Vrindavan, India (CNN) — Ostracized by society, India\u2019s widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die. They are found on side streets, hunched over with walking canes, their heads shaved and their pain etched by hundreds of deep wrinkles in their faces.<\/p>\n
These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition — and because they\u2019re seen as a financial drain on their families.<\/p>\n
They cannot remarry. They must not wear jewelry. They are forced to shave their heads and typically wear white. Even their shadows are considered bad luck.<\/p>\n
Hindus have long believed that death in Vrindavan will free them from the cycle of life and death. For widows, they hope death will save them from being condemned to such a life again. Watch how some widows are rebelling \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it feel good?\u201d says 70-year-old Rada Rani Biswas. \u201cNow I have to loiter just for a bite to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biswas speaks with a strong voice, but her spirit is broken. When her husband of 50 years died, she was instantly ostracized by all those she thought loved her, including her son.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son tells me: \u2018You have grown old. Now who is going to feed you? Go away,\u2019 \u201c she says, her eyes filling with tears. \u201cWhat do I do? My pain had no limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she speaks, she squats in front of one of Vrindavan\u2019s temples, her life reduced to begging for scraps of food.<\/p>\n
There are an estimated 40 million widows in India, the least fortunate of them shunned and stripped of the life they lived when they were married. It\u2019s believed that 15,000 widows live on the streets of Vrindavan, a city of about 55,000 in northern India.<\/p>\n
\u201cWidows don\u2019t have many social rights within the family,\u201d says Ranjana Kumari with the Center for Social Research, a group that works to empower women.<\/p>\n
The situation is much more extreme within India\u2019s rural community. \u201cThere, it is much more tradition-bound; in urban areas, there are more chances and possibilities to live a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the majority of India\u2019s 1.1 billion population is rural. \u201cThe government recognizes the problem,\u201d Kumari says. \u201cIt can do a lot, but it\u2019s not doing enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
One woman, a widow herself, is working for change. Dr. Mohini Giri has formed an organization called the Guild of Service, which helps destitute women and children.<\/p>\n
Giri\u2019s mother was widowed when Giri was 9 years old, and she saw what a struggle it was. Then, Giri lost her husband when she was 50, enduring the social humiliation that comes with being a widow. At times, she was asked not to attend weddings because her presence was considered bad luck.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally all widows are ostracized,\u201d she says. \u201cAn educated woman may have money and independence, but even that is snatched away when she becomes a widow. We live in a patriarchal society. Men say that culturally as a widow you cannot do anything: You cannot grow your hair, you should not look beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds, \u201cIt\u2019s the mind-set of society we need to change — not the women.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven years ago, Giri\u2019s organization set up a refuge called Amar Bari, or \u201cMy Home,\u201d in Vrindavan. It has become a refuge for about 120 of India\u2019s widows. Giri\u2019s organization is set to open a second home, one that will house another 500 widows.<\/p>\n
But as she says, \u201cMine is but a drop in the bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Amar Bari, most widows reject traditional white outfits and grow out their hair. Along the open air corridors that link the house\u2019s courtyard are green wooden doors, leading to dark tiny rooms, home for each widow.<\/p>\n
Bent over by osteoporosis, 85-year-old Promita Das meticulously and slowly sweeps the floor just outside her door and then carefully cleans her dishes. \u201cI came here when I couldn\u2019t work anymore. I used to clean houses,\u201d she says. \u201cNobody looked after me, nobody loved me. I survived on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
She married at 12 and was widowed at 15. Seventy years later, she finds herself at Amar Bari. \u201cI used to live in front of a temple, but then I came here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She carries with her not only the pain of a life without love, but also the loss of her only child. She gave birth at 14; her baby lived a year.<\/p>\n
Another widow, Ranu Mukherjee, wearing a bright red-patterned sari, shows off her room at the home and wants to sing for her guests. The lyrics of her song are about a lost traveler.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you come here after losing your way?\u201d she sings. \u201cWhen I remember the days gone by I feel sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #22775]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vrindavan, India (CNN) — Ostracized by society, India\u2019s widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die. They are found on side streets, hunched over with walking canes, their heads shaved and their pain etched by hundreds of deep wrinkles in their faces. These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1236,896,2139,2138,557],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}