Problems of widowhood: a study of widows in a tertiary institution in Ibadan, south west Nigeria.

This study is part of a larger multi-centre survey on widowhood in Nigeria. Information was gathered using a structured self-administered questionnaire from 42 widows who are working at the University College Hospital and the College of Medicine, in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State in the southwest of Nigeria. The findings reveal that the majority of these widows are middle aged, between 35 and 55 years of age, with little or no prospect of remarriage. Almost half of them had only primary education and are of low professional status; 48% of them earn very low salary, and had a high parity, having 5 or more children. The problems identified by these widows in order of priority include financial/economic hardship (69%), absence of husband's will resulting in the loss of properties to husband's relations (55%), loneliness and depression (41%), poor relationship with in-laws (41%), difficulty in social interaction (21%), and poor housing (17%). Recommendation for alleviating the hardships of widows suggested include encouragement of female education, enhancement of women, economic empowerment, improving availability and effective utilization of family planning services and encouraging men to write their wills early in marriage. Also, through advocacy and public health awareness campaigns, to enlighten the masses about the plight of the widows, in order to eliminate the dehumanizing traditional practices to which Nigerian widows are often subjected.