Violence Against Widows: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Harmful Widowhood Practices in Nigerian Communities

Research on women's experiences of harmful cultural widowhood practices is limited even among feminists. The present study seeks to address this lacuna by qualitatively examining the accounts of 12 women survivors of violent widowhood rites in Nigeria. Participants took part in one-to-one interviews, and an interpretative phenomenological analysis identified four major themes of participants' experiences. A variety of experiences in terms of nature, length of widowhood rites, level of violence, hostilities, and intimidation were recounted by participants. Ideological patriarchy was found relevant in explaining women's acceptance and active involvement in inflicting violence on widows.