International Widows Day 2023; June 23rd.

FORUM: "Let's work to ensure that widows of all ages, whatever their religion, ethnicity, caste, class, or nationality, are protected from discrimination, violence and poverty – thus enabling them to enjoy their full human rights as equal and valuable members of society." International Widows’ Day 2023. 

EVENTS: The UN-Women, the UNFPA, the OHCHR, the Civil society organizations and Non-governmental organizations will held a webinar on June 23rd to mark the International Widows’ Day 2023.

FACTS AND FIGURES

By 2015 at least 38 million widows globally were living in extreme poverty.

This number is now hugely increased by armed conflicts, migration, violent extremism, natural disasters, and epidemics of disease now including Covid-19. Widows suffering marginalisation and deprivation of assets may resort to begging, child labour, withdrawal of children from education, early or enforced marriage of children and prostitution – creating a cycle of disadvantage and poverty within future generations that threatens progress with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Widows are among the most vulnerable in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Sexual and gender-based violence towards widows, frequently exacerbated by religious and ethnic discrimination, is widespread in such situations and tends to persist even after conflict has ended. Frequently lacking death certificates or any information on their partners’ whereabouts, ‘half widows’ (partners of the missing or forcibly disappeared) are often unable to access pensions or compensation, to claim any rightful inheritance, or remarry.

Millions of widows suffer widespread stigma, discrimination and abuse.

In many countries widows are seen as a burden on society or even ‘ill-omened’, with consequent exclusion and abuse carried out by their own families and communities. Widows often suffer traditional prohibitions on dress, diet and social mobility, and can be subjected to ‘widow inheritance’ in which a widow is forcibly ‘passed on’ to a designated male such as her deceased husband’s brother. Even worse are the harmful traditional practices (HTPs) such as ritual ‘sexual cleansing’, where a widow is made to have unprotected sex with a male relation or even a non-relative.

NEWS: To address the urgent social needs of widows', the UN Women provides empowerment courses targeting vulnerable women with funding support.

- Breaking stereotypes and empowering widows in Iraq - UN WOMEN.

- How UNFPA helps elderly Venezuelan migrants and refugees envision their future in Brazil?

International Widows Day 2022; June 23rd.

 FORUM: Towards progress for widows. International Widows Day 2022.

The Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows – too long invisible, uncounted and ignored.

A dearth of reliable hard data remains one of the major obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discrimination suffered by widows. There is a need for more research and statistics disaggregated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows.

 Furthermore, Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations. 

Programmes and policies for ending violence against widows and their children, poverty alleviation, education and other support to widows of all ages also need to be undertaken, including in the context of action plans to accelerate achievement of the Global Goals.

 In post-conflict situations, widows should be brought in to participate fully in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes to ensure that they contribute to sustainable peace and security. Empowering widows through access to adequate healthcare, education, decent work, full participation in decision-making and public life, and lives free of violence and abuse, would give them a chance to build a secure life after bereavement. Importantly, creating opportunities for widows can also help to protect their children and avoid the cycle of inter-generational poverty and deprivation. 

EVENTS: Ending the world's silence on widows: Opportunities for leadership around the world.

For more information about the Global Fund for Widows’ June 21 event please visit

The event, entitled, “Ending the World’s Silence on Widows: Opportunities for Leadership around the World,” will be held on Tuesday, June 21. During the event, the speakers, comprised of policymakers and gender advocates from around the world, will discuss opportunities to mainstream widows into social policies, human rights reporting, and business practices. Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals as its framework, the event aims to provide concrete and actionable recommendations across sectors in order to address the needs of widows suffering human rights violations and discrimination in certain parts of the world.

The panel will feature:

• High Commissioner Callista Mutharika, Former First Lady of Malawi and widow of former President Bingu wa Mutharika.
• The Honourable Baindu Dassama, Minister of Social Welfare of Sierra Leone
• Karen Fowler, designer and Co-Founder of Pour Les Femmes
• Ms. Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, President of the Global Fund for Widows
• and feature Mr. Vikas Khanna, Michelin-starred Chef and Global Goodwill Ambassador for Widows.

International Widows' Day 2021; June 23rd

 FORUM:  "Lets commit to making sure all widows occupy a respected place in our societies" International Widows' Day 2021

Webinar series on widows empowerment.

