Highlighting concerns of vulnerable groups and building a knowledge base on effective strategies for engendering mainstream development

First South Asia Conference on Widows:

Targeting socio-cultural practices and socialization processes that perpetuate different forms of violence against women in the home and the community, UNIFEM supported the Guild of Service to bring widows rights centre stage in the development dialogue, through the First South Asia Conference on Widows held recently in New Delhi. Support was also extended to facilitate the preparation of seven regional background papers on the status of widows in each of the South Asian countries, based on secondary data for the conference. The Conference led to the Delhi Declaration and the formation of the South Asian Alliance for Widows. Through data generation and an analysis of the impact of myths, rituals and religion on the subordinate status of widows, and through the formation of this network, widow’s rights are being highlighted, with ongoing advocacy for a policy initiative to empower them.