WIDOWS DISPOSSESSED OF PROPERTIES

For many low income households, matrimonial land is not only the main source of livelihood but it also provides the invaluable sense of security and identity. Yet, some retrogressive social and cultural practices such as asset stripping and disinheritance often deny them access to and use of matrimonial land thus subjecting them to abject poverty and destitution after the death of their husbands in the hands of male relatives.

In Nigeria about 42 percent of widows have been dispossessed of their property. Women in the South West are most likely to be dispossessed of their property, followed by women in the North Central and South South zones. Women living in the North West are least likely to be dispossessed of their property. Ekiti has the highest proportion of widowed women who are projected to have been dispossessed of their property.