Widowhood practices and impacts on women in Sub-Saharan Africa: An empowerment perspective

Abstract

Widowhood practices in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been detrimental to women’s general well-being and as such considered a serious social problem. Across different cultures and traditions in SSA, widows are subject to a wide range of plights and reprehensible oppression following the death of a spouse. Many widows face various forms of discrimination, stigmatization, oppression, and deprivation and thus suffer deplorable abuse and powerlessness. While widowhood issues in SSA have recently gained international attention in empirical research, there exists only a paucity of research from a theoretical perspective. This article examines widowhood practices in SSA and their impacts on widows’ well-being, including their mental health, through the lens of empowerment theoretical perspective. The article concludes that empowerment theory has the capacity to lift widows out of the shadows and enable them to proactively take more control of their lives and situations.