The Limbo of Widowhood in India
Widows in India are seen as the liability of the family and have no value fir their relatives after they lost their husbands. They have profound problem as they are outcast to suffer in poverty and isolation forever. They become the de-sexed creatures for the society and the epithets like ‘husband eater’ and ‘unfortunate’ are used against them. In this 21st century also, the women in India are accused to be responsible for their husband’s death hence the widowhood brings them the state of social death irrespective of higher or lower caste of the society (Shivakumar 2017). According to some researchers, A segment of widows are expected to follow spiritual path with various restrictions affecting them physically and psychologically. On the other hand, the widows living in the ashrams of Vrindavan or Banaras often forced to prostitution by the corrupt heads. The widows in India thus have been confronting social constrains to be a widowed woman, neglect of social and public authorities, insufficient legal measures for them. They have been remaining underprivileged as well as deprived of the universally accredited human rights for all (Mishra, Shekhar and Gouda 2016). Moreover, this selected subject is problematic to explore as these women are deprived of education and other personal development factors hence neither can access information nor can help researchers to collect information about them. Hence, this study is significant because Indian government has recently established very few legislative initiatives at the national and state level to eradicate gender discrimination and suffering of these women in the country.
For more than 50 million and growing windows in India contains more than 10 percent female population of India (Varma 2016). They are leading life of living sati which is a reference to the mythical incident of the goddess Sati for her husband’s insult. Later the religious heads have turned the incident and used it as a practice of burning widows with their husbands at the same time. As discussed before, most of the widows are forced to live in the dark and damp places in Vrindavan termed as the ‘city of widows’ where many widows are under ten years old even (Gupta and Sekher 2018). They were once revered as mother, sister and daughter but destined to die in that place without even meeting their families again. The situation in this recent time has become more dangerous as the young widows are trafficked and forced to earn though prostitution.
Below 30 percent of these widows in India are eligible for pensions among which only 11% are actually getting their payments (Womenwelfare.org 2018). This is the reason why more than 15000 widows have nothing to do without begging in the streets of Vrindavan to meet their days end (Asiapacific.unwomen.org 2018). The widows who stay with their in-laws or even their parents are devoid of being part of the family wealth as they are granted to be unlucky for the families. Financial aid hence become most crucial for helping these women but the number of NGOs and governmental grant are less than the actual necessity.
Social Constraints and Legal Measures for Widows
Widows in India seem to trail all the religious and social rules because they internalized them. They follow other widows without moving against these worse traditions of suffering they resign to this kind of destiny like living in destitute and placing numerous restrictions on the healthy diet (Gupta and Sekher 2018). The orthodox Hindus do not allow their widows to have onions, garlic, meat and fish as these contain proteins that stimulate blood and physical growth. Therefore, these are granted to be impure for these widows but these foods are actually necessary for avoiding malnutrition. Moreover, these widows observe various types of religious ceremonies for which they starve for a day thus malnutrition even leads to death. The mortality rate of these women is higher than other married women (Lloyd-Sherlock, Corso and Minicuci 2015). In the Indian society, across different caste and religion, the widows are habitually perceived by their family members as burden hence sexually threatening toward other’s marriages.
According to the national crime bureau of India, the violence against women especially on the widows is the fastest growing crime. More than 40 million of these women are deprived of financial support from their relatives or governments (Justice.gov 2018). They are also devoid of maintaining basic dignity as being a widow is a sin in this country. The fundamental human rights are being violated with these crimes against widows in one hand and preventing these women to utilize their full potential or even survive in the society. The government of the India is responsible to promote the rights of women and insist upon the accountability of the perpetrators. In this respect, effective laws are to be issued so that the violence against widows and neglected behavior perpetuating their subordinate status get reduced in the society.
In the city of widows, more than 15000 women are struggling every day to survive (Justice.gov 2018). They are outcast from the society or their own families to suffer in destitute. They do not have the minimum evaluation so that they can earn for themselves nor they have any pathway to turn around or go against the rules of the society. These women are neglected buy the local authorities and also overlooked by the civil society organizations. These women do not have their own organizations of interest groups so that they can pressurize the government to aid them both socially and financially. They do not posses power or authority in their family or guardians hence cannot protest or prevent abuse against them. This is the reason why they endure ostracism, extreme poverty, violence, malnutrition, homelessness and discrimination in custom and laws. Therefore, it can be stated that the situation of the widows in India is almost invisible so also their problems (Lloyd-Sherlock, Corso and Minicuci 2015). Many of these widows have been devoid of their rights as to Indian customs, women cannot inherit the wealth of their father, nor they can claim the wealth of their husbands’. This insecurity both in terms of financial as well as social hence are subjected to exploitation even evicted from their own houses by their relatives. These widows are therefore forced into some exploitative work or begging to support themselves.
Malnutrition and Health Risks for Widows
In the rural India, widowhood is seen as the source of shame this stigmatized to be the curse of the family. In some culture, these widow women are seen to practice witchcraft which make them more vulnerable in surviving in their society. This is the reason why many of the widows are sent to Vrindavan to suffer in destitute. There they have none to take care of them, even their relatives do not visit them frequently. These women have no education or power to go against these ill customs of the society hence cannot get help from the NGOs or the rights they actually possess (Lloyd-Sherlock, Corso and Minicuci 2015). Moreover, in the interior rural region of India, the instances of Sati can be found where the widows are burnt against their will with their dead husbands. These sufferings also affect their children or next generation as these children are more vulnerable to be abused. The widows as cannot arrange for money to educate their children withdraw them from schools, cannot arrange for their daughters’ marriage hence their sufferings get doubled.
Such brutalities against the widows are seen justified in the Indian society as this supports the cultural and religious practices. Impunity to abuse women and depriving them from their rights is rife but very few perpetrators have successfully brought them to justice. Even if the country provides them legal protection more inclusively, widows actually suffer social and financial marginalization. The paper therefore, further explains the reason of maintaining this institute of widowhood in India and how this is preventing these women to be deprived of enjoying minimum benefits or human rights.
The aim of this research is to analyses the current situation under which the widows of Vrindavan are surviving and to provide possible explanation of the violation of widow human rights in India.
The objectives of the research are as follows:
- To evaluate the actual situation of the widows in India
- To evaluate the implication of human rights in preventing violence
- To recommend effective strategies to manage the situation and reduce violation of human rights among the widows.
- What is the actual situation of the widows in India?
- How effective the human rights in preventing violence over the widows?
