Against Hindu discrimination, widows wear dress in protest
According to Hindu tradition, when a woman loses her husband she becomes impure, cannot honour the gods, nor sing or dance. She can only wear white. Child widows and women in arranged marriages are also victims. However, Nepal’s new constitution bans violence in the name of religion, traditions, or culture.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – About 500 Hindu widows dressed in red, which they are forbidden to wear, took to the streets in Lalitpur to protest against one of their religion’s oldest discriminatory practice.
According to Hindu custom, widows must wear white, mourning clothing for the rest of their days, without any red. One effect of this is that they are victims of discrimination and marginalisation in various forms. Hence, protesters shouted “widowed women’s respect, decked in red”.
For centuries, Hinduism has discriminated against women who lose their husbands. As widows, they are impure, bearers of bad omens, and are even ostracised by their families, who might send them away or keep them segregated in a part of the house.
However, this goes against Nepal’s recently approved constitution, which reads – Article 38, section 3, “There shall not be any physical, mental, sexual or psychological or any other kind of violence against women, or any kind of oppression based on religious, social and cultural tradition, and other practices. Such an act shall be punishable by law and the victim shall have the right to be compensation as provided for in law.”
In a reference to widows, Article 43 also explicitly recognises the right of “single women” to social security. Yet, despite such constitutional guarantees, discriminatory practices are widespread in Hindu societies, including India.
So-called child widows, and women who were briefly married are subject to such discrimination. This is the case of Sabina Maharjan, in the village of Thencho, one of the protest leaders.
“My husband died three months after our marriage,” she said. “I had just two days with him before he went to Saudi Arabia for work. I received his dead body and cremated him according to Hindu practice. But Hinduism bans me from worshipping god, visiting temples, and wearing red for the rest of my life”. For society, “we are something untouchable. When there is a sacred ceremony, we are always unwelcome.”
Another widow, Bina Shahi, is 27 and has a five-year-old son. When he asks her why they don’t go to parties, or why she does not wear a nice dress, all she can say is “Because your dad died”. But he doesn’t believe her.
The Newar are one of Nepal’s most ancient ethnic groups. They live in the Kathmandu Valley, and are Hindu with clear rules. Widows do not wear red, bangles, tika (a mark usually worn on the forehead), nor perform religious rites until Bhimratharohan, a ceremony performed when one reaches the age of 77 years, seven months, and seven days.
No matter. The women protesting in Lalitpur have decided that they will worship, take part in celebrations, sing, and dance.
They might have an ally. For Govinda Tandon, chief administrator at the Pashupatinath Temple, “the religion has no flaw but the practice went wrong. Women’s issues are serious and there should be no discrimination and oppression towards widowed women.”
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02/11/2023 11:06
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