WUNRN
WIDOWHOOD
IN CONTEXT OF
Statement by Widows for Peace and Democracy
December 2009
WIDOWS AND WIDOWHOOD are
nowhere mentioned anywhere either in the Beijing Platform for Action, nor in
the Outcome Document of
This omission is quite
extraordinary given that even in 1995, when the Platform was drafted, widows,
especially in developing countries, were acknowledged to be often the very
poorest of all poor women, and, across a range of regions and cultures, widows
suffered from discrimination and abuse due to oppressive interpretations of
religion and tradition.
WPD (Widows for Peace through
Democracy) has been urging Member States, through its representations made at
every session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) since 1998 to
ensure, that, in its “ agreed conclusions” in relation to the 12 Action areas
of the Platform, a reference was made to the particular needs and roles of
Widows and what Member States are required to do to address their status. This
has not happened.
As we approach the 54th
session of the CSW and the Review of the BPFA, we again exhort UN DAW, UNIFEM,
OSAGI and INSTRAW and the embryo new UN Department for Women, as well as all
other relevant UN entities and agencies – UNDP, UNHCR, UNFPA, DPOK – to cease
regarding women as an homogenous “whole” but acknowledge that women are highly
diverse and that there are certain categories of women – such as widows – that
merit a special focus because they are recipients of specific treatments and
bear specific disadvantages which must be remedied for the good of all society.
Armed conflict, ethnic
violence, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, harmful traditional practices, natural
disasters have resulted in an unprecedented increase in the numbers of widows
of all ages, from the very old, to the young mother and the girl child.
Furthermore the current
financial crisis, climate change and global warning have also contributed to
making widows’ lives ever more precarious.
Extreme poverty due to deprivation of human rights exposes them to economic
and sexual exploitation, trafficking, disease and death.
It is essential that Member
States now identify, count, and analyse the life-styles, needs, roles and hopes
of the widows in their jurisdictions, in keeping with the principles of the
BPFA, the CEDAW, UN SCRs 1325, 1820, 1889 and 1890. In addition, strategies to
achieve the MDGs (Milennium Development Goals) will fail if the situation of
widows and their children is ignored.
Every one of the 12 action
areas is relevant to Widowhood. Here we summarise the issues under each
heading.
A. Women and Poverty. Widows and their
children are mostly among the poorest of the poor due to lack of rights to
inheritance, land and property ownership. On their husband’s death, in many
traditional communities, they are “chased-off” their homesteads and are victims
of “property-grabbing” by the husband’s male relatives. Even in developed
countries, elderly widows, dependent on derisory state pensions, are in
relative poverty. However, in developing
countries few have afforded any social security safety nets for widows; if a
pension scheme exists it is mostly of little monetary value, easily open to
corruption and exploitation by male relatives.
The bureaucratic methods of eligibility and application, ensure that
only a minority of widows benefit. The poverty of the widow extends and expands
to encompass the lives and future of her children, often withdrawn from school
for child labour. Millions of children are begging on the streets due to their mothers’ widowhood. Yet the BPFA makes no mention of widows,
rural and urban, IDPs and refugees, homeless and isolated in its recommended
actions.
B. Education and Training. Many widows have
been married very young, and are illiterate and untrained, but as sole
supporters of families – children, the old, the sick – they urgently need to be
able to access education and training for income-generating activities. Equally, Governments should waive all school fees
for the children of poor widows, in order to eliminate a common coping strategy
to survive in poverty – the withdrawal of children from education. The
daughters of widows are the most vulnerable as for diverse cultural reasons,
their educational needs are neglected and they may be forced into early child
marriage with an older man, leading to another cycle of impoverished young
widowhood. The MDG education goals will
only be realised if action is taken to address the issues of widowhood as they
pertain to this action area.
C. Women and Health. Research has shown that morbidity and
mortality in widowhood is sharply differentiated from that of married women of
a similar age. Widows are often subject to injurious and demeaning widowhood
rites with negative impacts on their health.
Poverty, lack of shelter, adequate nutrition, exploitative labour all
contribute to widows’ poor health. Widows are particularly vulnerable to sexual
exploitation, and forced remarriage. Forced remarriage also has implications to
the spread of HIV/AIDS. Access to reproductive facilities and rights
over their fertility are equally minimal.
Generally, widow’s access to medical care is poor. In conflict afflicted countries where sexual
violence predominates, widows are often targeted, and consequently suffer
severe injuries which prevent them for accessing medical treatment. Social shame, cost and distance are also
deterrent factors, and have a devastating impact on the health and well being
of widows.
D. Violence Against Women. The omission in
Paragraph 113 and 116 of any reference to the widespread and systematic
violence suffered by widows must be remedied.
