WUNRN
International Day of Widows - June 23
Widows for Peace through Democracy
Noting That: All women are equal before the law and that the human rights of women are inalienable, universal and non-transferable,
Noting That: in many countries widows suffer from low status, discrimination, violence and lack of legal rights
Noting That: in many communities widows are stereotyped as evil, bringing bad luck, and that social attitudes to widowhood obstruct them from fully participating in civil society
Noting That: in spite of international and domestic laws guaranteeing equality in inheritance, land ownership, and criminalising violence to women widows are often banned from inheriting, evicted from their homes, deprived of all their property, and left in destitution
Noting That: widows are often victims of degrading and life-threatening traditional practices in the context of funeral and burial practices
Noting That: widows, in the context of the aids pandemic, suffer stigma and abuse, have special healthcare needs but are also key carers of children, orphans and other dependents.
Noting That: there is no special reference to discrimination and abuse of widows in the beijing platform for action
Noting That: widows are key social and economic players in
development
Reaffirming the important role that widows do and may play in the resolution
and prevention of conflicts
Expressing Concern that the impact of this treatment of widows has severe and negative implications for the whole of society in particular because the poverty of widows deprives their chldren of their human rights to shelter, food, education and the rights of the child
Recognising the urgent need to mainstream a widows’ perspective in all policy developments and decisions
Reaffirming the need to implement fully all international human rights and humanitarian law that protects the rights of women and girls during and after confict as well as in times of peace
Requires all governments to use all measures possible to eliminate this discrimination, and to work with widows’ groups to assess their numbers and their situation so as to develop policies and laws to alleviate their isolation and poverty, and acknowledge their valuable social capital.
ARTICLE 1
Widows shall enjoy equality with all women and men, irrespective of their age
or marital status.
Any treatment of a widow which differs from the treatment, legally, socially,
economically, of a widower shall be deemed to be discriminatory and therefore
illegal.
Widows shall not be discriminated against, in word or deed, either in family
and private life, or in community and public life.
The State is guilty, by omission, of breach of the law, if it implicitly
condones discrimination and abuse of the widow by non-state actors, such as
family members.
ARTICLE 2
a) Widows shall have the right to inherit from their husband’s estate, whether
or not the deceased spouse left a will.
b) Widows may not be disinherited
c) Widows may not be “inherited” as wives or concubines to their husband’s
brother, nor forcibly placed in a “levirate” relationship, nor forcibly made
pregnant by a relative in order to continue producing children in her dead
husband’s name.
d) A widow has the right to remarry
e) A widow must be free to marry someone of her own choice
f) Polygamy and temporary marriage is forbidden.
g) “Honour Killings” are murder
h) Daughters shall inherit equally with sons
i) “Property-Grabbing” and “chasing-off” are criminal offences, punishable as
the most serious category of crime
j) Anyone who attempts or manages to deprive a widow of any of her property,
take custody of her children, without an order of a judge or magistrate shall
be guilt of the most serious category of crime
k) Anyone, whether a relative or a stranger, who seeks or manages to gain
control of the dead husband’s bank account, insurance policy, accident
compensation claims, without the order of the Court is guilty of the most
serious category of crime
l) Free Legal Aid shall be given to widows in all inheritance, property and
personal status disputes
ARTICLE 3
a) Anyone who arranges or coerces a widow to participate in harmful traditional
practices in the context of funeral and burial rites shall be guilty of the
most serious category of crime ( for example: ritual cleansing through sex;
scarification; isolation; restrictions on diet and dress endangering mental and
physical health)
b) Anyone who has sexual relations with a widow in the context of funeral and
burial rites shall be guilt of Rape, and subject to the maximum penalty.
c) Anyone who forcibly deprives the widow of custody of her children shall be
guilty of a serious offence
d) Anyone who physically, mentally or sexually abuses a widow is guilty of the
most serious category of crime
e) Anyone who verbally abuses a widow by calling her insulting names shall be
guilty of an offence.
