Widowhood Rites or Human Rights? What Nigerian Women Still Endure

 Introduction 

When a man dies, he is buried with honour. When a woman becomes a widow, she is buried alive, in shame, suspicion and silence. She loses her husband, her dignity, her freedom, her property and in some cases, even her name.  

For millions of widows across the globe, especially in Africa, the death of a husband doesn’t just mean grief, it signals the beginning of torment. Stripped of inheritance, shamed through harmful mourning rites and socially alienated, these women are not just grieving, they are enduring.  

These harmful practices are not merely cultural issues, they are a human right crisis, and the world can no longer look away.  

What are Widowhood Rites? 

Widowhood rites are a set of traditional practices and ceremonies that are performed in many cultures, particularly in Africa, upon the death of a spouse usually the husband. These rites signify the transition from a married state to widowhood and often involve a period of mourning and specific rituals. 

The rites can vary significantly across different ethnic groups and regions, but they commonly involve practices designed to separate the deceased spouse’s spirit and demonstrate the widow’s grief.  

According to the UN Report, there are an estimated 258 million widows around the world, and nearly 1 in 10 live in extreme poverty. For many women around the world, the devastating loss of a partner is magnified by a long-term fight for their basic rights and dignity. 

Widows are coerced into participating in harmful, degrading and even life-threatening traditional practices as part of burial and mourning rites. Despite the large number of widows around the world, this group has historically been left unseen, unsupported, and unmeasured in our societies. 

Some Challenges Widows Face In Nigeria: 

As widows move through their own experiences of grief, loss, or trauma after the death of a spouse, they may also face economic insecurity, stigmatisation, discrimination, and harmful traditional practices because of their marital status. 

1. Economic insecurity: In many countries, widows do not have equal inheritance rights, and they may be stripped of their land, evicted from their home, or even separated from their children. They may be denied access to bank accounts, and credit, which can have significant financial impacts on them, their children, and future generations. 
2. Stigmatisation: In addition to facing economic insecurity, widows may be subject to stereotypes, prejudices, and harmful traditional practices with severe consequences. They may face restrictions on their dress, diet, and mobility for years after the death of a partner.
3. Discrimination: In some contexts, widows may be perceived as “carriers” of disease and forced out of social structures entirely or subjected to “ritual cleansing” practices involving forced sex or bodily scarring that can have life-threatening health consequences.  
4. Harmful practices: Sometimes widows are forcibly “passed on” to or “inherited” by a new designated partner, such as the brother or other relative of her deceased spouse, denying her of her rights to safety, bodily autonomy, justice, and dignity in life after loss.  

Common traditional practices in Nigeria 

Widowhood practices in Nigeria, particularly in eastern Nigeria, appears to have gender imbalances as there are certain cultural practices that are applicable to widows and not widowers. Cultures and traditions are harder on widows because widowhood is faced with certain degree of hardship which comes in form of deprivation, emotional instability, hardship, socio economic instability, psychological trauma, among others.  

It is worthy to note that, on March 8, 2001, the Enugu State House of Assembly passed the Prohibition of Infringement of a Widow’s/Widower’s Fundamental Rights Law (No. 3, 2001) that makes it unlawful to maltreat or go against the rights of widows or widowers in Enugu state. The laws states that for no reason should a widow/widower: 

1. Be compelled to shave the hairs on the head or any part of the body.   
2. Sleep either alone or in the same bed or be locked in a room with the corpse of the spouse.  
3. Be deprived from receiving condolence visits from sympathisers during the period of mourning.  
4. Be remarried by the relative of the late husband. 
5. Be forced to sit on the floor or be naked during any period of the late husband’s burial rites.  
6. Be forced to drink water used in washing the corpse of the husband.  
7. Be compelled to weep and wail loudly at intervals at any time after the death of the husband except at one’s volition in voluntary action. 
8. Be compelled to remain in confinement after the death of the husband for any given period.  
9. Be forced to vacate the matrimonial home.  
10. Be forced to do anything which contravenes the fundamental rights entrenched in the constitution or is degrading to the person. 

