WIDOW RECOVERY ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.

This article intends to explain international factors that hinder Widows from making strides in of Grief Recovery. This is written in the context of acknowledging international women’s day. This article will cover 5 factors that make being a widow extremely difficult.

It will give six recommended actions to be taken. The latter will explain how this will enhance and ensure Widow Recovery embraces equity. The article will also highlight the work of UN Women in the United Nations that continue to stir the change and support widows needs around the world.

The International women’s Day 2023 is an opportunity to highlight the success and challenge of widows walking out of widowhood. The international theme this year is #embraceequity. This is:

 “Embracing equity means facing the truth that in our society, all people don’t really start from a level playing field. So, if we embrace and work towards equity, it means working towards each individual getting the support and resources that they need to succeed, which might be different than what someone else needs.”

 So am writing about this within the context of being a widow. Widows’ experiences are different around the world. However, within the context of gender equality these factors make being widow a very unequal level playing field.

1. Gender bias in Education
2. Gender bias in Pay
3. Gender disparities in Agriculture
4. Poor access to healthcare
5. Child marriage and other forms of Gender based violence.

    (Concern Worldwide)

How can these be managed to improve the lives of widows now? In Western economies, widows were historically among the poorest and most vulnerable individuals until the introduction of pension schemes and widow benefits in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Now with inflation and cost of living crisis many widows can be most vulnerable economically, as state benefits and state pensions are not being increased proportionately to meet rises in our living costs.

To safeguard and advance widows’ rights, here are actions that governments, policymakers, and each of us can take:

1. Adopt social and economic reforms to improve widows’ access to inheritance, land, pensions, and other social protections. Ensure that fiscal policies, economic relief measures for COVID-19 includes widows.
2. End discriminatory laws and patriarchal systems that have long disadvantaged women. Women cannot inherit equally as men in 36 countries, cannot be heads of households or families in 31 countries, and cannot have a job or pursue a profession in 17 states. Such discriminatory laws, which rob widows of property, shelter, income, social benefits, and opportunity, must annulled to advance women’s rights worldwide.
3. Empower widows to support themselves and their families and live with dignity by ensuring access to education and training opportunities, decent work, and equal pay, and by reversing social stigmas that exclude, discriminate, or lead to harmful and violent practices against widows.
4. Collect gender data—better quality demographic information, broken down by age and gender, to ensure that widows are counted and supported, now and in the future. The United Nations suggests a minimum of five marital status categories when collecting census data, “widowed and not remarried” included.
5. Support international efforts and advocacy to uphold and expand the rights of widows as enshrined in international laws and conventions.
6. On International Widows’ Day, learn and share stories, voices and experiences of widows and support their rights. (UN Women).

 UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting widows needs worldwide.

It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence 
• Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action

To conclude women can be very influential and Powerful when given a level playing field to start from. When we own our power great dreams get accomplished. We must be in the forefront of the changes we want to see as women and equally widows.

It is amazing to see how successful women can be when we own our power! Embracing equity starts with us! As results and significant change can only be made by the people that need it.
However building and connecting to abundant economic sources will drive the change required.
For more on my widow recovery secrets coaching, and implementing them to work out of Widowhood, click here Widow Recovery Secrets Podcast

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