Life of Vrindavan widows better,but only just: study
A third still lives in the open,two-fifths have no access to toilets,a majority earn between Rs 200 and 1,000,many open to remarriage.
Hindu widows dressed in white and living in clusters adjoining temples are a common sight in Vrindavan and surrounding areas. However,contrary to traditional beliefs,these women do not want to tonsure their heads and some are even open to remarriage,reveals a recent survey done by Guild of Service,with support from the UNIFEM.
As per the findings of the report,Dimensions of Deprivation: Study on the poverty levels of widows of Vrindavan,these women are happier here than in their village homes and most have no intention of going back. They seem to be veering away from traditional beliefs on how widows should live in terms of what they should wear and eat, says the survey.
The study done in the Braj area of Vrindavan,Radhakund,Goverdhan,Gokul and Barsana finds that the widows seem to be open to the idea of remarriage,though they dont say it openly. Some of them are computer literate; one,in fact,had used the Internet to Google her way to an ashram in Vrindavan.
Secretary for Women and Child Development D K Sikri released the report recently. The report is based on detailed questionnaires to over 500 widows,aged between 24 and 75 and living in several locations at these five places. The study also revealed the changing face of widowhood in Braj their sense of self-esteem,age,literacy levels,ability to access services,and how people treat them.
The survey shows that though widows are extremely poor monetarily,they eat well and there are no chances of them starving. However,shelter,sanitation,health and access to the widows pension are key problems. Approximately a third of them lives in the open on streets,ghats,railway stations and bus stops and they have to fend for themselves. More than half 54 per cent live in rented spaces,and 16 per cent in ashrams.
According to the survey,two-fifths have no access to toilets,with these 40 per cent squatting in open fields and a seventh,occasionally,over street drains. Though most widows have access to water after going to the toilet,only 68 per cent have access to soap. A third of the widows 32 per cent,who dont have soap,use soil and ash. However,they all manage to bathe daily,many of them twice a day.
Potable water is easily available,but it is difficult to say how clean or safe it is to drink this water,considering that almost four-fifths of the widows surveyed had fallen ill in the six months prior to the interview, it says. More than half of those who had fallen ill suffered from diarrhoea. Other medical problems include frequent fever,arthritis,high BP,asthma and diabetes.
Though widows get money from multiple source bhajan ashrams,charity,pension,domestic work,tailoring and candle-making the total does not add up to much. Most of the money earned is spent on food,followed by medicine,rent,clothes and pooja. The majority 83 per cent earns Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 per month,seven per cent less than Rs 200 per month,and 10 per cent over Rs 1,000 a month.
Theres little or no financial support from their families. A small percentage,however,gets emotional support. Seventy-eight per cent,both young and old,are afraid of physical and sexual harassment and 63 per cent of not getting salvation. They also fear falling sick,of not being cremated with proper rites,of being homeless and hungry.
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