IMPACT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES ON

WIDOWHOOD PRACTICE IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Obasi, O.O.1, Ajaraogu, J.C 2. , Onuoha, P. E.2

1
Department of Social Sciences – drobasio@yahoo.co.uk

2
Department of Mathematics and Statistics – judmerogu@yahoo.com

3
Department of Mathematics and Statistics – petrinusonuoha@gmail.com

Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, PMB 1036, Owerri Imo State, Nigeria

 IMPACT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES ON WIDOWHOOD

PRACTICE IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Women in Igbo land generally experience culture - related maltreatment in the event of

the death of their husbands. The maltreatment ranges from scraping of widows’ hair to

denial of the right to see their husbands’ corpses. In this study, attempt was made to

determine the forms and prevalence of widowhood practice in the studied communities,

the effects of the socio-psychological attributes of the people on the practice and the

perceived effect of the practice on the victims. The data were collected from 64

randomly selected communities using a researcher-made-questionnaire distributed to

450 respondents across the three senatorial zones of Imo State, Nigeria. A total of 418

or 92.8 percent were filled and returned. The result of the study showed among other

things, that majority of males and females recognized the practice as dehumanizing but

at the same time, they opined that it cannot be stopped because it is rooted in culture.

However, 30.2% of the women studied did not agree that the practice is dehumanizing

to women. The study also revealed that scrapping of widows’ hair was the commonest

practice, while sleeping alone with the husband’s corpse was the least practice. On the

effect which this practice has on the widows, emotional trauma topped the list; followed

by economic hardship and health deterioration. Also shown in the study was that level

of education and religion did not have any effect on widowhood practice. With regard

to possible stoppage measures, greater number of the respondents (38%) indicated that

the collective effort of everybody was needed to curb the menace.

KEYWORDS: Widowhood Practice, Socio-Cultural Attributes, Violence, Impact

2
1. INTRODUCTION

Violence against women is a topical global problem which assumes varied forms and

intensity across cultures. It is an obvious manifestation of the domination and

relegation of women in virtually all societies since the dawn of human history.

According to Kelly (1998), as cited in Noah (2000/2001), at least one woman in every

three, around the world, has been either physically or sexually assaulted. Reflecting

this view in other words, Olanrewaju (2013) opined that “globally, 603 million

women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime”.

The pervasive nature of the problem has also been noted by other researchers who

separately implied that violence against women is a cultural prescription in several

countries of the world. (Bradley (1989); Hassan (1995); Armstrong (1998);

Blanchfield, Margesson and Seelke (2009))

Violence against women, across the globe, takes many forms, ranging from social,

economic and political to physical. It is sometimes subtle or covert, and sometimes

overt. In more specific terms, it includes, among others, sexual harassment, rape,

forced prostitution, female genital mutilation (FGM), humiliation, restrictions and girl

trafficking, forced and early marriage, forced abortion, discrimination, neglect, wife

battery, acid attack, molestation and widowhood practice. Johnson (1995) and Stanko

(1992) opined that wife abuse represents a major form of violence against women in

most societies of the world.

A Nigerian survey revealed that 81% of married women reported being verbally or

physically abused by their husbands and 46% reported being abused in the presence

of their children (Olanrewaju, 2013). In its own report, a British Council Publication

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revealed that a third of women in Nigeria reported having been subjected to some

forms of violence, including emotional and psychological abuse, marital rape, sexual

exploitation or harassment in the home. (Nigeria NGO Coalition (2008) cited by the

British Council (2012)).

Violence against women takes place in the home, in offices, schools, open spaces,

villages, urban towns, rural communities, farmlands, cars, churches, etc.

All categories of men, ranging from the old, the young, bureaucrats, the clergy,

politicians and security officers to students, have been known to be offenders, while

all categories of women, ranging from the old, children and babies to students,

hawkers and female office workers have been known to be victims.

With particular reference to Nigeria, Noah (2000/2001) revealed, in his empirical

study, that the “most prominent violence act experienced by women is physical in

nature”, and that the main reason for male assault borders on attitude.

Widowhood practice, the specific focus of this paper, is a form of violence against

women that is common in many countries of the world, and particularly in Africa.

It has become a serious problem attracting increasing concern of human right

organizations and activists, as well as that of some international organizations.

