































Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024


Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

43 
 

Human Rights of Widows: A Study of Widowhood Practices 

in a Nigerian Society 

By 

Suraiya Shahin 

  

Abstract 

The subject of widowhood practices remains one of the serious issues of our 

times and one which has elicited mixed interpretations. Nigeria, being a multi-

ethnic society, has different forms of widowhood practices that reflect its cultural 

diversity. This study focuses on widowhood practices in the south-eastern part of 

the country which is populated mostly by the Igbo-speaking ethnic group, one of 

Nigeria’s largest groups. Marriage, as one of the basic institutions of any society, 

is laden with many challenges for most couples. For the woman, this is worsened 

by the loss of her husband. In Nigeria’s Igbo society, when a woman loses her 

husband, her identity suddenly changes. After the death of her husband, she no 

longer is viewed as a pure and complete woman. Widows in many Igbo 

communities are subjected to dehumanizing practices that cause them to suffer 

physical as well as psychological trauma. Unfortunately, such cultural practices 

are perpetuated by the umuada (patrilineal daughters) who call themselves 

preservers of the local culture and tradition. In spite of the enactment of many 

laws for the protection of the rights of widows, widows in Igbo society still face 

social discrimination and deprivation and are often denied their due inheritance. 

This paper analyses the phenomenon of Igbo widowhood practices with a view to 

understanding the cultural and social milieu in which such gender-oriented 

practices thrive. 

Keywords: widowhood practices, Nigeria, Igbo Society, widows’ rights, 

inheritance 

 

 

Introduction 

Customs and traditions are enthroned by the people of any given society. 

Unhealthy or oppressive customs and traditions, therefore, need not remain 

static but should be jettisoned by the people or replaced by wholesome 

practices that respect the rights and dignity of every member of the 

community. Culture should not be blind to the contemporary situations and 

circumstances of the society. Literature, as a mirror of the social 

phenomena has portrayed the theme of culture from many perspectives. 

This paper is focused on how cultural tenets and practices affect the 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

44 
 

condition of widows in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, a region peopled 

mostly by the Igbo ethnic group. The study is based on published 

information on the widowhood practices and culture of Nigeria’s Igbo 

society. 

To understand the concept of widowhood practices in south-eastern 

Nigeria, one needs to have an in-depth understanding of the socio-cultural 

norms of the Igbo and their implications for individuals and the society at 

large. The Igbo are one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria and also 

among the largest groups in Africa. The Igbo people of Nigeria believe 

that death is not the end of life as life is seen as a phenomenon that 

continues in the spirit realm even after someone’s physical death. Ikenga-

Metu, a professor of African religious anthropology, asserts that “death is 

not the final end of man in Igbo thought, all men continue to live in some 

form or the other after death” (62). This has implications for the plight of 

widows: 

The Igbo culture makes it incumbent on the living to respect the wishes of 

the dead, while the dead are compelled to protect the living. Widowhood 

practices are therefore integral part of the funeral rites accorded the dead. 

These funeral rites are aimed at guaranteeing the admittance of the dead 

people into the abode of the ancestors, who, they believe, will ultimately 

reincarnate into the community of the living (Oreh 4). 

As Ohale has noted, “the Igbo people have belief in life after death, in their 

ancestors and reincarnations. Central to the Igbo traditional religious 

thought is the concept of deceased’s ancestors continuing to play an active 

part in the lives of their descendants” (62). Therefore, the world of the 

dead or the spiritual world is so authentic to the Igbo people that they 

consider a complete human community to be made of ancestors, the 

unborn, and the living. An aspect of the Igbo people’s ontology is that the 

dead must be honoured and should not be treated as a mere body. He/she 

should be honoured according to the social status he/she had earned while 

alive. The Igbo believe that if the deceased is not buried properly by 

culturally following the rites and rituals befitting the dead’s social status, 

he/she will turn into an evil spirit and wander about to attack the living 

members of his/her family (Okoro 323-350). 

