THE Women, Family and Community Development Ministry defines single mothers as women who are: widowed with children to bring up; abandoned by their husbands with custody of children without alimony; in the process of divorcing; without secure income from invalid husbands; caring for other peoples children without husbands help; or caring for children not from legitimate marriages.
The ministrys definition can also be loosely applied to another often-used term, female-headed households.