Plight of widowhood

Dear readers, I want us to look at the plight of widows in the world today. Widows are one of the most vulnerable in any society, they are exposed to indiscriminate abuses in all aspects of their lives, they bear scars of stigmatisation in the society whose sensibility has been lost to a jaded conscience.

Widows are faced with grief, sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, brokenness, confusion, pressure and being overwhelmed. In some countries widows are seen as outcasts or killers of their husband and their own misfortunes. Apart from the pain of losing her husband, she contends with the task of caring for her children alone without help from extended families or the society.

In most African countries these women are seen as the spanner in the wheel of fortune of their in-laws. Though they may be legally entitled to their late husbands estate, traditional practices kick in to take over all that has been left for the widow and her children to survive. They become destitute and every possession claimed by the deceased siblings or family. Sometimes they are made to go through barbaric traditional practises where their hair is shaved off and made to sleep with the corpse in the same room for days. She will be subjected to various rituals to determine whether or not she is responsible for her husbands death.

In some cases a young widow can be obliged to become the wife of her former husband's elder or younger brother and forced to have sexual relations with him. She's meant to mourn her husband for some months during which she's not allowed to wear clothes of colour, use beauty products or wear jewellery.

Question; What can be done to change or eradicate widows plight and stigmatization? please send in your contributions and suggestions.