This study will be discussing the complete matter through five detailed chapter. The first chapter of this study in the introduction where there will be some introductory parts such as the background of this study, rationale of the research study on widowhood in India, aim and objective of this study and questions of this particular research study. The second chapter will be covering the review of different literatures relevant to this study. This chapter has contained different perspectives of the critics who already has idealized with this subject and gained knowledge through studying historical facts about the suffering of widowhood in India. The third chapter contains the research methodology with different approaches, designs and philosophies of this particular research study (Kethineni 2017). Sources of collected data, sample size and data analysis technique have been illustrated in this particular chapter. The next or fourth chapter covers the findings of collected data and their proper analysis. The last or fifth chapter concludes this study where the researcher has connected the research objectives with collected information and analysis. Towards the end the researcher has made recommendation for the requirements of this study.
Violence Against Widows in India
There has been a huge research on the topic of psychological as well as physical violence on the unprotected widows in India. This chapter has discussed various perspectives that the critics have analyzed in their literatures in order to understand the pathetic situation of the Hindu widows in the country. This chapter has made a conceptual framework of the relevant ideas and concepts on this specific research topic (Kethineni 2017). This part of this assignment discusses the situation of widows in India starting irrespective of rural or urban area, customs around them and criminal instances. This part also discusses the human rights of these widows which are most of the cases get violated to exploit the widows in India. This section concludes with the changing scenario where the widowhood is no longer a death but way to live empowered.
The traditional communities of India widowhood represent social death for women. This not only means that the widows have lost their husband, the breadwinner of the family and supporter of their children but every dreams of a woman dies with her husband’s death (Chauhan 2011). Becoming widow is regarded to be worst fates in the traditional Hindu society. This is applicable for widows of urban or rural, middle class or lower-class families. The ma’s death in case it occurs at his young age is attributed to the ill fate brought by his wife as she must have done sins in her past life. With the death of her husband therefore, her auspicious wifehood ends and she enters the dreaded life of widowhood. Widowhood robs the minimum status and respect thus consigns her to the margin of society to live in desolation. It is the life of a living dead suffering extreme form of stigma and discrimination (Kethineni 2017). This scenery has a common and identical face in all over the India.
According to Niswade (2015), the widowhood bears the shame and ill fate for the women in the rural area. Despite the fact that more than 33 million women have been suffering from this institution, very little facts can be accessed about them. The social stigma that engulfs the lives of the Hindu widows is the actual reason of their suffering. The study is concentrated in the Vidarbha region of western India and the author has pointed out that the social and economic situation of the rural families are pushing this institution of widowhood in more severity (Mitra 2018). This study is centered round a survey conducted on 300 widows of various age group so that the different factors affecting their development as well as survival can be identified. The survey has identified that 69% widows were illiterate in the region, 96% had economic problems, and 47% faced discrimination due to caste system as well as religious obligations (Kethineni 2017).
This analytical study has attended to achieve a better understanding of the social as well as economic condition of widows, by focusing attention on widowhood as a social problem. The research explores dominant ideological construction of the widowhood in context of the religion, patriarchy, and traditional customs. Among the age group the author has found some children widows below the age of 12 or so (Chauhan 2011). The situation of the elderly widows is more vulnerable. Age has placed these widows in the most problematic situation and endangered to discrimination, oppression, dependence and most importantly numerous health issues. In this case the victims are not only suffering physically but also from psychological problems as they face neglect from their sons and other relatives and isolation (Mitra 2018). As the reason of such suffering, the author has pointed out some issues associated with social as well as economic policies of the state and actions taken in support of the property rights of the widows that neglect the responsibilities to provide them a social security, effective employment and participation in the workforce of the country and most importantly the social identity.
The study conducted by Ahmed-Ghosh (2009), has revealed that there are studies and films that have started to focus on the plights of the widows in India but very few of them know the actual situation of these widows. The author has pointed out that the suffering of the widows in this country is due to the issues of masculinity and the women’s sexuality. The author has identified that the culture of the country always gives scopes to execute power by men over the women (Mitra 2018). In dominating women, the patriarchal society of India has taken various ways controlled the lives of women. This paper has highlighted why the identity of women is judged by their sexuality and to from other perspectives. From ancient times, society and religion along with government has been perpetuating and legitimizing the masculine power as well as masculinity over women to be supreme power. The identity of widows, therefore, has become the most negligible as they have lost their men, the support hence can be easily dominated (Inman and Rao 2018). Threatened by multiple social and religious forces as well as ages of traditions the widows in India have been de-sexed by the society. Therefore, the condition of these women is complex and problematic to overcome.
Mohindra, Haddad and Narayana (2012) on the other hand have described the unendurable situation of the widows in the rural region of Kerala. These authors have investigated the health and financial situation of the widows in the southern part of India. They have examined the data collected from the Gram Panchayat or the lowest level government authority of a village (Inman and Rao 2018). Moreover, they have also interviewed the heads of the panchayat to now the local structures of ‘widowhood’. This study has defined whether the welfare programs and social opportunities provided by the state and central government for widows are actually reaching them (Mondal 2017). The semi-interviews with the community have disclosed many facts related with the vulnerability of the widows in that village. From these investigation, the authors have found out some very important factors. It points out that whether it is the northern part of India or the southern the victimization of widows is constant and have unchangingly nature. The social stigma and taboos to be a cursed woman has no difference. The health issues leading to high rate of mortality has not successfully grab the attention of society this is the reason why becoming widow is seen as shock that ultimately gives birth to health and economic shock among these women.
The word widow is used as an epithet for the unfortunate women in India. Therefore, there are numerous belief and religious customs have been built around them (Chauhan 2011). As a widow the women are first of all forbidden to adorn themselves. In most of the cases they are forced to wear only a plain white or black clothing, shed all her ornaments and symbols of wifehood (Inman and Rao 2018). The Hindus believe that a woman why have lost her husband at a young age is still married to him hence she is expected to remain faithful to him even after death and reach him the highest spiritual plane. This can only be done when the wife will live in poverty lying all earthly connections and chant prayer to the gods for their dead husband. In case the wife even thins of remarrying, it is regarded as adultery hence must be punished (Mohindra et al. 2012).
It has been identified that in many of the cases the human behaviour is getting affected. Due to the complication of human behaviour, different types of violence have become one of the major issues in the current society. Although various types of norms and regulations have been introduced against such violence, but due to lack of proper information and attention from the society, such situations occur. It has been identified that in the current scenario, the violence against women has increased. Different authors have introduced many of theoretical approaches against domestic violence. Those are as follows.
