“The plight of widows and their children is one of the most important human rights issues facing the world today. In many countries, when women lose their husbands, they are deprived of their possessions and their dignity, subjected to degrading treatment and excluded or marginalized in the community. This has an effect not only on them but also on dependent children, who often forego any education and are forced to support themselves and their families through child labour, begging and prostitution.” (World Widows Report 2015, the Loomba Foundation, p. 9)
Our Story
The Malawi Widows Association (MAWIA) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that was established in 2018. Four widows recognized a need for community, a need for support, and a need for a common voice. Thus, MAWIA was born. From this initial vision, MAWIA grew into a registered nonprofit in Malawi. MAWIA established local chapters across the country and fundraised all in the hopes of uniting widows to form a common voice, while supporting each other financially and emotionally.
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No large-scale research has been conducted in Malawi as regards to widowhood. However, statistics indicate that 75% of married women become widows and that 1 out of 10 women are in extreme poverty. In Malawi, widowed persons face a unique set of challenges and discrimination. Such challenges include disinheritance, land grabbing, observations of painful marriage rites, violence, economic problems, and challenges with bureaucratic systems that are not designed with the needs of widowhood in mind.
Donation of sanitary pads to MAWIA by the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, with funding from the Hunan Women Confederation from China.