Widow inheritance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Widow inheritance, also known as bride inheritance, is a type of marriage in which a widow marries a kinsman of her late husband, often his brother.
It can have various forms and functions in different cultures, serving in relative proportions as a social protection for, and control over, the widow and her children. She may have the right to require her late husband's extended family to provide her with a new man, or conversely she might have the obligation to accept the man put forward by the family, with no real prospect of turning him down, if her birth family will not accept her back into their home.
The custom is sometimes justified on the basis that it ensures that the wealth does not leave the patrilineal family. It is also sometimes justified as a protection for the widow and her children.
A form of widow inheritance existed in ancient Judaism, where it is known as levirate marriage (see yibbum). It is known in India [1]. It is common in certain African groups, for example the Luo in Kenya and Uganda around Lake Victoria.
As it is a mechanism for the transmission of HIV within a given social community, women are increasingly challenging this custom as an abuse of their human rights[citation needed].
[edit] See also
- Levirate marriage, the term by which this practice is better known