As stated by Modleski (2015), in the year 1970, the political movement was introduction for the fundamental rights of women. Aim of the movement was to fight against the gender, race. Sexual preference and class discrimination. By supporting this Allen (2015) stated that sexual assault, rape, dowry and female infanticide related cruelty have become the major issue, which can be demolished by introducing effective initiative. In the feminist view, not only the rape but also sexual assaults on the women is not passion, it is social statement. The feminist theory hence strongly opposes the violence against widows in India.
In the words of Kagitcibasi (2017), the family statement theory indicates that family and the social situation of a person play an essential role for influencing the violent habits. Depending on the biological determinants the violence can be classified. The hormonal factors, personality characteristics and intra-psychic are influential in the case of influencing the violence. As mentioned before, the widows are the most vulnerable section who face the first wave of violence from their family. The situation of the widows in India is so pathetic that in the state of Punjab these widows are usually forced to marry their husband’s brother after becoming widow or they will be raped.
In the Socio-Psychological theory it has been mentioned that criminal violence can be examined through external environmental factors which impact on the individuals’ behaviour. Depending on the interaction the theory can be analysed. The frustration, aggressiveness and prevention can be understood through this model. Here the theory has described how the psychological impacts such as thoughts, feelings, beliefs and action and social impacts such as religion, family, society and wealth influence the socio-psychological activities. These are the aspects that give birth to the psychology of exploiting and torturing the weakest section of the society.
Frustration-Aggression Theory of violence, is one of the important theory that indicates the individuals’ attempt towards the violence (Breuer and Elson, 2017.). In this theory the process is being discussed in which the frustration is being linked with the aggression. It has been mentioned that increasing tension, stress, financial crisis and anger are the main influencing factor behind aggression that reflect through violence.
In recent years the crime against women in India has shown a sharp growth in rate of the violence against widows was an old and accepted tradition that also increased in this opportunity. The girl and older widows already lost their position in the family after their husband’s death and used to feel more helpless where they should be safest. The research conducted by Naidu (2013), has revealed the most important facets of violence against widows by their own family members. The study has covered the victimization of these woman both physically and emotionally as they are not allowed to make their own decisions, protect themselves from physical torture and voice opinions against their torturers because they are the most neglected section of the society. Therefore, the human rights are absent in their lives hence gradually succumb to death or abnormality (Mondal 2017). The domestic violence is high in the north Indian states like Haryana, UP and Rajasthan as there are class-caste system in the society and the widows are often treated as untouchables by the family members. These widows are threatened to suffer more domestic violence as they are forced to marry their father-in-law or bother-in-law to stay in their homes. These women are victims of malnutrition as they do not get sufficient food to survive or work outside house to meet their days end (Deep 2017). Domestic violence on the widows have become common issue and this affect human right aspects of health, economy, education or any type of personal development. In some cases, the widows are forbidden from indulging in vanity as well as ornamenting her appearance with any type of makeup, ornate apparel and marriage markers even ornaments. In many cases, women are forced to shave their heads and they cannot to grow hair for rest of their lives (Ansari 2018). The young widows are forced to prostitution or trafficked as they seem to bring curse on their families. Above all, in the far-flung villages of Rajasthan the custom of sati has been recorded where the widows are burn in their husband’s pyre.
Human trafficking is a very common incident in the rural area of India where the young or child widows are sent for staying in ashrams or homes. These Ashrams often encourage the practices of sexual abuse and prostitution to gauge their funds or finance (Bhattacharyya and Singh 2018). As the guardians or relatives avoid to visit these places or these widows, the ashrams force these young women or children you do what the authority want. Here the young widows are often supplied to the rich customers in lieu of a heavy sum. In some of the ashrams, there is a Sevadasi system in which the ashram authorities arrange service to the rich as well as powerful pilgrims. Under this particular system, these widows offer each service to satisfy the proprietors of the ashram or Dharmshalas as well as Bhajan Ashrams. In such services, forced sex is also included (Pande 2018). This system of sevadasi however prevalent in such institutions ultimately leads to encourage the illegal practices of trafficking as well as prostitution.
The constitution of India has supported for equal rights to both men and women. The article 14 of the Indian constitution states that the state will never deny to maintain any person’s equality before law as well as equal protection through laws in the territory of the country. One the other hand the Article 15 states that the government of the country will never discriminate among people on the grounds of caste, sex, religion and race (Asiapacific.unwomen.org (2018). Despite the fact that the Indian government has taken numerous measures to secure the position of women in the Indian society, there are instances of open discrimination (Deep 2017). These laws though mend to cater the needs of the women in India actually do not reach the victims spell in the rural region where the violence against the women is recorded to be the highest. There is a huge gap between the theory and practice (Pande 2018). In some cases, the women are given special rights in compared to men but these rights are least beneficial to these women. There are more than 15 human rights presents in the Indian constitution to prevent violence against women whether she is a widow or not. some of these are:
- Right to equality
- Right to live with dignity
- Right to liberty
- Right to education
- Right to property
- Right to protection of health
- Right to livelihood
- Right to social protection in the eventuality of retirement, old age and sickness
- Right to protection from society, state and family system.
Despite the fact that human rights are limited rights that are compulsorily obtainable by each person as he is the part of the Indian society but the rights of the women especially of the widows are being violated in one or the other way. In order to secure the widows of this country from such discrimination n exploitation, the government therefore, the widows are provided with some very essential rights. These are
- Widow remarriage act
- Protection of women from domestic violence act
- Property act
Moreover, the government of India has issued some welfare schemes for the widows through National Social Assistance Programs (Womenwelfare.org 2018). Under these schemes, the eligible widows are given pensions, the children of widows get scholarships and government helps these widows financially for their daughter’s marriage (Ansari 2018). The UN Women’s study has also highlighted that the widows in India are not homogeneous group. The sufferings may be constant with living at their situation keeps on changing considerably with their age, geographical location, socio- cultural practices, their educational levels and most importantly the power and fame of their husbands (Agrawal and Keshri 2014). This is the reason why there are obligation of human rights against the widows can be seen.
According to the acts issued by the Indian constitution, the widows can remarry but the social customs and traditions often push them to lead a life of desolation and austerity. In the colonial period, the tradition of maintaining chastity for the high-class widows were mandatory whereas the lower caste widows used to remarry but now the government had passed the act that any widow in the country can remarry whenever she wants and she cannot be abused or tortured by others (Pande 2018). In the urban areas, the young widows are found to remarry after few years but in rural areas the strict rule are followed by the religious heads or village communities. The issue of remarriage has different facets when it comes to the point of difference in religion. The Islam allow their widows to remarry but Hinduism does not (Ansari 2018). as mentioned before, the lower caste widows find their ways by remarrying whom they prefer but the brahmin or higher-class widows re sent to the ashrams to suffer the dark life in desolation.
