Widows inclusion
UNWomen started in it’s journey of truth with
widows 2001 as they addressed her treatment
as“sin of omission”, Lord Loomba called it the
Invisible Calamity, the 2016 World Bank Policy
research talk titled it the Invisible and Excluded
and UN in June 2018 titled it Stigmatized,
shunned and shamed; all these showing that
the status quo is yet to change.
The cultural practices and rites across our
Nigerian culture with Widowhood is an upgrade
degradation of women, with very little plan known for widows in Africa especially in Nigeria as regard government policies and practices. They are so largely hidden from view in all planning expect for political propaganda and philanthropic grandiosity
According to Dominique van de Walle a lead
Economist at the World Bank in the 2016,
Africa Poverty Report; 1 in 10 African women
between 15 and older are widows.
It should be noted that the remaining 9
includes her daughters her product.
Don’t forget we are in a society where marriage
is still considered as basis for women’s access
to social and economic rights, and the culture of remarriage still a big issues as most men, even mothers who are women consider it an abomination or crime to marry a widow who is often perceived as “husband killer”.
The culture in all it’s practices humiliates her,
the family in their expectations exploits her,
the Church in attitudes weakens her, the government in the neglect exposes her to all forms of abuses and the women in all their perception segregates her.
The United Nations calls the abuse of widows
and their children one of the most serious
violations of human rights and obstacles to
development today.” I say abuse of widows is
not just a human rights violation but a nation’s
self economic and social sabotage to self.
Because the exploitation of widows and the ripple effect
not just on gender violence but also to our
national development is something we must
bring to the consciousness of our collective
minds. I therefore being to you here, the widows’
agenda that even the women themselves is so reluctant to consider a part of it’s agenda. If we want gender equality and sustainable development goals in the real sense, here’s a take home; “Widows are windows of women agenda”,
assets in our society that we’ve kept closed
for too long. We must realize that in continuing
the disenfranchisement of widows in women
and girls , we have prepared a recipe for
disaster, diseases, poverty, insecurities,
unemployment and other negative vices
which sure is a big hindrance to Nigeria vision
2020 invariably also the 2030 sustainable
global goals.
There’s need for a holistic empowerment through family, religion, culture, economy, government, her offspring, the society and women.
#widows #inclusion #TheWidowsSummit2018
A Widow's Window 