A young widow says she is facing public ridicule after a video showing her with another man just a week after her husband’s burial went viral on social media.
The footage, which surfaced on Crime Watch Zimbabwe, has sparked outrage among her in-laws and online users, many of whom have criticized her for moving on too quickly.
According to the video, the widow was caught in bed with a man inside her marital home by her late husband’s relatives. She said the confrontation quickly turned heated, with family members shaming her for what they viewed as disrespect to the deceased. The woman, however, defended her actions, stating that she had been struggling with urges for intimacy since her husband’s death and chose to act on them.
“They should have asked me how I was coping,” the widow reportedly said, accusing the family of physically assaulting her during the confrontation. When her in-laws suggested she should have spoken to them about her struggles, she fired back, questioning sarcastically whether she should have turned to them or her late husband’s brothers for comfort.
Despite the backlash, the woman remained defiant, insisting that her decision to begin a new relationship was her own and that she stood by it.
The incident has reignited conversations around gendered expectations in mourning. In many traditional communities, widows are expected to observe a mourning period of at least one year before engaging in new romantic relationships, after which a cleansing ritual is usually performed. In contrast, widowers often face less scrutiny for remarrying or dating soon after their partner’s death.
