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Today is International Widows' Day
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
We must ensure that widows enjoy the rights and social protection they deserve. Death is inevitable, but we can reduce the suffering of widows by raising their status and helping them in their time of need. This will promote the full and equal participation of all women in society.
The first International Widow's Day was celebrated by the world community in 2011. This date provides an opportunity to pay attention to the plight of women and children left without male support. This is called for by the UN General Assembly resolution, which was issued in December 2010 and secured the status of June 23 as an international day.
According to the United Nations, there are about 250 million widows in the world today, 115 million of whom are in poverty. Many widows live in countries where armed conflicts are raging; their situation is especially difficult: they lose their husbands at a young age, and are forced to raise children in combat conditions and without any support from others.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many countries a woman's status is derived from that of her husband, and, having become a widow, she can lose everything - even the most basic means of subsistence. There are countries where widows have no access to inheritance, are deprived of the right to employment, and cannot be considered full members of society.
Speaking on the first International Widows' Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that all women who have lost their husbands should enjoy the rights enshrined in international human rights treaties. He also called on governments to pay special attention to widows and their children.
On the first Widows' Day, an international discussion was held at the UN headquarters, in which prominent human rights activists, including many women, took part. It is expected that in the future, information events will be held on this day to raise public awareness of the situation of widows.