Yakin Ertürk, Director, UN Division for the Advancement of
Women: supporting our conference in 2001
.... "The issues which widows generally face and those encountered by women in developing countries are cause for serious concern. The situation of widows should continue to be featured on the international fora until they become firmly integrated into the policy agenda.
Our Partner WiDO
WIDO's Innovative Approach
As soon as WiDO gets to hear of a case of mistreatment of a widow, their Vanguard Team goes to her village and starts to negotiate with the widow’s husband’s kin as to her rights to home, children and livelihood. The Vanguard Team is composed of a trained paralegal, a good negotiator, a photographer and a driver. They involve as many of the local notables – village chief, elders, teachers – as possible so that the agreement eventually reached is more likely to be honoured. The Vanguard Team revisit the widow after some time has lapsed since the agreement to make sure all is well and that she is not suffering from other forms of discrimination.
WiDO are greatly aided in their work by the existence of State level legislation prohibiting discrimination against widows and widowers; WiDo has translated the main provisions of the bill into the local language and published it in a simple illustrated booklet. The Vanguard Team make sure the notables have their copy of the booklet. In their new project proposal they envisage training 4 community focal persons based in rural Enugu State and giving them each a mobile phone so that WiDO will hear of abuses of widows’ rights rather quickly and the Vanguard Team be able respond much more rapidly before a widow’s possessions and children are dispersed. 
WiDO also hold an annual Widows Friendly Day at which widows, collaborating NGOs, lawyers and well wishers hear about recent cases, and commit themselves to spreading the word that abusing widows is against the law!