* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Today marks the first annual International Widow’s Day, a day of action adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly last December to “give special attention to the situation of widows and their children.” In my work with Women for Women International, an organization that helps women who have survived war, many of whom are widowed by the conflict, I’ve come to understand just how important that is.
In 18 years, we have served roughly 300,000 women in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan. We have seen the toll war takes on women, from violence, disruption of economic and social activities, and, most devastatingly, in loss of life. In 2010, about 12% of the women we worked with were widows. In countries like Nigeria and Iraq, the number is higher--21% and 17% respectively. War widows face unique challenges in the forms of extreme poverty, social isolation, discrimination and often property seizure and homelessness. Many find themselves thrust into the new role of breadwinner and provider for multiple children, usually with no formal skills or training and very little education. This, in concert with the social and economic destruction that is usually a direct result of war, can be an almost insurmountable obstacle to survival.
In many countries, widows have little to no rights over their husband’s inheritance or property, and therefore often lose their family home and savings when their husband dies. In Nigeria, discriminatory widowhood rituals include economic deprivation and even exile from the community. According to a 2010 State Department Report on Human Rights, in northeast Nigeria, widows are often subjected to the discriminatory rite of “confinement”. For a period of up to one year, “confined” widows must live under severe social restrictions, and are often forced to shave their heads and dress in black. In other areas, Nigerian widows are considered part of their husband’s property, and can be “inherited” by his family members.
Coming on the heels of death, property loss is a devastating blow for women looking to survive on their own. Widows are often forced from their home, lose rights to family businesses, and become highly vulnerable to exploitation upon their husband’s death. According to the US State Department, 69% of widows in the Democratic Republic of Congo had been dispossessed of their property following their husband’s death. In Nigeria and Afghanistan, the brother of a deceased man will often claim his brother's widow as his second, third or fourth wife. Although this traditional practice predated and often transcends modern welfare systems intended to provide for women with limited financial prospects, the horrific result can often be a life full of abuse and exploitation by their new husbands and extended family. The lack of capacity of many states to provide for vulnerable populations can exacerbate this practice. Of the 774 million illiterate adults worldwide, more than two-thirds are women. Without formal job training or an education, widows struggle to earn an income to support their children and often live in poverty for the rest of their lives. Often they are ultimately forced into the informal labor market, where they are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and human trafficking.
The Indian Hindu custom of sati instructs women to self-immolate over their husbands’ funeral pyres. Though rare and explicitly outlawed in India, sati is occasionally practiced in northern and central regions of the country. In many African countries -- including Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda -- women, who are considered part of their deceased husband’s property, are subjected to “widow cleansing”. This tradition allows a man from the husband’s family, such as a brother or cousin, to force the widow to have sex with him in order to release her husband’s spirit from her body. This act not only authorizes rape and sexual abuse, but it also leaves women extremely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. In Rwanda, many of the widows who survived the 1994 genocide were raped, disfigured, and infected with HIV/AIDS.
Tellingly, sufficient data on widowhood is very difficult to find amongst the plethora of international development statistics and indicators, a sad reflection of just how marginalized the population can be, even, paradoxically, in arenas specifically dedicated to assisting the world’s most vulnerable people. Two countries of notable exception in this regard are Iraq and Afghanistan, where the conflicts have produced an estimated 2 to 3.5 million war widows. This has prompted a few targeted intervention efforts specifically aimed at bringing widows, and their families, out of poverty and social exclusion. For instance, Women for Women International is working to assist 2,500 Iraqi war widows through a year-long program that combines rights awareness and life skills training with business skills training, designed to build both a widow’s knowledge of practical topics, like health care and household finances, and her ability to achieve a sustainable income.
International Widows Day provides an opportunity for reflection on the incredible obstacles faced by widows around the world; it also offers the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to doing something about it. For although the evidence points to an uphill battle to open opportunities for women facing such entrenched challenges to thrive, our experience has also shown us that these are the women who have the strength to rebuild their lives and societies at a time when foundational socioeconomic institutions have been decimated.
Take Begzada, a graduate of Women for Women International’s program in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the site of a conflict that stunned humanity with its targeted and brutal campaign of violence against women during the Bosnian War. Begzada was living with her husband in Srebrenica when he was murdered in a massacre that claimed the lives of over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. After losing her husband and their home, Begzada moved with her children and mother into a one-room home without running water or electricity, near Sarajevo.
The future looked bleak. Without any formal education or job training, Begzada spent her nights knitting by candlelight and her days trying to sell her crafts at the local market. One day a neighbor introduced her to Women for Women International, where Begzada was able to enroll in the home design training. She learned how to use her knitting skills to create home furnishings, popular items in a country trying to rebuild after war. With the extra income from the profits of her new business, Begzada was able to invest in her home and future. She built the first floor of her house and began to rent land to grow potatoes, onions, beans, carrots and beets to feed her family.
This small revolution in one woman’s life and family reflects the essence of the larger reconstruction process that is needed to foster stability and economic growth where war has devastated everything. According to the World Bank, women like Begzada reinvest up to 90% of their income in the family and community -- as opposed to 30-40% by men. So although they face the greatest obstacles coming out of conflict, they are also our greatest hope.
In the words of Begzada, “My greatest dream is to give my family a home which would be ours, which we would never have to leave. With great effort and sacrifice, I am now realizing my dream.” This International Widows Day, take a moment to reflect on the obstacles faced by widows around the world, and then take a moment to do something about it. Sponsor a woman like Begzada at www.womenforwomen.org today, and help us be a part of the solution.
