In a move to address the challenges faced by widows across Africa, the Second Lady Pastor Dorcas Rigathi has advocated for their economic empowerment during the first African Widows Summit held in Zanzibar from June 20 to June 22.
The summit, themed ‘Women in Widowhood: Reforming the African Space’, aimed to craft solutions for the issues affecting widows on the continent. Dorcas Rigathi, who was a keynote speaker at the event, emphasized the importance of changing the mindset towards widows to help them move away from grief and negative thoughts towards a more dignified life.
“A widow is not a beggar who needs sympathy but a person who needs empowerment and opportunities to continue with her life,” she said.
Rigathi urged African nations to organize widows into cooperatives, SACCOs, and CBOs to harness their potential. She also proposed that the African Union establish a fund to support widows across the continent.
The summit was organized by ‘The Union of African Widows’, a Pan-African movement that stands as a beacon of hope and a champion for the voiceless. The organization works tirelessly to empower widows, equipping them with the tools and resources they need to rebuild their lives.
“Widows lose their husbands but not their intelligence, hands, or capacity to work,” Rigathi said, emphasizing the need to focus on the economic empowerment of the millions of widows living in Africa.
The three-day event brought together women leaders from across the continent to discuss the challenges faced by widows and explore ways to improve their living conditions and provide them with the necessary support.
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