WIDOWS IN THE NORTH EAST
The Boko Haram insurgency which started in 2009 in Maiduguri, Borno State has brought about hardships to north eastern Nigeria. Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group had alleged links to al-Qaeda but in March 2015, it announced its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Leviant (ISIL). Since the current insurgency, it has killed about 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million people from their homes and was ranked the world’s deadliest terror group by the global terrorism index in 2015.
Boko Haram’s increasing radicalisation led to a violent uprising in July 2009 in which its leader was summarily executed. Its unexpected resurgence was observed following a mass prison break in September 2010 which was accompanied by increasingly sophisticated attacks, initially against soft targets, and progressing in 2011 to include suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja.
Of the 2.3 million people displaced, at least 250,000 have left Nigeria and fled to neighbouring countries like Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The group has carried out mass abductions including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014.
Corruption in the security services and human rights abuses committed by them has hampered efforts to counter the unrest.
The name “Boko Haram” is translated as “western education is forbidden”. The group has successfully lured uncountable young men into abandoning their education and fleeing from their homes to committing abominable act all in the name of religion.
The conflict in north eastern Nigeria has left thousands of women widowed. Lacking a formal education, many have been reduced to begging and are unable to feed their children. For example, in Maiduguri where Islam is the main religion, men are expected to provide for their wives and losing a husband could mean having no income. Widows remain amongst the most vulnerable members of the society. It is estimated that the number of widows around the world is the region of 245 million, of which 115 million live in poverty. War has other economic and social implications especially when husbands are declared missing. The widows’ right to inherit or receive a pension is affected as wives cannot prove their husbands’ death. Widows suffer from traditional practices, they face discrimination across the globe. In Borno State, more than 7,000 women have lost their husbands to the conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army.
The majority of these widows are aged between 25 and 35 years, with little or no prospect of remarrying. Almost half of them had only primary education and earn very low income with a large number of children.