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Forum Seeks Legal Protection for Widows Lagos By Andrew Ahiante A one-day forum on the impact of cross-cultural and inter-religious marriages on widowhood in Nigeria has called for special legal provisions to protect the widows. The forum, which was a brainchild of Human Development Initiatives (HDI) in collaboration with Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, would soon publicly present their findings on the issue, with particular reference to property rights of widows among others. Participants emphasised the need for appropriate legal services for widows who may need legal assistance in fighting for their rights, against the background that many widows look up to government for assistance to alleviate their sufferings. According to the report, widowhood practices abound not only in Nigeria, but across the globe, observing that culture, religion, and education were among factors that could promote or influence such practices. "Evidence from our research shows that there are gaps between reality and perception of widows generally. The diverse background of widows in terms of education, religion age and income are factors mitigating the consequences of widowhood," the forum stressed. Accordingly, the forum pointed out the need for effort to control harmful widowhood practices against women, and address the socio-cultural and religious factors that gave rise to them. "In this regard, it is essential that the religious leaders, community leaders, women associations and NGOs be involved in mobilisation efforts to control widowhood practices," the forum recommended. Also, the forum said youths (both males and females) needed be sensitised about the undesirability if harmful widowhood practices, suggesting that for enhanced effectiveness, there was need for appropriate information education and communication (IEC) to be inculcated into the school curriculum. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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