During Pastor Dorcas Gachagua's presentation on widows during a side event at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) held at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, representatives of various United Nations (UN) member states cheered numerous times.
Pastor Dorcas spoke passionately about her upbringing as a widow, starting when she was just seven years old. She reminded those in attendance that widowhood was a status brought on by life circumstances rather than a choice.
According to her, millions of widows worldwide experience stigmatization, loss of property and land, and prejudice, particularly from close family members. She urged the various parties to expedite actions that would empower these widows.
Pastor Dorcas also discussed the distinctive characteristics of widows from sizable polygamous homes in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
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Pastor Dorcas stated, "We have peculiar widows in my nation from polygamous backgrounds. The father's death leaves behind 10 or 12 widows and tens of children who suffer economically, socially, and psychologically".
Speaking at a UN side event organized by the Global Fund for Widows to "address rural widowhood," Instead of feeling sorry for widows, Pastor Dorcas urged the world to come up with creative and valuable solutions to the sad circumstances that befall them.
She said a widow was a lady who had missed the chance to have a man by her side rather than a beggar.
She observed little conversations about widows during several CSW67 meetings, which she referred to as a sort of discrimination against them (widows). In Kenya, the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President (OSDP) aims to place widows, orphans, boy children, and people with disabilities at the top of its agenda.
In keeping with the UN pledge to "leave no one behind," Pastor Dorcas stated that widows "must be in the center of the most violated, tormented, and who endure the worst in human dignity".
Ambassador Maritza Chan, the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN, Jean Muonaowauza, the Minister of Gender and Community Development for Malawi, Monjurul Kabir, the Moderator for UN Women, Heather Ibrahim, the Founder of the Global Fund for Widows, and Polish Minister Magdalena Butrymowicz were also on the panel.
Ms Ibrahim gave a few examples of financial success from widows who the Global Fund for Widows has assisted with funding; some of these widows are in Kenya, and they also benefited from training in sustainable investing and best money management techniques.
"We monitor the financial, capital, and credit scores of widows who establish organizations. Through a survey, we discovered that a widow's monthly income increased by 2027%, their annual savings by 730%, their medical expenses increased by 461% because they could afford to visit the doctor, their educational expenses increased by 200% as a result of sending their children to school. Their food-related expenditures increased by 58%".
A young woman whose spouse passed away three days after their wedding was among the "Ukrainian War Widows" who shared their personal experiences with the participants.
