Ratified by the UN, the International Widows Day is meant to address the issue of “poverty and injustice suffered by the widows, millions in number, all over the world.”
Originally, the day was established by the Loomba Foundation. It was in honour of Lord Loomba’s mother Pushpa Wati Loomba’s death that he set up the foundation in 1954 to raise awareness of the issue of widowhood and possible consequences. A very meaningful gesture!
The founder’s one prime goal was to highlight the ‘invisible calamity.’
According to estimates in 2010, the book ‘Invisible, Forgotten Sufferers,’ illustrates that there were 245 million widows worldwide. 115 million of them were reported to be living in poverty and abandonment.
Often they are victims of the denial of their rights to life and dignity. Even their own children, who can well afford, abandon them and may throw them out on the street or dump them in old age homes . Many reports speak of the ill treatment by daughters in law.
In some communities widows are falsely declared witches by relatives with the intention of grabbing their land or denying them inheritance rights. We hear of witch killing in some communities.
Legal aid is not easily avalable to them. Social organisations have a big role in addressing the legal issues faced by widows.
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