International Women’s Day

Baroness Greengross Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Greengross (CB)]

My Lords, I want to comment on the most neglected of all gender human rights issues—that of widows. In spite of the contribution of many people, including in this House—in particular the noble Lords, Lord Loomba, Lord Hussain, Lord Bilimoria and many others, some of whom are here—and of organisations such as Widows for Peace through Democracy, led by the indefatigable campaigner Margaret Owen, there is a terrible lack of concern about widowhood.

Most women will experience widowhood at some point during their life, so this is not a niche issue. There is a myth that widows are mostly older women, but the number of widows of all ages is increasing across the world. This is because of armed conflicts, sectarian strife, natural disasters, age gaps in marriage and women living longer than men.

In many parts of the world, widows suffer violence through cruel mourning and burial rites. They face horrific and dehumanising practices, including being stoned to death for being witches, “ritual cleansing” through rape, and extreme restrictions on mobility, diet and clothing. In some societies, widowhood is a key driver of early marriage. Poverty often forces widows to remove their daughters from school, giving or selling them into early marriage. It often creates more child widows, who become vulnerable to economic and sexual exploitation by criminal elements.

Millions of widows in Africa, south Asia, the Middle East and beyond are treated like chattels. When their husband dies, they are often denied inheritance, land and property rights. Many are chased off their land and made homeless, ending up in modern-day slavery. They are overrepresented in refugee camps, and often are the last to be resettled.

To date, widows have been barely mentioned in the CSW agreed conclusions since the UN Beijing declaration of September 1995, which called for equal rights for men and women. The 12 areas of action called for in the Beijing declaration all have relevance to widows, yet they remain invisible in these UN meetings and recommendations, despite intensive lobbying efforts from organisations representing them, some of which I have mentioned.

The UN 2030 sustainable development goals will not be met unless the issues of violence, poverty, vulnerability and abuse that widows face are seriously addressed. The UK, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, is in a strong position to influence this change. The UK should use its position to lobby for a report on widowhood in conflict and the appointment of a special rapporteur on widowhood, and to push for a resolution on widowhood at the Security Council. I hope that these recommendations will be taken seriously by the new Ministers, who I congratulate. I particularly ask the Minister who will respond to confirm to me that this will happen.