The former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, condemned all forms of

violence against women, describing them as “never acceptable, never excusable,

never tolerable” (Olanrenwaju, 2013). The adoption of the slogan “Women Rights

are Human Rights” and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against

Women by the UN General Assembly in Vienna in 1993 manifestly demonstrate the

4
global condemnation and unacceptability of all forms of violence against women,

including widowhood practice.

Nigeria, like many other countries in Africa and the world, is associated with many

harmful traditional practices (HTPs) against women. These include denial of

inheritance, social relegation, denial of educational opportunities, economic

exploitation and marginalization, female genital mutilation (FGM), child and forced

marriage and widowhood practice.

This study isolates widowhood practice for a closer study. As noted by Obasi,

Ajaraogu and Onuoha (2015), the practice is an “overt expression of the age-long

discrimination and violence against women in Nigeria, in general, and Igbo

communities in Southeastern Nigeria in particular”. The practice is rooted in culture

and subjects widows to all forms of physical torture, social humiliation, psychological

trauma and economic hardship. Indeed, it is a cultural practice with grave negative

health, social and economic implications on women in the practicing communities.

The persistent and malignant nature of the practice in the area under study,

irrespective of increasing educational consciousness, pervasive christianity and the

fact that little or no empirical research work on the problem has been carried out in

the area necessitated this study in the selected communities in Imo State of Nigeria.

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Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of the study is to investigate the socio-psychological factors

affecting the practice in the selected communities.

The specific objectives include to:

1. Examine the socio-cultural profile of the target population

2. Ascertain the forms of widowhood practice in the communities.

3. Determine the effect of socio-psychological attributes of the people on the

practice.

4. Determine the people’s view on the origin of, and strategies for stopping

the practice.

5. Ascertain the perceive effect of the practice on the victims.

6. Recommend, based on the findings, measures to mitigate the practice and

enhance the status and social well-being of widows in the communities.

Significance of the Study

The study is of both practical and academic significance

(i) Practical significance: The study provides research-based facts and data

that will enhance understanding of the problem and assist relevant

government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, social workers

and other individuals and groups concerned with the problem to deal more

effectively with it. By implication, the study will ultimately enhance the

status of widows and womanhood in the communities.

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 (ii) Academic Significance: As the product of an intellectual and empirical

work, the study has not only generated new facts, but is also an addition to

the existing volume of literature on the subject. Thus, it constitutes a

reference material for libraries and scholars or other researchers who share

common research interest with the study.

2. METHODOLOGY

2.1. Area of Study

Imo State is the target state of the study. It is one of the thirty-six states of the

Nigerian Federation and also of the five states making up the Southeastern geo-

political zone of the country. The five states are home to the Igbo ethnic group of

Nigeria. Created in 1976, Imo State consists of 27 Local Government Areas

politically structured into three senatorial zones, namely, Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri.

Imo state is one of the states with high educational profile. The capital, Owerri, has

four tertiary institutions comprising universities, polytechnics and a college of

education. Imo communities are predominantly agrarian, with a rich and wide variety

of culture. The communities under study are among those that are deep in the practice

of widowhood. Christianity is the dominant religion, with its various denominations

practiced, in varied degrees, in all the communities.

2.2. Data and Analytical Techniquesh

Data for the study were generated from Researchers’-Made Questionnaire (RMQ)

distributed to sixty- four randomly selected urban and rural communities out of six

hundred and thirty-seven autonomous communities in Imo State, Nigeria. A total of

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four hundred and fifty (450) copies of the questionnaire were distributed across the

three senatorial zones of the State, out of which four hundred and eighteen (418) or

92.8% were filled and returned. The questionnaire were designed to elicit information

from the respondents on some demographic and social-cultural attributes such as

gender, educational qualification, religion, occupation, residence and income which,

as revealed in literature and speculation, affect widowhood practice.

The questionnaire were validated by experienced researchers in our institution.

A two-stage stratified random sampling technique was employed, where the first stage

was “Local Government Areas” (three “Local Governments Areas” from each of the

three senatorial zones were randomly selected); and “communities” the second stage.

The sixty- four autonomous communities studied constituted approximately 10% of

the 637 autonomous communities in the State. The autonomous communities were

randomly selected based on the proportion of autonomous communities in the

affected Local Government Areas. The respondents were adults aged 20years and

above.

