Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how (1) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and (2) the Department for International Development, systematically include older women in their (a) work with widows, and (b) wider approach to economic empowerment, across their programmes.

Gender equality is a top priority for the UK. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development work together to achieve the best development and diplomatic impact for women and girls, including older women.

Better data and understanding of the situation of older women is essential for tackling the poverty and discrimination they face. DFID is investing in improving collection and use of disaggregated data (by sex, age and disability) to enable us to empower and include those who are too often invisible or face additional barriers to escaping poverty, such as older people. For example, we have led the way on the Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan and worked with others to improve the international development system on disaggregated and inclusive data.

Social protection mechanisms can play a crucial part in supporting economic empowerment, as such DFID is enabling the empowerment of older women through social protection programmes, including in Uganda, where UKaid is supporting expanded social protection for older people.

The UK is committed to shining a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of widows globally, including raising awareness of the multiple discrimination and abuse often faced by older widows. In Ghana, UKaid is securing lives of dignity for elderly widows banished from their communities due to ‘witchcraft’ accusations and working with traditional authorities to condemn violence, social exclusion and abuse towards widows. At the Commission on the Status of Women in March, the UK helped secure the first ever UN-level recognition of the need to invest in adequate measures to protect and support widows.