LG boss makes case for widows, organises free medical outreach

By Sunday Ani

As the world celebrates the International Widows’ Day, Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area, Edo State, Benedicta Attoh, has decried the plight of widows, whom she said face various forms of intimidation, pressure and abuse after the death of their husbands.
She said widowhood remains the most hidden and veiled area of human rights violation, saying: “Widowhood is becoming more vulnerable to multi-level poverty, discrimination, violence, stigma, and depression. These ill-treatments have harmed widows’ mental health.”
She cited her biological mother’s struggle to provide for them after her father’s death to demonstrate what widows go through in the society.
She spoke to widows at the Etsako East council secretariat, yesterday, during a one-day free medical health outreach for widows to mark this year’s Widows’ Day celebration.
She advocated women’s rights to inherit property from their biological fathers even if they are married, describing the denial of such rights to women as mistreatment.
“The practice of denial of inheritance rights has caused untold hardship to women, particularly widows. When a husband dies, his family members make life unbearable for the widows,” she said.
The council boss, who is also the founder of DreamWorld Leadership Initiative for Girls, expressed concern about the language of the constitution as it relates to attacks on women in various forms. She identified harmful practices such as widowhood practices, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and others, as threats to women’s lives in Nigeria.
She, however, encouraged widows to face life with courage by training their children to care for them in the future.
“Women bear the burden, which is not easy, especially now that the nation’s hardship has worsened. The death of a husband has always been difficult for women, but we will continue to support widows in our small capacity as a council,” she said.
The free medical outreach featured drug distribution, blood pressure and sugar level testing by John Damisa and Akowe Patricia, as well as two community health officers, a lab technician, and others from the council’s primary health care centre.