He appealed to AAG and other stakeholders to support traditional authorities in the Region to undertake vigorous sensitization programmes to end the rites. Mrs Betty Ayagiba, the Director of the Orphans and Widows Movement, said through the support of AAG and other stakeholders, her outfit had registered over 7, widows in 17 communities in the Region and are being supported with economic alternative livelihoods such as training to acquire skills in handicrafts and small ruminant rearing.
Ms Juliet Adams, the Programmes Officer of AAG, said to help reduce the phenomenon, AAG and WOM had organized a number of sensitization programmes on the rights of women, held engagement meetings with some traditional leaders about the negative widowhood rites and FGM including the formation of Community Based Anti-Violence Teams to handle issues of maltreatment of widows.
She said some chiefs particularly from Bongo, Sakoti, Winkongo, Kongo, Nangodi and Vea have become advocates of negative widowhood rites and other negative cultural practices which had led to the reduction of the phenomenon. Whilst commending AAG and its partners for spearheading the crusade against negative cultural practices in the Upper East Region, there is still more left to be done.
The laws must be allowed to bite. Traditional Authorities must be encouraged to step up their efforts to curb the menace since they are the custodians of tradition and culture and command much respect in societies.
Their active involvement could help stem the tide. Rites and rituals are ceremonial expressions practised by humans to mark significant transitions in the status of individuals and groups participating within a community. Therefore, widowhood as practised in our societies is guided by rites and rituals.
Widowhood as a social transition has no problem but the devil is the manner in which it is practised in some societies. As a social fact, it is not static. It has considerably evolved in most societies given the changing circumstances. Here are some of its advantages. Traditional ending of a marital relationship.
Upon the death of a husband, a woman is perceived as someone who has to continue with her sexuality. A widowhood rite is performed with the assumption of ending a marital relationship between the deceased and the wife. Accordingly, if it is not ended, she is bond to the dead husband spiritually and this may have negative consequences on her life. So widowhood rites are performed with the belief that it would prevent the ghost or spirit of the dead husband from haunting the living spouse.
This rite confers unto her new liberties; and especially the freedom to have intercourse later in life without consequences. Preparation to resume a new status acceptable to all becoming a widow means you have lost your legitimate partner. Our societies do not have established timelines or deadlines for remarriage after the death of a partner. It is only the widowhood rite or ritual that propels a woman into another social status either lesser or greater than the former.
Understanding the benefits of such rituals to the cultural stakeholders and to those on whom the rites are performed, there is need for change to match with certain pathological emergence.
No society is isolated from the rest of the world, and given the evolution of things, negative widowhood rites should either be modified or completely wiped out. Again, though certain African widowhood rites are genuinely benefitting widows, much still has to be done to ensure or improve the health of widows in the course of the rites.
This is cruelty and a contravention of her right. This ceremony exposes a girl to extreme fitness implications. This may also stem from denial of meals which may also result in ulcers. Swallowing the saliva of the deceased character may also bring about tuberculosis and coughs.
Also setting pepper into the eyes of the widow mao bring about eye issues and implications. It is discriminatory. The exercise is unfair. Threes is an event for the relative of the deceased husband to maltreat the widow.
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