This omission has significant policy and legal implications as it
renders such abuse immune to punishment and results in the increased
marginalisation of an already excluded group. Physical, sexual and
psychological violence suffered by widows occurs in the family, in the
community and is in effect condoned by the State by its failure to take any
meaningful measures to address the issue.
There is very little research or documentation concerning widow abuse,
occurring in public and private. It is
imperative for the international
community and governments to ensure that widows are protected from such
violence even when customary and religious laws legitimise such violence.
Governments, international organisations and NGOs must study the causes
and consequences of violence against widows and should work towards taking
appropriate measures to eradicate this.
E. Women in Armed Conflict. Widows are particularly vulnerable to
human rights violations in situations of armed conflict, ethnic cleansing,
military occupation and the lawlessness that pertains in post-conflict
countries. A common feature of modern day conflicts, is the separation of men
and boys from women and girls. The
killing of male members of society has resulted in the huge increase in the
number of widows. Widows predominate
amongst IDPs and refugees, and are the last to be rehabilitated and
re-integrated into society when peace agreements come to fruition. Long after
conflicts have ceased, widows continue to bear the brunt of the social,
economic and upheaval endemic in such societies. Wives of the missing are equally adversely
affected, and, further unable to rebuild their lives as there is ambiguity as
to their legal status.
The implementation of UNSCR 1325 must include the gathering of data on
the effect of widowhood in conflict afflicted countries, and also facilitate
the full representation of widows in the peacebuilding process.
F. Women and the Economy. Widows are unlikely to be able to achieve
full economic independence and participation in economic activity due to their
lack of access to land, finance and credit.
Customary traditions which limit widows’ mobility also have an adverse
impact on their economic contribution.
Widows as sole carers of dependants, are not renumerated for this
important work. Therefore Governments
need to ensure that widows are able to fulfil both their family obligations and
be able to make a full contribution to the economy through devising economic
policies which take account of these obligations.
G. Women in Power and Decision Making.
Widows due to their social isolation and low status are often
excluded from both the politics and positions of power. It is essential, that before policy decisions
are taken, that an analysis of their impact on widows of all ages is carried
out, and that widows are assisted to take a meaningful role in decision making
at all levels. This is particularly
important in policies relating to the achievement of the MDGs; the Beijing
Platform for Action; and the implementation of all human rights and UN
conventions. In order for widows to have
a collective voice in this decision making, the international community and
governments must support widows to organise their own associations to represent
their interests. UNSCR 1325 also
mandates Governments to ensure that women and this must include widows in peace
negotiations.
H. Institutional Mechanisms
for the Advancement of Women
Ministries for women have been established in nearly every member state,
but rarely have they been granted sufficient resources to conduct research into
the situation and numbers of widows. There is a lack of information regarding
their numbers, ages, lifestyles and coping strategies, needs and their roles.
I. Human Rights of Women. It is now well acknowledged that widows have
been singularly neglected in the context of the CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for
Action and other human rights conventions.
Widowhood has never been mainstreamed in policies and programmes in
relation to women and therefore their human rights have been continuously
violated as a result. The continued use
of Reservations by signatories to CEDAW has permitted the continued abuse of
human rights violations in relation to widows.
Governments should therefore ensure that such violations are dealt with
by the law and, ensure through education and implementation of human rights
norms that such violations are eradicated.
Governments should take appropriate measures to ensure that widow’s
human rights are protected, and that widows are made aware of their rights,
particularly in situations of armed conflict.
J. Women and the Media. The media has an important
role to play in altering the social attitudes towards widows, and also alerting
them to their rights. It should refrain from presenting widows in a negative
and sensational manner, which dehumanises them.
Rather they should seek to highlight the significant contribution widows
make to the social and economic fabric of society.
K. Women in the
Environment. Widows have
essential roles to play in ensuring sustainable and ecologically sound
development. It is highly probable in
cases of migration/displacement due to environmental factors widows and their
dependants will be left behind.
L. The Girl Child. In contravention of
the principles enunciated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child the
daughters of widows suffer from numerous and multiple disadvantages. These stem from poverty as a result of their
mother’s low socio-economic status, often resulting in withdrawal from school,
generally resulting in early marriage or worse.
The Convention requires states to guarantee that girl children are not
discriminated against in respect of shelter, food, health and education. Laws
and customs that are injurious to the girl child, e.g. child marriage, forced
remarriage and low or no minimum age for marriage should be abolished.
Governments must collect data and information on the outcomes for children
whose mother’s are widowed and on child widows.
Margaret Owen, Director WPD & Augustina Akoto.
Email: director.wpd@googlemail.com
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