The minister noted that more than two million widows in Nigeria shoulder caregiving and breadwinning responsibilities under difficult economic conditions.
The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to ending harmful widowhood practices and expanding economic opportunities for widows, saying widowhood should never result in poverty, exclusion or discrimination.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, made the pledge on Tuesday as Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 2026 International Widows’ Day.
International Widows’ Day is observed every year on 23 June, and the theme for this year’s observance is “Justice, Dignity and Economic Power for Widows.”
In a statement issued to mark the day, Mrs Sulaiman-Ibrahim described widows as critical to the well-being of families and communities, despite the challenges many face after losing their spouses.
“Widows are central to the survival of families, the stability of communities, and the continuity of generations,” she said.
The minister noted that more than two million widows in Nigeria shoulder caregiving and breadwinning responsibilities under difficult economic conditions.
“Widowhood should never become a sentence to poverty, exclusion, discrimination, or despair,” she added.
Mrs Sulaiman-Ibrahim condemned persistent harmful widowhood practices, including disinheritance, property grabbing, forced confinement and degrading mourning rites.
“Let me be unequivocal, such practices are criminal,” she said.
She cited the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, which prescribes penalties of up to two years imprisonment, a N500,000 fine, or both, for offenders.
The minister pledged stronger enforcement of existing laws and increased public awareness to protect widows from abuse and exploitation.
Harmful widowhood practices remain prevalent in some parts of Nigeria, where women may be denied inheritance rights, subjected to degrading traditional rites, forced into levirate marriage, or isolated from their communities following the death of their husbands.
Rights advocates have long argued that such practices violate women’s dignity, deepen poverty and undermine their economic independence.
Mrs Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the government was supporting widows through the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention (RHSII-774), an initiative designed to deliver empowerment programmes across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
According to her, 17 clusters of widows, comprising 50 women in each cluster, were enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2025. Each cluster also received a N500,000 grant to expand cooperative businesses.
She said many beneficiaries have adopted backyard urban farming initiatives to improve household incomes and strengthen food security.
The minister added that thousands of widows have also benefited from vocational training, digital skills programmes, agricultural inputs, start-up kits and psychosocial support services.
“We are witnessing a powerful shift, from vulnerability to productivity, from dependence to enterprise, and from survival to economic participation,” she said.
International Widows’ Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 following advocacy by the Loomba Foundation, with the first official observance held in 2011.
The annual event draws attention to the challenges faced by widows worldwide, including poverty, discrimination, social exclusion and violations of their human rights.
According to the United Nations, there are an estimated 258 million widows globally, many of whom continue to face economic hardship and social marginalisation.
