"I and my children were beaten and kicked out of our house by the
brothers-in-law. We live by begging, in continual fear"
Widow's Stories
The true story of a widow in California
I was happily married to a progressive Lebanese national for 14 years until he died of cancer at 47. His family had always been very kind to me, but suddenly changed when he died and they accused me of hoarding funds that never existed and expected me to hand over assets for my brother-in-law to manage. Because in California the husband and wife are equal sharers in assets acquired during the marriage and because my husband and I began the marriage penniless and together built a business, I refused my in laws requests. Although it could have been much, much worse, given that all this began immediately after losing my husband, I was profoundly disturbed by their treatment of me and I did receive a few threats through second parties that my brother in law "was going to come and see me."
While a firm letter from a Los Angeles lawyer put an end to the in-laws contacting
me, I cannot imagine what would have happened to me had I lived in a country
that does not grant women equal rights. Nevertheless, I do live with a certain
fear that my brother-in-law, who has always been an irrational and mercurial
type, may indeed someday "come and see me." I live alone, but I
sleep between a pit bull and a magnum loaded with hollow points. Since I can
no longer afford to maintain my house, I will soon be putting it on the market
and moving back to my family. I probably will receive a good deal of money
because the house has a lot of equity, but my fear will be even greater that
when they eventually learn I have sold the house my husband (and I) built,
they will be inflamed with jealousy and may try to trace my new location and
threaten my elderly father or brother. 
A point I think should be mentioned is that it is not only in the third world
or among third worlders in the first world where a widow wears a bullseye.
In the four years of my widowhood (I am now 41) I have also experienced Western
men trying to take the advantage when they realize I am a widow. Immediately
the concern is whether I inherited a large sum of money (if only!).
I think
there must also be some male-circulated myth that young widows are starving
for sex and so a man need not make the effort to discern if she is at all attracted
to him. Then as with any female on her own, service people such as handymen
enjoy a good game of screw-the-widow for extra pocket money.