According to a news report from Vanguard, the Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Gloria Okoduwa, and Kwara State First Lady, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, have raised concerns about the deteriorating conditions of many widows in Nigeria and the urgent need for them to live better lives.

The duo spoke on Saturday in Ilorin, Kwara State, at this year’s World Widows Day organised by the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity). They attributed the plight of widows to cultural and traditional practices in some parts of the country that deny widows their rights.

Speaking on the theme “Widows and Window of Opportunities,” Okoduwa observed that most women face numerous problems in Nigeria after losing their husbands due to cultural and social practices.

Okoduwa who said she lost her father when she was in the Junior Secondary School said, “Most women are stripped naked and face a lot of discrimination in inheritance because of Cultural practices as a result of the death of their husbands.

“In some part of Nigeria, parents and first male child in a polygamous family inherit their children property leaving other children of the deceased to suffer.”

FIDA chairperson who said that Nigeria has many laws including the 1999 Constitution on the protection of Widows however said that the implementation of the laws was very weak.

“Despite these legal protections, widows in Nigeria often face challenges in accessing their rights due to cultural and societal norms, lack of awareness of existing laws, and sometimes, inadequate enforcement of the laws.

“Though,there are laws protecting widows but implementation was weak. Many windows don’t know their rights.The constitution guarantees Nigerians including widows. Widows and Children should be protected.

According to her, concerted efforts should be made to enforce the widows right adding that “efforts to improve widows’ rights in Nigeria require a multi-faceted approach that addresses legal, cultural, economic, and social factors.

“This involves not only reforming laws and policies but also challenging harmful cultural norms and providing support and empowerment opportunities for widows themselves.

“Efforts to improve the legal framework and raise awareness about widows’ rights are ongoing in Nigeria.

Importantly, affected widows should be willing and ready to ventilate their grievance and not be held back by lack of funds or invisible cultural strings which are tools employed to handicap women in the pursuit of their rights.

“It is note worthy to state that there are lots of NGOs and Foundations whose existence are meant solely for the pursuit of the rights of these women at no cost at all, if and only if they are willing to explore same.

In order to benefit from the array of opportunities available to widows in Nigeria. Widows should be courageous and not lose hope

For her part,Kwara first lady, Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, described the event as a task that must be jointly pursued to create awareness in protecting the rights and plights of Widows and possibly for our views to be accorded legal recognition through state’s bye-laws and edicts.

AbdulRazaq who was represented by Kwara State Women Affairs Commissioner, Mrs Afolasade Oluwakemi urged all to “jointly pursue as to create awareness in protecting their rights and plights and possibly for our views to be accorded legal recognition through states bye-laws and edits :Nigeria being a federal system.

“With a clear consent, the state government has inculcated Varieties of widow packages in its programs and projects while some are already ongoing and non stopping God grace.

“The empowerment programmes in cash and kind for widows and less privileged people inclusive”, she said.

In his welcome speech, NAS Steerer, Kwara State, Gbolahan Balogun, called for collective responsibility and concrete actions towards making a positive difference in the lives of widows.

No fewer than 50 Widows were given cash support at the event.