Widows And Their Inheritance
Written by Oreofe Omisope
In many parts of Nigeria, widows have always been at the receiving end of many inhumane practices. Some of these practices include making them shave their heads, forceful habitation with their spouse’s dead body to prove their innocence, or more grotesque; drinking the water used to wash their husband’s corpse.
What all these practices have in common is that they often leave these women scarred physically, mentally and emotionally. To crown it all off is the fact that in most cases, at the death of their husbands they are left with little or nothing of his estate; if it existed in the first place. To fully dissect this topic, it is of utmost importance that the key terms are well understood. In light of this, according to Mrs. M. O. Izzi and Mrs. Claribel Fab-Eme in their article Widows and Inheritance Rights in Nigeria: Beyond the Letters of the Law, a widow is “a woman whose husband is dead, and has not remarried; she is that woman who has lost her spouse or partner to death and has not remarried”
Many well-meaning feminists have advised that women should be financially independent so that at the time of their husband’s death they do not have to haggle over their inheritance with menacing relatives. While this is perfectly good advice, it is of no use to the widow who is already locked in battle with her husband’s relatives over his property. Also to be fair to these widows, in a society that has always relegated women to child-rearing and housekeeping and strongly discouraged any attempt at financial independence, it will be foolhardy and quite unreasonable to expect these widows to fend for themselves and in most cases, their children at the death of their spouse.
At the root of this problem, as is often the case, are archaic traditions that should have long been discarded but continue to thrive in virtually all parts of Nigeria with the tenacity varying from one part of Nigeria to another. In both the Yoruba and Igbo cultures, the widow has no right to inheritance. Although in the Hausa culture the widow has the right to inherit her husband’s estate, it is such a derisory per cent that it is hardly worth mentioning at all. This problem is so widespread in Nigeria that virtually everyone is connected in one way or the other to someone who has been the brunt of injustice against widows- a friend whose dad’s relatives left them homeless after his death, a distant cousin who was forced to shave her head at the demise of her spouse, and so on. It occurs so often that it no longer quite surprises us or provokes our sympathy when we hear of yet another unfortunate widow whose late husband’s relatives leave her destitute. This alone is a red light on the state of things.
Considering the number of international charters that Nigeria has adopted, both in the past and in recent times, it is shocking that these problems continue to persist. In 2003, Nigeria was privy to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which made provision for widows to inherit their late husband’s estate. It is stated in Article 18(3) that ‘the state shall ensure the elimination of every discrimination against women and also ensure the protection of the rights of the woman and the child as stipulated in international declarations and conventions.’
Another part of this same Charter stipulates that ‘a widow shall have the right to an equitable share in the inheritance of the property of her husband. A widow shall have the right to continue to live in the matrimonial house. In case of remarriage, she shall retain this right if the house belongs to her or she has inherited it.’ This is just one of the many Charters and Conventions Nigeria has adopted concerning the rights of women. Why then does this problem persist and what can be done to correct it?
One of the most obvious causes of women being unable to inherit their late husband’s property is that most times, the latter leaves no will behind, making it easy for any random ‘family member’ to come and lay claim to the estate. Truth be told the concept of a will has always been taboo, not oftentimes talked about in Nigeria. It is erroneously believed that having a will is a foreboding of one’s death. This is quite obviously not true at all. It would be wise for a woman and her spouse to have a will so that in case of unsought disasters, such as the death of her husband, it becomes near impossible for anyone else to claim the property left behind.
The next is that although the government keeps adopting charter upon charter protecting widow’s rights, not much has been done in the aspect of implementation because the very same widows for whom these instruments were put in place oftentimes are unable to afford the cost of litigation and so it is easier for them to succumb to defeat rather than fight a losing battle with the little resources that they may have. The government for this reason should find a way to subsidize the cost of legal representation for widows who are seeking to gain the rights to a fair portion of their deceased husband’s property for themselves and their children.
Another cause for the persistent harassment of widows regarding inheritance rights is that traditionally, women have been raised to believe that they do not have a right to their husband’s property; which quite often is the joint effort of both husband and wife. When a woman loses her husband she’s expected not to raise an eyebrow whilst greedy relatives cart away with much-needed property. It becomes vital that the relatives realize that they do not own the lion’s share of their deceased relative’s property and that it is not wrong for the widow to fight for their right. The ideology that the woman is not deserving of an inheritance should be laid to rest once and for all.
Widows are humans too, and they deserve to be treated as such, thus it is imperative that they have a right to an inheritance from their deceased spouse.
Oreofe is a 17 year old feminist and believer. She writes, debates, and has stinted briefly on the radio. In her free time, she reads on anything and everything, and binge watches dramas. You can connect with Oreofe on Facebook.
Edited by Chizulu E. Uwolloh
Zulu, named after Zulu Shofola, is a writer, avid movie watcher, and self-proclaimed bibliophile. She is proud to call herself a feminist and when she’s not editing for Sisterly HQ and watching travel vlogs on YouTube, she’s trying to save the world in her own little way. Connect with Zulu on Instagram and LinkedIn
Published by Yetunde Onafuye
Yetunde is a storyteller, podcaster, and a graduate student with interest in the social and political history of post-independence Africa. She’s also the co-lead editor at Sisterly HQ. In her free time, she reads and reviews books, engages in social volunteering, and watches tons of dramas and TV shows. Connect with Yetunde on LinkedIn and Instagram.
