United Nations to empower widows

Harare Bureau
The United Nations plans to establish more programmes that advocate for and ensure the empowerment of widows in Zimbabwe who number nearly 434 542. The UN Equity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said in a statement yesterday that it would reach out to communities and grassroots in order to ensure full participation by widows in empowerment programmes.
“UN Women already works with the Government either directly or indirectly to promote women’s rights including widows’ property rights,” the UN said in response to questions on the marking of International Widows’ Day on Sunday, 23 June.
The UN said the day was important to Zimbabwean widows.

The UN commemorates this day to raise awareness on discrimination against the world’s widows and to enable them to enjoy their full human rights, said the UN. Millions of the world’s widows endure extreme poverty, ostracism, violence, homelessness, ill health and discrimination.
In Zimbabwe, this day is of great significance to the widows as the nation joins the rest of the world in commemorating International Widows’ Day and to raise awareness to end all discrimination against the world’s widows and to enable them to enjoy their full human rights.

The UN noted that in sub-Saharan Africa, women widowed by HIV and Aids strove to regain their rights after the death of their husbands.
To that effect, the UN said it set up a fund for Women’s Inheritance and Property Rights in 2010 to help the widows.

The fund has benefited women’s organisations in most African countries, said the UN. The main purpose was to reach out to communities and grassroots organisations as well as networks working on women’s property and inheritance rights in relation to HIV and Aids, to help catalyse strategic action on these issues.

Five organisations, including the Zimbabwe-based Women and Law in Southern Africa, were helping to cater for the needs of widows.
Such organisations mainly cater for the legal matters incorporating education and training.

The UN has also established mobile legal aid clinics in Zimbabwe in both urban and rural communities.