According to the Section 10 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the share of the property of the dead husband will be inherited by the widow of that person in this case, there can be more than one widow of a person, then the share of the property will be distributed among the widows (Indiankanoon.org 2018). In case the person has a son, then according to the provision of rule 1 of section 10, the son will get one half and another half will be possessed by the widows. The amendment of this property rights has introduced another aspect in support of the widows. In the year 2008, Indian Supreme court has decided for empowering the widows more as it was the need of time (Gupta and Sekher 2018). The decision was that those widows who decide to remarry will also get the share of their ex-husband’s property. These widows cannot be deprived of the share in their dead husbands’ property. This is due to the fact that the widow is an absolute possessor of her deceased husband’s property to the extent of her share as the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 (Dey 2018). Thus, the Supreme Court had observed a great change in years of tradition to exploitation of the widows. The Hindu Succession Act along with remarriage act brought about an unthinkable change in the Shastric Hindu laws and thus aimed to make the Hindu widows more eligible as well as equal in matters of inheritance as well as succession similar to the male heirs. The Supreme Court of India held that the section 4 of Hindu Marriage Act will be having an overriding effect over any Hindu laws including Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act of 1956 (Indiankanoon.org 2018 ), (Agrawal and Keshri 2014).
The colonial time has been benign for making decision in support of the widows in India. After the pressers from the Indian reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy and Vidyasagar, the British government had passed Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act in 1856 which has been followed till today in India (Dey 2018). Now Hindu remarriage act have some key issues as the families of the dead person do not allow the widow to remarry. The reason why some groups do not support remarriage is associated with the property of the dead husband. By restricting the widow remarriage, the high-status groups of India aim to limit reshuffle of lineage after death of the male member and these restrictions basically come from the other family members or the in-laws of the widows (Agrawal and Keshri 2014). According to the property or Hindu Succession Act 1956, the widow if remains unmarried legitimately becomes the first member of the dead husband’s lineage, and she will not face any type of competing ties with other groups of her in-laws. The widow legitimately rights to the property of her husband. This is traditionally limited though her in-laws are to the management rather than outright inheritance. Now in case she marries someone else, the property as of her, will be the part of her living husband’s. Therefore, the family members try to dissuade the widow getting remarried for their own interest.
National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women in India have been taking positive steps for maintaining the human rights situation in India. In conjunction with the recent ratification of the United Nations Convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against widows in India, the commissions provide effective forum for these women. The scholar like Mastey (2009), in his study has discussed the aspect of the women employment in the Indian subcontinent. He has collected data from different ashrams situated in Northern India mainly focusing on the situation of the widows in these homes. This study is based on the narratives of the women in these homes (Gupta and Sekher 2018). The author has identified that there are different types of NGOs are working in such ashrams in order to empower the widows whom their own families have discarded. These women are actually undergoing tremendous physical and psychological pressure as there are rituals to be observed by these widows in one hand, and the feelings of losing everything in life and then turning around is not so easy for these women. This is the reason why the NGOs are taking initiatives to utilize this human force of the society (Bhattacharyya and Singh 2018). These NGOs along with United Nations have initiated to prove these widows in ashrams to provide vocational training for developing skills. These disadvantaged widows are given training to care nursing, retail and hospitality sector so that they can be utilized in the arrested employment opportunities for them.
One of the main concerns of this NGOs are the poverty under which these widows survive and suffer. The concern is mainly due to the fact that this poverty of widows has been becoming the global tragedy as these widows are the victims of double discrimination in the third world countries like India. This is due to the fact that the widowhood has a religious connotation hence the situation gets more complicated (Mishra, Shekhar and Gouda 2016). The double discrimination is clearer as they are woman secondly, they are widows. They are actually the cursed women who have lost their men, their protector hence must be ward off from their houses. Thus, these widows are marginalized, abused and exploited at every level of their survival (Bhattacharyya and Singh 2018). The international organizations also have recognized the stigma around this phase of living hence trying to secure a greater global attention to this issue.
The government of different states along with the widows are aiming to empower these widows economically hence the foundation work has started by providing some assistance to these widows. In some states there are schemes under which the widows are provided with sewing machines so that they can be employed in the garment factories, the largest industry in India. In addition to this, some of the NGOs in the southern India are arranging interest free small loans so that they can start their own business (Mishra, Shekhar and Gouda 2016). These beneficiaries are handpicked from slums or homes to focus in the employment of the widows. These are the reasons why, the researchers, examining the situation of the widows in the urban India, have founded that these women are responding in support of visiting in the homes or ashrams as they are provided with various types of empowerment programs for personal development (Bhattacharyya and Singh 2018). Through these programs, remedies of widowhood are obtained in one hand and policies and issues regarding women are brought forward to be discussed. In addition to these the gourmet of India has issued pension plan for the eligible widows which are effective for meeting the needs of the older widows living away from their families.
Research methodology is being considered as the systematic process to reach the solution of the problem. The third chapter is the research methodology, which is an important part of a research project. In this chapter, the research methods, which have been used for conducting the research project is being discussed.
As stated by Humphries (2017), research philosophy helps to gain the knowledge and dimension of the research project. By collecting the basic facts, concepts as well as knowledge, the entire research study is being conducted. It has been identified that the research philosophy can be classified in to two parts. Epistemology and ontology. Knowledge is being referred by epistemology and reality is being referred through ontology (Fletcher 2017). In this study others, philosophical aspects have also been highlighted. Phenomenology and axiology are another two important aspects of research philosophy. Many of the researchers have provided their argumentative opinion regarding the development of the research philosophy. According to Cuervo?Cazurra et al. (2017), research philosophy can be classified in to three parts. Positivism, post-positivism and realism are the three important aspects of research philosophy. In this study, if the paradigm is being analyzed, it will be identified that this research follows the epistemology paradigm. Positivism refers to the evaluation of the various philosophical aspects, in this case, the reality is being utilized in the proper manner. On the other hand, in the case of post-positivism, the selected information and data is being cross-checked for conducting the research. The process of post-positivism is being considered as the process, in which the previous knowledge is being analyzed. By maintaining the clarity of the research, the post-positivism helps to reach at the end of the research.
In order to conduct the research post-positivism research philosophy has been chosen. As the post-positivism helps to reach at the end of the research through observation and evidence and the research topic is based on both the practical and theatrical perspective, therefore, by using this research approach, the study can be conducted in an advanced manner. By cross-checking all the information, this research philosophy will justify the research topic.
