Gender based structu[r]al violence in relation to the traditional practice of wife inheritance : the case of Malawi : an empirical study of the violence experienced by widows involved in wife inheritance practice
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to investigate how gender based violence is enhanced through the\npractice of wife inheritance. This study is meant to describe and analyze the experience of\nwidows who have undergone the practice of wife inheritance or were asked to follow this\ntradition. The study gathers the opinion of the widows, in regards to how they experienced the\npractice and whether they approved of the practice or not. The study also aims at exploring\nthe different kinds of violence that women are subjected to during wife inheritance process.\nRelated to violence, the study will focus on the economical, psychological/emotional, physical\nand sexual violence associated with the practice as experienced by the interviewed widows.\nThe study acknowledges that women face violence in different stages of their lives from\nchildhood to old age. In old age and adulthood, it includes the abuse of widows (economically\nand physically), depriving widows of their inheritance, sexual cleansing of widows and all\nviolence associated with the tradition, culture and custom.\nThe study draws on four different but related social work theories namely, feminist persective\nwith a view on gender and intersectionality, the systems approach, social construction of\nreality and anti-oppressive approach. The data consists of key informant interviews with three\nleaders from the study area and eleven in depth interviews with widows who were inherited or\nwere asked to be inherited.\nThe findings of the study demonstrate that the views of the widows with regards to this\ntradition is not homogenous. Tradition vs modernity influences how one perceives the\npractice. The study also finds that consenting inheritance or not depends on many factors\nfacing the widow more than just the willingness to be inherited or not, which is an issue of\nintersectionality. The study has also demostrated that the practice serves different\nbeneficiaries and most of the times those who benefit from the practice in different\ncircumstances tend to advocate for the continuation of the practice. Findings of the study\nshow that the practice does not just benefit the widow.\nThe study suggests that widows or women in this case should be made aware of their rights as\nequal citizens. They should be given a choice to either follow the tradition or not without fear\nof harmful consequencies like losing custody of their children and property.\nKey words: wife inheritance, gender based violence, feminist perspective, social construction\nof reality, anti-oppressive aproach, systems approach.
Source: BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway))
Author: Memory Jayne Tembo
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2469713626