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   Nigeria is not the only country that violates the rights of widows. These violations can be seen in some parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In many developing countries, widows are shunned from the society. In India, the Hindu widows are  the poorest of the poor and are ostracized from their community. Their heads are also shaved and are typically forced to wear white.
  
                                       Why Care?
  Though widowhood is only a small fraction of the problem, by addressing this problem we can further improve the overall status of women. Awareness and knowledge is the key to the future's success. Therefore, we must work hard to fight for equal rights for women worldwide. 

                                       Why Nigeria?
I chose to focus on widows in Nigeria, mainly because of the lack of awareness surrounding these issues. Many people are aware of some of the issues that widows face. However, many people don't know that in Nigeria the social status of widows has not improved. Though there were some changes made in our laws, many of these laws are not nationwide. Nigeria's has yet to improve their human rights record. Still problems such as child labor, female genital mutilation, human trafficking and domestic violence remain common in the society. 
                                                                                 
                                                                                      Nigerian Human Rights Issues
                              Over the two past decades, the police force in Nigeria has infringed the basic rights of its people,which is of great concern to many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.  A major concern for these organizations is the corruption. In Nigeria, police officers always ask drivers and passengers for money at roadside checkpoints. If people fail to comply, they are often beaten or arrested. Police brutality is often never addressed by either the government or the media. It is not uncommon for a police to kill someone intentionally, and not be held responsible for his or her actions. Kidnapping people for ransom has become very common in the Nigerian society. In order to illustrate the abuse of power in Nigeria, I will show you a case that has become one of the primary concerns for Amnesty International. 
          At the age of sixteen, Patrick Okoroafor, was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for involvement in a robbery and kidnapping. He was imprisoned for something he vows he never did. According to his brother, he went to the police station because the police wanted to inspect a car that his mother had bought from a suspect. While in prison, he was beaten and abused. His teeth were pulled out with pliers.Though he wrote a letter to the government for his appeal, it was rejected. Patrick remains in prison till this day.
   
~Ultimately, it is up to us to decide the fate of our future. The future lies in our hands, so it is up to us to improve the social betterment of our people.~