International Widows Day takes place on June 23rd and has been formally accepted by the United Nations as a day of action since 2010. The day is meant to raise awareness of the struggles of widows worldwide, who may face poverty, social stigma, and problems with providing for their children. Events connected to International Widows Day take place all over the world to bring attention to the inadequate support given to widows and their children. -Ed.
Many widows lost husbands in the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s, as well as the war in Iraq and the sectarian violence that has followed it. Photo courtesy of Oxfam GB/International.
There are currently a million and a half widows in Iraq, nearly 10 percent of the female population. According to Oxfam, widowhood had become more common as a result of the violence the country has experienced. Many lost husbands in the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s, as well as the war in Iraq ten years ago and the sectarian violence that has followed it.
Iraqi widows often live in poor and difficult conditions and have to provide for themselves and their remaining children. Oxfam is working with Iraqi partner organizations Baghdad Women Association, Widows Training and Development Centre, Women for Peace, and Asuda for Combating Violence against Women to ensure that widows receive the government pension that they are entitled to. The latest statistics indicate that only 120,000 widows receive the pensions that they are entitled to – just 8 percent of the total number of widows.
The pension is 100,000 Iraqi Dinars (around $80 a month, just over £53 British pounds), which is not enough to meet the needs and is usually allocated every three months.
Oxfam’s partners are calling for an increase in the rate of widows’ pensions to $200 (or approximately £134) and want the pensions to be paid on a monthly rather than a quarterly basis. They are also seeking to train widows professionally to provide them with job opportunities.
Many widows have resorted to begging on the streets or outside mosques just to survive. Most widows are poor and illiterate, and many are not allowed to go out and work by other family members because of traditional customs. Here are some of their stories:
Many Iraqis widows live in poor and difficult conditions and have to provide for themselves and their remaining children. Photograph courtesy of Oxfam GB/International.
“I lost my husband in one of the sectarian conflicts that took place in 2005 and I am still suffering from this loss today. I am the mother of seven – four sons and three daughters. The parents of my husband took everything away from me because they claimed he had married me against their will. After his death, they left me nothing except for the house in which I live in with my children. I have suffered greatly from my difficult economic and health situation.”
Hanan Ibrahim, 46 years old. Mother of five children, four boys and one girl.
“I lost my husband, a cab driver, in a terrorist attack. This event turned my entire life upside down. I was forced to move from the Al-Karada District to the Sadr District in order to be close to the parents of my husband and to be under their custody together with my children. The high cost of living and the illness of one of my sons forced me to use the help of two of my children who had left school. They began working to help me manage the daily matters and requirements of the family and to provide the money needed for their brother’s medical treatment. I was in a poor psychological state after the loss of my husband and mother, who had also died in a suicide attack in the Horeya District. Moreover, I was already suffering from a poor financial situation so when the breadwinner of the family died, the situation deteriorated on many levels.”
Nadia Mahdi Raja, 35 years old.
“I lost my husband in one of the many clashes that took place during the sectarian war. I was living in the house of my husband’s parents who treated my children and me badly, hit me and called me bad words whenever I would leave the house. When the dispute between us intensified, I left their home and after several attempts I managed to cut off a part of the land adjacent to the house of my husband’s parents and I built two rooms out of mud with no windows or electricity; I rely on the old fashioned way of lighting as I am unable to afford the electricity bills. After solving my housing problem, I tried to obtain some financial help to cover all the daily living expenses including food and drink. I would feel sad and desperate for my children who would have to walk for an hour and a half every day to reach school because I simply could not afford to pay a taxi to bring them to school.”
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