Mjane ni mtu aliyewahi kuwa na mwenzi wa ndoa, halafu akafiwa asioe tena ama asiolewe na mwingine. Ni tofauti na yule asiyewahi kufunga ndoa (ambaye anaweza kuitwa vizuri zaidi mseja au, akiwa mwanamume, hata kapera, ingawa jina hilo la mwisho pengine linaelekea uhuni kidogo) na yule aliyetoa ama kupata talaka (anayeitwa mtaliki). Kutokana na ubaguzi wa kijinsia, zamani wajane wa kike walikosa haki nyingi, inavyoonekana katika Biblia. Kitabu hicho cha dini kinawataja pamoja na mayatima kati ya watu maskini zaidi ambao Mungu ndiye mtetezi wao. Pengine hali hiyo inadumu hata leo katika aina kadhaa za utamaduni, kwa mfano huko India. <http://www.widowsrights.org/index.htm Archived 14 Aprili 2011 at the Wayback Machine.> Carolyn Osiek, "The Widow as Altar: The Rise and Fall of a Symbol," Second Century: A Journal of Early Christian Studies, 3,3 (1983), 159-169. Bonnie Bowman Thurston. The Widows: A Women's Ministry in the Early Church. Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1989. Major, Andrea. Sati: A Historical Anthology. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007. 463. Print. Owen, Margaret.