RC statement at the commemoration International Widows Day

Statement of the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Nathalie Ndongo-Seh at the Commemoration of the International Widows Day held at the Millennium Park in Manzini on 23rd June 2021

A very good afternoon.

First, let me start by extending  my apologies for joining this celebration at this late stage towards the end. I would have loved to be here earlier but was held up in  another engagement that I could not delegate. Thank you for the understanding ,as well as for making the necessary arrangements to accommodate my participation.

I believe that this is the first time that widows are celebrating this very  important day with the UN. I am told that, in previous celebrations, the Umhluma Women & Youth Foundation had tried to reach out to the UN but was unsuccessful in its endeavours.  While I may not be clear about the circumstances surrounding this matter, I wish to offer our apologies as  our mission in Eswatini and around the world is to Leave No One Behind. Widows and widow issues matter and shall be addressed on their own merits, as we address issues related to the youth, women and girls, orphans and other vulnerable groups.

International Widows’ Day is an opportunity to raise awareness on the hardships that widows face when their husbands die. It seeks to highlight the problems of widows and encourage people to help widows who may be struggling with the challenges of life. I wish, from the onset, to thank the organisers of this commemoration, for their resilience and determination to bring us together and sensitize us on those specific challenges.

The theme of this year’s celebration, which is “Invisible Women, Invisible Problems” -- could not have come at a better time when  the devastating impacts of COVID-have seen a significant increase in the number of widows and widowers and unveiled and exacerbated their vulnerabilities. It is now clearer to all that policymakers need to take specific measures to address issues that affect  widows, including health access, pension access, food insecurity, sustainability or grants, land issues and so on to ensure that widows do not fall prey to poverty, hunger and health issues. This could be done through the identification of women who have become widows as a result of COVID-19. The significance of International Widows Day and the awareness that it brings will definitely increase in the post-COVID-19 era as there  are many issues facing widows. Working widows, for example, either do not earn much or have been rendered jobless by the pandemic.

They bear the bulk of the problems previously shared with their deceased husbands, as they become the main bread winner, are fully responsible of their children upbringing, are confronted to legal/administrative/ and at times community issues that were exclusively handled by their departed husbands. In fact, when a husband dies, the challenges faced by the widow become invisible to the society and very often around the world, widows are deprived of their rights and privileges.

In Eswatini, I am advised, widows are sometimes bound to observe mourning rituals which compel them to remain in seclusion for a long period of time, avoiding social gatherings including workplaces. Some widows are forced to remarry to a brother-in-law and are discouraged or even banned from re-marrying outside the husband’s family.

I also understand that, at times,  widows are accused of having caused their husband's death and labelled witches.

In many cases, children of widows are compelled to drop out of school, as sources of income are reduced leading to economic and social exploitation. Employment opportunities for widows are very low, especially because of limitations on mobility.

The  theme of this year “Invisible Women, Invisible Problems” therefore urges us to acknowledge and identify those women and make their problems visible to the society. In this decade of action and acceleration, widows matter for the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2030. There is a need to recognize that widowhood is a root cause of poverty and inequality, that may extend  and expand across generations. The violation of the rights of widows  must be recognised as a grave development issue and not only just as a human rights and a gender issue.

Once again, I thank and congratulate Umhluma Women & Youth Foundation for being the voice of voiceless women and widows in this country; for their efforts in identifying the women who face challenges as widows; some of whom shared their stories here today. I am being told that today is a culmination of a series of dialogues held in the regions with widows and which provided a platform to vent out their frustrations and bring their issues to the public.

Ladies, thank you for your testimonies. I have no doubt that it must have been  very difficult to share such personal and private matters in public. I therefore thank you for your bravery and  courage to stand up for what is right.

After today and similar celebrations, widows will no longer be invisible to us and to policymakers, in particular. Issues of more than 258 million widows around the world will gain traction and be addressed.

Indeed, according to the World Economic Forum, there are an estimated 258,481,056 widows globally with 584,574,358 children. The number of widows has grown by 9 percent since 2010, partly because of conflicts and disease. Statistics for the number of widows after COVID-19 are not yet available but we can all attest to the fact that the figures have increased.

A significant number of girls are widowed in childhood – a reflection of the prevalence of child marriage in developing countries and the custom of marrying off young girls to much older men

I reiterate our commitment, as the UN, to ensuring support to all vulnerable groups, including widows. Let us all take it upon ourselves to make sure that widows are not left behind in Eswatini.

I thank you.