Introduction – International Widows Day is celebrated annually on June 23   to create awareness about the difficulties that are faced by widows across the world. The main aim of this international day is to spread awareness about the violation of human rights against those women who have lost their husbands worldwide. This International Day provides an opportunity to show solidarity with those women who have lost their husbands.

Women faced several difficulties including financial issues, avoidance by relatives, and many more in several countries with traditional societies. In some cases, widows were evicted from their homes by their family members and abused by their close relatives in several countries. The children of widows are also faced with difficulties by evicting from their homes, expelled their schools due to financial crisis, and many more vulnerable to abuse, especially in the case of girls in some countries. At present, several women face a financial issue after the death of their partners which makes it difficult for them to meet their essential needs and healthcare facilities across the world. There has been a rapid increase in the number of widows due to their husbands died during the Covid-19 situation across the world.

History –. An NGO based in the United Nations, Loomba Foundation, founded the International Widows Day in 2005. The observance of International Widows Day was chosen on June 23 because the mother of founder Raj Loomba, Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba became a widow on June 23, 1954. Later, the United Nations General Assembly approved the resolution on December 21, 2010, and declared that International Widows Day is observed every year on June 23 globally. So, International Widows Day was firstly celebrated on June 23, 2011, to raise awareness about the difficulties, which are faced by those women whose husbands are dead worldwide.

Theme – The theme of International Widows Day  has not been declared yet in the year 2024. Previously, the theme of this international day in the year 2022 was ‘’Sustainable Solutions for Widows Financial Independence’’ which marks to find sustainable solutions for widows to live independently without any support from society and family members worldwide.

Significance – Widows faced several difficulties including financial crisis, being expelled from their homes, being abused, being avoided by their family members, and many more across the world. The children of widows are also suffering from several issues such as not enough money for education and healthcare facilities, especially in developing countries. The main aim of this international day is to emphasize the vulnerable conditions of widows where they suffer discrimination, financial problems, poverty, and many more, especially in developing countries.

Rajinder Paul Loomba, founder of the Loomba Foundation started work to resolve the difficulties that are faced by widows by providing financially support, and many more, especially in developing countries. He was encouraged by his mother who was facing several problems when she became a widow at the age of 37 years old in the year 1954. This global day provides an opportunity to help or support widows which makes their living conditions improve or much better by providing financial support to educate their children and live independently without any support from their family members and society.