As stated by Cuervo?Cazurra et al. (2017), the research approach can be classified into two parts those are the deductive and inductive approach. Deductive research is being developed on the basis of the previous researches. On the other hand, in the case of inductive research, the business analysis can be done based on new models and theories.
In order to conduct this research, the deductive research approach has been followed. Depending on the previous theories and models, the study has reached the solution. Therefore, this can be said that by applying the deductive research approach, the study has utilized the theories and models for achieving its ultimate goal.
Three types of research design have been highlighted in this study. Explanatory, exploratory and descriptive are the three types of research purpose. According to Elgort (2018), research design is being considered as the systematic approach by following, which the research project can be developed in a structured way. By supporting this Bilau, Witt and Lill (2018) stated that by choosing appropriate research design, the goals and objectives become easier to achieve. In the case of exploratory research design, the problem related to the situation is being identified with clarity. This process helps to gather the benefits regarding the situation. On the other hand, in the case of
In the words of Cuervo?Cazurra et al. (2017), descriptive research design, the research is being introduced with detail information and relevant evidence. In this research design, the additional information and knowledge related to the topic are being analyzed. In the case of explanatory research design, the modern ideas are being analyzed by highlighting it’s both the positive and negative impacts.
In order to conduct the research, descriptive research design has been chosen. It can be said that following this research design, the exploration of research issues can be identified and explained in an appropriate manner. Descriptive research design can be able to gather the effective information related to this topic.
There are two types of data sources. One is primary, and another is secondary data collection. In the case of primary data, the interviews and surveys are being conducted (O’Brien and Pipkin 2017). On the other hand, in the case of secondary data, from the previous researches, journals, articles and others authentic sources the secondary data is being collected. In order to conduct this research, both the primary and secondary data collection methods have been used. In the case of primary data collection interview and survey both have been done online and over skype.
There are two types of data. Qualitative and quantitative. In the case of qualitative data collection. Both of these data collection processes can be used for both types of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Qualitative data provides the detail information, and qualitative data provides the numerical information (Bourque and Bourdon 2017). Through the interview process, the qualitative data has been collected.
There are two types of sampling techniques. One is non-profitability another is profitability. In the case of non-probability sampling technique, the information or samples are being gathered with the process the entire population do not get equal chance to participate (Lali? and Pope 2018). On the other hand, in the case of probability sampling techniques, the equal chance is being provided to the population. Among the entire widow ashrams, the researcher has randomly chosen few widows and has conducted the survey. In order to conduct the research, the probability sampling technique has been chosen. Total numbers of 100 windows have been selected for conducting the survey. With the total number of 3 Human rights authority persons, the interview has been conducted. In order to gather the relevant data from the Human rights authorities, different types of disappointing behavior have been faced by the researcher. Due to the electronic error, some of the information has not been gathered. On the other hand, in order to get the appointment, the researcher has lost too much time, which has affected the research time.
Ethical consideration is being considered as one of the important parts of every research project. In this process, the participants who have been selected for the survey and interview practices, their details are needed to be confidentially maintained (Johnson, Gibbs Grey and Baker-Bell 2017). None of the participant names should be published in the project without their permission. As per the data protection act, the author should add the references from which the data have been gathered. None of the information can be copied from any journals or articles without proper references. On the other hand, the statistical data should be collected from the authentic sources. None of the participants will be forced to join the research project. At any time, the participants can withdraw their support from the research project (Lali? and Pope 2018). The researcher cannot use any kind of company logo or other sign in the research paper; it should be an individual project.
In this research, the major limitation is the time duration and budget. The research articles and journals which are required for completion of the research are quite expensive. As its result, it has become tough for purchasing those journals. On the other hand, 6 months have been allocated for completing the entire project, which is not sufficient for comparing the context. If the researcher is provided efficient time, this will be better for completing the project in a proper manner. It has also been identified that as religious issues in India have brought different challenges for the researcher.
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Main activities/ stages |
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Month February |
Month March |
Month April |
Month May |
Month June |
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Selection of the topic |
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Collecting data from the secondary sources |
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Outlining design of the research project |
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Literature review |
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Designing the research plan |
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Selecting the proper research techniques |
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Collecting the primary data |
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Data analysis process and interpretation |
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Summary of the research |
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Creating the draft |
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Submission of the research assignment |
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Chapter four is an important part of a research project. In this chapter, the finding and analysis of the entire project are being done. The research has been conducted depending on both the qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods. Through the interview and survey techniques, the information regarding the topic has been collected. The interview survey was done on the 3 managers of Human rights management authorities and survey on 100 widows in Vrindavan.
Q1. How long have you been in Vrindavan?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Last 1 week |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
Last 1 month |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
Last 1 year |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
More than 2 years |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
More than 5 years |
50 |
100 |
50% |
In the above table, the data regarding the availability of widows and how long they are staying in Vrindavan have been collected. It has been identified in this study that the 10 widows among the 100 widows have joined in the Vrindavan Ashram. 10 among 100 have crossed 1 month in this place. On the other hand, 20 among 100 are living in Vrindavan for 1 year. 10 widows out of 100 widows are living here for 2 years. Therefore, are many people who live here for more than 5 years. From the collected data it has been identified that the 50 widows among 100 respondents live in Vrindavan for more than 5 years.
In the above collected information and data, it has been identified that the availability of widows in the Vrindavan ashram has increased. Due to the social rituals and society barriers, the large number of widows have got their shelter in such ashrams in Vrindavan. On the other hand, it has also been identified that every week, new people come to the ashram. A large number of widows are living in the ashrams for a long time. Therefore, this can be said from long times they are being rejected by their families.
Q2. What you do for surviving here?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Beggar |
70 |
100 |
70% |
|
Prostitution |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
Maidservant |
10 |
100 |
10% |
Findings:
In the above table, the information regarding the occupation of the widows in Vrindavan has been highlighted it has been identified that among 100 widows 70 widows have chosen beggary as their occupation. On the other hand, from the above table, it has also been identified that hat among 100 widows the 20 % of women have chosen prostitution as the way of survival. Near about 10% of the respondent have agreed that they work as a maidservant for surviving in this city.
Analysis:
In the above finding, it has been identified that occupation has become one of the major issues for these people. In order to survive in the city, a large number of widows have chosen prostitution as their occupation. It is clear that a large number of young women, who have been detached from their family and relatives take shelter in the Vrindavan Ashram. Due to the increasing number of populations, it becomes harder for them to survive in this place. Therefore, from the survey, it has been identified that the financial situation of the widows is really poor. On the other hand, it has also been deified that they are not being accepted by the society. As its result, they involve themselves in such professions.
