Nigeria: Widows - Voices Unheard, Rights Quashed

4 January 2012
analysis

Widows in Nigeria are in the category of the unheard and the forgotten as they are not part of national discourse. GABRIEL EWEPU examines the predicament of this category of vulnerable women and how the problem can be addressed.

Over the years, widows in Nigeria have been neglected and maltreated by the society. Few, if anybody, tend to listen and care about their welfare. It can be said there is no group more affected by the sin of omission than widows. They are left out of government's policies and legislations; forgotten in the scheme of things. Even the media underreport the plight of these women as issues affecting them are neither mentioned frequently on the pages of newspapers nor highlighted by the broadcast media as it concerns the frustration, oppression, poverty, health and human rights problems that they face. In fact widow's advocacy is weakly made.

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