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June 23rd is designated as International Widows’ Day. This day has been ratified by the United Nations as a day of action to address the "poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries".
The United Nations adopted International Widows Day in 2010 to raise awareness about the challenges of widowhood. We here in the USA and in many developed nations do not suffer from the injustice, poverty, and stigma that widows around the world endure.
In 2021, there were 3.58 million widowed men and 11.61 million widowed women. It is estimated that there are nearly 258 million widows around the world and 10% of them live in extreme poverty. Many of them are victims of violence as they are now perceived as helpless women without the protection of a man.
Women worldwide have been fighting for decades for a variety of rights; however, for many widows around the world, the loss of their husband launches them into a fight for basic rights and dignity. Food, clothing, shelter, safety - those are basic needs they are denied.
There are more than 258 million widows around the world - yet little is being done to address the issues of this oppressed group. Let me outline for you just a few of the challenges these widows around the world encounter on a daily basis.
Widows are often denied inheritance rights after the death of their husband; other male family members stake their claim on the widows’ home and property. They are accused of being cursed thus causing the death of their husband and they are ostracized. They are denied pensions because they are treated more like criminals rather than the victim.
Many of these widows are starving and homeless; neglected by their own children, and at risk for physical and sexual molestation. Some of them place their young daughters into the sex trade and their younger children resort to begging.
Widows are coerced into participating in harmful, degrading and even life-threatening traditional practices as part of burial and mourning rites. In a number of countries, for example, widows are forced to drink the water that their husbands’ corpses have been washed in. Mourning rites may also involve sexual relations with male relatives, shaving of the hair and scarification.
The ancient practice of Sati or self-immolation, while legally considered to be abolished, still continues to be practiced in many Asian countries as coerced suicide.
These countries, especially in Africa and Asia, have no welfare system or government programs to help feed and educate the children. The primary earner is usually the male thus leaving the widow with no means of income. They become dependent on the charity of other families and their local religious organizations.
Widows can become liable for the debts of a deceased spouse thus rendering them to the status of indentured servants to the creditor.
Raj Loomba, a member of the House of Lords in British India, started the Loomba Foundation in India in 1997 in honor of his mother, who was also a widow. He witnessed first-hand the oppression of his widow mother upon the death of his father, leaving her with seven young children. This young widow sold all her assets and ensured all seven of her children, including the girls, pursued a good education. Thankfully, this family was affluent and this widow had the resources to survive and support her children despite being declared cursed by the family and the religious institutions. With the realization that their plight would have been pathetic had their father not provided well for them, Raj Loomba was determined to make a way for widows to have a better life than their society would allow them.
The Loomba Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of widows, in developing countries and in India in particular, through advocacy and empowerment projects.
The 2023 objective for International Widows Day is to empower widows and raise awareness about the challenges they face.
We, at Triumphant ‘N Treasured have a mission to change the lives of widows by restoring their dignity, encouraging community, and promoting financial independence.
Towards this end, we start small businesses in the most impoverished parts of the world. To date, in India we have started a tailoring school/shop in Chennai, a goat farm in Uttar Pradesh and another in Assam, a pig farm in Meghalaya and also in Nagaland. In Africa, we have started a bakery in Kampala, Uganda, and a produce/agriculture business in Tombel, Cameroon. In South America, we have started a bakery in the poorest state in Brazil, Minas Gerais. We are poised to start another bakery in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Our goal is to start a pig farm in Manaus, Amazonas which will supply pigs for breeding to the 90 different communities of widows who live along the Amazon Basis, mostly cut away from the rest of the world.
We are blessed here in the USA - even as widows, while we do suffer the same challenges of financial insecurity, disruption of our social circle, fracturing of our family, and isolation from the mainstream, we do not undergo the severe hardships resulting in starvation, homelessness, ostracization, and assault at the hands of male family members. We balk at the idea of having a day to celebrate widows; understandably there is nothing to celebrate about widowhood. But there is plenty of unfinished work to be done.
International Women’s Day is not a memorial or celebratory occasion; it is a day to draw the eyes and thoughts of a largely indifferent world to the challenges faced by widows. In light of the above accounts, the church in the USA may have to take a long and hard look at itself and ask the question, “Am I fulfilling the Biblical mandate to care for the widows and orphans?” Isaiah 1:17 which says, “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause” requires us to be engaged in the well-being of a widow.
Triumphant ‘N Treasured is committed to fulfilling this mandate and we ask you to partner with us; together let us change the lives of widows around the world.
Cynthia Mascarenhas, an Independent Legal Nurse Consultant, turned personal tragedy into advocacy for the grieving. As the founder of Triumphant ‘N Treasured, she leads global initiatives supporting widows and their communities. She's the author of two books on widowhood and manages supportive online platforms, expanding her reach and impact worldwide. More about Cynthia can be found at www.triumphantntreasured.org
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