The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for WR-PRACTICE-2

March 15, 2024, 2:30 p.m.
Countries: Gabon
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"The assistance programme provides for access to health care (National Health Insurance and Social Protection Fund), microcredits for income-generating activities (National Fund for Social Action), food aid, assistance to girl mothers and assistance for widows" (24).
Feb. 20, 2024, 6:27 p.m.
Countries: D R Congo
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Women, including widows, do not have equal access to inheritance, owing to persistent discriminatory customary practices that exclude women and girls from the inheritance of land and other family property" (17).
Jan. 29, 2024, 6:01 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"The discrimination faced by her recently widowed mother within the community was all-pervasive; she was denied the right to participate in wedding rituals, baby showers, and other auspicious occasions. She had to remain hidden from society’s gaze, thanks to the age-old Hindu belief that a widow was a source of shame for the family and if even her shadow fell anywhere, it would be considered an inauspicious sign. Inside the home, the expectations from her mother were to be a 'good daughter' and the 'perfect mother' – there was no life to be lived beyond these roles imposed by society" (para 2). "'When my mother reached my current age –...more
Nov. 6, 2023, 11:49 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Special care has been given to older women who are poor, widowed or live alone" (13).
Aug. 8, 2023, 12:20 p.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"It should be noted that the legal regime applying to family allowances provided for in article 21 of the Social Security Code is different from that provided for in article 87 of the Code, which governs pensions allocated to the dependants of a worker who has died as a result of a work accident, and not retirement pensions as indicated in the recommendation." (22). "As regards article 87 of the aforementioned Code governing pensions for the beneficiaries of workers who die as a result of an accident at work, the children or descendants of the victim are indeed provided for among the beneficiaries in the event of the death of...more
March 16, 2023, 1:20 a.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

“The severity of the constraints appears to be related to the age of the entrepreneurs, location of the companies, and the sector. The survey shows that more of the women entrepreneurs older than 40 years of age have fewer problems in the start-up phase compared to younger entrepreneurs. This may be in part because of their greater experience and access to personal networks. Younger entrepreneurs (those under 40 years of age) have more difficulties than older women in financing their businesses: lack of capital for investments is a problem for 14 per cent of younger women and only 9 per cent of older women, and the limited access to working...more
Feb. 4, 2023, 6:14 p.m.
Countries: Namibia
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"There have been numerous cases in Namibia where violence between intimate partners ends with the murder of one of them, sometimes followed by the suicide of the abuser. Such murders arise from jealousy or revenge, or a refusal on the part of the abuser to accept the end of a sexual relationship. Apart from intimate partner violence; different forms of violence are committed against women and girls including domestic violence, rape and other forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment at work and school, some forms of trafficking in persons, forced prostitution, child marriages and some certain harmful traditional practices such as widow deprived of the property she shared with her...more
Dec. 19, 2022, 12:12 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Inside the [UN World Food Programme] distribution centre, 100 or so women, many of them widows, waited for their turn" (para 10). "Nazifa, a 40-year-old widow living in a house with three other families, said she was so desperate for money that she had considered selling her kidneys on the black market" (para 12). Widows usually end up not having a source of income (MV-coder comment).
Dec. 19, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

“...[W]omen were more often widowed and tended to have somewhat higher education as measured by the prevalence of high-school or college/university academic degrees” (3).
Dec. 9, 2022, 2:38 p.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Within months of the death of her husband in 2014, Doreen Kajuju Kimathi, from Meru, eastern Kenya, was told that his bank accounts had been frozen, and she had been forced out of her home by her in-laws.The pregnant 37-year-old was left with no resources to fight back, and returned to her parents’ home. 'It was traumatising, and I went into depression for five years,' says Kimathi (para 1-2). "For young widows…it can be even harder to hold on to marital property. 'You're considered less entitled to it because you're expected to remarry,' … says [Doreen Kajuju Kimathi] (para 7). " 'Being a widow in Kenya is financially and socially...more
Oct. 21, 2022, 6:23 p.m.
Countries: Cote D'Ivoire
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"…[W]omen in Côte d’Ivoire are 20 percentage points more likely than men to express concern about being kicked off their property following divorce, and 35 percentage points more likely in the event of widowhood—a scenario that could occur more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic (2)."
Sept. 29, 2022, 9:31 p.m.
Countries: Burkina Faso
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2, IAW-PRACTICE-1

