Integrate Widows issues into the UN Agenda and recognise 23 June as International Widows Day
- TheLoombaFoundation
- Target:
- The United Nations
- Region:
- GLOBAL
- Website:
- www.theloombafoundation.org
Across the globe there are some 245 million widows, many of whom are subject to the sort of privations, prejudice and discrimination that have no place in this or any era.
Some 100 million widows and their children are forced to live in poverty, struggling to survive and shunned by oppressive societies that strip them of their dignity.
This is not a crisis limited to developing countries; social isolation, deprivation and abuse are afflicted on widows across the world.
And yet little, still, is understood – much less done – about their plight. They are forced to suffer in silence.
The Loomba Foundation was founded to raise awareness of the plight of widows, to alleviate suffering and to remove the stigma attached to widowhood. It has been delivering aid in the form of education and sponsorship to thousands of widows and their children worldwide for well over a decade.
The Loomba Foundation launched International Widows Day to drive awareness of the widows crisis and, vitally, to provide a platform from which widows’ voices can be heard.
By recognising 23 June as International Widows Day, The United Nations would be doing much to amplify the calls for long-overdue action.
We, the undersigned, appeal to The United Nations to integrate widow’s issues into the UN Agenda and to recognise formally 23 June as International Widows Day.
International Widows Day was launched in 2005 by The Loomba Foundation to raise awareness of the injustices suffered by millions of widows and their children across the globe.
Since 2005 it has been taking place on the same day – 23 June – each year. Events have taken place in the UK, India, the USA, South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda.
The next step is for the United Nations to pass a resolution supporting the integration of widow’s issues within the UN framework and to formally recognise 23 June as International Widows Day, thereby justifying the huge levels of support the day has received among the public of those countries.
By declaring 23 June to be International Widows Day, The United Nations would help to give a voice to the unique suffering of the many millions of widows around the world, putting to the fore a cause that has – until now – been woefully misunderstood and ignored by the International Community.
We, the undersigned, support The Loomba Foundation’s campaign to make 23 June International Widows Day. We urge The United Nations to grant formal recognition.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Integrate Widows issues into the UN Agenda and recognise 23 June as International Widows Day petition to The United Nations was written by TheLoombaFoundation and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.