IN Nigeria, and perhaps in some parts of Africa, women have been subjected to varied harmful traditional practices and sexual abuses after the demise of their husbands. These practices often result in violence against women that often lead to physical, sexual, or psychological harm.Some widowhood rites have seriously inhibited women's ability to enjoy rights and freedom on the basis of equality with men. It is this barbaric practice and its negative impact on women that Ebere Cathy Njoku highlights in her maiden book, Could this Be Me'The novel is a fiction that tells the story of Ola who makes the greatest mistake any woman can ever make in her life when she ends up marrying the wrong man. She is subjected to years of untold marital hardship and physical abuse from her spouse. In the end, she takes her son, Nnaa, to seek refuge in the posh home of her sister, Nkechi.When her husband dies suddenly, she has to go through callous widowhood rites amongst her husband's people who accuse her of killing her husband. The intrigues that lead up to Ola's eventual escape and salvation ' how she meets her new man ' are beautifully crafted through a linear plot.In Could this Be Me',Njoku exposes the barbaric cultures in Nigeria that support violence against women in a society that is still largely patriarchal. Ola's story shows how these one-sided practices are only limited to women as men do not mourn their wives in the same manner, suggesting that this practice, rooted in superstition, is an outright discrimination against women.The belief has always been that these traditions are not observed purposely to oppress and intimidate women, but rather to ensure an honourable place for the deceased man in the hereafter as well as guarantee ' for the widows and the living ' respect among the in-laws and lots of blessing from the ancestors.These reasons are, however, grossly inadequate in the light of prevailing realities as shown in Ola's experience in her husband's village on the day of the latter's burial (chapter II). She is seen as the outcast, the accursed one that must be isolated in a damp thatched hut ' far away from 'normal' human beings. She has to swear before the village god for a sin she never committed. These experiences related by the author (chapter 12-14) show that the observance of traditional, cultural or religious practices in Nigeria mirrors a community's values: what they accept as true or real, what they believe, and so on.Some of these practices, which are sometimes passed from generation to generation, have been used to undermine the place of the woman in the community. However, harmful traditional practices such as widowhood inheritance are common in most West African countries.The themes of gender inequality, inhumanity of man to man, cruelty, and deception run through the novel. With these themes, the author shows that widowhood practices in the country are very harmful and constitute a form of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence. Ola's experience with her in-laws illustrates how widowhood rites cause gender inequality and power imbalance between male and female. Therefore, it is a practice that is truly cruel and inhuman.In the novel, Ola is subjected to socio-psychological trauma reflected in harmful health practice, economic exertion and deprivations. She never bathed for days and never had proper meals ' all because she is falsely accused of killing her husband and not disclosing to the village elders all her husband's property.She is roughly treated by close relatives of her late husband, including even fellow women who never thought they would one day be in Ola's position. Of course, one cannot forget her malicious father-in-law who knows quite well she is innocent of the death of her husband. Divine intervention makes him, in the end, to help Ola and her friend Onome to escape from the wrath of the entire village.The 143-page book is a fast-paced narrative in which the author is able to build a certain level of suspense in the reader who always wants to know what happens next. It serves as an eye opener on how women are still shorn of their husband's property, are deprived of inheritance right, and also subjected to other harmful cultural or customary practices in this 21st century.But its strong message is that all persons have right to life, liberty and should be free of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in all cases.Particularly, no one should be subjected to this ill-treatment on account of any prohibited grounds of discrimination, and all should have right to exercise their sexually-free of violence or coercion.Indeed, the novel will provide resource material to elevate the campaign for gender equality as well as stimulate the war against all social practices that trample upon the rights of the girl-child.
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