Widows
without Rights Conference
London
- 6-7 February, 2001
Tuesday
6th February 2001
morning session Introductory presentations
Dr
Eleanor Nwadinobi, President of the Widows' Development Organisation
(WiDO), Nigeria, then spoke on the situation of
widows from an African perspective.
Throughout African history and folklore women have faced subjugation
in one form or the other. Prejudices against women are seen
in the language, attitude and practices of the people. There
is a general misconception that widows are elderly women in
black. Wars, poverty and more recently AIDS have created countless
young widows, a problem compounded by the practices of polygamy
and child marriage. One
of the many harmful myths affecting widows in Africa
is that a widow is thought to be responsible for her husband's
death. She is punished and certain harmful widowhood rites
are imposed on her. On the other hand, a man who loses his
wife is seen as lonely and is pampered with choice foods;
a bed-mate is found for him immediately and he is expected
to soon remarry.
Dr Nwadinobi explained that in Eastern
Nigeria widows are afflicted with the Three Ds:
-
Dethronement.
When a woman is widowed, she loses the status conferred on
her by her husband. Part of the humiliation she goes through
is that she is made sit on bare earth, straw mat, palm leaves
or a mattress.
-
Defacement.
A widow is expected to look unattractive, dirty and unkempt.
Her hair may be shaved and she is not allowed to bathe.
-
Disinheritance.
The marital land, trees and property are seized by the husband's
brothers. She
gave examples of other dehumanising rituals inflicted
on widows in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. She may be
forced to have sex with her husband's brother, or in some
cases marry him, often polygamously, which may result in STD
or HIV infection; she may have to drink the water that the
corpse has been washed in; she may be confined for up to a
year, being unable to work or farm, and dependent on others
for food. Many customs cause health hazards: widows who are
not allowed to bathe for 28 days, are prone to scabies and
other skin diseases; those who are not allowed to wash their
hands, and who eat out of dirty plates are often victims of
gastroenteritis and typhoid; widows who have to wait to be
fed by others may end up being malnourished since the food
may be poorly prepared, not nutritious or not even available.
She concluded that culture can be modified in such
a way to ensure that the people do not lose their identity
and dignity. She called on Governments to comply with international
human rights obligations, especially the 1999 Optional Protocol
to CEDAW, which allows complaints to be submitted by individuals
or groups or on their behalf to the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women where there is grave violation
of the Convention by a State party. Some governments simply
failed to recognise widowhood practices as violence against
women, although they had ratified CEDAW. She stressed the
importance of NGO'S sensitising women's groups and the police
force through public education campaigns, gender training
as part of the schools curriculum, the encouragement of husbands
to write wills with the recognition of the girl child and
wife as a beneficiary, and the use of religious bodies as
agents of change.
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