Widows now face stigma as Covid-19 disrupts funeral rites

Partners who fail to perform burial rituals face stigma and untold repurcussions (Photo: Shutterstock)

They watch from a distance as their loved one’s body is lowered into the grave; they are not allowed to even toss a handful of soil as a sign of goodbye to their kin whose life was taken away by Covid-19.

It is the new normal at funerals in line with the regulations put in place by the government, but in communities that believe in throwing soil into a partner’s grave, it has thrown long-held traditions around burials into disarray. And for those left behind, it has meant facing up to unexpected realities.