Widowhood Practices in Igboland: A Critical Analysis of the Plight and Prospects for Social Change of Women in Ekwulumili, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Publication Date: 08/08/2024
Author(s): Alexander C. Ugwukah (Ph.D.), Prince Emeka Emmanuel Ume-Ezeoke.
Volume/Issue: Volume 7 , Issue 3 (2024)
Abstract:
Widowhood has become a topical and sensitive global issue because of the ugly practice associated with it. Widowhood is a social status. It befalls a male or a female but it is generally used in reference to females who have lost their husbands, since most men who lose their wives soon abandon this’ status by re-marrying. Remarrying is not easy for women whose husbands have died, which is the beginning of the problem of widowhood. Scholars defines a widow as a woman whose husband is dead, and has not married again, a wife bereaved of her husband. He further emphasizes that widowhood is the state or condition of a widow or widower. Furthermore, “a woman becomes a widow when her husband dies and it is from that point of the death of the husband that widowhood practices start. These practices he defines as sets of expectations to action and behaviour by the widow and rituals performed by or on behalf of the widow from the time of the death of her husband. The methodology used in the paper is the historical descriptive research method. The paper will also involve data collection and analysis where necessary, case studies, comparative analysis etc. By employing a comprehensive historical descriptive research methodology that incorporates these components, the study can generate robust insights and recommendations to inform evidence based and programmatic interventions for addressing widowhood practices in Igboland with special concentration in Ekwulumili, Anambra state.
Keywords:
Widowhood, Plight and prospects, Social change, Tradition, Igboland, Ekwulumili, Colonial.