Widowhood Practices And Human Rights Violations 

Widowhood rites arguably directly or indirectly infringe on its victim’s right to life, right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty, as well as right to personal and family life as enshrined in Sections 33 to 35 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, CFRN. In addition, the Cross Rivers States House of Assembly enacted the Prohibition of Domestic Violence and Maltreatment of Widows Law, Cross River State No. 6 of 2005 that provides protection against domestic violence and maltreatment of widows. This law makes it a punishable offence which attracts the sum of 20 thousand Naira fine and 3 Years imprisonment if a widow is maltreated. 

Widowhood practices are incompatible with basic human rights. According to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), any custom that denies women equality under the law is a form of structural violence. Practices that strip a woman of her home, livelihood, or dignity simply because her husband has died are clear violations of Articles 1 and 5 of CEDAW, which Nigeria has ratified. 

Also, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights affirms the right to dignity (Article 5) and protection from degrading treatment, rights routinely breached through widowhood rites in Nigeria, particularly in rural and traditional communities. 

In the landmark case of Mojekwu V. Mojekwu (1997), the court of appeal addressed a widow’s right to inheritance under customary law. After her husband died, Mrs. Mojekwu was denied access to his property because under the “Oli-Ekpe” custom of Nnewi, only male relatives could inherit from a deceased man who had no male child.  

The court found this custom to be discriminatory and oppressive to women, particularly widows and declared it repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. This judgement emphasised that customary practices that deny widows the right to inherit property simply because they are women violate fundamental human rights. 

In Inakoju v Adeleke (2007), though not specifically about widowhood, it reinforced that customary practices must comply with constitutional standards, particularly where civil rights and due processes are concerned. Customs and traditions must not override constitutionally guaranteed rights.  

In Ojukwu v Ojukwu, this case involved Mrs Bianca Ojukwu, widow of the late Biafran leader Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu. After her husband’s death, his relatives attempted to evict her and the children from the property they had lived in, citing customary inheritance rights which favoured only male relatives. The court ruled in her favour stating clearly that; a widow cannot be treated as a stranger in her own home. Evicting or harassing a widow violates her dignity which is protected under section 34(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.  

 LAWS THAT PROTECT WIDOWS’ RIGHTS IN NIGERIA 

1. The Nigerian Constitution:  Section 42 of the CFRN explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex, which can be interpreted to include discrimination against widows. The Constitution also provides for the protection of property rights, which should, in principle, protect widows from being dispossessed of their property. 
2. The Violence Against Persons (VAPP) Act 2015: The VAPP Act is a significant piece of legislation that provides protection against various forms of violence, including those that widows commonly face. Section 15 of the Act criminalises harmful traditional practices, emotional and psychological abuse, and economic deprivation, all of which are issues widows frequently encounter.  
3. Case Law: The case of  Onyibor Anekwe & Anor V. Maria Nweke (2013). In this case, Mrs. Maria Nweke was asked by the father-in-law to vacate her deceased husband’s house because she had no male child. The court however invalidated the Awka customary law of male primogeniture on grounds of being repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.  
4. Administration of Estates Laws (Cap A1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004):  This law provides that, in the absence of a will (intestate succession), the widow has a legal right to inherit a portion of the estate. The law often grants the widow the right to apply for letters of administration, which authorise her to manage and distribute her late husband’s estate. This role gives her a degree of control over the estate, preventing other family members from unlawfully taking over the deceased’s assets. 

The persistence of discriminatory widowhood practices in Nigeria underscores the urgent need for robust legal interventions and strategic enforcement of existing laws. While the CFRN 1999 (as amended) guarantees the dignity and equality of all citizens under Sections 34 and 42, many widows remain excluded from justice due to harmful customs, limited access to legal representation, and systemic neglect.  

For the law to be truly transformative, it must not only exist in statutes and courtrooms but also reach the doorsteps of those it was created to protect.  

At AWJAI, we remain committed to using legal advocacy, strategic litigation, and public interest interventions to ensure that no person is left behind in the pursuit of justice. 

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By the AWJAI Research Team