Widows of Kilimanjaro
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Abstract
This ethnographic study examines how social structure constrains the well-being of widows in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, explores the role of women’s agency in bettering their lives, and looks at tension between international and local development projects. I collaborated with the Moshi Widows Education and Counseling Centre (MOWECCE), an organization that provides community sensitization seminars, individual counseling, social support, legal advice, and a small loans program. Focusing on gender equality, the organization promotes widows’ rights to raise their children, to protect themselves from AIDS, to economic security, and to respect within their communities. Factors that appear to mitigate the structural challenges of widowhood in Tanzania include education, social support, employment out of the home, having children, and strong relationships between the widow and her husband’s clan. While social structure influences outcomes, understanding the role of social action in constructing healthy communities offers insight into the process of social change.