Dr. Constance Awinpoka Akurugu, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), has urged authorities to prioritize the needs of widows in Ghana.
Speaking at this year’s International Widows Day event in Bolgatanga, organized by Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM) in collaboration with Mma Ayara Memorial Institute, she emphasized the importance of addressing the social, economic, and cultural challenges faced by widows in the country.
Dr. Akurugu noted that widows in Ghana face numerous challenges, including property grabbing, social exclusion, and economic marginalization, making it difficult for them to provide for their children’s education.
According to Dr. Akurugu, it is essential that all relevant stakeholders prioritize the needs and work towards creating a more inclusive and supportive society for widows in the country.
“We heard a lot of the widows share their own struggles and challenges with resources and with providing for their childrens’ needs. So this is really a call to all stakeholders, decision makers, municipal and district assemblies, to the Department of Gender, to the civil society organizations working in the area of women empowerment to come to the aid of the women.”
“We know that we are living at a time where resources are scarce to come by, but it’s all about prioritization. So if you prioritize the plight of the widows and orphans and we commit to allocating resources to them. For instance, the district assemblies could create endowment funds for children of widows who are brilliant.”
The Associate Professor also urged widows not to relent in their efforts to bring up their children, especially in their educational needs.
International Widows Day is a global awareness day that takes place annually on 23rd June. The day was launched by the United Nations in 2010 to raise awareness of the human rights violations that widows suffer in many countries following the death of their spouses.
In many countries with traditional societies, women find themselves left in poverty when their husbands die.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|David Azure|Bolgatanga|
