The roles of protective institutions against harmful widowhood practice in Igboland

Harmful Widowhood Practice (HWP) is an obnoxious, inhuman treatment and Violence against Women (VAW) following the death of their husbands. They are Umuadas - daughters married outside their community, family members and community because of the prevalent cultural norms. The HWP is a common traditional practice in most African societies. In Nigeria, it is predominantly practiced in Igboland. Some of the traditional HWPs are wife and assets inheritance including sexual cleansings – the practice in which a widow has sex with another man following the death of her husband, to purge the husband’s spirit. Most widows also undergo some kinds of oaths to prove their innocence in the death of their husbands.

Owerri Municipal Council (OMC) was used as specific area of study. The study adopted qualitative method of data collection. A validated and structured interview guide was used for the data collection. One hundred and twenty out of 241 widows identified in the 5 communities of OMC were randomly selected and interview for the study. The data collected were recorded in an audio-tape, transcribed and analysed using the thematic approach.

The age of the respondents ranged 30-55 years old. The findings of the investigation reveals that harmful widow practices persisted in the communities of OMC and possibly apply to other Igbo communities in Nigeria due to the Igbo world perception about deaths, causes of deaths, marriage and hereafter the umuada’s ruthless and uncompromising behaviour in the implementation of the widowhood practices. Whereas, the efforts of agents of change like the churches, NGOs, governments to curb the harmful cultural practices proved abortive due to lack of legislation to sanction the harmful practices.

HWP is common among the Igbo society, therefore, for the achievement of MDGs in Nigeria, the government should immediately provide legislation for the protection of widows in Nigeria.