Widows’ Rights: Mrs Wike Seeks Joint Action 

Company Secretary, Mr. Mbanugo Udenze (middle), reading the 2014 Annual Report of C&I Leasing to participants in Port Harcourt, yesterday. With him are the Chairman, C&I Leasing, Air Vice-Marshall A.D. Bello (left) and Executive Director, Mrs. N.U.I Uche Photo: Obinna Prince Dele

Wife of Rivers State
Governor, Justice Suzette Wike, has called for a joint action to check harmful practices that impinge on the rights of widows all over the country.
She made the call at this year’s International Widows Day organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Rivers State chapter yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Justice Wike lamented that lots of women have died, lost their children, and are subjected to untold hardships because of harmful cultural practices meted on them.
Underscoring the need for a quick end to the menace, she said, “we should be concerned because millions of widows with their children suffer in silence. We should be concerned because millions of widows live in poverty and struggling to survive.”
She challenged womenfolk to have a change of attitude since most of them have become instruments in perpetrating obnoxious cultural practices against their fellow Women.
The Rivers State first lady also challenged non-governmental and government institutions to beef up action to end the menace, saying the situation in Rivers State calls for concern as well.
As part of measures to end the menace, she suggested, among other things, the need for men to write their will, and the need for women to ensure their marriages are contracted under the civil marriage act.
She lauded FIDA on their efforts to end the plight of women, while charging widows not to relent in giving their best to family and society.
Earlier, Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Daisy Okocha, disclosed that measures are being taken to address the plight of widows, pointing out that the state Female Genital Mutilation Law of 2001, State Reproductive Health Law of 2003 and the State Dehumanizing and Harmful Practices Law of 2003 are being enforced.
Okocha emphasized the need for more enlightenment campaigns since many women are ignorant of their rights, stressing that, “widows are not only victims but society in general.”