Q3. How many of you have come across with the service provided by the NGOs or know that actually they do?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
35 |
100 |
35% |
|
No |
50 |
100 |
50% |
|
Neutral |
15 |
100 |
15% |
Findings:
In the above table, it has been identified that the among 100 respondents 35 numbers of widows have agreed that they are aware of the activities of NGO, they have also agreed that they have also experienced the benefits from the NGP activities. 50% of the total respondents have disagreed that they have never come across with the NGP services. 15% of the total respondents have given their neutral reaction.
Analysis:
After getting the information, this can be said that although different NGOs have taken the initiatives to come closer with the widows in Vrindavan, a large number of them are not totally aware of the activities of the NGOs. This can be said that due to lack of information and educational support, the initiatives of NGOs have not been succeeded. This can also be said that due to the social situation of widows make them detached from the external activities. A large number of widows have said that they are not aware of the activities of widows, therefore, it can be said that lack of interaction with the external environment creates such situations.
Q4. Do your family members come to visit you?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Frequently |
5 |
100 |
5% |
|
Rare |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
Very rare |
25 |
100 |
25% |
|
Never |
50 |
100 |
50% |
Findings:
In the above table, it has been identified that only 5% of the total respondents visit their families frequently. On the other hand, 20 widows among the total respondents have said that rarely they meet with their families. 25% of the respondents have said that the rate of visiting with family members is very rare. It is surprising that near about 50% of the total respondents have said that after coming into the Vrindavan ashram, their family members never came to visit them.
Analysis:
In the above finding, it has been identified that a large number of widows have become detached from their families for a long time. After coming to this ashram, most of the family members have not visited them. From this information, the crucial part of the society is being shown. In this analysis, it has been identified that not only from the society, but also negligence from the family members has created emotional berries for the widows.
Q5. Have you faced any kind of violence from family?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Frequently |
70 |
100 |
70% |
|
Rare |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
Very rare |
15 |
100 |
15% |
|
Never |
5 |
100 |
5% |
Table 5: Violence from family
Findings:
In the above table. It has been identified that among 100 respondents, 70% of the respondents have said that they have experienced violence from their family members. 10 of the widows said that they have rarely faced the violence from their family and 15% of the total respondents have said that very rare they have experienced such situations. 5% of the total respondents have mentioned that they have never experienced such a situation.
Analysis:
In the above findings, this can be clearly said that a large number of widows have faced violence from their families after the death of their husband. It has been identified that in India, a large number of widows are sexually abused by their own family members. As the widows are being treated as a burden, therefore they are sexually threatened up by their families. Another way, it can be said that due to the orthodox beliefs, the widows are being abused by their family.
Q6: Have you ever faced threats to be forced labor or prostitution?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Agreed |
25 |
100 |
25% |
|
Disagreed |
15 |
100 |
15% |
|
Strongly agreed |
60 |
100 |
60% |
Table 6: Ever faced threats
Findings:
In the above table it has been identified that among 100 widows, 25 respondents have agreed that they have faced threats to join in prostitution and labor force. 15 widows among 100 widows have disagreed in this case. On the other hand, it has been identified that the 60% of the total respondents have agreed that they have been forced in such a profession.
Analysis:
In the above findings it has been clearly shown that the due to lack of financial support, a large number of women are being forced into the prostitution and labor profession. It has been socially analyzed that due to the social barriers and social discriminations, the widows are being forced to involve in such practices. In the above findings, it can be clearly said that the after the husband’s death, in the developing countries like India where the male domination is one of the major social issues, the widows are being treated as an object. By taking the advantages of their financial situation and other spiritual superstitious practices, widows are being forced into prostitution.
Q7: Do you get efficient money for arranging food per day?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Frequently |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
Rare |
10 |
100 |
10% |
|
Very rare |
50 |
100 |
50% |
|
Never |
30 |
100 |
30% |
Table 7: Efficient money for arranging food
Findings:
In this above table it has been identified that among 100 widows 10 of the respondents have said that they frequently get efficient money for arranging their food. Among 100 widows, 10 of the widows have said that rarely they get the chance to arrange food per day. It has been identified that 50 percent of the total respondents have said that the very rarely they get the efficient money to arrange for survival. At the end of the table, it has been identified that the near about 30% of the total respondents have said that they never get the chance to arrange efficient food.
Analysis:
In the above findings it has been identified that most of the widows suffer from arranging their food every day. Due to the lack of efficient money, many of them do not get proper food as its result, most of them suffer from malnutrition. On the other hand, it has been identified from the findings that the widows in Vrindavan struggle for each and every one places even in food also. Near about 30% of the total respondents have said that they have never got efficient money for getting the food. It means they have never got a sufficient amount of food, which is required to live a healthy life.
Q8: Religious rituals whether followed willingly?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
15 |
100 |
15% |
|
No |
45 |
100 |
45% |
|
Neutral |
40 |
100 |
40% |
Table 8: Religious rituals
Findings:
In the above table it has been identified that among 100 respondents 15 of the widows have said that they have done willingly followed the rituals. Among the 100 respondents 45 of the respondents have mentioned that they have followed the rituals unwillingly. On the other hand, 40 respondents have given their neutral reactions about this matter.
Analysis:
In the above table it has been identified that there are various religious rituals those are being practiced on the widows. If the widow rituals in India is being analyzed, it will be identified that wearing white saree after husband death, untouchability, forbidden vanity and abstinence are the cruel rituals which are being practiced on the widows. Sati is one of the famous rituals which is being considered as the old social evil. Due to such rituals, the widows get physically and emotionally weak. Although in the 19th century, the practices of Sato have demolished, but the other rituals are still pathetic which are being forced on the widows by the society. Due to such social torture, a large number of widows have mentioned that they unwilling followed such rituals as they were being forced. On the other hand, it has also been identified that the 40% of the total respondents have given the neutral reaction. After getting such reactions, it can also be said that the initiatives can be said that most of the times due to pressure from society, the large number of widows hide their situations from others, which also indicates the pathetic condition of them.
Q9. Have you got the basic education?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
25 |
100 |
25% |
|
No |
75 |
100 |
75% |
Table 9: Basic education
Findings:
In the above table it has been identified that among 100 respondents, 25 of them have basic education. On the other hand, among 100 respondents 75 of the widows have agreed that they do not have any kind of educational facility.
