On the occasion of the International Widows’ Day, the ActionAid Association organised a digital campaign to highlight the issues and demands of single women in the country.
Named, ‘#SingleButNotAlone’, the campaign succeeded in bringing to the fore voices of single women from across the country.
On the occasion, ActionAid Association also shared recommendations forDraft National Policy for Single Women with relevant ministries in the Union and several State Governments and officials in the district administrations. Recently developed by the organization and published under the title, Single, But Not Alone, the document substantiates the need for a comprehensive policy to deal with the issues of single women and their specific needs.
“This document lays out an agenda for protecting and promoting the rights of single women through interventions to address the stigma, discrimination and violence faced by them,” says executive director, ActionAid Association, Sandeep Chachra.
The life of single women has always been and continues to be one of struggle, deprivation and in innumerable instances, violation of the basic human rights. “We need to remember that single women are not a homogenous category. Beginning with the local diversities in which they are located, single women are found in several vulnerable contexts in our society, and belong to different categories – widows, unmarried, separated, divorced, abandoned and deserted. And because of this diversity, the issues they are burdened with are diverse too, with stigma and discrimination staying common across the spectrum,” shares programme manager, Women and Property Rights, ActionAid Association, Sushila Prajapati.