In this paper, a “widow” is defined as a woman whose husband has died 

and who has not remarried. Widowhood in Igbo society is associated with 

certain cultural norms and practices that suddenly change the narrative of a 

woman’s life as soon as she loses her husband and makes her life 

traumatic. In the perception of many Igbo, she now becomes impure and 

unclean and, therefore, needs to undergo some rituals to effect her 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

45 
 

cleansing. The Igbo people are known for various cultural beliefs and 

practices. Some of these adversely affect widows. Oreh, professor of adult 

education and community development, paraphrasing Boulding, says that a 

widow, among the Igbo, “is like a melancholy bird that sits wailing all 

night, increasing her distress without redeeming features” (5). 

Oreh further notes that widowhood in Igbo society entails 

a physical break in the family relationship and it is ranked by widows 

as the most stressful and devastating event in life. This is because 

widowhood does not only involve the loss of the role of a wife to the 

husband but also the loss of a person most supportive of the woman, 

the person who has played a central role in the woman’s life, the 

father of her children, the family breadwinner and the companion of 

the woman. This transition from wifehood to a widow happens so 

suddenly and swiftly that in one minute a woman who is a wife 

transits to a widow. It is at this moment that she starts to experience 

all the widowhood practices…. (6) 

Widowhood Practices in the Igbo Society of Nigeria 

Every culture and society has its cultural practices for the dead. 

Widowhood practices differ from one society to another. In the Igbo 

society, practices associated with widowhood include mourning rites, 

seclusion of the widow, shaving of the widow’s hair, limitation of the 

widow’s inheritance rights, suspicious behaviour of people towards the 

widow, and change in the widow’s social and economic status. Some of 

these practices have customary roots while others reflect the negative 

attitude of people towards the widow. 

Widowhood practices in Igbo culture should be viewed also from gender 

perspective. The widow and the widower are human beings in the same 

society but they get different social response and treatment from the 

society. Generally, when a man loses his wife, the society sympathizes 

with him and treats him lovingly. The community surrounds him to pay 

due condolence to him. More importantly, they encourage him to remarry, 

pointing out that he needs another woman to console him and take care of 

him and, if applicable, his children. But we don’t find a similar 

sympathetic response when a woman becomes a widow. The moment she 

loses her husband, she becomes vulnerable to social bias and control. The 

same society doesn’t spare a moment before claiming that the widow is the 

killer of her husband while a man is rarely suspected of being responsible 

for the death of his wife. Furthermore, the widow is viewed as an impure 

woman in the family and the community. As such, she is required to 

undergo dehumanizing ordeals to purify herself (Dittrich and Carrel).  



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

46 
 

In his article, “The Widow’s Right in the Context of Fundamental Human 

Rights”, Edekobi comes up with the view that most widowers usually 

prefer to remarry soon after losing their wives while most widows choose 

not to remarry, especially when they have children. For fear of losing the 

children, they suppress their desire to remarry and decide to live in the 

same family compound in spite of the mistreatment of their in-laws. 

The Igbo society displays clear gender disparity in the matter of mourning 

rites. While mourning rites are not traditionally imposed on widowers, 

widows are forced to cry their hearts out repeatedly during the early part of 

their bereavement (Agumagu). This mourning period remains a seclusion 

period only for the widow and the objective is to prolong her agony and 

anxiety. During the mourning period, the widow is subjected to emotional, 

psychological as well as physical torture. A widower, on the other hand, is 

exempted from such torturous rituals. According to Odimegwu, 

widowhood practices in African societies are given rise to by the sex roles 

and social expectations imposed by different communities. In the context 

of Igbo widowhood, it has been observed that the rites and rituals signify 

the traditional concepts about feminine roles, death, inheritance, and 

family structure (Tasie 155-162).   

