The wife of the Abia State Governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu, has solicited an increased global action to address the increasing numbers of women who are widowed as a result of communal clashes, religious intolerance, terrorism and even natural causes.
She disclosed this in her message to mark this year’s International Widows Day.
Mrs Ikpeazu said the challenges confronting widows have become a universal issue and that interventions by communities, social groups, and governments have not been adequate.
She said there is a need for collaborations between government, nongovernmental agencies and international groups to develop specifically new programmes targeted at widows.
The First Lady pointed out that one of the reasons behind the growing poverty index worldwide is that at the death of their spouses, widows are often denied basic access to normal lives such as means of livelihood and property, while their children become neglected, and drop out of school.
She called for stronger enforcement of laws to protect widows from stigma, discrimination, violence, obnoxious widowhood practices, and dispossession of property.
She commended Governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu for signing the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law passed by the Abia State House of Assembly, which provides extensive protections for widows, but however called for legislative work to be done on a stricter law, the Obnoxious Widowhood Practices Bill which is before the State House of Assembly.
