Oppress widows, bag 3-year jail sentence — Reps

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed for second reading, a Bill seeking to amend the Violence Against Persons Act 2015 to prohibit discrimination against widows and all forms of repressive and degrading widowhood practices in the country.

The Bill which is sponsored by Hon. Adejero Adeogun and Hon. Sergius Ogun is titled: “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 to Prohibit Discrimination against Widows and all forms of Repressive and Degrading Widowhood Practices and to make Provision for the Definition of the Offence of Image-based Sexual Abuse under the Act and make Provision for Penalty for Offence of Image-based Sexual Abuse; and for Related Matters (HBs. 1711&1804).”

The Bill, among others, proposed that “A person who attempts to inflict any harmful widowhood practice provided under subsection (1), commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of N1000,000 or both.”

It also proposed that “A person who incite, aids, abets or counsels another to commit an offence under subsection (1), commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of N1000,000 or both.”

The Bill equally proposed that “A person who receives or assists another who, to his or her knowledge has committed an offence under subsection (1), is an accessory after the fact and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not more than two years or a fine, not more than N1000,000 or both.”

In his lead debate, Hon Adeogun, said widows in several parts of the country were made to pay heavy penalties for the painful departure of husbands that they loved and shared their lives with.

He said the Bill proposed to amend six sections of the violence against persons act to make provisions to safeguard widows from violent and evil customary practices, denial of property rights, rape, forced marriages and all other dehumanizing acts that undermine the dignity of the widow.

“Widowhood is not by choice. Widows are victims of the inevitability of death. So why does our society criminalize the unfortunate incident of widowhood? Why are widows denied the right to mourn in peace? Why is the trauma of their loss met with more trauma rather than solace?” he said.

He said the Bill if passed into law would be recorded in history as one of the most important legislation passed by the 9th assembly, adding, “We would have succeeded in metaphorically giving to the widows in our nation what could be described as our ‘widows mite’.