ARTICLE 4
Any restrictions on a widow’s mobility, even where based on “custom” which
continues after the 14th day after the death of the spouse are unlawful and
anyone responsible for restraining the widow is guilty of a criminal offence
a) Any restrictions, due to her marital status, on a widow’s freedom to access
social, health and education services are unlawful
b) Any restrictions concerning domicile, diet, clothing, life-style imposed on
a widow against a will are unlawful
c) All restrictions on widows’ accessing health care, including family planning
services, are unlawful.
d) Any restriction on a widow’s right to citizenship, a passport and freedom to
travel is unlawful.
ARTICLE 5
All appropriate measures shall be taken to eliminate discrimination against
widows in the field of employment, in particular:
a) The right to the same employment opportunities and remuneration as other men
and women
b) It is an offence under the Employment Acts for anyone to dismiss a woman
from her employment because she has become a widow and must take some
reasonable time off work for the funeral rites is guilty of an offence
c) It is an offence to refuse to employ a widow because she is wearing mourning
clothes
d) Suitable child-care and elderly care support shall be provided to widows who
work outside the home.
ARTICLE 6
a) The term “violence against women” includes any act of gender-based violence
against a widow that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to her, including threats of such acts,
coercion, or deprivation of liberty.
b) No widow-abuse may be justified by citing custom, tradition or religion.
c) All appropriate measures shall be taken, through, for example public
education and training of opinion leaders, to change the negative stereotyping
of widows
d) No relative shall detain a widow in his or her household as an unpaid
domestic worker without registering before the court and being subject to
regular monitoring and inspection by the social services.
e) All appropriate measures shall be taken to protect widows and their children
from sexual exploitation, prostitution and trafficking of women and girls.
f) It is no defence to this law that the widow consented to be victim of the
alleged violence.
ARTICLE 7
a) All appropriate measures shall be taken to ensure that those dependent on
widows – children, other orphans, the old, sick and frail people – are
identified that gaps in assistance are filled.
b) Where appropriate, widows should receive financial support to balance
opportunity costs in sending children to school.
c) Appropriate measures shall be taken to eliminate discrimination against
widows in areas of economic and civil life. In particular
(i)The right to a pension and family benefits
(ii) Elimination of delaying bureaucratic barriers to widows accessing pensions
(iii)Elimination of corruption in the dispensing of pensions to widows
(iv)Special measures to assist illiterate widows access their economic and
legal rights
d) Widows’ children should have priority in assessment for education
scholarships.
e) Widows should be recognised as carers, particularly in the case of infection
with AIDS and be given special support to allow them to fulfil this role fully.
ARTICLE 8
WIDOWS OF CONFLICT AND POST CONFLICT
a) Recalling SCR Resolution 1325, and recognising the huge increase in the
numbers of widows and wives of the missing as a consequence of armed conflict
b) Noting the absence of reliable data on the numbers and situations of widows
and wives of the missing.
c) Recognising that many widows of war have also been victims of rape and
sexual violence
d) Recognising also the extreme vulnerability of widows and daughters of widows
in the instability of societies in the aftermath of war
e) Noting the unique role widows play as custodians of the social fabric of
communities
f) Noting also widows’ unique roles as peace builders and peace makers, through
their ability to link hands with widows across ethnic, relgious and national
divides
g) Recognising that years after Peace Accords are signed widows of war continue
to struggle to survive in refugee and IDP camps and are unable to return to
their original homes
h) Recognising the particular individual security issues for women without male
protectors
i) Noting the alarming rise in domestic violence as well as sexual violence in
the community in the post conflict situation
j) Expressing concern at the vulnerability of widows and their children to
rape, forced prostitution and trafficking by criminals, occupying troops,
so-called peace-keeper forces
k) Expressing concern that particular issues of widows and wives of the missing
must be on the peace negotiations and accords agendas
l) Noting the many numbers of orphans, sick, old, wounded and traumatised
people dependent on widows for their survival
m) Understanding that widows are often the sole support of AIDS victims and may
be infected themselves
CALLS all actors involved in negotiating and implementing peace agreements to
address the special needs of widows and wives of the missing and ensure the
protection and respect for their human rights.
CALLS on all actors to support widows to band together in associations so that
they can collectively undertake MAPPING AND PROFILING PROJECTS to fill the gap
in statistics on their situation.
