Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that it is the pious responsibility of everyone to take care of widows. Addressing the gathering on the occasion of International Widows’ Day, here today, he said that ‘we as a society need to reflect on the social attitudes towards widows and how the stigma, humiliation and isolation attached to widowhood can be overcome’. The Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Vice President said that indigent widows need to be empowered financially by providing loans to be self-employed. Preference should be given to widows while extending Mudra loans, he added. Stressed on the need to create livelihood opportunities through vocational training programmes in various areas, including tailoring, garment making and packaging for widows. He further said that States like Haryana and Rajasthan are giving preference to widows seeking government jobs through competitive examinations. This should be emulated by other States too.
Widowhood is probably the most tragic phase in a person’s life—be it of men or women. Unfortunately, it causes greater distress among women for a variety of reasons, depending on the socio-cultural mores and norms of the country they hail from. In India too, widows are a highly marginalized and neglected section and face discrimination and exploitation. In thousands of cases, widows not only have to fend for themselves, but also take care of their children.
According to 2011 census data, there are about 4.3 crore widows in India, equivalent to the populations of some countries. They need to be treated with special care, compassion and empathy as they not only have lost their most loved ones, but are suddenly faced with economic and emotional distress and have to cope with life-shattering emptiness and void.
There have been many progressive reformers in India who tirelessly worked for the welfare and emancipation of widows. For instance, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar pioneered widows’ remarriage. The others in this league include Raja Ram Mohan Roy and well-known Telugu social reformer, Kandukuri Veeresalingam, who had also promoted widows remarriage and had also established Widows Home. They had made herculean efforts to overcome prejudices of a conservative society at that time.
It is a matter of concern that widows are looked down upon and at times meted out unjust treatment even in the present digital era.
Some of the major problems faced by widows include societal restrictions on widow remarriages and denial of inheritance rights, among others.