There
are more than 25 million widows in India, according to the
1981 census. Indeed, the proportion of widows in the female
population - about 8 per cent - is comparable to that of agricultural
labourers in the male population. Among women aged 60 and
over, the proportion of widows is some 60 per cent.
Despite this, and the knowledge that widows are a particular
disadvantaged social group, few attempts have been made to
study the way they actually live.
Upon widowhood, most widows in rural India are subject to
economic decline, social isolation and related deprivation.
They are restricted about how and where they live, and in
terms of inheritance, remarriage, employment and the kind
of social support they can receive from relatives and the
community.
Findings of an intensive field study in seven states in India
shows that the Indian widow tends to be a highly marginalized
person. She typically receives very little support from persons
other than her own children, and even when she lives with
one or several of her adult sons she remains highly vulnerable
to neglect. Further, her ability to engage in income-earning
activities of her own is severely restricted, partly due to
various patriarchal norms such as patrilineal inheritance
and the division of labour by gender. The consequences as
far as one can tell from the limited evidence available, must
be serious in terms of poor health and high mortality rates.
This is consistent with the traditional perception of Hindu
widows as inauspicious and potentially suspect women who,
ideally, should lead a life of austerity devoted to the memory
of their husband. This ideological influence, however, may
be less crucial than the simple fact that widows are often
seen as an economic burden.
Right: A poor Indian widow feeds her children.
The most effective way of ensuring the social protection of
Indian widows is perhaps to help them to be recognized as
persons who have something important to contribute to the
household economy: for example, by protecting their property
rights or by promoting their economic activities. For those
widows who do not own property and cannot be gainfully employed
(due to age or infirmity), the provision of pensions is an
obvious measure.
The research project has found that there is already a substantial
scope for improving the living conditions of widows. For instance,
in most states of India, pension schemes of some kind do exist
on paper, but they have a negligible coverage and impact.
However, the government is unlikely to give adequate priority
to the social protection of widows in rural India in the absence
of public pressure. Putting state-based social security measures
into operation may require a great deal of effort on the part
of non-governmental organizations. Much could be done without
delay to bring about a more ambitious, efficient, and equitable
implementation of these pension schemes.
Similar observations apply with reference to land rights.
Helping widows to assert and defend their basic property rights
is another field where much could be achieved through public
activism within the existing legal and policy framework, without
waiting for the initiative and good will of the state. Several
non-government organizations have helped in the current research
and have agreed to undertake and document alternative measures
in support of widows, including negotiating government pensions
for eligible widows, securing property rights for widows,
supporting the employment and incomes of widows, and promoting
the social reintegration of widows in their communities.
Dr
Marty Chen is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Institute for
International Development. She is the author with Jean Dreuze
of Widows and Well-Being in Rural North India Discussion Paper
No 40 of the Development Economics Research Programme, published
in 1992 by the London School of Economics.
