“Widowhood is a big problem in India,” said Blair, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of an art exhibition in Sanskriti School, Chanakyapuri, where she was the guest of honour.

Blair is the president of Loomba Trust, an NGO that works for widows and their children.

“We want all countries to support the campaign. The problems faced by widows are seen internationally,” she said, adding that the Trust is making efforts to get United Nations to recognise 23 June as the International Widows’ Day.

The exhibition, put together by the Loomba Trust and Sanskriti School, was themed of peace, non-violence, tolerance and compassion.

After the prize distribution ceremony, Blair said: “There is no country in the world where women and girls are treated as truly equal to men. And that is still a cause that we have to aspire towards and fight for. I think the widows in many ways exemplify that particular problem of women forced to fend for themselves in a man’s world.”

Sanskriti School, which is also a partner in the Trust’s endeavour, sponsors a few underprivileged children of widows from slum areas as part of an initiative, called Umang.

“Our focus at the moment is to give grants to the widows, but we are also working at giving the widows training in some trades so that they are able to fund the education of their children,” Blair said.

Loomba Trust and Sanskriti School has undertaken the education of about 100 children of poor widows across the Capital. “The aim is to increase the number of beneficiaries to 1,000 in each state of India, Raj Loomba, the founder and chairperson of the Trust, said.

Sanskriti School principal Abha Sehgal said, “Blair can prove to be a role model for our children.”