The Federation of International Women Lawyers(FIDA) says over 8million widows are suffering from all forms mental torture ,deprivation,discrimination and neglect in the country.
The group disclosed this at a press conference commemorating the International Day of Widows,where it also gave out cash gifts to the neglected widows.
Speaking,FIDA’s chairperson in Ekiti State, Barrister Oyinade Olatunbosun,advocated the need for holistic implementation of the Gender Based Violence Prohibition Laws and other relevant statutes
She implored stakeholders to come together to fashion ways through which widows can be assisted to financially to earn a living .
She emphasized the need for government to implement laws that will prevent stripping of widows of their rights, maintaining that widows’ rights are human rights.
She added: “There are approximately 258m widows globally,out of which Nigeria has a total of 15m with 8m being grossly neglected. The figures keep increasing because of neglect and governments not doing enough to protect their rights.The GBV provides for the protection of the rights of widows and women, which includes prevention of harmful practices for women whose husbands died . We have sufficient laws on ground, what we need now is implementation.
“It is sad to tell you that we have got to some towns where they said widows must suffer after their husbands had died to protect and preserve tradition. All these practices are discriminatory and we are saying no to them”
She appealed to all tiers of government to put in place structures that will engender widow-friendly policies, which will be promulgated and implemented for their social protection.
She added:”The traditional and religious leaders must look after the welfare of widows in their domains and not bug them down with unnecessary traditional or religious rites that will further dehumanize them after the death of their spouses. We say no more to practices of archaic , cultural, depressive and discriminatory practices against widows. In several developing countries, widows are treated as outcasts thereby making life difficult for them.
“Some societies still follow irrational practices like widows drinking the water used in washing the bodies of their late husbands, who often had been embalmed with toxic chemicals, so barbaric and discriminatory since this is never the position when the woman dies”
