10 Challenges Faced by Widows Around the World

A woman can become a widow at any age. Among 258 million widows around the world, more than 1.36 million are estimated to be child widows. This is the part of the world’s population that is considered to be most vulnerable. In this article, you will learn about the challenges that they face in their daily lives.

Widows might live in different parts of the world but the difficulties and pain remain the same. The sad part is that many governmental agencies don’t prioritize their challenges and sufferings. Their needs are ignored and they remain vulnerable in many aspects of their lives.

The loss of a loved one causes extreme emotional distress for one who suffers it. Reaction to the loss of a husband or a wife is determined by a particular culture and society. 

Each society has a different set of cultural patterns and norms that a widow must follow during the period of widowhood. The loss of a spouse makes a woman more vulnerable and she faces humiliation and isolation not only in the family but also in society. 

10 Challenges Faced by Widows

Though the trauma of a life partner’s death is equal and it seems to affect women more than men. Moreover, a woman is kept responsible for the death of her husband. On the contrary, a man is sympathized and an immediate substitute is offered to comfort him. 

Millions of widows living in African and Asian countries face violence and anarchy in their daily lives. Each day they struggle and fight against a never-ending battle for their survival. 

As an individual, these widows face triple restrictions and burdens in society. 

• Firstly, they have low status in society as a woman
• Secondly, they are tagged with the status of widowhood
• Thirdly, they are poor and less empowered economically. 

For centuries, widows have borne prejudice and injustice throughout their lives, and several widows still face similar situations in their daily lives.

1. Economic Support

Women facing widowhood are exposed to poverty and experience more economic vulnerability. They are deprived of their husband’s property by their in-laws and they often lose their homes and other assets. 

In these circumstances, widows with children or alone, have few options such as to go to their natal family or to get support from relatives. Loss of home for a widow is a loss of security for her and her children. 

However, widows with strong socio-economic and educational status are more empowered and are likely to successfully fight back. Though widows don’t enjoy their right of inheritance, there are only a number of developing countries such as Pakistan that have a national policy that provides financial support to widows. 

2. Restriction in Mobility 

In patriarchal societies, women are dependent on men. In such societies when a woman enters widowhood she faces challenges in every aspect of her life. She looks upon others to fulfill her necessities like food, health, and shelter. 

The death of a husband imposes many restrictions on a widow. She holds limited freedom regarding her decision-making to earn money or to get remarried. Her mobility is limited and she is not allowed to take advantage of any socioeconomic opportunity.

3. Limited Social Life

One important aspect of women’s empowerment is social empowerment. An individual is socially empowered when he or she has the freedom to make decisions that impact their lives. 

Losing a husband lowers the social status of a woman, she faces social isolation and has to follow social restrictions because of inadequate social protection. Widows with low social status are not empowered enough to make life decisions.

When widows face social isolation and are restricted to their homes then they are unable to increase their social networks. Limited social mobility and low social circles lead them to limited socioeconomic opportunities. Making their lives more vulnerable. 

4. Threat of Harassment

Widows prefer to do jobs that offer them less money and give them a sense of safety. 

A widow might hesitate to explore new or alternative economic opportunities to avoid any kind of sexual harassment.

The reason is that they often face harassment in their lives. Once their marital status is exposed they become vulnerable to harassment attempts. This is another challenge they face that lowers their economic status.

5. Customary Laws

Widows are expected to follow strict cultural patterns such as they are not encouraged to wear jewelry, colorful dresses, and bangles. To some extent, they are invisible in religious and socio-cultural practices.

In some parts of India, a widow was forced to burn alive on her husband’s pyre. Widows are treated poorly and they are considered a marginalized group in society. They are not allowed to participate in any religious ceremony, social functions, or celebrations such as marriages. In some cases, they are not allowed to fully participate in the marriage ceremonies of their own children. 

6. The Blame-game

Blaming widows for the death of their husbands is also common in some societies. Widows face consistent taunts from their in-laws and are kept responsible for their husband’s death.

In some communities, poor widows are also proclaimed as witches. They are considered to bring bad luck and are known as bad omens. Even young girls who become widows are considered inauspicious and they are not permitted to take part in festivals and other occasions.  

7. Dress Code

All around the world, there are no socio-cultural obligations for men to follow after becoming widowers. Whereas, life for a widow changes immediately after she loses her husband. After which she has to follow austere social beliefs and rules. 

In some parts of Europe and North America, widows wear white or black dresses, representing their period of mourning. Queen Victoria of Britain used to wear only black dress during her period of widowhood. 

Besides Europe and North America, widows living in Iran also wear black dresses after their husband’s death. Whereas in Japan, Korea, and China they wear white dresses and in India and Bangladesh they wear white sarees. Some higher castes widows in these areas even shave their heads during the period of mourning.  

8. Remarriage of Widows

The remarriage of a widow not only fulfills her sexual desires but also raises her socio-economic status. However, they face several restrictions if they wish to remarry.

Widows are normally secluded from society when they enter widowhood. In a patriarchal society, life becomes difficult for a widow without a man, especially for younger widows. 

Hence in some cases, widows often seek support by getting remarried. But social, cultural and some religious practices discourage her from getting remarried.

Learn more about Barriers to Widows Remarriage

9. Property Inheritance 

Widows living in less developed countries vastly face discrimination when it comes to land inheritance. They are deprived of their right of inheritance from their deceased husband’s property. 

A common trend is observed that giving land to widows will decrease their land and consequently families will become poorer. In some Southeast Asian countries, widows enjoy limited rights of inheritance from their deceased husband’s property, irrespective of legal rights. 

The same practices are observed in many African societies where widows cannot inherit. Moreover, they don’t make any attempt to acquire the property through legal procedure because of the fear of vengeance from their in-laws.

10. Lack of Relevant Data

In developing societies, it can be said that no group is as much ignored or affected as the group of widows. They are clearly ignored from the statistics of the country, as they are rarely mentioned in the reports on women’s poverty and development. 

Very few researches have been conducted on widows, yet many of their problems and issues are hidden. Limited data is available on widows in developing countries. Their social and economic status as well as their exact number is unknown in many developing countries.

The lack of relevant data makes them invisible. Hence they are rarely mentioned and focused in social and public policies which increases their challenges.