Widows in Kenya easily become victims of sexual abuse, at risk of HIV infection. That is why MTAA organized two workshops, sponsored by MTAA Netherlands and Grace Impact.
Widows lose their permanent place in the community, which makes them vulnerable. The participants raised the following issues:
– the constant threat of the traditional “sexual cleansing” (sex with the brother of the deceased spouse) to propitiate the ancestors;
– poverty: there are no school fees for their (grand)children; they drop out of school, resulting in many teenage pregnancies, among other things;
– poor or no housing due to lack of money for maintenance;
– clansmen take land away from them without being able to object;
– when they look for a new partner, their children lose the right to a piece of land;
– feeling stigmatized.
With the help of MTAA and already trained widows, solutions are sought together. The sharing of problems proves to be a first step towards this every time.
You can read the full report of these gatherings here.