Gabon widows plundered by in-laws

Widowed at the age of 22, Mireille Mno lost not only her husband but also a home for herself and her children in the Gabonese capital.

A week after her partner died in April, her in-laws kicked her and her two children, nine and four, out of the house.

Disinheriting widows is common in various parts of Africa including this West African state, where efforts are being made to crack down on the practice.

"His father threw me out. We left just like that, with nothing. Nothing at all from 11 years with my husband. Not even my papers.

"When my eldest tried to take my savings book, her grandmother ripped it from her, saying 'no, come, you are not taking that'," said Mireille, close to tears.

The young widow has taken refuge in a students' residence in Cap Esterias, north of the capital Libreville. When the students arrive at the new term, she and her children will have nowhere to go. Her biggest concern? "That my eldest won't be able to return to school in September."

Mireille has contacted the Gabonese government's widow and orphan aid agency which has tried to mediate with her husband's family, but her father-in-law has refused to enter into a discussion.

With the help of the Department for the Protection of Widows and Orphans she plans to lodge a legal claim. "She should get compensation and her children back into the marital home," said Pamela Joumba, the legal counsellor in the case.

Yet Mireille is far from alone. According to a study commissioned by Gabon's First Lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, who is championing the country's fight against disinheritance, 47 percent of 1600 widows questioned between May and June this year had been disinherited by their in-laws.

Widow disinheritance is an ancient tradition, according to anthropologist Thierry Nzamba Nzamba, but one he said has been misinterpreted in modern times -- and not just in Gabon. The problem exists in many other African countries.

A member of the dead man's family is supposed to inherit or "reclaim" the wife and take on the care of his children, said the expert.

Yet "deviant" behaviour motivated by money has seen many widows and orphans deprived of their money and belongings, he said. "The family just takes the things for themselves, for their own family."

'My life is miserable'

Women in Africa, like other developing regions, already tend to be less empowered, less educated and subject to more legal and social constraints than men, but the situation of widows -- and their children -- is far worse, according to the UN.

It said "abuse of widows and their children constitutes one of the most serious violations of human rights and obstacles to development today," on the website for this year's inaugural International Widows' Day in June.

"In Africa, widow abuse cuts across ethnic, class and income boundaries, rendering widows among the most vulnerable and destitute women in the region," according to the site.

First Lady Bongo Ondimba, one of the drivers in organising International Widows Day, has opened a centre in the capital Libreville to give psychological support and legal assistance.

"When a widow arrives here, she is distressed. She is disinherited and she is marginalised," said Carmela Ngayis from the unit. "In the fight against social exclusion, we inform the guilty party that their actions are punishable by law."

The abuse takes a wide variety of forms, from expulsion from the marital home to the loss of their pensions, as happened to Genevieve Pendi. She has been living in poverty in Libreville's Abeke-ville district since she lost her husband in 2002. Her partner's family took her widow's pension.

"They stole it -- I would call it stealing. We were legally married," said Genevieve, who had no children with her husband. "I'm staying with my parents at the moment. My life is miserable. I sleep on the floor. I don't have any contact with my in-laws anymore."

On the death of her husband in 2005, Veronique Makosso was not even allowed to attend his funeral. "His family forbid me from being there. I didn't go," she said.

The First Lady's foundation has also set up a toll free number to help point abused widows to an official office or association that might help.

The cabinet, meanwhile, has approved a draft law that, if passed, will increase criminal penalties to better protect widows and orphans and a woman's spousal rights against her husband's family.

Yet for some, the help may be too little too late. Lucie Ondog Ella was widowed in 2001 and left with nothing. "I spoke to the Widow and Orphan Department. Ten years on, I haven't heard a thing. I don't know what to do, who to speak to."
 

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