"In the Centre-Est and Nord Regions, primarily in rural areas, self-proclaimed traditional healers performed rituals in which participants denounced others as 'witches' whom they held responsible for their misfortune. Those accused, often elderly women, and less frequently men, were sometimes tied up, humiliated, beaten, brutalized, banned from their villages, or killed. Widows were disproportionately accused of witchcraft by male relatives, who then claimed their land and other inheritance. The law, which was seldom enforced, makes the conviction of physical or moral abuse of women or girls accused of witchcraft punishable by one to five years in prison, a substantial monetary fine, or both" (25-26).
July 1, 2022, 11:06 a.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"The government in cooperation with the Foundation for the Empowerment of Women Headed Household/Yayasan Pemberdayaan Perempuan Kepala Keluarga (Pekka), has implemented programs to assist women who’ve lost their spouses due to the conflict in Aceh. Currently, the program has been established in 10 districts focusing on providing training, information sharing and discussions on issues such as empowerment of women, family economics, law and child marriage" (21).
March 25, 2022, 10:05 p.m.
Countries: Kosovo
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2, CUST-LAW-1

"In rare instances Kosovo-Albanian widows, particularly in rural areas, risked losing custody of their children due to a custom requiring children and property to pass to the deceased father’s family while the widow returned to her birth family" (24).
Feb. 5, 2022, 9:24 a.m.
Countries: Mozambique
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"The practice of 'purification,' whereby a widow is obligated to have unprotected sex with a member of her deceased husband’s family, occurred, particularly in rural areas, despite campaigns against it" (15). "...Reports continued of many women expelled from their homes and abandoned by their husbands and relatives because they were HIV-positive. Family or community members accused some women widowed by HIV/AIDS of being witches who purposely killed their husbands to acquire belongings; as retribution, they deprived the women of all possessions" (20).
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Society has no particular view on widows. In some cases the deceaseds' brother will marry the widow after 4 months and ten days. In Somalia its called "dumal." This is practiced in some parts of the country to protect the children and the woman per Somali custom. A widowed woman would usually receive protection from her husband's clan especially if she has kids for the deceased husband" (1).
Sept. 5, 2021, 4:12 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"President Goodluck Jonathan, this afternoon, passed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill into law. The new law prohibits female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices. It prohibits abandonment of spouse, children and other dependents without sustenance, battery and harmful traditional practices" (para 1). This indicates that there is a negative treatment of widows in society traditionally (CAT - CODER COMMENT).
Aug. 3, 2021, 12:21 p.m.
Countries: Nigeria
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Following his burial in southern Nigeria, Rose says she was forced by her in-laws to undergo a series of rituals that included shaving her head, pubic hair, and stripping near her husband's grave. When she initially refused, Rose says they told her that she and her children would be banished from the local community in Delta State, where her husband was to be buried. 'I never wanted to go through that process, but when I asked them what if I don't do it, they said it [her refusal] means I killed my husband,' she said, speaking to CNN. In parts of southern Nigeria, widows like Rose are subjected to a...more
July 30, 2021, 2:25 p.m.
Countries: Kenya
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Women find it rough in relation to land both while still married and when widowed. At marriage many title deeds are in the names of husbands and at death it becomes easier for the women to lose out land to greedy in laws. Coupled with these are archaic cultural practices which still continue to prevail dispute the high level of globalisation and technological advancement. When widowed, women find themselves navigating a rough patch, they get evicted from their matrimonial homes, some are ostracised by their in-laws in a bid to push them out of land owned by the deceased husband. For widowed women living with HIV there is still the...more
June 23, 2021, 4:08 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Bibi Hawa, another widow, shares a similar story. She says the killing of her husband, a civilian, last year in one of the frequent firefights between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants left her ruined. She manages to scrape together enough for survival through begging and occasionally washing clothes for families in her town. 'I am destitute because my brothers refused to give me a share in our property'" (para 4-5). "Parwana, Sharifa, and Hawa are three of the thousands of Afghan women who have turned to begging because their husbands, many government soldiers or Taliban fighters, were killed or injured" (para 9). "Fatima, a widow in Ghazni, says no...more
Feb. 10, 2021, 1:09 a.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Both Basu's mother and grandmother had been married and widowed young; in her native India, that meant they could wear only white and were forced to atone for the rest of their lives. 'Widows are regarded as bad omens — as witches, as 'man-eaters.' They bring bad luck. They are paying for sins committed in a past life. The Hindu scripture, the Vedas, is clear on this point,' Basu told Refinery29" (para 2-3). "A child widow's job is to repent and atone. They live a life virtually devoid of pleasure and must wear no other color but white. They must eschew jewelry, meat, fish, and social gatherings, even with family....more
Jan. 1, 2021, 2:57 p.m.
Countries: Tanzania
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"After physically and sexually abusing her for 11 months, her husband was killed in a motorbike accident. Grace, now 13, was filled not with joy, but sorrow. The man who had raped and beaten her for the better part of a year was dead - but she now has a child to take care of, and no income. Grace and her child Mathias are at her family's home, where she and her father live out an uneasy truce" (para 78-81).
Dec. 31, 2020, 4:53 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"A landmark consensus agreed by Islamic scholars (Ulema) regarding the waiting period for ‘half-widows’ to remarry in four years will have an unprecedented impact on the lives of Kashmir’s forgotten survivors. Decades of conflict have produced many half-widows, women whose husbands have disappeared but are not yet declared deceased. Since most of the disappeared men are from rural Kashmir, these widows usually live impoverished lives often facing various socio-economic and emotional uncertainties such as lack of property rights, right to compensation and the right to remarry" (para 1-2). "While widows are entitled to some compensation under civil law, half-widows are uncertain about their future and are entitled to compensation only...more
Nov. 18, 2020, 2 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: SMPP-PRACTICE-1, MARR-PRACTICE-5, AOM-PRACTICE-1, WR-PRACTICE-2, ISSA-PRACTICE-1, PW-PRACTICE-3

