Break the chain of neglect
Empower India’s widows with skills for employment
Centuries after reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy sought to give widows respect and dignity, nothing much seems to have changed for women who are condemned to the margins following their death of their husbands. This seems to have prompted the Supreme Court to recently castigate the central government and the states for not taking adequate steps for the welfare of destitute widows. Referring to reports by the National Legal Services Authority and the National Commission for Women (NCW) on the condition of shelter homes for widows abandoned by their families in Vrindavan, a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said social security measures supposed to be implemented by the Centre and the states had proved ineffectual. One of the reports had said that besides inadequate water and electricity facilities, the shelter homes had poor hygiene standards, even lacked proper toilets.
According to the 2011 Census, there are more than 56 million widows in India. Other than in the upper classes, social prejudices prevent widows from remarrying or asserting financial independence. In a report filed in the apex court, the NCW recommended making children responsible by law for looking after their widowed mothers under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. A majority of the 1,000-odd widows interviewed in Vrindavan by the NCW had been abandoned by their families.
The Hindu Succession Act 1969 provides ownership of property through inheritance to widows but this has remained largely on paper. Under the Centre’s National Social Assistance Programme, widows aged between 40 and 64 are to be given ₹600 as pension every month. Last year the Delhi government decided to raise the pension to ₹1,000. The widows remain trapped in a cycle of social marginalisation. Instead of giving them small amounts of money, the State should help widows acquire skills that will help them find gainful employment. This will ensure that India’s widows transform from being an invisible minority to productive participants in the country’s growth story.