Ifeoma Okoye, a well-known Nigerian author, in her book, The Trials and 

Other Stories, also agrees on the point that the problems of persisting 

widowhood practices are the outcome of a patriarchal society that supports 

gender disparity. She has observed that in Nigerian society, widows face 

discrimination and are deprived their fundamental human rights. A 

patriarchal society believes that women occupy the secondary position to 

men and thus inferior to men. Okoye maintains that 

It is discriminatory that widowers don’t go through dehumanizing 

rites and rituals. They don’t lose their property or children when their 

wives die. They easily acquire their deceased wives’ property. They 

remarry without losing their children to anyone (2). 

Okoye, as a widow, encountered the phenomenon of widowhood and a 

few brutal occurences that compelled her to reflect upon some of her 

experiences in the “Letter to the Reader” featured in The Trials and Other 

Stories, her collection of short stories. She writes, “I refused to undergo 

the subjugating, humiliating and dehumanizing rites of hair shaving to 

which many Igbo widows are subjected” (ii). She tells us that she has not 

written The Trials with the purpose of telling the widows’ stories to the 

people or entertaining them but to awaken them about the menacing 

system of widow practices. She has exposed the dehumanizing acts that 

are forced upon widows in Nigeria during the period of mourning. She 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

47 
 

observed that there are some traditional rites and rituals that reduce the 

respect and dignity of widows. 

She says that discriminatory patriarchal system of laws is also responsible 

for the persistent problem of widows losing their inheritance. Deprived of 

their property and inheritance, some widows become beggars, low-paid 

employees or prostitutes. In some cases, some widows are compelled to 

withdraw their children from school because of economic deprivation (1-

2). Okoye notes that some widows are forced to marry their husband’s 

brother in order to avoid losing their children if they remarry outside their 

husband’s family. 

While widowhood practices are common prevailing phenomena in Igbo 

culture, Umezinwa says that the degree of adherence to the rituals differs 

from town to town. Generally, however, the Igbo of South-Eastern states 

of Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Imo States treat widows in a very 

dehumanizing manner. The harsh practices meted to women make 

widowhood more traumatic than it ought to be. Death for the Igbo is 

caused by an ill wind; no death is natural. Every death is caused by 

witchcraft, bad medicine, or some other evil forces. Because of this 

perception, the family or relatives of the deceased starts investigating the 

cause of the death the moment a person’s death is announced. If the 

deceased is a young person, they take investing the cause of the death 

more seriously. A wife is normally the first person to be suspected; she is 

pronounced the murderer or an indirect cause of the death, depending on 

her relationship with her in-laws and the umuada, the patrilineal daughters. 

A wife is taken as the prime suspect of the death because she is the closest 

person to her husband. Usually, she is placed under an oath during the 

burial period to ascertain her innocence. She is also asked to stay with the 

dead body of her husband until interment (Sossou 201-209). The case 

becomes more complex when the couple is traditionally enstranged; this 

makes the suspicion that she killed her husband more intense. In this case, 

the widow is tortured psychologically and physically. She is forced to 

drink the water used to bathe the corpse of her husband. 

Ohale elaborates on how a woman enters a state of impurity after she loses 

her husband: 

In most areas of Igboland as soon as a husband dies, culture dictates 

that his widow must sit on the bare floor, neither taking bath nor 

changing her clothes…and secretly attempting to attend to her 

personal hygiene might attract some punishments (1-11). 

In some Igbo communities, more severe rituals are inflicted upon the 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

48 
 

widow after her husband’s death. In the first period of mourning, she is 

kept in a secluded place, without having clothes on her body except a few 

leaves to cover the most sensitive parts of her body. She is prohibited from 

all outings and from mixing with people. However, in some urgent cases, 

she is allowed to go outside but accompanied by an older widow who must 

be a member of the umuada (the patrilineal daughters). While going 

outside, she must carry a calabash which symbolises that she is in the 

mourning period. In this period of mourning, the widow is culturally 

prohibited from touching any object, including her own body parts because 

she remains impure at that period. Thus, she keeps a piece of broken pot or 

a stick to scratch her body. She is given food cooked separately and served 

her in some broken plates (Sossou 201-209). 

