Widowhood and Psychosocial Challenges in Low-Resourced Communities in South Africa: Revelations from Ngaka Modiri Molema District of the North West Province in South Africa

Unless the psychosocial challenges experienced by widows in low-resourced communities are unpacked and understood, efforts to offer them proper and befitting interventions for their experiences will remain scant in South Africa. This paper explores the psychosocial challenges faced by widows in Ngaka Modiri Molema, a district in South Africa’s North West Province with limited resources. Using a qualitative approach and an exploratory descriptive design, this study employed homogeneous purposive sampling to ensure inclusion of widows who have experienced the psychosocial challenges of widowhood in Ngaka Modiri Molema. In-depth interviews conducted with twelve widows provided data saturation. The data were analysed thematically using predetermined and emerging themes, critically discussed and compared to the existing literature. The findings revealed that there were endemic and unexplored psychological issues such as anxiety, stress and depression, whilst some social challenges such as property disputes, eviction from the land and stigma were experienced by widows in the district since the death of their husbands. This paper recommends relevant holistic interventions to ameliorate the psychosocial challenges experienced by the widows in the district.