Mumbai:
A tide of social change in the rural belt of Maharashtra has gradually increased, with more than 7,000 villages that they have abolished customs and rituals that harass widows and discriminate against them.
Out of 27,000 gram panchayats in Maharashtra, 7,683 villages have organized Gram Sabha and have announced that they discriminated against widows, activist Pramod Zinzed, who are campaigning to erase the evil customs related to widows, said, PTI said.
This campaign increased after Haravad in Kolhapur district, in 2022, the country in the country became the first village to ban the customs associated with widowness to maintain women’s right to live with dignity.
The village passed a resolution on May 4, 2022, in which ‘Mangalasutra’ (the sacred necklace worn by married women) and a widow’s toe rings, wiping his Sindhor (Varmilian) and broke her bangles.
Over the years, many rural pockets have extracted a leaf from Haravad’s book by involving widows in the events of Sarvajanik Ganpati Pujas, Haldi-Kumkum and flag-history ceremonies.
Taking cognizance of the challenges faced by widows in the country, the National Human Rights Commission issued an advice last year and asked states and center areas to improve the quality of life of these women and protect their dignity.
Talking to PTI, former sarpanch Surgeon Patil said that the custom of breaking bangles and removing Mangalasutra and toe has almost stopped.
“First, we will visit houses where deaths occurred, to check if these customs were followed.” But now, people are more aware, “he said.
He further stated that some widows in the village have remarried, and they are involved in social and religious ceremonies.
Vary Patil, a resident of Harwad, who lost her husband 12 years ago, said, “Widows are being treated with respect and respect. People realized that we are human beings. Mentality, however, has to change, and life-old customs cannot be stopped overnight.” He said that it is difficult to let the elderly go to some rituals in families and there is still a task.
Former sarpanch of Kadoli village in Nagpur district, Parangal Wagh said that he started the practice of inviting widows for Haldi-Kumkum programs long before the resolution of Harwad Gram Sabha.
He said, “When I was a sarpanch from 2017-22, widows did not go out and socialize. I will invite all women to turmeric-kumkum events and gift widows despite objections,” she said.
The Kadoli Gram Sabha also passed a resolution to ban bad customs related to widows, but it was not strictly followed, Wagh said, she invites 1,000 women for turmeric-kumkum every year.
Anil Shisat, the sarpanch of Muslims in Nashik district, said that his village was 90 percent literate and does not follow bad practices against widows.
He said, “We have not custom to remove Mangalasutra, wipes vermilion and other rituals. For the last three years, we are using 15 percent of the money to the gram panchayat to help five needy widows every year,” he said.
He said that the resolve to empower the widows will be passed in the next Gram Sabha.
“We will ask self-help groups to include widows and ensure their economic empowerment,” he said.
Sanjay Pawar, a member of Dhondvi Nagar village panchayat in Nashik district, said that his gram sabha had resolved to live with dignity for the widows.
“We ensure that they get pension and houses under various government schemes. The Gram Panchayat takes care of solving its problems,” he said.
Social activist Lalit Babar, who works in Kolhapur, Sangli and Solapur districts, said that 76 gram panchayats in Sangola took an oath not to follow the centuries-old discriminatory customs related to widows.
Babur said, “We have planted block development officers and integrated child development services (ICDS) workers. When we get information about a man’s death, we go home to check if his wife has been forced to have any ritual,” Babur said.
He said that no sad woman voluntarily participates in such rituals and is often forced to do so.
“When we tell people that these customs have been banned, they most listened. But 10 to 20 percent still do not comply with,” he said.
The worker said that a draft law has been presented to the government to ban customs duty related to widows, but only one law is not enough.
“We need a campaign to create awareness. Asha and Anganwadi workers can help a lot in awareness campaign,” he said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
