Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Women’s Advancement Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 15, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on women’s economic advancement. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
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Kamala Damor, or Sister Kamala, works with women and girls in rural Gujarat to help them access their right to property and inheritance. She tells her story to Chhavi Sachdev.
In our June episode of Deeply Talks, experts join us to discuss issues affecting widows and the unique disadvantages they face as they try to earn a living and care for their families.
Despite being at peace, India has the largest number of war widows in the world. They say the government assistance they have received is not enough to live a dignified life.
Ram Devi Tamang was forced to leave her home with her two young children when her husband died, but today she is working to break taboos around what a widow can and can’t do in Nepal.
Widows of South Sudan’s civil war are often left with nothing when their husbands die. NGO-funded small businesses are helping them survive, but with the charity sector facing a crisis of its own, that funding could soon dry up.
In Nigeria, widows often suffer a double loss: after their husbands die, the assets they should inherit are taken by their in-laws. Two NGOs are trying to stop the abuse and exploitation of widows by promoting their rights and calling for stronger legislation.
Mining for gold can provide a solid livelihood for many living in Kenya’s Kakamega county. But customary beliefs prohibit women from entering the mines, even on their own land, forcing them either to lease the land or leave the precious metal in the ground.
Monica Mhoja Tanzania Program Director, Landesa
When a widow is accused of being a witch in Tanzania, she can be blamed for her husband’s death, thrown off her land or lose her children. Some are killed for the imagined crime of killing their husband. Landesa’s Monica Mhoja explains why the government must step in.
After decades of conflict, Afghanistan is home to around 2.5 million widows, with an average age of 35. Struggling to support themselves and unaware of their rights, these young women also suffer under cultural customs that leave them isolated and impoverished.
In India, women are outliving men and facing increasing isolation and ill health as a result. One YWCA initiative is helping widows with food, friendship and a sense of dignity.
Founded as a place where women can rebuild their lives after losing a husband or getting divorced, el-Samaha village offers women and girls a chance to escape patriarchal prejudices and discover their independence.
Hundreds of women work as tappers on Liberia’s vast rubber plantations, extracting latex from hundreds of trees each day, most of them single mothers or war widows trying to create better lives for their children.
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