The plight of widows around the globe

There’s a reason the Quran thunders so chillingly against those who take advantage of widows and orphans.

IPS News Service: Widows Face a Life of Quiet Destitution

Widows are stigmitised by society not only in India, but across the
globe. Worldwide, every day, about 100 million widows and their
children are ostracised, exploited, and harassed by the societies they
live in, according to the Loomba Trust, an international charity based
in Britain that aims to educate the children of poor widows throughout
India.

"For these widows, the widowhood means denial of basic human rights,"
Cherie Blair, president of the Trust and wife of former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, said at an event at the U.N. last November to
promote widows’ rights.

In some countries, widows are subjected to constant harassment. They
not only face legal obstacles to inheriting property, but are also
unable to send their children to school.

That makes many widows and their children "the most vulnerable and the
poorest of the poor," Blair said.