WUNRN
23
June 2014 – No woman should lose her status, livelihood or property when her
husband dies, yet millions of widows in our world face persistent abuse,
discrimination, disinheritance and destitution stressed United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in his message for this year’s
International Widows’ Day.
In his message, the Secretary-General expressed his concerns about the
number of widows subjected to harmful practices, including "widow
cleansing", often involving the rape, and the increase in the widow’s risk
of HIV infection, as well as "widow burning".
Mr. Ban
underscored that such violent acts could also negatively affect the lives of
their children. He has stressed the need for “stronger action to empower women,
promote gender equality and end all forms of violence against women.”
The UN General
Assembly declared 23 June 2011 as the first-ever International Widows’ Day, and
has been marked annually ever since. The Day raises awareness and is an
opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows
worldwide and to bring the often invisible issues affecting them to a point of
international concern.
In many cultures
widows not only are considered inferior to their husbands, but they also become
"useless" at the moment of their husband’s death. Their social status
appears to be inextricably linked to their husband’s, and when he dies, a woman
is likely to lose her place in society, lose basic rights, and to become a
victim of life-threatening abuses.
Millions of the
world’s widows have to cope with poverty, ostracism, violence, homelessness,
ill- health and different forms of discrimination, which could dramatically
impact their physical and mental well-being.
“It is our
collective responsibility to safeguard the human rights and dignity of widows,
in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child” stressed the UN
chief.
“Together, we can
eliminate the challenges faced by widows around the world and allow them to
realize their potential as equal members of society” he concluded.