The Single File

The Ekal Nari Shakti Sangam is a unique event that brings together women who are ‘‘single and lonely’’. Started last year, it hopes to become an annual feature.

The issues that emerged in this meet ranged from post-riot rehabilitation, security, settling into new homes with not enough facilities, fighting for widow pension and learning to live with disabilities in the shadow of fear.

‘‘These are women who have either been abandoned or thrown out of their homes by their husband,’’ explains Preeti Oza of the Ekal Nari Shakti Sangathan, a NGO that works with women in Rajasthan. ‘‘Then there are those who have walked out of their homes or are widows. They had gathered in solidarity.’’

According to Census data, eight per cent of all women in India are widows. A study done by Astha Sansthan in Rajasthan shows that 1.5 per cent of all women over 15 years of age were ‘‘separated’’, suggesting that about 9.5 per cent of women in India are ‘‘alone’’.

This recent event had brought together over 1,000 single women from across the country. ‘‘Everyone cried when women victims of communal riots in Gujarat told their horrifying tales,’’ recalls Oza. ‘‘Women from Naroda Patia broke down while talking about their struggle to survive over two years after the riots and with them every woman present here cried.’’

Child marriage, land issues and income generation were the other hot issues. ‘‘It is interesting to see how different the life of a single woman is in different parts of this vast country,’’ says Kate Young of the Widows World Wide organization.