Cleric, don deplore plight of widows
From Anson Ekechi Chukwu
A CLERIC, Rev. Livi Opara and the Director of the Distant Learning Institute (DLI) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Prof. Sarah Adenike Oloko, have attributed the deplorable plight of Nigerian widows to some barbaric cultures.
Rev. Opara, the Vicar of All Saints Church, Surulere, declared that most Nigerian cultures have no consideration for widows.
The clergyman told The Guardian that the entire spectrum of Nigeria's socio-cultural environment, be it in the Hausa - Moslem North, the Igbo - Christian East or the Yoruba Chrislam West, the cultures do not care for the widows' pathetic situation.
The situation, he said is worse among the Igbo where widows are deprived and dehumanised on the grounds of culture.
He said the South-East and some part of the South-South still have barbaric cultures that make life unbearable for widows.
Prof. Oloko also lamented that in the 21st century Nigeria still allows traditions that infringe on rights of women.
Oloko said: "In modern times, traditional practices are not very conducive to helping widows to adjust in times of losing their husbands. Unlike in traditional times when the custom was more caring and soothing. Take the issue of leeway, somebody dies, and the younger brother of the deceased takes over the wife and takes care of the children. But now, that is no more in practice and men have become very choosy, the wives of today have become heartlessly selfish, who would not like the husband to render a finger of help.
"But the fact remains that the way culture imparts negatively on widows in times of bereavement is dehumanising. They want them to cry all day long and weaken themselves. There are so many customs demanding that the women should not have their bathe the normal way. They do not even want them to bathe for several days. They are not allowed to sleep in bed. Some are kept half-naked, not allowed to step out doors for a specified period, not allowed to step out doors for a specified period and so on.
"There you see customs that do not recognise hygiene being practised selectively, only on the widows. So these are the problems that get widows traumatised. In some cases, they get the husband's corpse washed and the widow is compelled to drink from the water to prove her innocence or not. They believe she would die if she has hand in his death, but it is still trial by ordeal," she stated.
She urged Nigerians to identify customs that are positive and promote them and discard the evil practises in the name of cultures.
Oloko has spent more than four decades of her career in researching and cataloguing in volumes on women and widowhood, child labour and child abuse from both local and international perspectives.
