. Widowed mothers’ children suffer malnutrition, ill health and depression, which in many cases leads to suicide.
"We are considered bad omens. We are excluded from all auspicious events."
(Lakshmi, India)
"I am accused of being a witch who killed her husband." (Terezinha, Mozambique)
"We are treated like animals just because we are widows." (Angela, Nigeria)
"I and my children were kicked out of the house and beaten by the brothers-in-law."
(Seodhi, Malawi)
"My husband died of AIDS and slept with many women; I am now dying, but his family blames me for his death." (Isabel, Kenya)
South Asia
India has the largest recorded number of widows in the world—33 million (10 per cent of the female population, compared to only 3 per cent of men), and the number is growing because of HIV/AIDS and civil conflicts. “Fifty-four per cent of women aged 60 and over are widows, as are 12 per cent of women aged 35-39. Remarriage is the exception rather than the rule; only about 10 per cent of widows marry again.” India is perhaps the only country where widowhood,
in addition to being a personal status, exists as a social institution.
Widows’ deprivation and stigmatization are exacerbated by ritual and religious symbolism. Indian society, like all patriarchal societies, confers social status on a woman through a man; hence, in the absence of a man, she herself becomes a nonentity and suffers a social death. Sati
(widow burning) is the ultimate manifestation of this belief. Widow remarriage may be forbidden in the higher castes, and remarriage, where permitted, may be restricted to a family
member. Further, a widow, upon remarriage, may be required to relinquish custody of her children as well as any property rights she may have. If she keeps her children with her,
she may fear they will be ill-treated in a second marriage. Indian widows are often regarded as “evil eyes”, the purveyors of ill fortune and unwanted burdens on poor families. Words in
the vernacular are crudely pejorative: “witch”, “dakan” and “whore” (similar verbal abuse is common in Bangladesh as well as in some countries in Africa).
Thousands of widows are disowned by their relatives and thrown out of their homes in the context of land and inheritance disputes. Their options, given a lack of education and training, are mostly limited to becoming exploited, unregulated, domestic labourers (often as house
slaves within the husband’s family) or turning to begging or prostitution.
The sexual and economic exploitation of widows, abandoned by their families to the temple sites has been sensationally documented in the media. Thousands of India’s widows live in abject poverty and degradation in these centres. Younger widows are forced into prostitution, and older ones are left to beg and chant for alms from pilgrims and tourists. Older
widows may have lived the greater part of their lives in these temples, having been brought there as child widows many years before. The ordeals of the temple widows and the occasional satire publicized in the international press. But the day-to-day suffering of Indian widows,
who are emotionally, physically and sexually abused by relatives, who or migrate to cities to live on the streets and beg, remains largely hidden.
Legislation criminalizing child marriage, sati and violence against women has not succeeded in
eliminating such traditions, which persist in villages of some Indian states. Lack of legal literacy, threats of violence and the insensitivity of the legal profession to women’s issues bar widows from seeking justice. As in other regions of the world, bitter disputes occur between widows
and brothers-in-law and sons and daughters-in-law over inheritance, residence and support, often resulting in physical and mental violence, including sexual abuse.
Restrictions on residence, dress, diet and social intercourse force a widow to a life in the shadows affecting both her physical and mental health. Cruel mourning rites may confine the widow within a designated residence for many months or years.
However, two factors distinguish India’s treatment of its widows from that of other developing countries. First, a number of states have set up widows’ pension schemes. Secondly, India is home to a vibrant and dedicated women’s movement, which is fighting intensely for the protection and empowerment of all women, and offers special programmes for widows.
In Bangladesh, the Muslim widow is, in theory, better off than the Indian Hindu widow. The Koran encourages remarriage and a widow cannot be disinherited. Under sharia, a woman
is entitled to one eighth of her husband’s estate, and half her male siblings’ share of the parent’s estate. In practice, however, many Bangladeshi widows, especially those who are illiterate and live in rural areas, are subject to oppressive patriarchal traditions.
Widows are the poorest and most vulnerable group since they are often deprived of their rightful inheritance. According to a recent report, many rural widows receive nothing from their in-laws and are often victims of violence, evicted from their homes and robbed of their household possessions. In return for shelter, many Bangladeshi widows are forced to work long hours as unpaid domestic servants in a relative’s house. Others may be brutally forced out into homelessness and thus are statistically uncounted.
Because arranged child marriages still occur in rural areas in Bangladesh, and age differences
between spouses can be great, child widowhood is not uncommon. Polygamy enables second wives to be brought into a marriage when the first is considered too old for sex or
childbearing. Daughters of poor widows represent an economic liability and are most likely to be given away in such arrangements. They commonly encounter problems with the new family and the adult sons. Before long, they may find themselves child widows in a hostile setting, encountering abuse or eviction. Illiterate, young and vulnerable, they may be passed on to a series of older, frail or disabled men, thus enduring serial widowhood.
Bangladesh, like Nepal, is allegedly a major centre for trafficking young girls to the brothels of India.
Widows’ daughters who are without male protectors and not enrolled in school are especially at risk to this trade. The numbers of young Bangladeshi girls disappearing in this way is purportedly reaching astronomical proportions. Poor, homeless Bangladeshi widows
make up a sizeable percentage of women marketed as domestic servants, forced to leave their children behind in the hope that the meagre income which they send home will
be used to feed, clothe and educate them.
In Pakistan, destitute widows are reported to be supported by a small pension or zakat. But, as in India, the allocation system is often corrupt, and the most needy widows are frequently neglected. Furthermore, the Honour Codes oppress all women, with a blanket of silence hiding
the cruelty; and sometimes imprisonment, or even death, is inflicted on young widows who are
suspected of bringing dishonour to the family.
In Sri Lanka, war widows from both sides of the conflict experience poverty and marginalization. In Afghanistan, it is estimated that approximately 40,000 widows live in
Kabul, most of whom lost their husbands in the war that killed an estimated 50,000 civilians. Under the Taliban, widows were doubly victimized. Denied paid employment, these widows further lost access to international food aid, since it was decreed by the Taliban
that such aid had to be collected by a male relative, which these widows do not have. The Taliban ban on women working outside the home has drastically increased the numbers
of widows and children begging in the streets. Widowed mothers’ children suffer malnutrition, ill health and depression, which in many cases leads to suicide.
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