To ensure data accuracy, quality and reliability, enumerators, who were Higher

National Diploma students in Statistics with experience in field surveys, were

employed as research assistants. The research assistants were trained and sent to their

communities. The sample size was calculated using the estimated proportion approach

Kothari (2004), since the total population of adults aged 20 and above in the three

senatorial zones was not known. However, we made use of the proportion of adults

from the 2006 Nigerian census as shown in Annual Abstract of Statistics (2012), to

calculate the sample size using the formula:

8
Where;

n = sample size

Z = value of standard variate corresponding to level of significance, α

e = acceptance error in a given situation.

p = estimated proportion or incidence of cases in the population.

Using the above formula with α = 10%, e = 0.0385 and p = 0.475, we

obtained n = 450

Considering the facts that the data were frequency (categorical) data and that the

subject of study bordered on socio-psychological attributes, simple averages and

Likert scale were adopted in the analysis.

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3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1. Socio-economic characteristics of Respondents

The socio-cultural characteristics of the respondents are summarized in Table 1.

Table1: Distribution of respondents by socio-cultural characteristics

Characteristic Urban Rural Total

Education Level
None 5 28 33(8.2%)
Primary 27 45 72(17.8%)
Secondary 57 69 126(31.2%)
Tertiary 90 83 173(42.8%)
404
Occupation
Farming 17 47 64(16.2%)
Public Servant 71 80 151(38.3%)
Trading 72 73 145(36.8%)
Politics 7 1 8(2.0%)
Church Services 4 7 11(2.8%)
Others 8 7 15(3.8%)
394
Marital Status
Single 27 15 42(10.2%)
Married 113 173 286(69.2%)
Widow 31 34 65(15.7%)
Widower 11 8 19(4.6%)
Divorced 1 0 1(0.24%)
413
Religion
Christianity 177 223 400(95.7%)
Islam 2 2 4(1.0%)
Traditional 2 2 4(1.0%)
Others 1 1 10(2.3%)
418

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Of the 418 respondents, 43.3% were males and 56.7% females. There were 55.7 rural

residents and 44.3 urban residents. These figures reflect the disparity in population

between males and females as well as between rural and urban communities.

In terms of educational attainment, 8.2% of the respondents had no formal education,

17.8% had primary education, 31.2% secondary education while 42.8% had post-

secondary education. The data on education reveal the high educational profile of the

state, which is said to have education as its “major industry”. Public service and

trading constituted major occupations of the respondents. The data also reveal that the

respondents were predominantly married people, while Christianity was the most

professed religion.

3.2. Forms and Prevalence of Widowhood Practice

Twenty forms of widowhood practice identified in the selected communities in Imo

State, Nigeria and their relative numbers of respondents that identified with them are

shown in Table 2. According to Table 2, “scrapping of widows hairs” (95.5%) is the

commonest widowhood practice. This is followed by “dressing in white or black for a

period of time” (92.3%) and “house confinement for a period” (58.4%). The least

practice is “sleeping alone with the husband’s corpse” (7.2%). This finding cuts

across the urban and rural residences.

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3.3. Perceived Effects of Widowhood Practice on the Victims

The responses on the effect of widowhood practice on the widows showed that in both

urban and rural residences, “emotional trauma” ranked highest, followed by

“economic hardship and health deterioration”. In addition, 63.6% of respondents

agreed that the practice dehumanizes women. However, 30.2% of the women studied

did not agree that the practice was dehumanizing. The implication of this finding is

the agreement by majority of the people that this practice adversely affects the

emotional, mental, psychological and physical well-being of the victims.

3.4. People’s View on the Origin.

Seventy- two percent of the respondents agreed that the practice is a cultural heritage.

This finding reinforces the finding in Table 3(a) which reveals the popular view

among the people that the practice is an essential aspect of their culture.

