Two sources on Nigeria stated in separate telephone interviews on 22 and 23 August 2000 that a male relative of a deceased man is able to refuse to participate in a levirate marriage with the widow. The sources are the principal consultant with Alart Consultancy in Toronto, who is a political scientist by training and a specialist on Nigeria, and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her research interests are: "symbolic and historical anthropology; cosmology, gender, and space; Igbo ethnography; West Africa.

Both sources stated that both the widow and the designated man can choose not to participate, although there would be some consequences. They said that the man would not be at risk of death or injury, but could be shunned or ostracized by his family. They described levirate marriages as a form of social welfare, whereby a woman is able to access some formalized family support upon the death of her husband. As such, if the designated male decides not to fulfill his responsibility in this aspect of social welfare, then the family could react by not allowing him access to other family social welfare measures. These could include access to land for farming, his portion of the inheritance from the deceased, family support to his business, and/or participation at family events.

The associate professor stated that it is the next younger brother of the deceased who is normally expected to assume the levir responsibility. If there is no younger brother, then the family would generally know who in the family was supposed to become levir. She also said that the practice of levirate tends to occur in traditional, not Christian, marriages. She emphasized that the arrangement is not one of "romantic love" but is instead about lineage and maintaining responsibility. The practice is breaking down in urban settings where the lineage does not have the same power as in a rural setting. The designated man who has grown up in a city is likely to react with the question of "What do I get out of this?"

The associate professor said that she knows of a lot of men who "got out" of the obligation by finding someone else in the family to take the responsibility, or by "simply taking off." However, she described the potential consequences as "big-time family problems" as a result of the man "not holding up his part of the lineage." He could be cut out of many, if not all, family activities and benefits and he would no longer be welcome at home. The associate professor added her opinion that the widow probably has more choice in the matter than does the man.

Some of this information was corroborated in correspondence from the founder and International Advocate of Empowering Widows in Development (EWD), which is an international organization working on widowhood issues in developing countries and serving as an umbrella for 40 non-governmental organizations in Africa and South Asia (24 Aug. 2000). The founder is a lawyer and sociologist whose work focuses on widowhood issues. In her correspondence she emphasized:

It is impossible to "generalise" about the outcomes for widows in Nigeria as a whole.

Different ethnic groups have different customs. And even within ethnic groups, depending on many factors including location (rural or urban), family dynamics and relationships, education levels of "all" members of the family group, there may be different degrees of compliance with custom and tradition.

When asked if the designated male could refuse to participate in a levirate marriage and, if so, what consequences he would face for refusing, the International Advocate wrote:

To many educated and independent-minded Nigerian men, especially professional men who have been educated in the West or are more urbanised and influenced to respect ideas of equality and non-discrimination, the custom of "levirate" is repugnant and an abomination. However the strength of the "kinship group" can be very strong, and much pressure can be exercised on a man to fulfil the obligations he is deemed by them to have under customary law and the respect due to the "ancestors".

Pressure could be exercised in many ways including threats of violence, or, in some cases, witchcraft accusations. The root incentive to continue this practice relates to inheritance and land ownership. That is, to ensure that the land remains with the husband's kin and the widow continues as a "chattel" owned by the family.

If the man did refuse, the widow herself could be branded as a witch and accused of having used "witchcraft" on him. Accusations of witchcraft are commonly hurled at widows, making her vulnerable to extreme acts of violence, ending in suicide or violent death.

We have come across very very few cases where a man has successfully extricated himself from this practice. The one that springs to mind (not in Nigeria but elsewhere in Africa) was where the "levir" was some 15 years younger than the widow and it was repugnant to him to have to have sexual relations with her.

It would be very rare for the refusal of a potential levir to become "public knowledge" as there is, in many ethnic groups in Nigeria, a strict "taboo" against bringing such issues into discussion in the public domain.

... It is very rare for a relative to refuse, and even if he did the "kingroup" would easily find another substitute within the family.

In a thesis entitled "Widowhood Among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria" Korieh provided the following comments from some women as to why levirate marriages are no longer common:

Resources are scarce and men no longer want to waste their resources to cater for a woman and children who do not belong to him legally;

A widow and her children in the past increased a man's pool of labour for farm work. Farming is increasingly becoming less important as a measure of wealth and status symbol;

Theoretically a widow and her children are not the levir's property. So people are no longer willing to raise children which they may not benefit from in feature ;

It brings problems in the family;
It is against Christian ethics;
My children will not like it (Spring 1996).

The International Advocate of EWD also provided the following general information concerning levirate marriages:

There is a strong tradition in many ethnic groups in Nigeria that the deceased man's brother either "inherits" the widow, or enters into a "levirate" relationship with her. IN many traditional societies, death does not end the marriage, and the widow is obliged to continue to conceive children in her dead husband's name through impregnation by the "levir".i.e. the male relative of the husband,

This custom is age-old and was historically a means of ensuring that the widow and her children continue to receive support in the family. The children belong to the husband's kin (unless the group is a matrilineal one). Tragically for many widows, this custom has in recent times been grossly abused, and widows, made pregnant by the "levir" are then abandoned by him and "chased-off" from the family homestead and lands. Also, the sexual act of the "levir" may be seen as a "rape" since it is without the real consent of the widow but agreed to because of extreme coercion, or through violence.

The custom is outlawed by present international human rights treaties (such as CEDAW), is contrary to the non-discrimination clauses of the Nigerian Constitution, and , as Nigerian Courts have recently held (Muojekwu v Ejikeme. (2000) 5. Nigerian Law Reports) traditions which are repugnant to modern standards of human rights, should not take precedence over international treaty obligations. However, traditions are very strong and widows continue victims of discriminatory customary laws, without any access to the protection of modern law, or of the civil authorities (24 Aug. 2000).

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. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Associate Professor of Anthropology, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 22 August 2000. Telephone interview.

Empowering Widows in Development (EWD). 24 August 2000. Correspondence from Founder and International Advocate.

Korieh, Chima Jacob. Spring 1996. "Widowhood Among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria." Thesis submitted for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in History, University of Bergen, Norway. http://www.uib.no/hi/korieh/chima-Chapter-3.html#Heading21 [Accessed 18 Aug. 2000]

Principal Consultant, Alart Consultancy, Toronto. 23 August 2000. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS-NEXIS

REFWORLD

Resource Centre. Nigeria country file. September 1997 - July 2000.

World News Connection (WNC)

Unsuccessful attempts to contact one non-documentary source

Internet sites including:

Empowering Widows in Development

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge].

OneWorld.Net

Search engines including:

Google

HotBot