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Full-Text Articles in Law
Posthumous Children, Hegemonic Human Rights And The Dilemma Of Reform: Conversations Across Cultures, Uche Ewelukwa
Posthumous Children, Hegemonic Human Rights And The Dilemma Of Reform: Conversations Across Cultures, Uche Ewelukwa
Uche Ewelukwa
A critical analysis of posthumous conception African style (“PPAS”) and posthumous conception Western style (“PPWS”) reveals inconsistencies between the two practices and sheds light on similarities in practices across cultures and civilizations - similarities that are seemingly ignored by international human rights bodies and human rights activists. Under PPAS, there are at least four ways in which a child can be conceived posthumously. A commonality among all four is that no genetic link exists between the dead man and any children attributable to him. PPAS has and continues to be used in many patrilineal African cultures in order to ensure …
Post-Colonialism, Gender, And Customary Injustice: Widows In African Societies, Uche Ewelukwa
Post-Colonialism, Gender, And Customary Injustice: Widows In African Societies, Uche Ewelukwa
Uche Ewelukwa
By amending discriminatory laws and practices related to the treatment of widows in Africa, widows can gain new rights based on evolving international human rights standards on equality. In Nigeria, both common law and statutes perpetuate discrimination against widows by subjecting them to dehumanizing treatment. The current laws ignore the deep social changes that have been present in Africa since the onset of colonialism. Due to the piecemeal way in which African legal systems were constructed, patently discriminatory laws are routinely upheld by the courts. This is done despite constitutional provisions espousing the principles of equality and non-discrimination, thereby creating …