Widows typically face significant challenges related to widowhood, such as restrictive cultural practices, socio-economic hardships, limited property rights, inadequate healthcare access, and social stigma. When a widow is also a migrant returnee, her situation is often compounded by additional layers of vulnerability. While the reintegration experiences of returnee women have received limited empirical attention, studies focusing specifically on widow returnees are even scarcer. Using Dziekońska’s framework, this study explored the reintegration experiences of a returnee widow in Elu Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria, through semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal that the widow has not been fully reintegrated into her late husband’s family and community, as she feels emotionally abandoned, socio-culturally excluded, and environmentally vulnerable. Importantly, the study shows that her reintegration is mediated by kinship governance and patrilineal norms, which shape her access to belonging and the property she co-owned with her late husband. Drawing on this case, the study advances the concept of ‘invisible insiders’ to describe individuals who are formally incorporated into a community through marriage but remain structurally excluded from full membership and protection, particularly after widowhood. Implications of findings for research, policy and social work practice are discussed.
Chukwu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.