Widow cleansing: ‘Good’ intentions – negative consequences

Greetings listeners! Welcome to today’s programme on African widow cleansing traditions. Though widow cleansing is becoming a thing of the past in many places due to the high degree of HIV and AIDS awareness, it is still practised in some communities. Today we will focus on the western part of Kenya. You might hear helpful tips to help save lives from the negative consequences that are caused by this practice. Our guest speaker Mr. Ogola will guide us in our exploration of this issue. Please stay tuned.

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Welcome listeners. Widow cleansing or sexual cleansing is a tradition in many African cultures, including some Kenyan cultures. In some cultures, a husband’s funeral normally concludes with a final ritual which involves sex between the widow and one of her husband’s relatives. This is meant to break the bond with his spirit. It is said that the practice saves her and the rest of the village from insanity or disease. Widows have long tolerated it, and traditional leaders have endorsed it as an unchallenged tradition of rural African life.

Widow cleansing dates back centuries and is rooted in the belief that a woman is haunted by spirits after her husband dies. She is also thought to be unholy and “disturbed” if she is unmarried and abstains from sex for some period of time. Another traditional belief holds that a widow who has not been cleansed can cause the whole community to be haunted. In many instances a widow must undergo this ritual before she can be inherited by her husband’s brother or other relative.

In western Kenya, the tradition of widow cleansing and inheritance is practiced by a number of communities, which not coincidentally also have the highest rate of HIV infection in the country. For example, in 2000 the HIV-prevalence rate in Nyanza province, where widow cleansing and inheritance are more commonly practiced, was 22 percent, compared to a national HIV-infection rate of 13 percent. Despite the risks, the tradition of widow cleansing and wife inheritance continues because most widows believe they have no alternative. If they refuse, they risk rejection by their families and communities.

(Short pause) Widow cleansing is a custom that I strongly believe denies women their basic human rights and increases their risk of HIV infection. The widow is not only risking HIV infection. She also risks losing all her property if the man who inherits her does not really love her, but only wants to inherit the family property. It is not only widow cleansing that promotes the spread of HIV, but other customs such as polygamy, exchanging a wife for land or cattle and giving of dowries. These customs expose women to the risk of infection because the parties involved do not test for HIV. Women are also at risk because sexual relations are not preceded by formal equal consent.

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Welcome back listeners. The crisis of HIV and AIDS is now forcing people to think more deeply about widow cleansing and other cultural practices. These traditional sexual practices may treat girls and women as if they had less human dignity than men. I am pleased that political and tribal leaders are starting to speak out publicly against sexual cleansing, condemning it as one way in which HIV has spread. They are now starting to understand that women, like men, need peace of mind and the right to determine their future. Women also need equal access to land and other national resources, including employment.

Some people are beginning to understand that what is killing women is not that they are ignorant, but that they have continued to remain faithful to their husbands and the entire community. While men may be promiscuous even within marriage, women are expected to remain faithful. Hopefully, listeners, we are beginning to learn something about respecting women’s rights. Hopefully, we are learning that, when we give women equal opportunities just like men, families, communities and the whole country benefit. Women’s rights should not be misunderstood as leading to family breakdown. Instead, they should be established as a way to help two lovers to share ideas and plans to build a strong family and together grow wiser and stronger. Thank you.

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We have heard much from Mr. Ogola. We have heard what widow cleansing is and how it is done. We have learned that widow cleansing is not only practised in some cultures in Kenya, but in other African countries. We have also heard some of the negative consequences of the practice. I do hope that Mr. Ogola’s words will help us to save our brothers and sisters from suffering. Thank you for listening and good-bye.

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