I hope that these laws will offer protection to widows,' remarked Elida Anyango from Kogelo in Alego Usonga Sub-County, Siaya County, in reference to the Widows Protection Bill set to be tabled before the regional assembly next week.
In a battle for ownership of her plot of land, Ms Anyango finds herself pitted against not only her in-laws but also influential figures within her community.
Illiterate and unaware of the intricacies of land succession, she has become a target for her in-laws, who, aided by local authorities, coerce her to relinquish her rights to the piece of land.
Why AG rejected Marriage Bill 2023 Widows fight backAnyangos husband John Ochieng died seven years and ever since she has known no peace.
A portion of her cherished land - her main source of food - has already been sold off, leaving her with only a fraction of what her husband left.
Despite her resilience, the weight of these battles has begun to wear her down, leaving her exhausted and uncertain of her future.
Amidst the turmoil, her determination remains steadfast as she continues to fight for what is rightfully hers.
Sometimes when I am out, they invade and destroy my small kitchen garden leaving it in a total mess. I have lost many things, it seems the law is for the selected few, Ms Anyango remarks resignedly.
She got married in the early 1970s as a young girl.
Her husbands family had acquired the piece of land where her house stands in exchange for two cows. Therefore, there was no proper documentation.
Ms Anyango is in her early 70s, although the turbulence of life makes her appear older. Hers is a life plagued by endless distress.
Anyangos woes are a mirror of what most widows in Siaya County have to go through at the hands of their in-laws.
This has influenced the drafting of The Widows Protection Bill, which is due for tabling before the Siaya County Assembly on May 7, 2024.
The proposed law seeks to establish the Siaya County Welfare Committee for the protection and maintenance of neglected, abandoned and destitute widows and also to form the Siaya County Widows Welfare Fund.
While presenting the draft to the County Executive Committee Member for governance, Agunda Ochanda, the Executive Director of Rona Foundation, Roseline Orwa, appealed to Governor James Orengos administration to protect the widows from retrogressive cultural practices.
We plead, as widows from Siaya County, to the governor to have the will of acting. This Bill may be passed by the legislative wing which is the assembly; however, the executive is the implementer. Without goodwill we shall achieve nothing, said Ms Orwa.
Ms Orwa decried the sorry state of widows both in urban and rural areas. Widows are living with bottled-up tears. Even before they complete mourning their husbands, the shackles of culture expose them to unexplained pain, she lamented.
She further explains, These widows are strong, they have endured immeasurable pain to reach this far. There are some cultural practices that strip women of their dignity and value in society. If passed and implemented, it will lessen the burden.
The proposed regulation is aimed at protecting widows from perceived retrogressive cultural practices that they are often subjected to upon the death of their husbands.
There are widows who are forced into inheritance, when they resist they are treated as outcasts. In most cases, they are forced to engage in sexual intercourse. This amounts to rape. It is sad to say that some widows are raped and in the process contract HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections, says Ms Orwa.
According to Luo culture, a woman who loses her husband is supposed to be inherited by her in-laws to take care of her and the orphaned children.
Wife inheritance, according to Mzee Joshua Owino of Asembo in Siaya County, was meant to protect widows and not to mistreat them.
Inheritance was not intended to demean the widows. On the contrary, it was supposed to keep the deceaseds home strong and preserve his lineage.
Culturally, only the brothers of the deceased husband would inherit his wife. In case that was not possible then a close relative, probably a cousin, would be allowed to step in, explains Mr Owino, a retired teacher.
He further points out that, Wife inheritance was also supposed to keep away sex pests.'
Naturally, after a man dies and leaves behind a young wife, suitors from all walks of life hover around his home with the hope of winning
