Nutrition, Religion, and Widowhood in Nigeria

Annamaria Milazzo and Dominique van de Walle

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2021, vol. 69, issue 3, 951 - 1001

Abstract: Muslim women have appreciably lower nutritional status than Christian women in Nigeria. This difference is explained by covariates. Accounting for those covariates, we find that Muslim widows enjoy higher nutritional status than Christian widows, particularly in rural areas. The patterns are robust to including village effects and confirmed for mixed-religion ethnic groups. The data are consistent with more favorable processes following widowhood among Muslims, namely, inheritance practices and remarriage options. Muslim widows are less likely to be dispossessed of property or to be mistreated by in-laws. Muslim women are more likely to be chronically undernourished but less nutritionally vulnerable to this marital shock.

Date: 2021
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