Widow inheritance

Abstract: This paper examines how households are coping with the AIDS epidemic and is based on data from four studies of six districts in Uganda between 1992 and 1995. Patient care was found to be principally given by the parents and other relatives. A considerable proportion of spouses cared for the male AIDS patients. Orphans were mainly cared for by relatives especially grandmothers. Upon the death of one parent the surviving parent was the principal caretaker. A number of orphans cared for themselves. People cope with widowhood by either remarrying or migrating. The effects of HIV and AIDS on traditional norms were reduction in widow inheritance household management by the widows or relatives after the death of the household head and resorting to shorter funeral ceremonies. In marriage people coped by changing their behaviour to sexual abstinence fidelity separation or dissolution of marriages decrease in polygyny delayed marriage and careful selection of potential marriage partners including tests for HIV before marriage. (authors)

Abstract: Introduction: The customs of widow cleansing and widow inheritance are practiced in several communities throughout sub- Saharan Africa. In the Nyanza Province of Kenya, according to tradition, Luo widows are expected to engage in sexual intercourse with a ''cleanser,'' without the use of a condom, in order to remove the impurity ascribed to her after her husband's death. Luo couples, including widows, are also expected to engage in sex preceding specific agricultural activities, building homes, funerals, weddings, and other significant cultural and social events. Widows who are inherited for the purpose of fulfilling cultural obligation have a higher prevalence of HIV than those who remain un-inherited or are inherited for the purpose of companionship. Methods:AspartofalargerdescriptivequalitativestudytoinformstudyproceduresforFEM-PrEP,anHIVpreventionpre-exposure prophylaxis clinical trial, we conducted 15 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) with widows, 15 SSIs with inheritors, and four focus group discussions with widows in the Bondo and Rarieda districts in Nyanza Province to explore the HIV risk context within widow cleansing and inheritance practices.Thematic qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The majority of widows reported in the demographic questionnaire being inherited, and most widows in the SSIs described participating in the cleansing ritual. We identified two main themes related to HIV prevention within the context of widow cleansing and inheritance: 1) widows must balance limiting their risk for HIV infection with meeting cultural expectations and ensuring that their livelihood needs are met, and 2) sexual abstinence undermines cultural expectations in widowhood while the use of condoms is deemed inappropriate in fulfilling culturally prescribed sexual rituals, and is often beyond the widow's ability to negotiate. Conclusions: Women-controlled HIV prevention methods such as antiretroviral-based oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, vaginal gels, and vaginal rings are needed for HIV-negative widows who engage in sexual rituals related to widowhood.

Abstract: The deeply rooted tradition of widow inheritance is a determinant of sex among the Luo which is widely practiced by Luo groups in Uganda Tanzania Zaire and Sudan. This practice of sexual networking whereby men who inherit widows have multiple sex partners high frequency of exchange between widows and low levels of condom use however encourages the spread of HIV. The authors interviewed 92 widows of mean age 34 years to investigate this traditional behavior among the Luo in South Nyanza District Kenya. Subjects were widows of Luo men who had died of a chronic illness between November 1991 and October 1992. 47 had already been inherited and 34 were planning to be while 11 refused to be inherited for fear of spreading HIV. Of the men who inherited them 80% were married one third had histories of inheriting other widows and some were paid to take on their new responsibilities. Only two widows reported ever using condoms since the demise of their spouse even though sexual intercourse is an essential component of widow inheritance. The lack of condom use corresponds with the lack of knowledge about the ability of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV; only 9% reported being aware of this condom attribute. 87% of the widows however reported that sexual intercourse with multiple partners can lead to the transmission of HIV. 70% felt that monogamy and avoiding prostitutes can prevent the spread of HIV. These findings point to the urgent need for community based AIDS education targeting elders women and youth.

Abstract: This article draws on ethnographic and interview-based fieldwork to explore accounts of intimate relationships between widowed women and poor young men that emerged in the wake of economic crisis and a devastating HIV epidemic among the Luo ethnic group in western Kenya. I show how the co-optation of widow inheritance practices due to the presence of an overwhelming number of widows during a period of economic crisis has resulted in widows becoming providing women and poor young men becoming kept men. I illustrate how widows in this setting, by performing a set of practices central to what it meant to be a man in this society—pursuing and providing for their partners—were effectively doing masculinity. I also show how young men, rather than being feminized by being kept, deployed other sets of practices to prove their masculinity and live in a manner congruent with cultural ideals. I argue that, ultimately, women’s practice of masculinity in large part seemed to serve patriarchal ends. It not only...