Constructing Meaning to Enhance Mental Wellness for Christian Widows in Kenya

Abstract

Death the unwelcome visitor, leaves in its wake a brew of emotions and milestones to be negotiated. Individuals experience death and its aftermath differently. Widows are vulnerable adults who suffer unfair treatment in many African cultures. As soon as she becomes a widow, a woman’s status changes. She loses certain rights and privileges in communities where marriage is viewed as a key to a social class. Widows are expected to partake in rituals and practices that widowers do not. Some of these practices are dehumanizing and psychologically distressing. The rituals and practices are compulsory. Not engaging in them would lead to being ostracized. Remarriage on the other hand is stigmatized, unless it is done within the family as an African woman is married to the clan. The widow, being part of the community understands the meaning of the rituals and practices. She understands what will befall her and her children if she does not accomplish these expectations. Widows live in a community that cannot support them due to the changes that have been caused by contemporary living. Faced with such challenges she a widow has difficult decisions to make. The cultural setup offers little support, she must take responsibility of her mental health. Widows can find solace in the church, among the community of believers. Here one can construct different meanings of death, bereavement, and widowhood using the scripture as a guide rather than the dehumanizing cultural practices related to death and bereavement. The new meaning acts as a gateway to freedom, even as she continues living as a member of the cultural community.