BAJAD VILLAGE, RAJASTHAN:

Kanchan Devi, a widow in Bajad village of Rajasthan, shocked everyone by donning red headgear in the marriage of her son despite objections and opposition of her family and villagers. They didnt approve of her behavior and decided that she should be socially boycotted. But Kancha Devi had no regrets for what she had done. She argues that she has every right to attend her sons marriage, despite being a widow, for she is also a mother.

It was not all of a sudden that the courage to stand in opposition to her family and village folks came of itself with in her. Ekal Nari Sangthan has been working in Rajasthan for last several years. Her courage was the result of her association with this organization. It was this enabling relation that helped her in going against the fossilized traditions; otherwise, earlier she was leading the life of a helpless widow.

Ekal Nari Sangthan (ENS), which came into existence in 1999, has shown a new way of life to the widowed and divorced women of Rajasthan. The successes this organization has achieved in enabling these women have become a challenge to the society that perceives such women as helpless creatures. It has become a forum that is supporting them in fighting against social oppression. Providing support to 9000 widowed and divorced women who are raising their children all by themselves; this organization has become an illustrious object lesson across the country.

Lila, a woman of Ahor village in Jalor district, found her life a tiring ordeal after the death of her husband. She had the responsibility of marrying two daughters and providing her two sons with education. It was after becoming a member of the organization she came to know that the Govt. provides a grant of 5,000 rupees as help for the marriage of a widows daughter. The activists of the organization helped her in getting this grant. Lila says had the organization not given her support, it would have been well nigh impossible for her to arrange timely marriages for her daughters. It needs to be reminded that in the Indian society widows and divorced women are perceived as lesser creatures. For centuries, they have been thrown out of the mainstream towards invisibility by not allowing them to attend auspicious social functions and prescribing for them a dress code. The condition of widowed women particularly in Northern India is very pathetic and ghastly and this tradition has taken relatively deeper roots in Rajasthan. It is custom in several castes here to lock widows for months in a room after their husbands death. Seeing the face of a widow in morning is considered an ill omen. It is evident that community makes their lives a hell.

Today, the population of widows in our country is more than four crores. They are forced to live a lonely, neglected and helpless life. Marti Chan, a scholar of Harvard University has made an in-depth study of the social, economic and cultural condition of the lives of widows in India. According to him, widows are made to live a subhuman and segregated life. Neither the community nor the Govt has made any worth while efforts for making their condition any better. In his study he has made surveys in seven states namely West Begal,, Bihar, U.P., Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamilnadu & Andhra Pradesh. The findings of these surveys reveal that most of the widows are poor and are living in rural areas and fifty percent of them are below 5o years. 90 percent of them didnt enter wedlock again after the death of their husbands. Surveys also bring another fact to the fore that there are also widows in a great number who lost their husbands quite early.

Having known the pathetic condition of widows through these surveys, he contacted Astha, an organization working in Udaipur, Rajasthan for making efforts for bettering the condition of widows. Astha studied his findings and took up the responsibility. This is from where the story of improving the life conditions of widows in Rajasthan started. It commenced with pension right, but now property rights, lobbying for policy level changes and undertaking drought relief work have also come on the agenda. Apart from this, work is also being done for forming a network of single women organizations, getting for them the benefits of government schemes, laws and policies, for changing caste and community customs with regard to widows, for starting income generating collective schemes and focusing on law pertaining to women health. It is obvious that the organization, apart from providing economic support to single women and for their welfare, is also working for their empowerment. Now these women have come to know their rights and also raise voice on social issues like water, employment, education and social evils etc.

Their empowerment has not only changed things on paper, it has made the Govt. bring several changes in its laws and policies. Their proposals receive priority in Gram Sabhas and their sons are provided free education up to graduation level (education for girls is already free). Widow pension has been enhanced from Rs. 125 to 200. All these things are indications of their empowerment and subsequent proactive role. It was because of their active presence that in 2002-03 the Govt. has to provide priority to them in draught relief works. These women, fighting for their self respect and rights, perceived themselves as a vote bank in the recent elections and lobbied with various political parties on issues related to them. The organization demanded the heads of ten political parties that issues of single women should be accorded priority in their manifestoes. Seeing the success and consistent active role of the organization, political parties dont want to take the risk of neglecting these women.