Lifting the veils of stigma: Empowering widows

By Andrea Moran

In many places around the world, the social stigma of being a widow condemns women and girls to social isolation and poverty. Without inheritance rights to a husband’s property or financial assets, such as the case in Tanzania, the death of a husband can throw women and their children into poverty. Life for widows around the world can mean a life amongst the most vulnerable in society.

During this CWS event, the topic of “empowerment” of widows took center stage.

The panel begins.

Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi, an international gender and human rights consultant, asked us to reflect on what we mean when we say that we want to “empower” widows. For widows, she said, increasing their knowledge about their legal rights, along with educational and economic opportunities are crucial to empowerment. “Without education, they are stuck in menial jobs, trapped in a cycle of poverty,”  she said.

While the importance of empowerment during widowhood is crucial, the panel also spoke of the need to educate and change the social norms before a woman loses a spouse. In many societies, women are raised and conditioned to understand and aspire to marry because it ensures economic stability and social standing. “May you be married forever,” is a typical wedding blessing said to women in some places in India, said Meera Khana, one of the panelists who has worked with widows and underprivileged women in Kashmir. Contrary to this blessing, women are not married forever, and when their spouses pass, women can quickly become marginalized. Meanwhile, mens' wedding blessings feature wishes for their prosperity and future ambitions, Khana said.

However, the speakers noted that the problem is not simply society’s treatment of widows, but the forced “marriages” of children to older men. In Nigeria, girls were kidnapped and married to Boko Haram militants. Some of these girls had already been widows before from previous marriages. After the militants were killed, these girls then carried “layers of widowhood.” This social stigma of widowhood, along with psychological and physical trauma of their forced “marriages”, faced already at such a young age, highlights the urgency of addressing child “marriages”. I add quotes to this word because, as Dr. Nwandinobi said, forcing children into relationships with men is not a “marriage”, as this word, which suggests a more positive connotation, masks the reality of these tragedies.

In order to empower and heal these children, who have been cast aside by society, we need to also ensure adequate trauma counseling.

What Economic Empowerment Looks Like For Neglected Widows

There are 258 million widows in the world today.

A good majority of them face constant neglect and abuse, where they are stripped of their rights, dignity and identity simply because their husbands have passed. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, the CEO of Rozaria Memorial Trust, said, “Death is not an event but a lifelong experience for a widow,” especially in countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and India as well as many more. Women are seen as property to men and if/when the men that “own” them pass away, the women’s identities die with them. Women are lead to believe that they are socially and economically tied to their husbands, where they cannot possibly fend for themselves. They move from their father’s or brother’s hands to their husband’s and have little idea of their rights as a wife and a woman. As a result, their land, home and children are often taken away from them as a consequence of their husbands death and are left as socially ostracized members of society. 

However, grassroots organizations in affected countries like Nigeria, are looking to specifically empower these women by providing them with economic stability. One NGO in particular looks to cultivate entrepreneurial skills for these women. It allots micro-credits to a group of widowed women so that they may build and run their own enterprise. Not only can this provide these women and their families with sustainable funding but they are also able to raise their status within the community as they are seen as contributors rather than burdens to the larger community.

These initiatives are too small in size and scope, however, where widowhood is a large and affected population. It is not only important to empower women with economic incentives but to also provide them with information, knowledge that they may use to their advantage. Education is as the key to unlocking these disempowered women so that they may feel liberated to refuse these social norms that perpetuate their abuse.

As Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi, manager to the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program, stated “Let empowerment be a true empowerment, let it be an enablement.” 

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