Cultural Stigmas and
Superstitions Surrounding Widowhood
Women around the world who are widowed often have the experience of grief and loss compounded by the cultural stigmas of widowhood. Widows are one of the most marginalized and outcast groups in many cultures, especially in Africa and Asia where they live under an avalanche of hardships and superstitions. Such societies force them into further isolation, often accompanied by the loss of basic rights that are essential to moving past their grief.
In Nigeria, widows face dehumanizing rituals and accusations based on cultural beliefs. Some traditions ask women to take an oath to prove their innocence when their husband dies. Other cultural practices will keep a woman confined in mourning for long periods of time or make her drink water used to bathe the body of her late husband.[1]
While hard to believe, practices like these are common. They undermine the dignity of widows and expose them to physical torture as well as psychological abuse.
In Nepal, widows are often held responsible for their husband’s death. One middle-aged widow was blamed for the death of a buffalo five whole years after her husband passed away. Facing beatings, torture and being fed human excrement pounded up in a mortar by members of her own community, the woman literally embodied the suffering endured by widows who are harassed as outcasts due to cultural stigmatism.[2] “Widows are among the most vulnerable categories of people in the country,” Prakriti Sapkota wrote in her 2019 report for World Pulse. “The social stigma attached to them deprives them of their basic human rights and freedom of speech.”[3]
Widows Are Often Accused of Cultural Superstitions
Tales of widows being charged as witches or abused because of other superstitions are gut-wrenching. Widows in Afghanistan are frequently seen as immoral and are shunned by society. These women are condemned and ostracized by their communities; most wind up on a rocky slope above Kabul called “the hill of widows” to avoid further shame. After their husbands die, many of the choices for these women, often uneducated and housebound, are bleak. They eke out a living by doing household chores, sewing or putting their children to work begging in the bazaar.[4]
These stigmas affect the lives of widows in catastrophic proportions. The property rights of a widow are one of the first to be revoked―leaving them homeless and without support. It is an “epidemic,” the Global Fund for Widows says, where widows are left hungry and illiterate, exposed to human trafficking and with little or no access to justice. The prejudices against widows create cycles of poverty and social injustice, impacting these women directly but also their families and communities.[5] The issue of cultural stigmas and superstitions around widows is a sobering account we cannot ignore.
Through the efforts of organizations like GFA World, demonstrating the transformative love of Christ, widows are able to find the peace and support they need. Fighting the cultural stigmas of widowhood and giving widows practical, emotional and spiritual support helps to restore dignity for those forced into this life of unimaginable loss. Will you join us in this vital mission?
Learn how to get involved and make a difference in the lives of countless widows across Asia and Africa through our Widows Ministry, helping set them free from the chains of despair to experience the tender mercy of God’s love.
Learn more about widow meaning
[1] Sunday, Orji. “In a Country Where Widows Are Witches.” Ms. Magazine. May 25, 2017. https://msmagazine.com/2017/05/25/country-widows-witches/.
[2] “Situation and Challenges Faced by Widows in My Community.” World Pulse. June 20, 2019. https://www.worldpulse.org/story/situation-and-challenges-faced-by-widows-in-my-community-4240.
[3] Ibid.
[4]Chaon, Anne. “Afghanistan’s ‘hill of Widows’ Live in a World Apart.” AFP. January 26, 2018. https://www.afp.com/en/afghanistans-hill-widows-live-world-apart.
[5] “Why Widows?” Global Fund for Widows. Accessed July 26, 2024. https://www.globalfundforwidows.org/why-widows.