Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, UNIFEM: (The United Nations Development Fund for Women) supporting our conference in 2001
....In the context of our efforts to advance the full realisation of women's human rights and the elimination of all forms of violence against women, the special concerns of widows are of paramount concern to UNIFEM.
Our Partner - Astha
The Case of Teeza Bai
The Teeza Bai Case was the first case reported in detail
to Widows Rights International. Teeza Bai, from Ajmer District, was unable
to find a way out of the exploitation of her brother-in-law, Ram Chander. She
owned her land, but Ram Chander possessed it and her home; he was a bully and
had a gang of bullies to support him. Teeza Bai put her case to the Association
of Strong Women Alone.
A lawyer was consulted, who outlined alternatives, one
of which was to sell the land as it seemed that she could never live there
and cultivate her land peacefully because of Ram Chander. With the Association’s
support, she found a buyer, and sold her land for Rs. 300,000. She has invested
this in a term deposit at the bank, and is getting an income of Rs.1,500 per
month. With her new found income, she is living peacefully in her parental
village.
Hakari Bai's situation
Hakari Bai is a widowed woman from Udaipur District and is 50 years old. Her husband died about 7-8 years back. She has 4 daughters who are married. Her nephew, who lives with her, fights with her, abuses and terrorises her. He says: ‘You don’t have a son, leave this place, go away’. His wife calls her ‘rand’ (loose woman). As she is very afraid of her nephew and to guard the field that is hers, Hakaribai sleeps in the field.
As Narsignh would not stop terrorising her, she came to ask Ekal Nari for
support. Since Hakari Bai should have inherited some land from her late husband,
ENSS got the land registered in her name and the name of her daughters. ASTHA
then went to the police about the abuse and threats suffered by Hakaribai.
A policeman then went to arrest Narsingh but ENSS members proposed that the
matter to be solved by mutual understanding outside the court.
Narsingh begged
to be spared and agreed in writing that he will not torture Hakaribai any more,
neither will he fight her nor remove her from her land.