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The thousand widows of Maiduguri

Monday, 28 September 2015 10:19 GMT

* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Thousands of women have lost their husbands to the conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army

Aisha Ishaku, a 42-year-old widow, cannot forget the day her village, Gwoza in Borno State, was attacked. It was 4 August 2014. There were shootings, bombs and rockets everywhere. One of her seven children was, and is still, missing and her husband was shot in the leg.

After two weeks of fighting between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army, Aisha and her children put her injured husband in a wheelbarrow and they all managed to escape. They had to trek 25 km until they could reach the hospital in Madagali, Adamawa State.

Aisha’s husband, a 52-year-old teacher in Gwoza, was suffering from diabetes, which aggravated the injury caused by the gunshot. He passed away five months ago at the Maiduguri State Specialist Hospital.

Aisha recently completed the traditional Islamic mourning period known in Hausa, the main language in northern Nigeria, as takaba. For four months and 10 days, she stayed at home. 

“During this period, I did not use any makeup and wear jewellery. I also avoided perfumes and scented soaps, and I did not buy new clothes. But I am still suffering the loss of my husband,” Aisha recalls.

Since Aisha became a widow, she has been struggling to earn enough to pay the monthly rent and school fees for her six children. Like many other widows in Maiduguri, she roams the streets with her children selling Kosai - fried bean cakes - for five Naira (US$ 0.02) each. Some of the widows sew hats for 500 Naira each (US$ 2.5).

In Maiduguri, where Islam is the main religion, men are expected to protect and provide for their wives. The loss of a husband could mean the loss of economic sustenance.

“Most of the widows’ families used to have three meals per day when their husbands were alive. We know that they are struggling now to have one meal for the whole family. It is also difficult for them to find a job because most of them have a very little formal education,” says Aishatu Maaji, the Secretary of the Muslim Widows Association in Borno State.

Forgotten victims of the conflict

The deaths of the husbands of more than 7,000 women registered with the Christian and Muslim Widows Association are related to the on-going conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Army. The conflict has forced more than two million people, including widows from Chibok, where almost 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April 2014, to flee their homes and seek refuge in Maiduguri. It has now escalated into a regional humanitarian crisis, affecting the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and could still increase the number of widows.

Since the conflict broke out, the city of Maiduguri has seen a large number of widows begging on the streets. They are among the most vulnerable groups affected by the conflict owing to their precarious socio-economic position.

To help address the situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) began collaborating with the Borno State Widows Association in 2013. Through the ICRC programme, the widows have improved their access to food, reduced their debts, and received support to start small businesses.

“I heard about the ICRC assistance on the radio,” says Memuna Ihaka, a 25-year-old widow from Kogi State, whose husband died two years ago when he attempted to flee on the day their town was affected by the on-going conflict.  

A few days ago, Aisha and Memuna were among 1,300 widows who went to an ICRC distribution centre to collect food items. For 6 months, they are entitled to receive a monthly supply of staple foods that includes 12kg of rice, 12kg of maize, 12kg of millet, 6kg of groundnuts, 6kg of beans, 1kg of salt, 1 kg of sugar and 6l of oil.

After the 6-month food support, widows who would like to run a business can join the ICRC Micro Economic Initiative. The women receive a 40,000 Naira (US$ 200) grant to buy materials for their business.

Getting back on their feet

“Before ICRC came and helped my family, we hardly ate twice a day. I did not have enough money to sustain my children,” says Amina Lawan, a 41-year-old widow who lost her husband three years ago.

For two years, Amina worked as a tailor with a sewing machine she had loaned. But she did not earn enough money to pay for the food, health and school fees of her five children.

With the ICRC grant, Amina bought three sewing machines and now has her own tailoring centre. She is presently training two apprentices to become skilled tailors.

“My life has completely changed. I can take care of my family and even pay health and school fees,” Amina says, while threading the needle.

To date, the ICRC, one of the few organisations supporting the widows in Borno State, has helped nearly 2500 women gain access to food and over 500 women start their own business.

“There are no more widows begging on the streets,” says Aishatu Maaji, the Secretary of the Muslim Widows Association in Borno State. “They have regained their dignity and built their confidence to stand on their own.”

Jesus Serrano Redondo is an international delegate at the International Committee of the Red Cross. 


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