Further, the widow gives a loud wail at a certain period of time – morning, 

noon, and evening – as the custom demands. In the views of Sossou, this 

ritual of loud wailing reflects her deep sadness and a mark of honour for 

her deceased husband: “The fundamental social change in her life style is 

dramatized, emphasising her faithfulness to her husband’s memory and her 

chastity during the marriage period” (201-209).  Ohale takes this wailing 

of the widow at the arrival of good friends and relatives of her late 

husband as a public show of grief which is done to appease the family and 

the relation of the deceased and to prove her innocence (1-11). 

One of the beliefs connected with following these rituals is that the dead 

husband hovers around seeking to interact with his wife. Therefore, the 

widow is guided, if she needs to go out of her hut for some serious work; 

she must come from the back door of the hut and must not enter through 

the same gate. While going outside, she has to carry a knife or stick which 

would protect her from the attack of her husband’s spirit. 

Meeks confirms the assertion that in some Igbo sub-cultures, such as 

among the Nsukka people, the widow is not left alone during her times of 

mourning and wailing and that the patrilineal daughters are always present 

there with her. He further notes that the formal lamentation for the 

deceased by the female relatives continues for three to six days. The 

female mourners collectively culturally sleep in the hut of the deceased. 

Every morning, large quantities of local beer are served them by their 

friends and relatives. Every day, at dawn, these mourning women give 

loud cries of grief at the sight of friends and relatives (226).  

In most Igbo communities, it is compulsory for a widow to be placed in 

seclusion after her husband’s death. This practice is maintained throughout 

the initial mourning period and ends with the interment of the deceased. In 

this condition, the widow is restricted from any interaction with people 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

49 
 

(Ohale). The first period of mourning is most severe and health- damaging. 

In her twenty eight days of confinement, the cultural practice restricts the 

widow from any social contact. She is not allowed to go to the stream, 

farmland or market (Nzewi 1-11). 

After the first phase of burial rituals, the second phase of rites and rituals 

take place. In this stage, certain rituals are performed to purify the family 

members of the deceased. The widow, especially, has to perform all the 

purification rituals for she is still considered impure or defiled. The rites 

performed at this stage also denote the end of the marriage and the 

separation between the deceased and his wife forever. Soon after, the 

umuada take the widow to the secluded place of the compound where her 

head is shaved; her pubic hair is also shaved. After shaving her, the widow 

takes a ritual bath. Thereafter, she is dressed in new mourning attire; she 

will wear this dress for the rest of the mourning period. In the case of a 

pregnant widow, her hair and the dress she was wearing during the 

seclusion are buried; in the case of a non-pregnant widow, her shaved hair 

and dress are burnt to symbolize the beginning of the separation between 

the widow and her late husband (Nzewi 6-7). 

After this ritual, the widow resumes a life of limited freedom governed by 

certain widow rules of behaviour. In this phase of mourning, she is 

permitted to interact with people, talk to anybody and go outside but she is 

restricted from returning home late during the night. Before resuming 

normal life, the widow must go through the last cleansing process to 

further purify herself and improve her personal hygiene. Her room and its 

contents are also cleansed. The umuada and the widow’s friends and 

relatives help the widow in cleaning up the mourning environment. The 

filth is gathered in a basket which the widow carries to the bush, 

accompanied by a member of the umuada. This ritual of throwing filth is 

done very early in the morning to prevent people from watching the event. 

To forewarn people to look the other way, a woman from the umuada goes 

before the widow to give a warning cry. Then the widow is again bathed 

culturally and shaved properly by the umuada. This final ritual of cleaning 

indicates the last separation between the widow and her late husband. 

Now, she can resume her normal life in the family and the society. If she is 

young and interested in remarrying, she is allowed to do so but if she 

doesn’t want to remarry, she stays in the same family with her in-laws 

(Nzewi 1-11). 

