International Widows' Day is recognized by the United Nations as a day in honour of the world's 259 million widows. It draws attention to the poverty, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS, sexual abuse, conflict, social injustice, and stigma faced by widows and their children.
It is a relatively new observance on the calendar. It was launched in 2005, by the Loomba Foundation, at the British House of Lords in London, and takes place every June 23rd, the day Lord Loomba's mother became a widow.
Globally, HIV/AIDS, wars and armed conflicts, and poverty are the leading causes of widowhood. The United Nations reports that each year, hundreds of thousands of lives are lost due to conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Syria; also by the Boko Haram insurgency, lives are lost in Northeastern Nigeria, Southeast Niger, West Chad and North Cameroon. The population of widows and orphans is rising significantly. It is estimated that there are 844 million widows and orphans on the planet.
The Loomba Foundation reports that, "widows in developed countries face isolation and commonly live with severe insecurity and poverty due to lack of affordable health care and employment". In North America, and Europe, a woman's pension can be 40 percent lower than a man's.
The Foundation says, "widowed women experience targeted murder, rape prostitution, forced marriage, property theft, eviction, social isolation, and physical abuse". The Foundation reports that of the 38 million widows who live in extreme poverty, many are forced to engage in "exchange sex and survivor sex" to live. Their children, "face horrors such as child marriage, illiteracy, loss of schooling, forced labour, human trafficking, homelessness, and sexual abuse".
The United Nations' Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, asks that we all, "pledge to make widows more visible in our societies, and to support them in living productive, equal and fulfilling lives." He says the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its pledge to leave no one behind, "has a particular resonance for widows, who are among the most marginalised and isolated."
The Loomba Foundation raises funds to help widows change their lives for the better. To date, the Foundation has, "educated over 10 thousand children of poor widows, and supported over 60 thousand of their family members", in India. They offer skills and equipment training, and business advice for widows who want to start their own businesses, or find employment. They are currently looking for donations to purchase sewing machines, and sponsor more widows.
Photographs Copyright of: Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.
It is a relatively new observance on the calendar. It was launched in 2005, by the Loomba Foundation, at the British House of Lords in London, and takes place every June 23rd, the day Lord Loomba's mother became a widow.
Globally, HIV/AIDS, wars and armed conflicts, and poverty are the leading causes of widowhood. The United Nations reports that each year, hundreds of thousands of lives are lost due to conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Syria; also by the Boko Haram insurgency, lives are lost in Northeastern Nigeria, Southeast Niger, West Chad and North Cameroon. The population of widows and orphans is rising significantly. It is estimated that there are 844 million widows and orphans on the planet.
The Loomba Foundation reports that, "widows in developed countries face isolation and commonly live with severe insecurity and poverty due to lack of affordable health care and employment". In North America, and Europe, a woman's pension can be 40 percent lower than a man's.
The Foundation says, "widowed women experience targeted murder, rape prostitution, forced marriage, property theft, eviction, social isolation, and physical abuse". The Foundation reports that of the 38 million widows who live in extreme poverty, many are forced to engage in "exchange sex and survivor sex" to live. Their children, "face horrors such as child marriage, illiteracy, loss of schooling, forced labour, human trafficking, homelessness, and sexual abuse".
The United Nations' Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, asks that we all, "pledge to make widows more visible in our societies, and to support them in living productive, equal and fulfilling lives." He says the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its pledge to leave no one behind, "has a particular resonance for widows, who are among the most marginalised and isolated."
The Loomba Foundation raises funds to help widows change their lives for the better. To date, the Foundation has, "educated over 10 thousand children of poor widows, and supported over 60 thousand of their family members", in India. They offer skills and equipment training, and business advice for widows who want to start their own businesses, or find employment. They are currently looking for donations to purchase sewing machines, and sponsor more widows.
Photographs Copyright of: Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.
Thanks for sharing Ruth. How sad and cruel is the world on widows...
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