Analysis:
In the above findings, the educational qualification of the widows has been mentioned. From the above table, it can be clearly identified that the in the case of India, the widow’s education has become an important issue. As India is being considered as the dominating male country, therefore, people do not give their attention towards widow education. On the other hand, in most of the cases widows are being detached intentionally from the education so that they will not be able to fight for their own right. Before the 19th century, women were not being provided with any kind of educational facilities as a rule was set by the dominating male society. Most of the widows who live in Vrindavan are aged and staying there for a long period. In this stage, when they are being treated as an object, the widows have also lost their interest towards education. It has also been identified that when the NGO workers show their intention for providing education, the social barriers and ritual obstacle make the widows out from this.
Q10: Do you aware of your human rights?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
No |
70 |
100 |
70% |
|
Neutral |
10 |
100 |
10% |
Table 10: Awareness regarding human rights
Findings:
In the above table it has been identified that among the 100 respondents 20 respondents have said that they are aware of human rights. Among total 100 respondents 70 % of the widows have mentioned that they are not aware of the human rights. 10 % of the total respondents have given their neutral reaction. From the
Analysis:
In this study, it has been identified that the large numbers of widows in Vrindavan are not aware of their human rights. The human right influences the social justice, democracy, peace and educational right. From the table no 9, it has been identified that the lack of basis education among the respondents is an important issue in Vrindavan. Due to lack of education, they do not get the chance to gather knowledge regarding their human rights. On the other hand, it is also true that dominating male society is another important cause of this situation. From this study, it can be analyzed that information regarding the human rights are being hidden from the widows, so that they cannot raise their voice or they cannot fight for their rights. A large number of widows who live in Vrindavan are aged, in this situation, it also becomes harder for them to take any step against the illegal practices which are being done for long times.
Q11: Have you got any kind of help from the government?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Frequently |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
Rare |
30 |
100 |
30% |
|
Very rare |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
Never |
30 |
100 |
30% |
Table 11: Help from the government
Findings:
In this above table it has been identified that from the 100 respondents, 20 respondents have said that they get help from the government frequently. Among 100 respondents 30 respondents have mentioned that they rarely get the help from the government. 20% of the entire respondents have said that they get help from the government very rarely. At the end of the table, of the 100 respondents, 30% of the respondents have said that they have never got any kind of help from the government.
Analysis:
In the above findings, it has been identified that most of the respondents have said that they rarely get the help from the Indian government. On the other hand, from the secondary research, it has been identified that although the government claimed that they had taken various initiatives for improving the situation of the widows, it can be said that many of the governmental initiatives do not reach to them. From the above table it has been identified that the rate of government initiatives is also very poor compared to its necessity is very low. If the government does not focus on providing the effective service to the widows, they will never be able to fight for their rights.
Q12: Have you got any kind of financial help from the non-governmental organization?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Frequently |
40 |
100 |
40% |
|
Rare |
30 |
100 |
30% |
|
Very rare |
20 |
100 |
20% |
|
Never |
10 |
100 |
10% |
Table 12: Financial help from the government
Findings:
In this table it has been identified that among 100 respondents, 40 of the respondents have mentioned that they frequently get the financial help from the non-governmental organizations. Of the 100 respondents, 30% of the respondents have mentioned that they rarely get financial help from the non-governmental organizations. It has also been identified that among 100 respondents 20% of the widows have said that very rarely they get financial help and 10% of the respondents have said that they never got any kind of financial help from the non-governmental organizations.
Analysis:
In the findings it has been identified that a large number of widows have agreed that they get financial help from the non-governmental organizations. It means in these areas like Vrindavan the influence of nongovernmental organizations is quite higher compared to the governmental organizations. It has also been analyzed that the non-governmental organizations have also taken various initiatives for improving the situation of widows. It has been identified that different types of health care facilities, food and others facilities are being provided by the NGOs.
Q13: Do you want to return to your families?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
40 |
100 |
40% |
|
No |
50 |
100 |
50% |
|
Neutral |
10 |
100 |
10% |
Table 13: Want to return to families
Findings:
In the above table it has been identified that among 100 respondents, 40% of the total respondents have mentioned that they want to return to their families. On the other hand, among the 100 respondents 50% of the respondents have said that they do not want to go back to their families. 10% of the total respondents have given the neutral reaction.
Analysis:
In this study, it has been identified that a large number of respondents have said that they do not want to return back to their families. In the above findings it has clearly mentioned that a large number of widows have faced various disappointing behavior from their families. On the other hand, it has also been identified that in the dominating male society the widows are being considered a burden for their families. In most of the cases they face different types of psychical tortures from their families. In this study it has also been mentioned that a large number of widows have mentioned that after started living in Vrindavan, their family members have not come to visit them. In this case it has been analyzed that after getting both the physical and emotional tortures, the widows do not want to return back to their families.
Q14: Whether thought about remarriage?
|
Options |
No of respondents |
Total respondents |
Response % |
|
Yes |
40 |
100 |
40% |
|
No |
50 |
100 |
50% |
|
Neutral |
10 |
100 |
10% |
Table 14: Thought about remarriage
Findings:
In this study, it has been identified that among the 100 respondents 40% of the total respondents have mentioned that they have through of remarriage after their husband’s death. Among the 100 respondents 50% of the total respondents have mentioned that they have never thought about remarriage. On the other hand, among the 100 respondents, 10 of the respondents have given the neutral reaction.
Analysis:
In the above findings it has been identified that a large number of widows have mentioned that they have mentioned that they have never thought about remarriage. After analyzing the entire situation, it has been identified that due to the physical and mental torture from their families, they have lost their living spirit. On the other hand, due to the external pressure they have not through about remarriage.
Conclusion and Recommendation
This dissertation has been dealt with the concept of violation of human rights of Widows in India. For this purpose, the researcher has taken Vrindavan as the center of research. In this paper the researcher has analyzed Vrindavan as the center of the research. The situation of widows in a particular area and judge them in contrast of the other places where the cases of widow discrimination and exploration have been found. This paper has discussed the situation of widows before the colonial era and contrasted them with the current situation. It can be concluded, whatever the time or ruling party is the situation of widows has not changed at all. From years they have been discriminated as woman who are responsible for their husband’s death hence targeted as the weakest individuals in the society. They are burnt in the pyre, killed in the name of religion, starved to pray for the wellbeing of their dead husband. They are victimized throughout the lives by the family members as well as the heads of Ashrams where they are sent by their families to die of desolation.
