Widows deserve to enjoy human rights
"The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda with its pledge to leave no one behind has a particular resonance for widows who are among the most marginalised and isolated. " UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
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Eight years ago, Yaa Mansah Maame (not her real name), a-48-year-old woman, lost her 55-year-old husband after a short illness. Mourning her husband, before and after the funeral rites, she was left with the responsibility of taking care of their four children by herself, and she had to explore all opportunities to make ends meet.
Another woman, aged 55, who was farming with her husband at a rural community in the eastern part of the country, lost her 60-year-old husband 10 years ago, and since then, she had also had the sole responsibility of taking care of their six children who were aged between five and 16.
She was lucky, the family of her deceased husband bequeathed one-third of the farm land to her and she and her children have depended on that for their sustenance over the years. The eldest is now engaged in petty trading in the nation’s capital and the youngest is in JHS three.
Deprivation
The above statement by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, sums up the plight of millions of widows and their children across the world who experience economic and social deprivation after losing their husbands and struggle to make ends meet.
For that reason and to demonstrate the concern of the United Nations to the issue of widowhood, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 23, 2011 as the first-ever International Widow’s Day to be celebrated annually.
Ever since, Ghana has joined the global community to mark the global event every year, on June 23, which was instituted to address poverty and injustice faced by widows and their children in many countries, and the need to pay particular attention to their struggle to have the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, after going through degrading and life-threatening mourning and burial rites and other forms of widow abuse.
Interactions with widows in the country indicate that most of them are coerced into participating in harmful, degrading and even life-threatening traditional practices as part of the burial and mourning rites.
In some countries for example, widows are forced to drink the water that their husbands’ corpses have been washed in. Mourning rites may also involve sexual relations with male relatives, shaving of the hair and scarification.
Social status
In many countries, a woman’s social status is inextricably linked to her husband’s so when her husband dies, a woman no longer has a place in society. To regain social status, widows are expected to marry one of their husband’s male relatives, sometimes unwillingly. For many, the loss of a husband is only the first trauma in a long-term ordeal.
In many countries, widowhood is stigmatised and seen as a source of shame. Widows are thought to be cursed in some cultures and are even associated with witchcraft. Such misconceptions can lead to widows being ostracised and abused.
Research by HelpAge International, for instance, has found that in Tanzania, hundreds of older women – mostly widows – have been killed because of accusations of being witches.
The children of widows are often affected, both emotionally and economically. Widowed mothers, now supporting their families alone, are forced to withdraw children from school and to rely on their labour. Moreover, the daughters of widows may suffer multiple deprivations, increasing their vulnerability to abuse.
Report from Bolgatanga
From Bolgatanga, Vincent Amenuveve reports that the acting Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Gender of the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), Mr James Twene, has called for the creation of a national forum to discuss the plight of widows and orphans to chart a new path towards addressing their needs.
He further pointed out that such a forum was also necessary because "widowhood is not a curse but rather a natural phase or phenomenon that should call for sympathy and support from everybody including stakeholders".
Mr Twene stated this during a sensitisation programme to mark this year's International Widow’s Day celebration in Bolgatanga. It was on the theme "Widows rights: A National Agenda". It was organised by the Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM), with support from ActionAid Ghana.
He entreated all stakeholders, including the media, to also create platforms to discuss and galvanise support for widows and orphans.
Public sensitisation
The acting director intimated that the MOGCSP was embarking on public sensitisation programmes to help put an end to the negative practices and create a harmonious relationship between widows and people in their communities.
The National Director of WOM, Madam Fati Abdulai, reminded stakeholders about the continuous injustices being meted out to widows and their children.
"We must admit that as a country, issues concerning widows are hardly put on the national agenda; most often we say their issues are captured under women's issues but it is high time we recognised the fact that women are not a homogenous group and so the issues of widows are different from that of single women and married women," she stressed.
She stated that the WOM and ActionAid Ghana would continue to collaborate with the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and other stakeholders to "fight and stand in solidarity with and for widows".
The Upper East Regional Senior Principal Investigator of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Mohammed Tiamiyu, for his part, expressed regret that Act 456 of 1993 enjoined CHRAJ to carry out public education programmes on human rights issues, including the ones that affected widows and orphans, but unfortunately due to resource constraints, the CHRAJ had not been able to carry out that mandate effectively.
Violence against women
Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights, affecting women of all backgrounds, ages, cultures and countries. Widows are no exception and may in fact be at particularly high risk of violence.
Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international laws, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Loomba Foundation is a sister charity of the Loomba Trust, founded in 1997 in the UK by Raj Loomba who dedicated himself to improving conditions for widows and their children around the world.
The Loomba Trust & Foundation are presently working to draw global attention to the plight of destitute widows around the world.
Programmes and policies for ending violence against widows and their children, poverty alleviation, education and other support to widows of all ages also need to be undertaken, including in the context of action plans to accelerate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.