International Authors Series WHY WIDOWHOOD MATTERS By Martha Alter Chen "We are considered bad omens. We are excluded from all "auspicious" events. We are expected to stay by ourselves. We are not treated as human beings with life, a body and emotions." "I never worked outside our home before my husband's death. Now, my two unmarried daughters and I work as agricultural labourers. If I work too hard, I suffer chest pain and shortness of breath." "I had to raise my children on my own. There was no one else to help me." "When I was married, I was Mrs. Donnell. I was somebody. Now that my husband is dead, I am nobody!" Widows are everywhere but they are rarely seen, let alone their concerns adequately addressed by public policy makers. Growing evidence of their vulnerability, both socio-economic and psychological, as evident from the feelings cited above, now challenge many conventional views about this "invisible group." Almost everywhere around the world, widows comprise a significant proportion of all women, ranging from 7 per cent to 16 per cent of all adult women. Yet, until recently, lack of data concerning widows contributed to the persistence of certain misconceptions about the prevalence and condition of widowhood. For the first time, the misconceptions about widowhood are being challenged by the international community. Two prevailing myths, in particular, have been called into question. The first is that widows are elderly women whose children are fully grown. The second is that widows can rely on extended family networks for financial and emotional support. Incidence of widowhood The proportion of widows within countries or regions varies with fertility levels, mortality rates, differences in age at marriage and patterns of remarriage. However, the following patterns, presented in the World's Women 1995: Trends and Statistics, are discernible: Overall Widowhood: Among all adult women (15 years or older), the proportion of widows is highest in the developed countries where greater longevity and low fertility rates increase the ratio of old to young people. Older Widowhood: Among women 60 and older, widowhood is significant everywhere, from 40 per cent in the developed countries and Latin America to 50 per cent in Africa and Asia. Younger Widowhood: In Asia and Africa, widowhood affects many women at younger ages. In many countries in these regions up to 20-25 per cent of women aged 45-59 are widowed; and, in some countries up to 5 per cent of even younger women, aged 25-44, are widows. Looked at another way, the proportion of all widows who are below 60 years of age is 15.8 per cent in the developed world but ranges from 34.4 per cent (in Latin America) to 43.6 per cent (in Africa) in the developing world. In brief, in developed countries widowhood is experienced primarily by elderly women, while in developing countries it frequently affects younger women, many of them while still rearing young children. Whereas the incidence of widows differs across regions the incidence of widowers is uniformly low across all regions. Among adult men in all regions, the proportion of widowers is about 2-3 per cent. So that the ratio of widows to widowers is high everywhere (averaging 4 to 1) generally due to men's older age at marriage, shorter life expectancy and higher rates of remarriage. Further, the consequences of losing one's spouse are very different for men and women. In most societies, a widower not only has greater freedom to remarry than his female counterpart, he also has more extensive property rights, wider opportunities for remunerative employment, and a more authoritative claim on economic support from his children. Had the living conditions of widowers been as precarious as those of widows, it is likely that widowed persons would have attracted far more attention. Rules of widowhood What happens to the woman whose husband dies? What are the duties and rights of widows in various regions and social groups? What if widows come from social groups which do not allow women to seek gainful employment outside the home? What if widows are forced to leave their husband's home or are forced off their husband's land? What if widows do not have children or have only young children? Where are they allowed to live? Can they remarry? Who can they turn to for support? Although social rules differ widely across cultures, most cultures have rules which govern a woman's life. These rules have particular consequences for widows, especially in the absence of social support. Across the very different regions of the developing world, there are marked similarities in the degree to which women's lives are conditioned and constrained by local social rules. Most cultures restrict women in the following domains: Residence: Most marriage and kinship systems dictate where a husband and wife should reside upon marriage. By extension, the rules of post-marital residence affect where a widow should reside after the death of her husband. Inheritance: Most inheritance systems are patrilineal, restricting women's rights to property. Even in countries where modern law affords women more equal rights to property, many social groups still follow traditional customary laws. Remarriage: Most marriage and kinship systems have rules about whether widows can remarry and, if so, with whom. Some systems dictate that the widow should marry a brother of the deceased husband (usually a younger unmarried brother). Employment: Across most developing countries, women face restrictions on employment opportunities, relating primarily to the gender division of labour. Aside from these general restrictions, widows face specific difficulties in seeking gainful employment. These include: lack of independent access to productive resources; weak bargaining power vis-a-vis men in economic transactions; frequent absence of a literate member in the household; limited access to institutional credit; and the burden of domestic work. Social Identity: Most marriage and kinship systems dictate specific, often stringent, rules to control the dress and behaviour of widows. Here are some examples of how such restrictions affect widows: Ÿ In Asia and Africa, in some societies, a widow's in-laws may acquire control over her property by 'managing' it for her or by obtaining guardianship of her children. Or a widow, upon remarriage, relinquishes her own and her children's rights to her deceased husband's property; Ÿ In South Asia, some social groups don't allow a woman to work outside the home even if her husband is absent or dead. In these social groups, a widow is expected to live only for her husband's memory, accepting the most austere of lifestyles. Ÿ A recent study of 562 widows in India shows that under the customary Hindu laws practised there property rights for widows are widely acknowledged. However, these rights are often violated in practice. When a widow tries to manage the land on her own, without adult sons, her brothers-in-law often insist on share-cropping or managing her land themselves, or simply attempt to deprive her of her rightful share of the land. They would try to legitimize their claim by arguing that they had spent money on her husband's death ceremony or on her children's maintenance. In their attempt to gain control of her land, the brothers-in-law of a widow may go so far as forcing her to leave the village, or even-in extreme cases-arranging her murder. Conditions of widowhood The common restrictions on residence, ownership, remarriage and employment place widows in a situation of acute dependence on economic support from others. The extent and nature of family and community support becomes very critical to their well-being (and the well-being of their children). Despite social ideals of support and protection, widows in many regions of the world are the most economically, socially and physically vulnerable group of women within given populations. This suggests that social ideals may not be