Igbo beliefs behind widowhood practices 

The Igbo regard burial and mourning rituals as culturally important on 

several grounds. Since Igbo people believe in two worlds (physical and 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

50 
 

spiritual), death is not regarded as an end to life. As such, there is need to 

separate the widow from the spirit of her husband, protect their children 

and the deceased’s property as well as maintain the peace and stability of 

the entire community through the widow’s fulfilment of the widowhood 

practices. Ewelukwa (444) notes that mourning rituals in the Igbo society 

are performed to pay homage to the deceased and that such rituals 

celebrate the status of the deceased as the widow’s late husband. 

These rituals are also practised in favour of the widow, considering that 

these mourning rituals are believed to protect the widow from the menace 

of evil spirits. In the words of Okorie, “the traditional concept of death is 

also an important fact in the widowhood practices…since traditionally it is 

believed that the dead continue to participate in and influence the lives of 

the living, we saw in one area, where widows had to run very hot mixture 

across their faces to expel the spirit of their departed husband” (79-84). 

Tasie believes “the overall aim of the widowhood rites could therefore be 

summed up as to severe the ties between a dead husband and his living 

wife/wives” (155-162). Properly followed, the rituals bring some benefits 

to the widow and her family as, according to Ewelukwa, a feast and some 

form of economic package, in some Igbo sub-cultures, is awarded to the 

widow after her successful fulfilment of all the rituals. 

Widowhood practices are also undertaken to enhance the deceased’s 

smooth entrance into the spiritual world, to make him enter with peace and 

comfort and facilitate the harmonious relationship between the living and 

the ancestors. So, it appears the purpose of retaining these rituals is 

because they are perceived as cultural exercises by which the widow and 

the community are purified and protected. 

Protecting the Rights of Widows in Nigeria 

In Nigeria, discrimination against widows has reduced due to rapid growth 

in the education of women and amendment of local laws. Onyekuru notes 

that in spite of the enactment of laws to protect the widows, widows in 

Nigeria are still deprived inheritance rights and are still subjected to 

physical and psychological torture. There are two types of marriages in 

Nigeria: statutory (monogamous) marriage and customary (monogamous 

/polygamous) marriage. Although statutory law grants women right of 

inheritance after the death of their husbands, in practice it doesn’t prevail. 

In customary marriage, controversies and conflicts regarding the matter of 

inheritance usually take place among the wives after the death of their 

husband. 

According to Bukar Usman, Nigeria’s renowned folklorist and writer 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

51 
 

whom I communicated with while researching this paper, customary law 

pertaining to widowhood practices and the widow’s right of inheritance 

differs from one ethnic group to another. He says that the widow’s 

inheritance rights, in customary terms, largely depend on the cultural 

milieu in which the marriage is contracted. In his view, some Nigerian 

customary marriages are similar to the Islamic marriage and there are a 

large number of Nigerians who follow the Islamic religion and whose 

marriages are governed by the customary system. 

Onyekuru is of the opinion that in Nigeria the widow usually loses out 

after the demise of her husband because there is no concept of co-

ownership of property by couples. In Nigerian society, male relations of 

the deceased take possession of the deceased’s assets thereby depriving the 

widows of their inheritance. In most of the sub-cultures of Nigeria, male 

relatives of the deceased traditionally inherit his wives (widows) and serve 

as social security for the widows. This practice is sometimes against the 

consent of the widows. When widows revolt against such discriminatory 

acts, the patriarchal society would accuse them of being the killers of their 

husbands, and this might result into several dehumanizing acts being 

inflicted upon them. 

