Alcohol, tobacco blamed for high number of widows in Kenya

Tobacco and alcohol abuse have been listed among the main contributors to the deaths of men in Kenya, turning millions of women into widows.

The two are known risk factors for almost all non-communicable diseases including cancer and heart diseases.

Kenya has an estimated eight million widows, according to the United Nations, and is placed at position 33 in the list of countries in the world that have a harsh environment for widows.

Speaking during International Widows Day, head of the Tobacco Control and Health Promotion Alliance (also known as Ketca) Joel Gitali said the contribution of tobacco, nicotine and alcohol must not be ignored.

“They are some of the leading causes of death among men. The two substances contribute largely to the number of widows in the world. Such widows are made every day as men continue to consume the killer products,” Gitali said.

Tobacco alone kills at least 6,000 Kenyans, mostly men, every year, according to the Ministry of Health.

Alcohol is blamed for the deaths of four out of every 100 people who die in Kenya.

Gitali said alcohol and tobacco may kill directly when one drinks poisonous or lethal brews, through killer diseases such as cancer and through accidents, suicide and violence.

“Let's all rise up against these evil substances. Widowhood is a painful state. We can reduce it,” he said.

The recently adopted United Nations resolution on widowhood commits governments to address the situation of widows.

Roseline Orwa, the head of Rona Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports the rights of widows across Kenya, said the government must take the UN resolution seriously.

“To implement the UN Resolution, Kenya’s president William Ruto should make public pronouncements, and policy commitments on reforms, demystify stereotypes, and advocate for the value of a widow,” she said in a commentary.

“And to better serve widows, the government needs to establish a widow’s commission that can galvanise widow voices and undertake transformative and impactful interventions, including outlawing and criminalising harmful traditional (widowhood) practices like they did – with outlawing female genital mutilation and setting up the FGM Board,” she added.

Orwa was widowed aged 32 when her husband was killed in the post-election violence.

She is a commissioned expert with the Ministry of Labour and Social Services and has served as a widows’ rights consultant for numerous local, national and global civil organisations.

Worldwide, according to the World Widows Report, there are an estimated 258.5 million widows.

 The increase is mainly attributed to conflict and disease. One in seven widows, about 38 million, lives in extreme poverty. The ratio of widows to that of widowers is as high as 4:1.

According to the UN, International Widows’ Day is marked on June 23, to reflect on the issues affecting widows around the world and what must be done to safeguard and advance their rights.

“Experience from the past shows that widows are often denied inheritance rights, have their property grabbed after the death of a partner, and can face extreme stigma and discrimination, as perceived ‘carriers’ of disease,” the UN said.

“Worldwide, women are much less likely to have access to old age pensions than men, so the death of a spouse can lead to destitution for older women.”

(Edited by Tabnacha O)