"It is also concerned about the persistence of harmful traditional practices in the State party, such as child marriage, the dowry system, son preference, polygamy, widows accused of witchcraft, and such practices as c haupadi, j huma, d euki and d han- k haane" (Article 17). Chhaupadi is a form of menstrual taboo which prohibits Hindu women and girls from participating in normal family activities while menstruating, as they are considered impure. (CM - CODER COMMENT)
Oct. 30, 2020, 11:31 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-1, TRAFF-PRACTICE-1, MARR-PRACTICE-5, AOM-PRACTICE-1, WR-PRACTICE-2, ISSA-PRACTICE-1

"It is further concerned about the persistence of harmful traditional practices in the State party, such as child marriage, the dowry system, so-called “honour killings”, sex-selective abortion, sati, devadasi and accusing women of witchcraft. The Committee is particularly concerned that the State party has not taken sufficient sustained and systematic action to modify or eliminate stereotypes and harmful practices" (Article 20). Sati is a practice in India where a widow throws herself onto her husband's funeral pyre. A woman who is a devadasi in modern times is a sex slave. (CM - CODER COMMENT)
Oct. 27, 2020, 8:47 p.m.
Countries: Equatorial Guinea
Variables: MURDER-PRACTICE-2, MARR-PRACTICE-1, WR-PRACTICE-2, PW-PRACTICE-3

"It also expresses its serious concern about the persistence of entrenched harmful practices, such as forced and early marriages, levirate and mistreatment of widows, dowry-related violence and polygamy in the State party" (23).
Oct. 21, 2020, 12:14 p.m.
Countries: Benin
Variables: INFIB-PRACTICE-1, LO-PRACTICE-1, MARR-PRACTICE-1, WR-PRACTICE-2, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, DV-PRACTICE-1, PW-PRACTICE-3, DTCP-LAW-1

"The Committee expresses deep concern that harmful practices, such as child and forced marriages, polygamy, female genital mutilation, widowhood practices, levirate and sororate, purification rites for adulterous women and killings of so-called “witch children”, continue to be prevalent and go unpunished, the comprehensive legislative framework notwithstanding. The Committee is concerned that the customary practice of excluding women from inheriting agricultural land remains dominant in rural areas and that women continue to face practical difficulties in gaining access to both land and credit. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the persistence of customary laws and practices, including the prevalence of de facto polygamous marriages, although such laws are no longer valid...more
Aug. 10, 2020, 5:10 p.m.
Countries: Azerbaijan
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Family relations and stereotypes are the cause of many of the forms of discrimination widows experience, especially in rural contexts. Widows are denied access to many opportunities, especially for what concerns access to property, education and jobs, and thus they are exposes to higher risks of poverty and of being victims of domestic violence and trafficking" (3). "Although there are no formal prohibitions for widows to have access to jobs, family relations often represent an obstacle. For example, due to moral reasons, they are often limited in their freedom of movement because they are required to be accompanied by male relatives, and this limit their ability to work, especially in...more
July 3, 2020, 4:25 p.m.
Countries: Zambia
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"Among ever-widowed women age 15-49, nearly half (47%) were dispossessed of their husband’s property (that is, after their late husband’s death, none of his assets went to them)" (289).
May 29, 2020, 12:04 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: WR-PRACTICE-2

"That decision [not to remarry] makes them among Afghan society's most vulnerable. Many are disowned by their families. They may be harassed or abused. And with 60 percent of the country unemployed, every woman must find a way to support her children" (para 6). "If you are a widow, you are considered to be a 'black widow.' It is a bad omen" (para 10). "Sometimes they do. One of the women I photographed, her husband's family is an elite family. They gave her complete freedom [after her husband died of cancer]. They help the family financially. They were educated and they came from a different class. They were a very...more