International Widows’ Day 2020: It is a United Nations approved day of activity to address the “neediness and discrimination a large number of widows and their dependents suffer in numerous nations”. The day happens every year on 23 June.
History
The Loomba Foundation set up International Widows’ Day to bring issues to light of the matter of widowhood. The importance of 23 June is that it was on that day in 1954 when Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, mother of the foundation’s owner, Lord Loomba, turned into a widow.
One of the key objectives of the foundation is to feature the sufferings of a widow around the world. In an estimation, there are 245 million widows around the world, 115 million of whom live in destitution and experience the ill effects of social stigmatization.
The study of the Loomba Foundation’s awareness campaign was introduced to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on 22 June 2010.
Acknowledgement
On 21 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly officially received 23 June as International Widows Day. President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon introduced the proposal. As well as, the resolution called upon “Member States, the United Nations framework and other global and regional associations to focus on the circumstance of widows and their kids.”
Challenges faced by Widows in India
Despite the fact that widows today are not compelled to pass on in custom of ‘Sati’, they are still commonly expected to grieve until the end of their lives. Whether young or old, widowed ladies desert their vivid clothes, part with their gems, and even shave their heads. Widows are only allowed to eat very plain food and no spice.
In India, death rates are 85 per cent higher among widows than among married women, as per research by the Guild for Service. As in Indian culture—a widow is regularly seen by relatives to be a burden and explicitly compromising toward relationships. Widows could not take part in any religious and social ceremonies. There is much more than a widow suffers in the Indian society.
Movements in Favour of the Widow Remarriage Act
The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, likewise Act XV, 1856, authorized on 26 July 1856. It was legitimized the remarriage of Hindu widows in all purviews of India under East India Company rule.
Lord Dalhousie drafted it and Lord Canning passed it before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It was the primary significant social change enactment after the nullification of Sati, that Lord William Bentinck did.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar stood up for the widows of 19th century India. He was an educationist, a Sanskrit scholar and a social reformer. He fully supported the widow remarriage act to be performed in the Indian society.
Wishes
- “Warm wishes on International Widows Day to you. You are not alone because we are always there to help you whenever you need us.”
- “When you are left alone in the journey of life, you must not feel that there is no one with you because I will always be there. Happy International Widows Day.”
- “You have always handled the toughest of the situations so well and now life wants you to show that you are brave once again. Wishing a very Happy International Widows Day.
- “The smile on your face has always imparted others with strength. You are truly an inspirational woman. Wishing you Happy International Widows Day.”
- “On the occasion of International Widows Day, I just want to tell you that you are a strong woman and you have someone whom you can always depend.”
- “Life has not been fair to you but your attitude towards life has always inspired me. Happy International Widows Day to you.”
- “You are the kind of person who doesn’t cry because you are weak. Happy International Widows Day 2020!”
- “If there is any person who inspires me the most then it is you because you have faced all the challenges in life with courage. Happy International Widows Day 2020!”
- “After the demise of your husband, you never surrendered to any situation, to any person and I salute you for that. Happy International Widows Day.”
- “The occasion of International Widows Day reminds me that there is a special woman around me who is an epitome of great strength.”
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