The plight of widows around the world will come into focus on the third annual International Widows Day to be held on 23rd June.
First held in 2011 following a declaration by the UN General Assembly, the day is aiming at casting light on the estimated 115 million widows who live in poverty and the 81 million who have suffered physical abuse.
In a statement made for the day, Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, called for the day to be used in advocating “for the rights of all widows so they can enjoy better lives and realize their great potential to contribute to our world”.
The origins of the day go back to research carried out by The Loomba Foundation, an international NGO aimed at helping widows and their children, in 2009 which provided an indepth analysis of the plight of widows around the world.
It showed how due to cultural discrimination of widows in a number of countries where widows can be viewed as “bad luck”, they have been ostracised as well as targeted for rape, torture and even murder.
Among those supporting the day is Gospel for Asia which operates in South Asia including in India where one in four homes is that of a widow. It will be providing special meals and worship services for widows on the day and will be distributing piglets to help provide a source of income and colorful saris (widows in some parts of India are required to only wear white, the color of death).
KP Yohannan, the organisation’s founder and president, says: “God’s Word calls us to visit widows in their distress and to care for them. We cannot neglect those who are suffering through no fault of their own.”
~ www.un.org/en/events/widowsday/
~ www.gfa.org/giving/help-a-widow/