Sparing a thought for widows in India

Manjula Sood, the India-origin Lord Mayor of Leicester, will release dozens of balloons to highlight the plight of widows in India on the International Widows Day on Monday.

The day, organised by the Loomba Trust which works in Asia for the benefit of widows, was launched in 2005 by Cherie Blair, wife of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The event, held every year since 2005 in London, will now also take place in Leicester.

Sood, who was widowed in 1996, will release a net of multi-coloured balloons at the De Montfort University Campus Centre in Leicester.

She said her own life would have been very different if she had been a widow in India, which she left in 1970.

"I feel very lucky that I am here because in this country, the social welfare system is such. Back home in India, and in other countries, it is very difficult, particularly for young widows bringing up children."

"It's a very sensitive issue, but I welcome the idea to have more international awareness," she told the local media.

Resham Singh Sandu, chairman of the Leicester Council of Faiths and a Loomba Trust member, said: "The International Widows Day is observed now all over the world to raise awareness about the plight and hardships widows go through in leading their lives and bringing up their children."

Although the day is marked in Trafalgar Square, in London, Singh said: "I thought this is not enough. It should be highlighted at other places where the Asian population is significant."