reflected in practice. Without data concerning financial transfers between family members, it is impossible to measure directly the extent to which widows receive or are denied support from family members. Data on household headship and economic activity among widows, particularly those under 60, are more readily available and are suggestive of support widows receive. Among all women aged 15 to 59, widows are the most likely to head their own households, even when compared to separated and divorced women. By contrast, the proportion of male householders who are married far outnumbers those who are widowed. Table Proportion of women (ages 15-59) who head households TotalMarriedSep/Div.WidowedDeveloped1447685Africa964186Latin AmericaCaribbean965768Asia643855Source:Neiv Duffy, 1994. Background note for the second issue of The World's Women: Trends and Statistics (United Nations publication, New York) In developing countries, the levels of economic activity among widows aged 15 to 59 is higher on average than among married women. Whereas in some societies these elevated levels of economic participation may reflect the greater freedom afforded single women, in other societies these levels of economic participation reflect the need to generate household income despite restrictions on women (both married and single). However, where widows are relatively older than non-widowed women, the activity rates of widows may be lower. A recent study in Egypt found that widowed women in Egyptian society are relatively older and have a higher illiteracy rate than non-widowed women. Moreover, only 16 per cent of the widows were currently working or involved in income- generating activities. And yet 88 per cent were living separately from their parents or in-laws. Since the poorest segment of a population is usually comprised of female-headed households, it is probable that households headed by widows face greater economic hardships than most. Regrettably, for most countries, the lack of income data desegregated by headship and marital status prevents the direct documentation of the economic vulnerability of widow-headed households, suggesting the need for greater attention to this area in future surveys. However, several recent studies from South Asia document the economic and mortality risks of widows. A study in Bangladesh found a much greater decline in the economic status of widows compared with widowers. Women's access to resources was found to be much more dependent on marital status and living arrangement than is the case for men. Another study of widows in India found that households headed by widows had, over a period of 15 to 20 years, sold or mortgaged a disproportionate share of their land. Several studies also found that households with a widow have lower per-capita expenditure levels than households without a widow. Economic deprivation is likely to be reflected in high morbidity and mortality rates among widows, compared with married women in the same age group. A study on the impact of widowhood on mortality among Bangladeshi women aged 45 and above found that widows tend to have much higher mortality rates than married women in the same age groups. The mortality rates for widows can be quite different depending on their living arrangements: widows living alone emerge as the highest-mortality group; widows who head households which have an adult son present emerge as the lowest-mortality group. A study in India found that for women above 45 years of age, the mortality rates are 86 per cent higher among widows than among married women. Why widowhood matters Growing evidence from around the world suggests several reasons why widowhood matters as a social problem in the developing world. Ÿ Many more women than men face the likelihood of being widowed for a significant portion of their lives. Ÿ Many women are widowed when they are young and remain widowed the rest of their lives. Ÿ Most widows face customary rules which restrict their options regarding residence, inheritance, employment and social interactions. Ÿ Many widows cannot depend on support from their in-laws, parents, brothers, or even daughters. Ÿ Given that adult sons are the most reliable source of family support, young widows are economically and socially more vulnerable on average than older widows. Around the world, it is older widows who have received most of the attention (if any) that has been paid to widows: whether in studies of ageing or under state-run pension schemes. However, given that adult children (particularly sons) are the most reliable source of support for widows, it is childless widows and widows with minor children who are at special risk. And, on average, younger widows are more likely than older widows to be childless or to have minor children. The growing evidence on widowhood argues for a full review of the legal, policy and cultural practices contributing to the special deprivations of widows, particularly where widows are likely to have dependent children. Widows clearly experience special difficulties and deprivations, connected with the restrictions that are imposed on their lifestyle and the persistence of negative social attitudes toward them. Given that the social ideals of support and protection for widows are less widely reflected in practice than the social rules restricting widows, it is important to give attention to widowhood as a particular cause of deprivation and to undertake public action and policies in support of widows. Four areas of public action and policies stand out as being of critical importance to widows: 1. Securing and protecting widows' rights to property; 2. Promoting employment and economic opportunities for widows; 3. Designing and implementing special social security schemes for widows who cannot work; and, 4. Undertaking social reforms to create a more positive social identity for widows. One final point: There is something quite astonishing about the fact that the needs of millions of widows around the developing world have been so consistently neglected in more than four decades of planned economic development. The reasons for this neglect would be worth probing. One of them, evidently, is the fact that the deprivations of widows are so well hidden in economic and social statistics as they are commonly reported. The standard household-level economic variables, in particular, tell us very little about the well-being of widows as individuals. Moreover, household-level economic variables which are desegregated by headship but not by marital status tells us very little about the well-being of widow-headed households compared with other female-headed households or with male-headed households. Another reason is the fact that the living conditions of widows in developed countries is not as precarious as those of widows in developing countries. A related reason is the fact that, within developing countries, the living conditions of widowers are not as precarious as those of widows. Had the living conditions of widows in developed countries and of widowers in developing countries been as precarious as those of widows in developing countries, it is likely that widowed persons would have attracted far more attention from the international community. A third, very critical, reason is the fact of a prevailing myth surrounding widowhood in developing countries: namely, that widows are protected and cared for by extended family networks. So long as this myth persists, widowhood will be treated as a family matter, not as an issue for public policy. Had the often precarious living conditions of widows in developing countries been more widely studied and known, it is likely that widows would have attracted far more attention from the international community. Dr. Martha Alter Chen is director of the Programme on non-governmental organizations at the Harvard Institute of International Development (HIID) and a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. ??