Christy Anyanwu
Each year, the Rose of Sharon Foundation celebrates the International Widows’ Day to address the injustices and poverty that widows suffer as a result of the death of their spouses. The event is also held to shower love on widows.
Saturday, June 22, 2019, was globally recognised as International Widows’ Day. On the day, the foundation organised a series of activities for widows.
Tagged “Upholding the Human Rights of Widows,” over 2,500 widows gathered at the Multipurpose Hall, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, for the event. They came from different parts of Lagos State. In the gathering were young, middle-aged and elderly women.
The women were lectured on health issues, and basic things they should know about their fundamental rights as widows. Free medical services were also available. A medical team comprising health professionals in various fields was on hand to take care of the health challenges of the women. Many had their blood sugar and blood pressure tested, just as dental treatment, including polishing and teeth scaling were carried out. There were also free eye checks, just as eyeglasses were offered to those that needed such.
The medical crew also did breast and cervical cancer screening for the women.
In her speech, founder of the foundation, Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, decried the way widows were treated in Nigeria. She called on those in authority to show more concern for widows and their plight, especially the inhuman ordeal they go through after losing their husbands.
“That is why the foundation dwells more on the various problems confronting widows, and we also look at how we can help them to fight for their rights and also to alleviate their suffering,” she said.
Also speaking, songster, Onyeka Onwenu admonished widows to engage in profitable ventures for the sake of their children.
“We have women here who have given birth to presidents, senators, governors and CEOs of conglomerates. They should take good care of themselves in order to reap the fruits of their labour,” she said. She later sang her song, One Love Keep Us Together.
At the programme, a widow, Mrs. Comfort Akingbehin, noted that widows were in three groups.
“Some, their husbands died, leaving behind lots of things for them to carry on with life. These include properties and investments. But some inherited nothing, but these widows have their jobs to fall back on in order to survive. The third category of widows are those who did not inherit property from husbands and do not have any means of livelihood, and no property to fall back on. This set of widows are really suffering,” she said.
Monday Ubani, a legal expert, pointed out that some of the things widows undergo after the demise of their husband are barbaric.
“Some are made to drink the water they used in bathing the corpse of their husbands on the allegation that they killed their husbands. Some are told to sleep with the corpse. Husbands should try as much as possible to put their house in order when they are alive. Writing a will is important. When a will is written, it does not obey some of these cultural dispositions,” Ubani said.
Another participant, Dr. Abia Nzelu, told the reporter that governments and individuals must do more on enlightenment campaign and access to health care for widows.
“Cervical cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer in women worldwide, but it’s a disappearing disease in developed countries. In Africa, we found out it is the number one killer of women and this is very sad and unacceptable because cervical cancer is very preventable. With routine screening exercise, you can detect the pre-cancer stage and prevent the woman from ending up with full-blown cancer,” she said.