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Vivian Magesa, a young widow in Ukerewe, is arranging merchandise, including vegetables and fruits, in her pavilion to get them ready to sell. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPSUKARA, Tanzania(, Apr 04 (IPS) - The night after her husband was laid to rest, 24-year-old Vivian Magesa sat in the dimly lit brick-walled house, surrounded by women from her late husband’s family. She had spent the past few days in mourning, wrapped in a white shroud, her head shaved as custom dictated. But as the hushed voices of her in-laws filled the room, Magesa realized her grief was far from over.
“It’s time,” one of the older women told her, pulling her up by the arm. Magesa’s heart pounded. She knew what came next. She had to be cleansed.
On Tanzania’s Lake Victoria’s Ukerewe Island, where the Kerewe, Jita, and Kara ethnic groups dominate, widowhood is not merely about loss—it is a transformation, a passage that demands rituals to separate the living from the dead. And for a young woman like Magesa, whose husband perished in a grisly boat accident while fishing, it means submitting to a practice deeply ingrained into the island’s culture: widow cleansing—a sexual rite that forces women into intimacy with a relative of their deceased husband or, in some cases, a total stranger, all in the name of purification.
A ritual steeped in fear and tradition
In Ukerewe, as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, widowhood is seen as a spiritual contamination. It is believed that if a widow does not undergo cleansing, the spirit of her deceased husband will haunt the entire bereaved family, bringing misfortune or even death. To prevent this, tradition dictates that she must sleep with a widower from her late husband’s clan and later with a man outside the village—someone who has no connection to her or the family.
“This is how it has always been done,” said Verdiana Lusomya, an elder from the Kara community. “Without cleansing, a widow is untouchable. She cannot cook for her children. She cannot interact freely with others. The curse must be lifted.”
But for many widows, the ritual is not a choice. It is a decree, enforced by family pressure, fear of ostracization, and, in some cases, outright coercion.
A widow’s dilemma
For widows like Magesa, refusal is not an easy option. “When I said no, they told me my children would lose their right to inherit land,” she told IPS. “They said if I refused, I would bring bad luck to my family.”
Another widow, 42-year-old Jenoveva Mujungu, faced a similar ultimatum. She stood her ground for two years, clinging to her Christian faith, but the pressure never ceased. “In the end, I did it,” she admitted. “Not because I believed in it, but because I was tired of being treated like an outcast.”
In some cases, women who refuse the ritual are expelled from their marital homes. Their belongings are thrown out, their children taken away, their connection to the family severed.
“It’s a form of punishment,” said Prisca Jeremiah, an activist from the Mwanza-based Upendo Women’s Rights Organization. “The message is clear: comply or suffer.”
The men who profit from tradition
In Butiriti village, Ukerewe district, the Omwesye—or village cleansers—perform the ritual for a price. They are often men with no formal jobs, sometimes alcoholics, paid a small fee or given livestock for their service. “Some of them are dirty, unkempt,” said one widow, her voice filled with disgust. “They do it for the money, not for the tradition.”
One community health worker on the island noted that some cleansers attempt to protect themselves by inserting herbs into a widow’s body before intercourse, believing it will shield them from disease. But the widows suffer the consequences, often developing infections.
The health consequences of widow cleansing
Health experts warn that widow cleansing is a gateway for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. With no protection used and with some cleansers involved in multiple rituals, the practice fuels a silent health crisis.
“Widows are already vulnerable,” said Furaha Sangawe, a general medical practitioner at Nansio District Hospital. “This ritual makes them even more so. It exposes them to diseases, trauma, and lifelong psychological scars.”
A community torn between change and tradition
Despite the growing awareness of the ritual’s dangers, change is slow. Many on Ukerewe still believe that skipping the cleansing ritual brings bad luck. Elders argue that the practice ensures that family land remains within the clan and prevents widows from remarrying outside their husband’s lineage.
But a rising number of women, emboldened by education and activism, are pushing back. Some are turning to the church for symbolic cleansing, seeking blessings from priests instead of submitting to sex with a cleanser. Others are simply refusing.
“I have not been cleansed, and I am still here,” said Miriam Majole, a 69-year-old widow who defied tradition. “Nothing bad has happened to me or my children.”
Organizations like Kikundi Cha Mila na Desturi Ukerewe (KIMIDEU) are working to educate communities about the harms of the practice. But the fight is uphill. Even as awareness grows, fear holds many women in its grip.
A future without widow cleansing?
For Magesa, the night of her cleansing was one of the darkest in her life. “I felt like I had died a second time,” she said. “But I did not have a choice since the pressure was so high?”
Now, she speaks in hushed tones about her hopes for her twin daughters “I want them to have a different life,” she said. “I pray that one day, this ritual will be a thing of the past.”
As Tanzania modernizes, the battle between cultural tradition and human rights intensifies. For now, on the remote island of Ukerewe, many widows remain trapped in a cycle they cannot escape—a ritual performed not for their healing, but for the comfort of those who refuse to let go of the past.
IPS UN Bureau Report,
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