The Akwa Ibom indigenes in the United Kingdom (UK) have lauded the widowhood law passed by the state government to protect women from the tradition of non-inheritance of their husband’s property.
They expressed their concern at the 2013 Akwa Ibom Day held on Saturday in London.
Governor Godswill Akpabio had told members of the UK/Ireland Mboho Akwa Ibom Association that the law would stop the practice of forcing widows to forfeit the property of their dead husbands to their in-laws.
Akpabio also said that the law would protect children of the deceased who often suffer from such act.
Reacting to the development, the President of the association, Dr Effiong Akpan, told newsmen that the law would empower women economically.
“With this law in place, when a man dies it will be impossible for his relatives to inherit his property and leave the wife with nothing. “It is a very good law and I think it is one of the best things the state and legislature have done to promote women’s rights,’’ Akpan said.
Mrs Ima Umana, a gender rights advocate, stressed the need for proper enforcement of the law, saying: “it is not just about passing a law, government must also see to its enforcement’’.
Umana also called for awareness campaign to sensitise the public on the law.
In the same vein, Mrs Ronke Udofia, who is married to an Akwa Ibom indigene, said: “the governor is a man that supports equality and he has demonstrated that by initiating a widowhood law.
“The Mboho Association in the UK will continue to support vulnerable people back home. We hope to come up with initiative to support the widowhood law,’’ Udofia said.
Udofia called on other state governments to make similar laws.