There are many laws in Nigeria aimed at reducing dehumanizing 

widowhood practices. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria, Chapter 4, on fundamental human rights, grants equality of rights, 

obligations, and opportunities to every Nigerian citizen. It also provides 

widows’ rights to freedom in the choice of remarriage, right of inheritance 

and provides that no humiliating and dehumanizing treatment should be 

meted out to widows.  On March 8, 2001, the Enugu State House of 

Assembly enacted some laws protecting the fundamental rights and 

welfare of widows and widowers. No person can compel a widow or 

widower to follow the dehumanizing and humiliating rites and rituals 

which are against their choices. The law says that anyone who contravenes 

the Provisions of sections 4 or 5 of the law will be fined or sentenced to 

two years imprisonment. In 2003, in Imo state of Nigeria, a law (law no. 

12) was enacted to prohibit humiliating customary widowhood practices. 

Anyone who goes against this law will be liable to a fine of N10,000 or six 

month imprisonment. And on November 26, 2004, the Cross River State 

House of Assembly enacted a law to protect widows against maltreatment 

and domestic violence (CIRDDOC).  

Conclusion 

After going through the study of facts and myths of widowhood practices 

among the Igbo, this writer comes to the conclusion that the continuation 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

52 
 

of these practices by Igbo people is sustained by the belief that widowhood 

practices are for the protection of the widow, for the welfare of the 

community, and for maintenance of mutual harmony between the physical 

and spiritual world. This study also reveals that widowhood practices are 

engaged in by all Igbo widows but the type of treatment, whether harsh or 

light, meted out to the widows, depends on the socio-economic 

background of each widow. Educated widows and those who are self-

dependent or who dwell in the urban place are safer and more protected 

than the widows who are uneducated, who are dependent on the family or 

who dwell in the rural areas. The childless widow is the most humiliated 

because the society regards her as a witch. 

Women should be empowered by being educated. Education plays a vital 

role in encouraging widows to revolt against humiliating cultural practices. 

One notes from Ifeoma Okoye’s personal experience of widowhood that 

being an educated widow enabled her to revolt against the humiliating and 

dehumanizing aspects of Igbo widowhood practices. 

It is really disappointing to see that the umuada (patrilineal daughters) who 

are responsible for ensuring that Igbo widowhood practices are carried out 

don’t appear to be sympathetic but rather insist that the widows should 

fulfil everything the torturous practices demand from them. Such umuada 

needs to be educated to make them change their traditional patriarchal 

ideologies and understand that they need to treat their fellow women with 

dignity and mercy. Men and women are equally important in bringing 

about radical changes that would stop or reform these harmful and lethal 

cultural practices that subjugate and violate the rights of widows. 

 

Works Cited 

Agumagu, J. “The Nigerian Woman And Widowhood Challenges and 

Constraints”. Sophia: African Journal of Philosophy and Public 

Affairs,  vol. 10, no. 1, 2007. 

Civil Resource Development & Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC). “A 

Law to Prohibit Domestic Violence Against Women and 

Maltretment of Widows Law No. 10”. Public Education Series 32, 

2004, pp. 24-26. 

Dittrich, J. and M. Carrel. “Organizational Equity, Perception Employee 

Job Satisfaction Absence & Turnover Rate”. Organizational 

Behaviour and Human Performance, vol. 24, 1, pp. 5-30. 

Edekobi, A.C. “The Widow’s Right in the Context of Fundamental Human 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

53 
 

Rights”. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of Sociology, Vol.1, 

no. 2, 2000, pp. 18-26. 

Egboh, Edmund O. “Polygamy in Iboland (South-Eastern Nigeria) With 

special reference to polygamy practice among Christian Ibos”. 

Institute de Sociologie, vol. 22, no. 3, 1972, pp.  431-444. JSTOR, 

www.jstor.org/stable/41229235. 

Ewelukwa, Uche U. “Post-Colonialism, Gender, Customary Injustice: 

Widows in African Scientists.” www.jstor.org/stable/20069610. 

George I. K., Tasie. “African Widowhood Rites; Bane or Boom for 

African Women”. International Journal of Humanities and Social 

Sciences, vol, 13, no. 1, January 2013. www.ijhssnet.com. 

