Our good people of Rivers State, greetings and welcome to another episode of Rivethics on Radio, our character-building weekend show. Please remember that everyone smiles in the same language and there is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. This episode is in commemoration of the International Widows’ Day today, June the 23rd.
International Widows Day is a global awareness day that takes place annually on 23rd June. The day was launched by the United Nations in 2010 to raise awareness of the violation of human rights that widows suffer in many countries following the death of their spouses.
In many countries with traditional societies, women find themselves left in poverty when the husband dies. In some cultures in Nigeria, these women find themselves denied of inheritance and land rights, evicted from their homes, ostracised and abused. The children of widows also often find themselves affected, withdrawn from school and exposed to abuse, especially in the case of girls.
International Widows Day is a day to encourage action in achieving full rights for widows, highlighting the need for more research and statistics into violence, discrimination and poverty suffered by widows and develop policies and programmes to address the problem. The ultimate goal of the day is to develop resources and policy to empower widows and allow them to have access to education, work, healthcare and lives free of violence and abuse, thereby enabling them to create a life for themselves and their children following the death of the husband and ending a cycle of poverty and abuse.
Unfortunately, widows and the deprivation they face have been invisible to the public and policy makers. Collectively, and through no fault of their own, widows have little hope of reversing a life of ever diminishing options. Yet there is very little concerted or organized effort to end their sad plight. There is very little data and information available for policy makers to work with. Notwithstanding, some global statistics on widows show the following:
Over 258 million widows worldwide …with 585 million dependent children …and 38 million of these widows live in extreme poverty.
Let us listen to our guest speaker as she tells us more about this important topic. She is Mrs. Oluwakemi Jesusanlu, a business strategist and advocate on Widows’ rights.
Our good people of Rivers State, please remember to always let your manners speak for you.
God bless and keep you and your families and God bless Rivers State.
From Her Excellency,
Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike,
The Wife of His Excellency,
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON. GSSRS. POS (Africa)
The Governor of Rivers State
You can also listen to and download the Pidgin English version of this Episode below