World Widows Day: Improve widows’ rights in Nigeria – Chairperson FIDA, Okeduwa

Women lawyers in Kwara State have called for efforts to improve widows’ rights in Nigeria.

Gloria Okeduwa, the FIDA Chairperson, said the rights of widows 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,” she stated.

Delivering a lecture on Saturday, titled “Protecting Widows’ Rights in Nigeria,” on World Widows’ Day, at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Ilorin organized by the National Association of Seadogs, (Pirates Confraternity), Kwara State Gloria, lamented that despite 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.”

She disclosed that efforts to improve the legal framework and raise awareness about widows’ rights are ongoing in the country, assuring that FIDA is ready to pursue widows’ rights to logical conclusions.

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“Importantly, affected widows should be willing and ready to ventilate their grievances 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.”

Declaring the event open, First Lady, Ambassador Dr Olufolake Abdulrazaq, described the event as a task that must be jointly pursued to create awareness in protecting their rights and plights and possibly for our views to be accorded legal recognition through state’s bye-laws and edicts.

Ambassador Olufolake, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Afolashade Opeyemi Oluwakemi, said the state government had inculcated varieties of widow packages in its programmes and projects while some are already ongoing.

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.