As the world marks 2025 International Widow’s Day, several widows were empowered at the weekend by the Helpline Social Support Initiative, based in Abuja.
In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, and with a theme “Empowering Widows: Building Resilience, Restoring Dignity,” International Widows Day, celebrated every year on June 23, is a special day established by the United Nations (UN) dedicated to addressing the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents.
Minister for Women Affairs Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim graced the event, performed the free Federal Health Insurance Scheme (FHIS) enrollment for the widows, and also unveiled the Renewed Hope Social Impact Programme for Widows.
Founder of Helpline Social Support Initiative, Dr Mrs Jumai Ahmadu, in her welcome, also stressed that the occasion is a platform to honour the courage of widows and further amplify the collective responsibility in addressing the various socio-economic challenges they face.
She said widowhood for many women is accompanied not just by grief but by layers of vulnerability, financial exclusion, cultural stigmatisation, and emotional isolation, hence the call to action, and a commitment to resilience and restoring the dignity of widows through sustainable support systems, empowerment programmes, and inclusive policies.
Mrs Ahmadu observed that there are 17 clusters from FCT and two other states, and the widows are expected to pay N13,500 per annum to cover their expenses in FCT hospitals.
One of the widows, Ruth Wada, who has been widowed for the past five years with three children, called for more government assistance.
Highlights of the event included charity sales, an exhibition, free health screening, legal aid and counselling, vocational skills training, peer support circles, and the issuance of dignity gift packs.
Other participants at the event called on government and non-governmental organisations to make the Widows Day a memorable occasion for women in Nigeria, stressing that widows are mostly neglected in the scheme of things.
