The Social and Economic Challenges Faced by Widows

The multifaceted challenges faced by widows are significant, both socially and economically, and often render these women marginalized, if not destitute. Losing a husband not only brings the anguish of loss and grief but can also begin a series of grinding miseries: eviction, the loss of all rights to property and even social stigma. The dire situation of a widow is compounded in Asia and Africa where cultural norms and economic insecurity make them particularly vulnerable.

For example, widows in South Asia are often stigmatized and accused of causing their husbands’ deaths. They may be stripped of their land by their in-laws and thrown out of their homes. They cannot get access to education or employment and have very few means of supporting their own children.[1] In Africa, widows lose their property rights and are subject to dehumanizing rituals. Widows in Nigeria are stigmatized as witches and coerced into rites that falsely accuse them of being responsible for their situations, thereby adding more pain to the grief they are already experiencing.[2]


UN and World Bank Statistics

The global statistics for widowhood are horrifying. According to the United Nations, nearly one in ten widows live in extreme poverty.[3] In South Asia, more than 19 million widows face severe economic suffering, earning less than $2 a day.[4] The World Bank has reported that marriage provides the only way for women in many African countries to gain social and economic rights, which frequently evaporate when a woman loses her husband. These widows are then vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a society where they have no legal rights or social provision.[5] Even in developed nations, the loss of a spouse is ranked by The American Institute of Stress as the most stressful of all life events.[6] In some cultures, the ramifications of widowhood are quite simply horrific.


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