Every year on June 23, International Widows Day is observed to spread awareness about problems and experiences widows face. It was founded by the Loomba Foundation, an NGO, which is based in London. The United Nation declared June 23 as International Widows Day, back in the year 2011.
As per the United Nations website, there are more than 258 million widows all across the world. The website also shows that 2.7 billion women are denied access to inheritance rights and also face gender-based discrimination.
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History of International Widows Day:
The Loomba foundation established the International Widows Day in memory of Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, who became a widow in the year 1954. In 2005, International Widows Day was observed and was launched by the foundation%u2019s presidents Lord Loomba and Cherie Blair.
Significance and Theme of International Widows Day:
International Widows Day plays a very important role as it highlights the problems faced by widows all across the globe and also spread awareness about the discrimination they face in day-to-day life. The main motto for the celebration of this day is to draw people%u2019s attention so that action can be taken to provide widows full rights.
This year, the theme of International Widows Day is %u2018Invisible Women, Invisible Problems%u2019. Widows face various kinds of problems and as per the United Nations, one out of every 10 women lives in extreme poverty. So, this year%u2019s theme is to identify the problems and women and to make them visible to society.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation worst for women, especially for those who lost their husbands during the pandemic. Most of the women are housewives and do not have any source of income. The policymakers should take some action to address the issue and problems faced by widows.
