Work

Standing Their Ground While Seated: Narratives of Widowhood Activism Against the Ritual of Widow Dispossession in South Africa

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Widows in Africa are mostly perceived as helpless victims of harmful widowhood practices. The article offers new insights into the understanding of widowhood and the status of widows in the context of these practices. Integrating feminist research and narrative theory, the paper examines widows' responses to the ritual of the 'sitting and its associated practice of widow dispossession. I examine how widows challenge the customary ritual of 'sitting' from a place where enforced silences and widow dispossession are ritualized to where widowhood activism is born. The article draws from a feminist theory of activism, highlighting that widows counter silencing and dispossession through speaking out, speaking through objects, delegating someone to act on their behalf, disobedience and non-cooperation. In summary, the article concludes that the practice of 'sitting' is a politically charged space that is both a site of widow dispossession and resistance.

Source: OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying

DOI: 10.1177/00302228241305652

Author: Thatshisiwe Ndlovu

Institution: University of the Witwatersrand

Language: English

Topic: Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450