By Ebele Orakpo

In recognition of the challenges facing widows in Africa, and in continuation of its mission of defending the cause of widows on the continent, the President of the Union of African Widows, who also doubles as the President of Almanah Hope Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the welfare of widows, Mrs. Hope Nwakwesi has stressed the need for African governments to include widows in policy, economy, education, health, and housing plans.

She made the call while briefing newsmen at the weekend in Lagos on the outcome of the African Widows Summit, held in Zanzibar last month.

Speaking on the theme: Women in Widowhood, reforming the African space, Nwakwesi said: “A widow is not a beggar or victim. She needs support from the government. What we are trying to do is to change the narratives of widows by giving them value, and that value has to start with the government. It is no longer acceptable that widows should be addressed from the angle of charity through NGOs. The government has to provide policy, education, health, economic, and housing plans when they are doing all these.

“Widows have to be part of government planning and allocation and should be included women department, starting from the African Union. Widows should be included in decision-making and planning so that they can be captured and their problems captured. It should not be left for charity, which will lead to further disenfranchisement and exploitation.”

She noted that making decisions about widows in their absence is no longer sustainable. As the saying goes, he who wears the shoes knows where it pinches, so it is imperative that widows who experience such challenges as marginalization, ostracisation, exclusion and denial of their basic human rights, must be part of decision-making at all levels, to ensure their perspectives are captured and implemented.

According to Nwakwesi, most African countries, including Nigeria, have no data for widows, and that should be the starting point for any meaningful progress to occur. At the end of the Zanzibar Summit, African countries were advised to look inward to generate data. Citing the example of Western economies, she said they have a pension scheme for the widows because they have the data.                                          

Nwakwesi noted that the definition of a widow is fast changing in the global space, so Africans have to come up with their own definition of who a widow is; adding that in Africa, a widow is traditionally a woman whose husband is dead but the new Western agenda says a woman can become a widow through the death of her husband, separation, divorce, incapacitation etc.

 Pix Caption: From left: Mrs. Bukola Adebayo, Correspondent, Thomson Reuters Foundation/Volunteer at Africa Widows Summit, TAWS; Ms. Faith Audu, Mrs. Hope Nwakwesi, President, Union of African Widows and Mrs.Tara Aisida, Legal Adviser, TAWS.