Statement by the United Nations Secretary General on International Widows' Day 2021; June 23rd.

For many widows, losing their husband also means losing identity, land rights, property, income, and possibly their children. Their physical safety is at greater risk, just when they may be suffering serious emotional trauma.

Human rights, including the right to inherit and own property, should not be contingent on marital status. Inheritance laws and social safety nets should ensure that widows are protected and secure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has both increased the number of widows globally and exacerbated many of the challenges they face, including access to bank accounts and pensions. As governments provide economic and social support in response to the pandemic, they must consider the world’s 250 million widows. Even before the pandemic hit, nearly one in ten widows lived in extreme poverty.

Social assistance, including cash transfers and pensions, can help support widows who are often left to take full responsibility for their families. Governments should make special efforts to ensure these measures reach women with low visibility, for example, those without identity cards or bank accounts.

I urge every country, as a critical element of my Call to Action on Human Rights, to pass and implement legislation and policies that promote gender equality, and to repeal all discriminatory laws that perpetuate women’s subjugation and exclusion. The persecution and disinheritance of widows, by law and custom, is one of the worst examples of gender discrimination.

On International Widows’ Day, let’s commit to making sure all widows occupy a respected place in our societies, with access to legal and social protection, so they can live their lives in peace and reach their full potential.

International Widows Day (IWD) 2014, June 23.

International Widows’ Day, 23 June.

Día Internacional de las Viudas, 23 de junio.

 Международный день вдов, 23 июня.

Journée internationale des veuves, 23 juin.

 国际丧偶妇女日, 6月23日.

 اليوم الدولي للأرامل

United Nations Secretary-General’s Message for International Widow's Day 2014.

No woman should lose her rights when she loses her husband – but an estimated 115 million widows live in poverty, and 81 million have suffered physical abuse.
Girls married to much older men are especially vulnerable.

Let us use International Widows’ Day to advocate for the rights of all widows so they can enjoy better lives and realize their great potential to contribute to our world.

Ban Ki-moon

 International Widows Day (IWD) is a global day of focus for effective action to raise awareness and help widows and their children around the world who are suffering through poverty, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS, conflict and social injustice. There are an estimated 245 million widows and 500 million children in the world, together with their family members the number is well over a billion people. Through no fault of their own they lose their husband or father and continue to suffer for the rest of their lives through stigma, discrimination and poverty. On the 22nd December 2010 at the 65th UN General Assembly, the United Nations recognised 23rd June as International Widows Day.

Why the UN recognised International Widows Day – 23rd June ?

  °  245 million widows and over 500 million children suffer in silence worldwide
   ° Over 115 million widows live in poverty struggling to survive
  °  Many of these women and their children are malnourished, exposed to disease, and subjected to extreme forms of deprivation
  °  Widowed women experience targeted murder, rape, prostitution, forced marriage, property theft, eviction, social isolation, and physical abuse
   ° 1.5 million widows’ children in the world die before their fifth birthday
  °  Children of widows face horrors such as child marriage, illiteracy, loss of schooling, forced labour, human trafficking, homelessness and sexual abuse
  °  HIV/AIDS, armed conflict and poverty are amongst the most prolific causes of widowhood
  °  Persecution and abuse against widows and their children is not a crisis limited to the developing world, large groups of widows can also be found in Europe, including Russia and Central Asia
  °  Widows in developed countries face social isolation and commonly live with severe insecurity and poverty due to lack of affordable health care and employment.


 Forum and Discussion of The Day

Join the Forum : International Widow's Day, June 23.

Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity, Picture It!

UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka cordially invites you to the launch of UN Women's global campaign to mark the 20th anniversary of the World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Speakers include United Nations Deputy Secretary-General,Jan Eliasson ; Under Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director,Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; activist Gloria Steinem and other eminent personalities, along with renowned musical artists Women of the World, Girl Be Heard and spoken-word artist Carlos Andrés Gómez.

26 June 2014 , Empowering women, Empowering Humanity Picture It! • 5-7 pm • Apollo Theater, 253 W 125th Street, New York

RSVP to http://goo.gl/BTBB9p

Resources

Marking International Widows’ Day 2014, Ban urges end to harmful practices, abuse against women