REPORTS from some communities in Igbo land indicate that harmful widowhood practices are still going on, in fact, it is on the rise
The ill treatments range from denial of rights, to banishment from communities for flimsy reasons, among others. Investigation shows that there are still many obnoxious laws against widows in various Igbo communities.
In a community in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, unwholesome widowhood practice of forcing a widow to drink the water used in washing the body of the deceased husband as a proof of her innocence in the death of her husband, is still in practice.
However, some communities have stopped or modernised some of the practices like reducing the mourning period for a widow to enable her continue with her business or job.
Weighing in on this, a woman leader and president of Catholic Women Organisation in Ndakwu, Okija, Mrs. Chioka Okoli agreed that even though some of the age long practices have been dropped, most of the treatment being meted out to widows in many communities still border on ill treatment.
She said: “I see it as unfair treatment, the habit of sitting a woman in an enclosure during the burial of her husband and people just come around the secluded place to wave at her in a sympathetic manner.
“The issue of brothers in-law pestering a widow to give them details of her husband’s property is also still common and this is causing so much rift in many families.
