SANWED

South Asian Network for Widows' Empowerment in Development

Background

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of widows in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East over the last decade. This unprecedented rise in numbers has been caused by the proliferation of armed conflict, ethnic cleansing, the scourge of AIDS and the persistence in some regions of harmful traditional practices. In conflict affected countries it is estimated that half of all women may be widows.

These women are destined to spend the rest of their lives in poverty and vulnerable to abuse. They are of all ages, and are to be found among the poorest of the poor, often invisible, their voices unheard and their needs, both immediate and long-term unmet, unless governments demonstrate a commitment to right the wrongs inflicted on them. Many obstacles exist to their accessing the justice system. Widows have a desperate need for education, training and employment to adequate housing, health-care, nutrition and education for their children as well as access to personal security and protection from abuse.

What is SANWED?

SANWED stands for South Asian Network for Widows' Empowerment in Development. SANWED is a new initiative in the South Asian region to uphold widows' human rights in all aspects of their lives; reduce poverty and marginalisation and eliminate all forms of socio-cultural, religious, legal, political and economic discrimination. The establishment of SANWED in South Asia will encourage consortiums of widows' groups to be set up in the other regions of the world where widows face similar problems.

Vision

The vision of SANWED is a world in which all widows enjoy their full human rights and live with dignity.

Mission

To enable widows to become collective AGENTS OF CHANGE in the South Asian region by bringing together the National Chapters of SANWED under one umbrella.

Goal

The goal of SANWED is to establish a national association of widows' group in each country with branches or member associations in every city, town, village, refugee or IDP camp so that widows know and can obtain their rights, can access training and employment, and participate in decision-making at every level.

SANWED Secretariat:

WHR has been unanimously elected the SANWED secretariat.
Its main functions are to:

• Develop guidelines to collect information on the status of widows and collate data for wider dissemination.
• Share "best practices" for the promotion and improvement of the status of widows and their dependents.
• Form network with widows' empowerment groups in other regions to prioritize issues of widowhood, in context of promoting human rights, justice and peace, in national, regional and international agenda.
• Coordinate with National Chapters to lobby their respective governments to adopt and implement the Charter for the Rights of Widows, presented at the 49th Session of the UN CSW in March 2005.
• Mainstream Widows' Charter in the national level by the respective government of all the member countries.
• Sensitize South Asian governments and the international community about the key role of widows as valuable "social capital" in peace, development and equality.
• Disseminate information related to the status of widows to national, regional and international organizations.
• Identify national, regional and international focal points.
• Build capacity of National Chapters to develop a common understanding of strategies to overcome obstacles, meet challenges and provide guidelines to implement the National Action Plans.

Widows' Charter

The Widows' Charter was declared and passed in the "International Conference in Capacity Building of Single Women (Widows)" held on 12th to 14th May 2005 in Kathmandu, Nepal. There were representatives from nine countries and also from the various districts of Nepal. Widows' Charter addresses the issues of single women (widows) and also mentions about the discriminatory laws and policies against single women. Ms. Margaret Owen, Director of Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD) has been a major focal person in drafting the Widows' Charter.

Colombo Declaration

The Colombo Declaration during the 15th SAARC Summit 2008 addressed the issues of widows for the first time in any SAARC Summit.

Point No. 32:

The Heads of State or Government noted with satisfaction the increased cooperation in the region towards achieving the all important goal of bringing women fully into the mainstream of development, on the basis of gender equality. The Leaders directed to work for a regional cooperation for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and abuse against women in general and widows in particular and guarantee their rights to live in the society in a dignified manner.