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 Table 2: Distribution of Respondents by Indicated Widowhood Practice and
Place of Residence.
Widowhood Practice Urban Rural Total %
Scrapping of the widow’s hair 221 178 399 95.5
Dressing in black/white attire for a period of time 220 166 386 92.3
House confinement for a period of time 121 113 244 58.4
No inheritance of the husband’s property 30 19 49 11.7
No bathing for a period of time 21 35 56 13.4
Sleeping on the floor with/without any mat or cloth 19 28 47 11.2
The widow being fed by another person for some time 26 15 41 9.8
The widow being fed with broken plates or pots 24 26 50 12.0
She must weep every night for her husband 48 39 87 20.8
She must not bathe from the time of her husband’s death till his burial 20 21 41 9.8
She must not change cloth from the time of her husband’s death till his burial 45 59 104 24.8
She must not go out of the room unless she wants to ease herself 84 75 159 38.0
She is denied the right to good and healthy food throughout the period 19 24 43 10.3
Payment of fine in cash or kind 27 54 81 19.4
Swearing of oath of innocence over dead husband 48 47 95 22.7
Eating of kola-nut or food placed on the husband’s corpse 27 19 46 11.0
Sleeping alone with the husband’s corpse 16 14 30 7.2
Forceful ejection from matrimonial home 14 22 36 8.6
Denial of right to see the husband’s corpse 19 18 37 8.8
Compulsory remarriage to husband’s brother or relation 25 20 45 10.8

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3.5. Effects of Socio-Psychological Attributes of the People on their Attitude

towards Widowhood Practice

Using a five (5) point Likert scale, we analyzed four statements in the

questionnaire drawn to reflect favourable and unfavourable attitude towards

widowhood practice. The responses ranged from Strongly Agree (SA) to Strongly

Disagree (SD). For positive statements, the score ranged from 4 for Strongly

Agree(SA) to 1 for Strongly Disagree(SD); and for negative statements,1 for Strongly

Agree(SA) to 4 for Strongly Disagree(SD) . Undecided is assigned zero.

To determine how gender affects attitude towards widowhood practice, we used

the upper limit of the median of the scores (1, 2, 3 and 4); this gives 2.55. A mean

score below 2.55 suggests rejection of statement while mean score greater than 2.55

suggests support of statement. Table 3 illustrates the results:

Table 3(a) shows that both males and females had attitude scores greater than

2.55. The implication is that males and females in the study accepted widowhood

practice as an important aspect of Igbo culture. The grand mean score of 3.08 also

confirms support for the statement.

In Table 3(b), the attitude score for both genders is less than 2.55.

This indicates that greater number of males and females in the study did not favour

extending widowhood practice to widowers. In particular, the grand mean score of

2.125 suggests a total rejection of the idea. This still supports the cultural influence,

since the extension of the practice to widowers is not cultural.

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Table 3: Distribution of Respondents’ by gender and by responses to

Widowhood related statements.

(a) Widowhood practice is an essential aspect of culture in Igbo land

Decision Male Female Total
Strongly Agree 70 90 160
Agree 88 107 195
Disagree 13 17 30
Strongly Disagree 9 21 30
Undecided 2 1 3
Total 182 236 418
Mean score 3.18 3.12 3.08
(b) Experience of widows should be extended also to widowers
Decision Male Female Total
Strongly Agree 34 77 111
Agree 51 98 149
Disagree 57 41 98
Strongly Disagree 36 15 51
Undecided 4 5 9
Total 182 236 418
Mean score 2.48 1.93 2.15
(c) Widowhood practice dehumanizes the woman
Decision Male Female Total
Strongly Agree 37 53 90
Agree 69 107 176
Disagree 53 56 109
Strongly Disagree 19 15 34
Undecided 5 4 9
Total 183 235 418
Mean score 2.62 2.81 2.73
(d) Widowhood practice can be stopped in Igbo land
Decision Male Female Total
Strongly Agree 42 61 103
Agree 45 64 109
Disagree 51 60 111
Strongly Disagree 41 47 88
Undecided 3 4 7
Total 182 236 418
Mean score 2.18 2.55 2.51

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As shown in Table 3(c), the attitude score for males, females and overall score is

greater than 2.55. This implies that both gender agree that the practice is

dehumanizing to widows and womanhood.

The result in Table 3(d) indicates that the attitude scores for males and overall

score are less than 2.55. The attitude score for the females is exactly 2.55.

The implication of these results is that stopping the practice in Igbo land is perceived

by both gender, and more especially by the males, as an impossibility. This however

cannot be unconnected with the fact that in Igbo land, strong attachment is given to

culture.

On stoppage strategies, 38% of the respondents indicated the need for collective

efforts of everybody; while 23.2% of them felt that collective efforts of only women

was needed to curb the menace. Education and legislation as possible deterrents had

least responses of 17% each.

4. CONCLUSION

The result of this study reveals that, contrary to expectation, education and legislation

do not have meaningful mitigating effect on the practice and that stoppage of the

practice necessitates the collective and concerted efforts of all and sundry.

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