Outcast in widowhood

Chen quote

The Hunger Project Online Briefing Program
The Condition of Women in South Asia
Page 18 of 25

Violence

9. Outcast in Widowhood

(Photo by Robin Romano)

As widows, women suffer some of the most severe subjugation of their whole lives. Widowed women are harassed, abused, and denied land and livelihood.

'Keep your eyes downcast. You are a widow, now.' My mother-in-law ordered me. 'You have eaten up my son, so you must suffer.'

Widow from Bihar, India

When my husband died, my neighbors wanted my land. When I go to the bazaar, they steal what few crops I have.

-Bangladeshi woman

Subjugation of widows

When her husband dies, a woman is stripped of her only place in society.
Because of child marriages, and marriages to older men, many widows are still young women.
In Bangladesh in 1981, nearly 12% of all females aged 10 years and over were widowed, as compared to only 1.2% of men. This is in part due to the age differences between husbands and wives, and the incidences of remarriage for widowers.
At the time of the 1991 Indian Census, widows numbered 33 million, 8% of the total female population. Among women over 50, the proportion of widows is as high as 65%.
If a widow has adult sons, she may have some measure of security. But if she is childless or has only daughters, she usually faces multiple problems, including isolation, harassment, denial of land, and even death.

(Photo by Robin Romano)

No land or security

Although modern laws give women inheritance rights, in practice, a widow's land is often seized by her husband's relatives.
In India, The Hindu Succession Act 1969 made women eligible to inherit equally with men.
Yet, the inheritance rights of the majority of Indian rural widows are governed by actual practice. In a 1994 study, 30% of widows reported serious conflicts over inheritance, land, property, and residence.
These conflicts often ended in violence. Brothers-in-laws may harass, persecute, beat, torture, and even arrange the murder of a widow.
Under Islamic Law, widows are entitled to inherit at least 1/8th of the dead husband's property and land. In practice, this share is frequently 'managed' and then taken by the brothers-in-law.
In a 1995 Bangladeshi survey on property inheritance, only 25% of widows had received their rightful share in the inheritance from a deceased father, and only 32% from their husbands. No Hindu widows living in Bangladesh in the same survey had received property from either their parents or their husbands.
Even if a widow is left with land, she is not permitted to cultivate it without male management.

Chen quote

The Hunger Project Online Briefing Program
The Condition of Women in South Asia
Page 18 of 25

Violence