The researcher has collected information from the various levels of the society through reviewing literature, conducting interviews and surveys and judged them with the actual situation of widows in a particular place. This paper analyses various rights and acts issued by the government of India for the securing the interests of the widows but most of these acts are in vain as the NGOs or government policies cannot reach the dark lives of these women. They remain derived of their rights and all the necessities or luxuries of life.
Objective 1. To evaluate the actual situation of the widows in India
The researcher has linked this objective with relevant literatures for finding out the actual situations of the widows in India and in doing so the researcher has analyzed various literature in relation with this issue as well as conducted interviews with the higher authorities of NGOs presently working on these field. In this 21st century also they are seen as responsibility or liability of the family and often termed as husband eaters or cursed one. In the states of the Northern India these issues are more pathetic. In the society the place of widow is like that of a beast of burden hence neither can change situation themselves nor spend life like this. They face discrimination, religious obligation and exploitation from the people around them. These literatures also demonstrate the widows before colonial time where sent to be burnt in the funeral pyre with their husband. It is due to the fact that the religious heads wanted to capture their property. After the system of Sati was banned by the British government, these widows were sent to the Ashram to lead a religious and pure life.
The survey on the widows have pointed out that many them are victims of child marriage hence do not get basic education or trainings for self-development. They face double discrimination. One for being a woman and another is for being widow. This is why the rate of mortality of women in India is so high. these deaths were out of malnutrition or ill-treatment. In recent time the situation of these widows has deteriorated much. The survey on these widows in Vrindavan reveals the situation have gone worst as the Ashram authority employ these young widows in serving the wealthy or powerful pilgrims. A huge portion of these widows are found to be victims of human traffic in the foreign countries as they have nobody to take care. Most of the widows here are victims of family violence hence forced to prostitution and these ashrams are also not a better pace for them. Here the old widows are forced to beg to meet their days end and very few of them observe the religious rituals very willingly. The human rights authority and NGOs though working to serve these women but 70% of these victims have not get any help from these programs.
Objective 2. To evaluate the implication of human rights in preventing violence
The researcher has analyzed several factors those have impacted upon the improvement of the situation of these widows. In researching on the recent developments, the researcher has conducted interview with the authority of human rights and heads of some NGOs which are working currently in developing the lives of these widows living in Vrindavan Ashrams. The Government of India in the constitution have referred to provide right to equality which is very much relevant to serve the interests of these widows. These rights include right to Liberty right to education property and protection of health. These NGOs along with government programs are working on reaching these helpless women. In addition to this the government has also taken initiatives to give securities to these widows from exploitation and discrimination prevalent in the current social system. These acts include widow remarriage act and property act so that they can be saved from the family violence. In order to get the best result, the researcher has conducted an interview with the authority of the NGOs who are currently working on the governmental programs and implementing them to help the widows in this area. According to these interviews, the women staying in this city are basically victims of orthodox beliefs, sexual abuses and outcastes from the society. These NGOs are working to help these women by giving financial and emotional help so that these women can develop themselves or get trained to be get employment in the small firms. The chief aim of these NGOs is to reach these women and get them know what are the rights for them and enhance the mental strength of these women to go against social stigma rather suffering. To these interviewees the situation has changed a lot and these women are deciding to stay in these homes rather going back to their families again.
Inaccessibility to reach the actual victims and interview them
The field of this research is huge as the number of victims is great. Each of the victims have different background and different story to share. Moreover, the pattern of suffering is different according to the place and age. There has been a huge problem in conducting interviews or collecting data from the serves of these widows. This is due to the fact that these widows are inaccessible and leave in dissolution in the Ashrams of Vrindavan. They are not allowed to encourage any of the researches over them as this can hamper the purity or chastity of their minds. The ashram gurus do not allow them to work outside hence they are unavailable to contact. In the norther part of India, the widows are not allowed to talk with other men except their family members. Some of them are not even allowed to go out of the house as they are accepted as cursed and harm the wellbeing of others.
In most of the cases they cannot take part in such surveys because of their inability to read and answer those questions. These women do not have basic education to know their rights. Hence, they do not know what policies are there for them or what programs are initiated to provide them the develop themselves. These women are either under the control of these authorities or live by the means of begging or working as labor in the houses. In case of the rest of the country this situation is more disturbing. The young widows are forced to marry to be saved from being raped hence they do not get scope for education and enter another cycle of suffering. Some of these women die due to lack of awareness at the time of giving birth or out of malnutrition.
The lives of the widows in Vrindavan or other parts of India is quite disturbing as the survey has found that most of these women are granted to be unimportant for their families or the people around them hence do not have access to health care initiatives. Most of the Hindu widows are victims of malnutrition and have no safety. Many of these old widows who cannot work anymore are driven out of the homes and stay on the footpath. Therefore, they do not have any safety of surviving. Poverty grab and ultimately lead them to death.
In order to overcome such problems, the government of India must be more accurate to create any policies for the widows in India. The government must not only issue the acts but take measures to implement them for the wellbeing of these widows. There has been a widow remarriage act but this have no effect on the rural parts of the country. Therefore, some initiative is mandatory to solve this eternal problem.
- Proper awareness of these already issued acts must be there and not restricted in the papers or theoretically only. The government must pressure the communities and various government wings to assist in proper the implementation of these laws so that every one of these victims can be familiar with their rights. Important steps must be taken for implementing all of the laws that are amended to facilitate the detention, prevention as well as punishment for crime against women.
- New acts must be issued and properly implemented regarding the basic education of the widows so that they can be able to read and right and understand where they are going to and what rights do they have. This will also have these women to pursue higher studies and bring changes in the ideology prevail in the minds of widows regarding bans and boons.
- Government need to encourage the non-governmental organizations to arrange personal development skills for the young and workable widows so that this portion of country’s workforce does not get wasted. Strict implementation of these schemes and policies that the government will be providing for these women empowerment must be done.
- Awareness camps in different part of the country especially in the rural region and the places like Mathura and Vrindavan must be organized so that the people get aware of the unimportance of the social and religious stigmas and taboos around the institution of widowhood. In addition to this, the widows of these area can also become familiar with framed schemes as well as policies mend for them only and can take benefit of those schemes and policies.
- More research needs to be done so that the government can get proper ideas about the actual situation and violation of human rights of widows.
- government must encourage the NGOs working in this field so that they can get interested to reach every corner of the country and serve these women more effectively.
This research has bounded to the limited time frame and budget. Therefore, the future research will be able to find more issues regarding the situation of widows in India and violation of human rights. Moreover, the information collected in this research will help other researchers to take more effective steps to limit this ill treatment of widows in India.
References
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