A group of widows in Cross River State have called on the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) not to allow the law granting widows rights to family estates promulgated by the Rivers State Government be buried.
In a statement released Saturday morning in Calabar, the group said due to a lack of interest or determination to enforce the provisions of the law, authorities could abandon it.
They reminded FIDA that abandonment is the fate that has befallen many great legislations in Nigeria.
They described the promulgation as “a most welcome development given the terrible deprivation women have faced in most places in Nigeria.
“This development in the tenure of Gov. Nyesom Wike and its importance can best be appreciated when considered against the background that the Governor himself hails from Ikwerre where long-established custom and tradition specifically forbade women from inheriting properties left by their fathers or spouses even when they are senior to the male children.”
They called on the National Assembly to expedite the passing of the Act seeking to outlaw dehumanizing practices against widows in Nigeria.
According to them, they know too well the deprivation and ignominy that women have had to suffer on account of a denial of their right to inheritance.
The group vowed to partner others operating in Rivers State to actualize the protection of the rights to inheritance for women as secured under the new Law.
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