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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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The Conversation: Young and widowed

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Young and widowed

23/11/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Young and widowed

What happens when your spouse dies unexpectedly young?

Kenyan activist Roseline Orwa was 32 when her spouse died; US photographer Anjali Pinto was 26. They share their experiences of grief, stigma, and finding the strength to continue

Who do you picture when you hear the word ‘widow’? The stereotype is probably an elderly woman. But what if your spouse dies unexpectedly young? Two women share their experiences of grief, stigma, and finding the strength to live their lives to the full. 
 
Roseline Orwa is a Kenyan campaigner lobbying for cultural change around widows and the stigma towards them in Kenya and other African countries. She was widowed aged 32, when her husband was killed in post-election violence. Like many women, she had to face 'sexual cleansing' in order to be able to return to day-to-day life. She started the Rona Foundation, supporting and championing the rights of widows across the country. 
 
Anjali Pinto is an American photographer and writer who lost her husband suddenly on New Year's Eve 2016. She was only 26 and they had been married just over a year. Using social media to chronicle her life without her husband and break down taboos around grief, she unintentionally created a community of young widows on Instagram.
 
Presenter: Kim Chakanetsa 
Producers: Rosie Stopher, Alice Gioia
 
Credit: 
L: Roseline Orwa – credit Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity
R: Anjali Pinto – credit Julie Dietz

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