CALLS on all actors to ensure that widows’ are represented in these
negotiations so that their particular concerns, for example:
i. rights of safe return
ii. inheritance and property rights, land allocation and ownership
iii. protection of widow witnesses at national and international tribunals
iv. personal status guarantees in constitutional and legislative reform
v. protection of widow witnesses at national and international tribunals
vi. counselling and health care for widowed victims of sexual abuse and rape
vii. addressing needs of widows who are refugees or internally displaced, and
widow asylum seekers
viii. support widows’ associations to map and profile themselves and
disseminate the information
ARTICLE 9
Government will support the establishment of a National Federation of WIDOWS,
with clusters and sub-groups in every town and sets of villages so that
information on the needs of widows is available and can inform policy making at
the national and local level.
a) All appropriate measures shall be taken to support widows organising
themselves into self-help and empowerment groups
b) These groups shall be acknowledged as being decisive components of civil
society, to be involved as participants in the development of social, economic
policies affecting their situation.
c) Support shall be given to the establishment of a National Federation of
Widows’ Groups with an advisory status to government.
d) Widows’ shelters and legal aid centres for widows shall be established.
e) Statistic and Data shall be collected and a situational analysis undertaken
to ascertain the true numbers, needs and roles of widows in society.
f) In recognition of the gap in knowledge, Governments will explore alternative
methods of collecting such information, such as participatory poverty and
demographic assessment studies involving the widows’ groups themselves.
ARTICLE 10
a) Governments shall address the situation of widows in their work programmes
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
b) Governments shall bear in mind the special situation of widows when
identifying measures to implement the CEDAW, the BPFA, the Declaration
Eliminating Violence against Women, the Convention against Torture, SCR
Resolution 1325 and all other human rights conventions and charters.
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AFGHANISTAN WIDOWS: LOST IN THE DEVELOPMENTAGENDA!
By Dr. Massouda
Jalal
Founding Chairperson of Jalal Foundation
and Former Minister of Women, Afghanistan
In 2011, the United Nations declared the
23rd of June as International Day of Widows through UN Resolution
65/189. Its aim is to raise awareness about the status of widows around the
world and to call upon state leaders to take actions to uplift their
well-being.
Three
years after this declaration, not much has changed about the plight of widows
in Afghanistan. It is estimated that there are about 1.5 to 2 million Afghan
widows and they continue to live under very difficult situations. Destitution, absence of support system, poor
health, lack of skills and economic opportunities, denial of inheritance,
stigmatization, social exclusion and marginalization continue to plague them as
the government remains preoccupied with political and security issues of the
country. Afghan widows still subsist on roadside pauperism and meager dole outs
from the State and their families. Widowhood in Afghanistan is like a death
sentence and the shortest road to a lifetime of misery is through widowhood.
Amidst
on-going political gridlock between the contending presidential candidates of
Afghanistan, the lives of widows continue to hang in a balance of
uncertainty. When post- election dust
settles down, the honorable new president of Afghanistan will have to fix the
problems left behind by the past administration. Hopefully, the long years of
neglect endured by widows would soon catch the attention of the new leaders.
Jalal
Foundation is one of the few organizations in Afghanistan that continue to work
for the well-being of widows, especially in the rural areas. Recently, it
completed a survey of 3,000 widows in the province of Balkh and prepared the
list of widows who need priority targeting for welfare and social
assistance. It is also sponsoring a
signature campaign to stop violence against widows and motivate local leaders
to organize support for them. These could be used as inputs to further
discussions that would prepare widows to organize and dialogue with the new
government on programs that will improve their situation.
Jalal
Foundation calls upon other entities in Afghanistan to help widows organize and
dialogue with concerned agencies of government in order to address their
concerns, including the need to: (a) raise the amount of financial assistance
provided by the Ministry of Labor Employment, Social Affairs, Martyrs and
Disabled; (b) adopt a comprehensive national strategy for the uplifting of
widow’s well-being; (c) create a dedicated government entity for widows; (d)
support the establishment of national data base on widows; and (e) enable
widows to organize and secure representation in major national bodies. Afghan
widows have suffered for so long. The time for action is now!
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