She Lost her Husband and Her Home: Exploring a Rights-based Approach to Addressing Widowhood Disinheritance Amongst the Igbo of Nigeria

Abstract

Widowhood disinheritance is a human rights abuse that plagues women of various ages and socio-economic levels across Nigeria. Denial of inheritance rights, forced evictions and matrimonial property-looting is particularly rampant amongst the Igbo people in the South-Eastern region of Nigeria; of which this thesis is centred. This practice occurs in an environment where widows are discriminated against, through harsh and sometimes degrading mourning rituals. This is in turn linked to the general subordinate status of women in Nigeria. The government’s lack of priority in implementing the human rights treaty that directly addresses sex-based discrimination – the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 29 years after ratifying it has allowed sex-based discrimination to persist in certain key areas. The government has failed in its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of widows in Igboland, under the guise of “not wanting to interfere in culture”. Some states have enacted laws specifically outlawing the maltreatment of widows and prohibit forced evictions and property-seizure. There have been strides made in some areas with the severity of burial rituals on the decline. However, the laws fall short of eliminating all forms of discrimination faced widows by leaving discriminatory inheritance practices un-touched. This thesis will argue that a rights-based approach is a helpful way to address widowhood disinheritance. This framework is robust because it is predicated upon fundamental human rights principles which include equality and nondiscrimination. Nigeria is party to all the core international human rights treaties, including CEDAW, the key women’s human rights document. As such Nigeria indicates its willingness to be bound by international law to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all people living within its borders. Therefore a framework grounded on CEDAW is useful in understanding the issue and proffering solutions to providing long-term progress in the elimination of this human rights abuse.