Nigeria: Follow-up to NGA33619.E of 27 January 2000 on state protection available to a Christian Yoruba widow of a Muslim man who is now expected to marry her brother-in-law

The following information was obtained from correspondence from the Coordinator of the Kaduna chapter of Women in Nigeria (WIN), who is also a legal practitioner and a women's rights activist (5 Feb. 2000).

Levirate marriages still occur in many part of Nigeria, but cannot be described as "widespread". It used to be a common practice among many ethnic/cultural groups in the country, the purpose of the custom was to retain fertile and well-behaved women (regarded as assets) in their marital families for the benefit of the family, as producers of labour etc.

However, the incidence of such unions has diminished considerably, owing to the profound social and economic changes which have occurred in Nigeria over the past decades.

Levirate marriages are no longer common among urban-based Nigerians, among the educated elite or among Christian Nigerians (who view this practice as unbiblical). Furthermore, many cultural groups have always regarded this practice as abhorrent (for example, the majority Hausa/Fulani Muslim group) for ideological reasons. In contemporary Nigeria, Levirate marriage is restricted to the main traditional rural communities, where the social and economic underpinning of the practice still exist. It is rather more common in the western part (Yoruba) of Nigeria than in staunchly Christian East.

In some of the communities where it is still practised, the widow is given an opportunity to elect which of the eligible relations (usually, the younger male siblings) she will marry. In others, no such opportunity is given to her.

The consequences of declining to remain in the family by marrying the designated relation of a deceased spouse will depend on the widow's status in the family, her age, and her relationship with her in-laws. From my research and knowledge of traditional communities, it would be very unusual for the family to use direct means of compulsion if the woman in question expresses her disinclination. Violence, imprisonment, etc. would be rare (expressed verbally) but the important privileges attached to her status as a wife of the family, may be withdrawn. These include the right to form family land, to remain in the family home, to have access to marital assets (television etc). She may also be threatened with the loss of her children or be ordered to leave the family without them. Anything more direct would attract public disapproval from the community (in most Nigeria communities much significance is attached to public opinion).

A Christian Yoruba woman refusing to conform to the wishes of her in-law in this respect, might encounter the difficulties described above (hostility economic sanction, loss of custody of her children), but anything more direct, such as violence, would be very unusual.

In the face of intense pressure of an unpleasant nature, a woman would be expected to turn to her natal family for support. It is socially unacceptable in Nigeria, to take family issues to formal authorities such as the police or to the court. Most Nigerian women would be extremely reluctant to take such a step, as it would automatically put them "in the wrong" in the eyes of the public, unless violence or some other extraordinary factors were  involved. In any case it is possible that the authorities would decline to get too deeply involved (regarding it as a family matter), unless again a criminal offence of a serious nature had been committed.

Usually, a woman's family would support a woman's choice not to remarry and resent any attempt to compel her to do so. Support would take the form of offering her an alternative accommodation, assisting her to regain custody of her children, assisting her economically, and so forth. However, there are women in Nigeria who may not enjoy such family support, either because their families are too socially or economically weak to offer such support, against hostile in-laws, or because they have no relations close enough to take a serious interest in their well-being. In such cases, women may turn to influential members of the community to prevail on their marital families. If a woman can gain the sympathy of a social superior member of the community, this would usually be an effective means of resistance (though she would earn the undying hostility of her in-laws).

The age of the woman would affect her treatment by the family. Firstly, it is unlikely that a woman of advanced age, whose reproductive career has ended, would be seriously sought after, or pressured into marriage, in the family – particularly as she is likely to have adult sons to protect her interests. Also significant would be her social status vis a vis the family, her level of education and her economic position. The better her circumstances in these respects the less likely that she would be subjected to serious pressure to remarry in the family.

Younger women in the early part of their reproductive careers, particularly if also physically attractive and "well behaved," might be subjected to more pressure, especially if she is from socially and  economically disadvantaged family in comparison with her in-laws.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Coordinator, Women in Nigeria (WIN), Kaduna Chapter. 5 February 2000. Correspondence.