Conflict Affected Widows: Silence and Absence of Accountability allows Injustice
Conflict Affected Widows, Half-Widows and Child Widows – Recognition, Rights, Reparations.
This is the first in a series of articles published to mark International Widows Day 2026.
Following on from our successful CSW 70 event on conflict affected widows, Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD) held an in-person event at the House of Commons on April 27th called : ‘Conflict affected Widows, Half-Widows and Child Widows – Recognition, Rights, Reparations.’
The purpose of the event was to hear the demands for justice, visibility and safety for widows, half-widows and child widows living in conflict and post conflict settings, whose numbers increase daily, but who largely remain unheard and invisible to the institutions that should protect them.
Our event therefore focussed on access, justice, and the impact of conflict on widowhood, emphasising the legal, social and digital barriers that prevent widows from exercising their rights. We explored how:
- Institutional failures to gather widow-aware, age and gender disaggregated data, including on child widows, ensures that widows and half widows remain invisible to legislators, policymakers, and humanitarian actors;
- Child widows in conflict remain one of the most hidden categories of victims in humanitarian and human rights policy. Their situation is rarely acknowledged in UN mechanisms, despite the protections outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC);
- Specific widow aware data—such as marital status, number of dependents, or household leadership – is necessary for governments to design, implement and finance effective widows’ justice programmes that fulfil their national and global obligations to women and children.
Participants
We were honoured to have as our Chair Baroness Fiona Hodgson, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security.
Speakers included Margaret Owen, OBE – President of WPD, Roseline Orwa – Founder of Rona Foundation in Kenya and instigator of the Siaya County Widows Protection Bill in Siaya County, Kenya, and Shamin Shawl from Kashmir, who spoke passionately on behalf of half-widows (the wives of the disappeared or missing in action).
Iris Sawalha, Regional Programme Specialist for Evidence for Results at UN Women, contributed by video with an inspiring and encouraging call to action to demand that widows, half-widows and child widows are a named category in any gender disaggregated data collection.
Dr Eva Khair presented latest evidence on the situation of widows in Sudan and the ‘layered nature of injustice and violence’ which includes widows and half-widows. Eva was unable to join in person. Jacqueline Musugani of IFESIDDI in DR Congo likewise contributed by video.
The event also featured research on the legal challenges faced by child widows and half-widows and possible avenues for reparations, presented by Nadia Tazi, Nella Birch, Simran Brahmbhatt and Tanay Mukherjee – law students of BPP Education.
The event concluded with a rousing Call to Action and vote of thanks to all participants delivered by WPD’s Founder and President Margaret Owen, OBE.
Please help us to empower widows of all ages
Articles published by WPD to mark International Widows Day 2026:
From Three Widows to a Movement for Justice: Reflections on the Siaya Widows Protection Act (2025) – Kenya
Improving Healthcare for Poor and Rural Widows – Widows Rejoice Mission, Nigeria
Widows’ Economic Empowerment in Abia State, Nigeria – Widows Development Organisation (WiDO)
When Grief Meets Paperwork: Widowhood, Legal Status and Exclusion in Cox’s Bazar