Iffih, B. N. and P. C. Ezeah. Sociology of the Family. John Jacobs 

Publishers Ltd., 2010. 

Ikenga-Metuh E. “The Concept of Man in African Traditional Religion 

with Particular Reference to the Igbo of Nigeria”. Readings in 

African Traditional Religion, Structure, Meaning, Relevance and 

Future. Edited by E. M. Uka. Peter Lang, 1991. 

Mathias, Bentina Alawari. “Widowhood Practice in Eastern Nigeria: A 

Comparative study of Imo and Anambra States”. Sociology Study, 

vol. 5, no. 3, 2015, pp. 223-231. 

Meeks, G.K. Funeral Among the Jukun of Western Sudan. Mary Knoll, 

1931. 

Nzewi. “Widowhood practices: A Female Perspective” a paper presented 

at a workshop on Widowhood Practices in Imo State Nigeria. June 

6-7, 1981. www.widowhoodpracticesinnigeria.org. 8th May 2016. 

Ohale, Christine. “From Rituals to Acts: The Aesthetics and Cultural 

Relevance of Igbo Satire”. Lamham: University of America, 2003. 

www.widowhoodculture inafrica.edu/org. Accessed May 2016. 

—. “The Reproduction of Injustice Against Women: Reflections on 

Widowhood Practices in Africa and the Task of the Writer in 

Challenging the Status quo”. 2012. 

www.widowhoodpracticeinafrica.edu/org. Accessed May 2016. 

Okoro, Kingsley N. “Religion: A Viable Instrument for Social reforms in a 

Globalised Nigeria: A Case for African Traditional Religion”. 

Aspects of Religious Studies and Philosophy. Edited by Okereke C. 

C and Nwoko, M. N. Owerri: Skill Mark Media, 2011.   



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 1 February 2024 

 

 

54 
 

Okoro, et al. “Widowhood Practices in Africa [Igbo] Traditional Society: 

Socio-Anthropological [Re] Interpretations”. Journal of 

Humanities And Social Science, vol. 23, no, 3, 2018, pp. 42-54. 

Okorie, M.A. “African Widowhood Practices: The Igbo Mourning 

Experience”. African Journal of Evangelical Theology, vol. 14, 

no.2, 1995. www.widowhood practicesinafrica.edu/org. Accessed 

20th June 2016. 

Okoye, Ifeoma. The Trials and Other Stories. African Heritage Press, 

2005. 

Onyekuru, B. U. “Obnoxious Cultural Practices Associated with 

Bereavement Among People of South-East Geopolitical Zone of 

Nigeria”. Journal of Emerging Trends in Education Research and 

Policy Studies. Vol. 2, no. 5, 2011, pp. 355-360. 

Oreh, Catherine Ikodiya. Igbo Cultural Widowhood Practices: Reflections 

on Inadvertent Weapons of Retrogression in Community 

Development: An Inaugural Lecture. UNN, September 2015. 

www.unn.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ 80th-Inaugural-

Lecture-By-Prof-Catherine-Ikodiya-Oreh.pdf 

—. “ Problems Associated with Widowhood: The Christian Mothers’ 

Roles Toward Alleviating Them in The Mother’s Voice”. The 

Bulletin of The Catholic Women Organisation. St. Peter’s 

Chaplaincy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 7, 2006. 

—. “Widowhood Practices In A Matrilineal Igbo Community: A Case 

Study of Community Development Associations In Ozu Abam”. A 

Ph.D. Thesis Presented to the Department of Adult Education and 

Extra-Mural Studies, 1998. 

Sossou, M. A. “Widowhood Practices in West Africa: The Salient Victims. 

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol, 11, pp. 201-209. 

Umezinwa, C. “The Faulty Logic of Widowhood”. West African Journal 

of Philosophical Studies, vol. 10, 2007. 

 

 

Author Information: Suraiya Shahin is of the Department of 

English, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. Email: 

suraiyashahin91@gmail.com 

 

 


