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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Friday addressed the launch event of "Her Skill, Her Future: Empowering 100,000 Widows," an initiative with contributions from the Loomba Foundation aimed at supporting widows by providing them with skills and resources to build sustainable livelihoods.
During her speech, Irani stressed that women are not victims, either of circumstances or challenges, but have the capacity to overcome adversity. She also highlighted the significance of various international days, including the International Day of Non-Violence, the International Day of Yoga, and the International Day of Widows and acknowledged the contributions of Lord Loomba for the establishment of the International Day of Widows. Irani emphasised the importance of these days in promoting human potential, justice, and non-violence. "United Nations celebrates three international days, one being the International Day of Non-Violence, dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi; one the International Day of Yoga, courtesy of the leadership of Prime Minister Modi; and a day dedicated to widows the world over, courtesy of Lord Loomba... All these three days celebrate human potential, our capacity to ensure justice and a non-violent way of life... A woman is anything but a victim, either of circumstances or her own inabilities to meet certain challenges," the BJP leader said. Irani, who also serves as the Vice President of The Loomba Foundation, expressed her pride in contributing to this initiative alongside the President of the foundation, Cherie Blair. The initiative aims to foster economic independence and social equity for widows across different communities. Founded in 1997, The Loomba Foundation was initially known in the UK to care for widows and their children and to change the culture that discriminates against them. Till now, the Loomba Foundation has empowered more than 20,000 impoverished widows in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Syria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Malawi, Rwanda, Chile and Guatemala. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the project to empower 5,000 widows in his constituency of Varanasi. (ANI)
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