Social Challenges faced by the widows
Widows in Society
As there is nobody to speak on their behalf, the society in general considers widows as “public property”. Society even requires the newly widowed women to participate in a degrading ceremony known as “untying of thali”. The reason for this ceremony is that society does not want the presence of widows for any auspicious occasions.
Social stigmas affecting the family
Not only is the social classification applied to the widow, but her children too. When a widow’s children make mistakes as any other children, they are magnified and the society degrades them by saying, “after all, it is a child brought up by a widow”. If the daughter of a widow gets married she can be extremely ill-treated by the in-laws. There have also been occasions where the children of the widows, especially sons, completely abandon their mother and follow the intructions of their spouse. This abandonment leaves the widows heartbroken and even more devistated.
Suffering in silence
The widows have no one to share these problems with, leaving themselves completely withdrawn from their social life. They attribute all these hardships in their lives to fate and accept them. They don’t dare to question or challenge them.