Widow-cleansing

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I read the BBC report on the plight of women in western Kenya who are fighting back against "widow-cleansing", a traditional ritual that requires women to have sex - often with strangers - when their husbands die.

I think there is little awareness of what women go through in different African communities, especially after the death of their partners. Many of these women are suppressed and rarely speak out. I think the time has come for community reorientation about the harmfulness of these practices. Many women endure and go through harsh rituals immediately after the death of their husbands, a period that they should be left to mourn in peace. Some of these practices are often hidden behind patriarchy but covered as traditional practices. I have had the privilege of listening to some of these widows, who gave a harrowing account of what they have been through. They get accused of killing their husbands and of appropriating their husbands material wealth. Apart from the calumny, they get to go through demeaning rituals such as bathing with the water used in washing the deceased, sleeping in the same room as the deceased for several days, taking an oath to swear that they had no hand in killing their husbands, sleeping with strangers for cleansing and being handed over to her husband's brothers as wife.

The rich and educated are not immune nor can they circumvent some of the demeaning practices. The only difference is that they have the resources to fight. I am glad that the women are fighting back. Change can only come from within the community.

More information can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-41999891/kenya-widows-fight-sexual-cleansing-practise