Our justice program seeks to raise awareness on widowhood issues and take action to address injustices related to land, housing and widows’ rights. Nyanam has facilitated widows to design and evaluate creative social change projects that seek to challenge norms and replace them with productive attitudes and practices. In conducting these projects, Nyanam collects data which is utilized to help design programming and advocacy. Past research has included an evaluation of health support systems for widows in Africa and an exploration of widows’ experiences with sexual exploitation. The findings from these projects informed Nyanam’s request that the Kisumu County Government allocate more funding toward supporting the health and economic well-being of widows in the area. 

Our justice program uses a restorative justice approach to improve widows access to and ownership of land and access to good housing.​

Why land justice and widow rights?

Nyanam focuses on advocating for widows because of the culturally entrenched and challenging issues they face. Statistically, widows experience twice as much physical, sexual and economic violence as married women. Cultural practices such as widow inheritance, traditionally intended to provide socio-economic support to widows, have devolved to forbid widow remarriage, and at the same time coerce widows into high-risk sex with temporary non-faithful partners. 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. In the Lake Victoria region where Nyanam operates, more than 60% of HIV positive women are widows. Cases of property disinheritance are also high among widows.

​LAND JUSTICE​

• To help 50 widows obtain or start the journey of acquiring a land title deed in their names in 2023 and obtain the deeds by 2024

Why Housing security?

Across our country, widows face the threat of land grabbing and eviction from their homes. At Nyanam, only 14% of widows own land titles in their names and 31% are experiencing land conflicts. In addition, majority of the widows live in poor housing. For example, Alice, a widow suffering with undiagnosed mental illness lives with her four children in a small, dilapidated house in a swampy area. The walls of her house are falling apart because of dampness. The roof of the house is old, rusty and leaking such that she hides her children under the bed when it rains. 

HOUSING JUSTICE​

• To build 10 houses per year for 10 widows at Nyanam in partnership with like-minded organizations (Onsite ICF)