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Today is International Widows Day
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
We must ensure that the widows enjoy the rights and social protection they deserve. Death is inevitable, but we can reduce the suffering of widows if we improve their status and help them in a difficult moment. This will promote the full and equal participation of all women in society.
The first International Widow's Day (International Widow's Day) was celebrated by the international community in 2011. This date gives an opportunity to pay attention to the plight of women and children left without male support. This is called for by the resolution of the UN General Assembly, which was issued in December 2010 and fixed for June 23 the status of an international day.
According to the United Nations, to date there are about 250 million widows in the world, of which 115 million are experiencing poverty. A lot of widows live in countries where armed conflicts are raging; their situation is particularly difficult: they lose their husbands at a young age, while being forced to raise children in combat and without any support from the outside.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many countries the status of a woman is derived from the status of her spouse and, widowed, she can lose everything - up to elementary means of subsistence. There are states where widows do not have access to inheritance, are deprived of the right to work, can not be considered full-fledged members of society.
Speaking on the occasion of the first International Widow's Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that all women who lost husbands should enjoy the rights enshrined in international treaties on the protection of human rights. He also called on governments to pay special attention to widows and their children.
On the first day of widows at the UN headquarters, an international discussion took place, in which prominent human rights activists, including many women, took part. It is expected that further information on this day will be carried out to raise public awareness of the situation of widows.