INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY

The Loomba Foundation’s mission has always extended beyond direct support for widows and their families. From the beginning, we recognised that widowhood is not only a personal tragedy but also a global human rights issue—one sustained by deep-rooted cultural practices, legal exclusion and social neglect. Transforming this reality requires international awareness, political will and collective action.

To spark that change, the Foundation launched International Widows Day on 26 May 2005, designating 23 June—the date Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba was widowed in 1956—as a global day of action. Announced at the House of Lords, the campaign set out to shine a light on the invisible suffering of millions of widows and to mobilise governments, NGOs, businesses and communities around the world.

From its inception, International Widows Day generated momentum. The first commemorations in 2005 spanned London, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda and South Africa. Over the following years, the Foundation organised international conferences, cultural events and public campaigns involving global figures—from Kofi Annan and Senator Hillary Clinton to Yoko Ono, the Prince of Wales and Cherie Blair.

Achieving UN Adoption

After a five-year global campaign, the Foundation achieved its most significant advocacy milestone.

On 22 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted International Widows Day as an officially recognised UN global day—an extraordinary outcome driven by the Foundation’s determination and the support of member states, led by Gabon.

The first UN-recognised International Widows Day was marked on 23 June 2011 at UN Headquarters in New York, with UN leadership, government ministers and civil society joining Lord Loomba and the Foundation’s President, Cherie Blair. In 2012, the Foundation was granted Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC, further strengthening its role in shaping global policy.

Today, each year on 23 June, the UN Secretary-General issues a message to all member states, cementing International Widows Day as a permanent fixture on the global calendar.

Sustained Global Leadership

Since UN adoption, the Foundation has continued to drive worldwide awareness with events across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas—from London Bridge and Trafalgar Square to Varanasi, Nairobi and Colombo. Grassroots and national partners mark the day with rallies, seminars, business empowerment showcases and cultural programmes.

In 2025—the 15th UN-recognised International Widows Day—the Loomba Foundation convened a major International Widows Conference at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London under the theme “Don’t Leave Widows Behind.” Global leaders, ministers, UN representatives and grassroots advocates called for transformational investment, legal reform, data and accountability, and an end to marginalisation.

A Continued Call to Action

International Widows Day has become the cornerstone of the global movement to end discrimination against widows. But awareness alone is not enough. As Lord Loomba reminds us: “No woman should be punished for outliving her husband.”

Through research, policy engagement, partnerships and advocacy, The Loomba Foundation remains steadfast in ensuring that widows’ rights are recognised as central to gender equality—and that widows around the world are never left behind.