International Widows Day is observed on June 23 every year to draw attention towards the voices of widows and highlight their problems. It is a United Nations (UN) ratified day of action to address the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in several countries of the world.
The first International Widows Day was observed in 2011. The day was established by The Loomba Foundation to raise awareness about the matter of widowhood.
June 23 was chosen to mark International Widows day as it was on this day in 1954 that Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, mother of Lord Loomba, became a widow.
The first International Widows Day took place in 2005and was launched by Lord Loomba and Cherie Blair, the foundation’s president.
The day was formally adopted as International Widows Day by the United Nations on December 21, 2010.
United Nations mentioned on the Widows Day page, International Widows Day presents an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows.
It also talks about providing widows with information on access to a fair share of their inheritance, land, and productive resources; pensions and social protection that are not based on marital status alone, decent work and equal pay.
There are an estimated 258 million widows around the world, and nearly one in ten live in extreme poverty.
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