As the number of widows and wives of the missing continues to grow, the international community remains silent on this ever-pressing issue. The neglect from national governments and other global institutions, including the United Nations (UN), serves to increase the poverty, displacement and vulnerability that widows and their children face daily…
The plight of widows is something that urgently needs addressing but the lack of official government statistics on the matter adds to the difficulty of grasping a true understanding of just how immense the scale of this issue is.
#16Days of Activism: Celebrate, Advocate, Encourage a Widow
Rona Foundation is a widow human rights organisation in Kenya and a partner of WPD.
During this year’s 16 Days of Activism themed; ‘Orange the world: End violence against women now!’ Rona aims, through an online video campaign, to amplify the voices of widows of all ages.
The videos will be shared on social media platforms with the aim of increasing knowledge and improving community participation on widow matters.
Education charity reaches out to widows of all ages
Widows for Peace Through Democracy (WPD) welcomes new associate Education Saves Lives.
The UK charity was inspired by an AIDS widow in Uganda and provides free interactive audio-visual lessons in, over 60 languages, on health issues, human trafficking and other topics to help people live more safely.
Shamsia Hassani – the artist who dares to hope in the darkest places
Shamsia Hassani and her remarkable work as an Afghani female artist, vigorously, bravely, promotes the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan through her powerful images.
She is a wonderful beacon of hope for so many marginalised ‘invisible’ women across the world.
Celebrating Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
This month WPD celebrates the work and achievements of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka after her 8 years leading UN Women and fighting for equality, justice and an end to oppression for women in all their diversity as well as the most marginalized women and girls, including widows of all ages.
Phumzile has set a new standard by speaking out on behalf of the most marginalised women, often kept in the shadows of life and made ‘invisible’ by their communities and governments.
Ignoring widowhood as a key driver of removing children from school is a grave mistake
At WPD through our wonderful partners and networkers who send us regular updates, we know that the daughters of widows, if they are not in school, become vulnerable to traffickers, prostitution and unsafe working practices and behaviours. All marginalized children become vulnerable to child labour, child-soldiery, radicalization and unaccompanied migration.
Tragic Impact of COVID-19 Highlighted at Widows Day Virtual Event
Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD) joined our partners for International Widows Day on 23 June 2021.
A ‘virtual’ commemorative event was hosted at the Guild of Service India by the South Asian Network for Widows’ Empowerment in Development (SANWED), in collaboration with UN Women on 23 June 2021 to mark the occasion of International Widows Day. This was a webinar focused on the impact of COVID-19 and its subsequent lockdowns on widows, particularly in South Asia.
Join us in taking action to support widows worldwide on International Widows Day 2021
Covid19 is the world’s widow maker. Building forward transformatively from Covid means supporting marginalized, ‘invisible’ and stigmatized widows of all ages to combat poverty, disease and fight for their rights.
Explainer: What you should know about widowhood (UN Women)
Margaret Owen is a widows’ rights advocate and human rights lawyer. Although she had been involved in the women’s rights movement for most of her life, Owen hadn’t paid attention to widows’ rights until her husband’s passing. Shortly after the death of her husband, a woman from Malawi whom she was helping came to her home. “Before she even sat down, she gasped,” recalls Own. “Looking around my living room, she said, ‘your husbands’ brothers let you stay here and keep all these things?’”
