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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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We are strangers in our homes
— older widows and property inheritance among the Esan of South-South Nigeria | | Author(s) | Friday Asiazobor Eboiyehi, Akanni Ibukun Akinyemi |
| Journal title | International Journal on Ageing in Developing Countries, vol 1, no 2, 2016 |
| Publisher | International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta), 2016 |
| Pages | pp 90-112 |
| Source | https://www.inia.org.mt |
| Keywords | Widows ; Rights [elderly] ; Assets [elderly] ; Legacies ; Qualitative Studies ; Nigeria. |
| Annotation | The study examined the plight of older widows as it relates to property inheritance among the Esan of South-South Nigeria. The aim was to identify the challenges associated with bereavement among widows, particularly on property and assets bequeathed from their late spouse and the strategies they employed to cope with the identified challenges. The study was conducted with the aim of raising discourses regarding social-cultural issues affecting widows' survival. Data were purposively collected from respondents in two local government areas - namely, Esan Central and Esan West - with the aid of questionnaires and in-depth interviews. In all, 200 questionnaires were administered, of which 180 (90.0 per cent) were retrieved and analysed. Moreover, 36 in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected older widows with certain peculiarities. About 33 per cent of the widows suffered eviction from a late husband's house, while others suffered partial denial from inheritances. Arising from these, the consequences of negative cultural practices are illustrated by loneliness (16.7 per cent), poor access to basic healthcare (15.5 per cent), constant illness (11.5 per cent) and poverty (6.6 per cent). Other challenges identified include psychological trauma (5.6 per cent), poor nutrition (5.6 per cent), abandonment (3.9 per cent) and loneliness (1.7 per cent). The study concludes that socio-cultural practices attributed to inheritance among widows escalates their predicaments among the Esan people. Government and other relevant agencies and organisations must act to alleviate the infringement of fundamental human rights of this population through the instruments of social institutions and the legal framework. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-180525205 A |
| Classmark | SP: IKR: JD: QE7: 3DP: 7MT |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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