I have never heard about the widowhood effect and was fascinated to learn about the reasons of this phenomenon. The topic of widowhood is not widely discussed in Russia, and media never gives any attention to the stories related to the elder widows but comparing to countries like India, at least there is no tradition of putting widows in a separate category.
The article that I would like to discuss this week will bring an international perspective to the topic of the week on widowhood. The article that I picked was written by the former Head of the Department of Philosophy, Cotton College, Guwahati and is devoted to the social status of widows in India. Studying and living in the U.S. it is easy not to know about the cultures that treat widows like second-class citizens and lock them in separate communities. India, which is a highly segregated society even in the 21st century, determines the conditions of the widows based on the traditions that are closely related to religion. Therefore, widows are marginalized from the families and communities, because historically Hindu women are responsible for husband’s health and therefore are blamed for his death as well. The article calls the death of a husband “the social death of a wife” because suddenly her life becomes restricted.
Historically Russian and American society did not stigmatize widows to the extent of the Indian culture because the codes of conduct and traditions are much less strict. In India a woman without a husband is incomplete, and even though nowadays they are not burned along with their dead husband, the life that they lead is truly miserable. I have read in other articles that there is a special city in India that is called Vrindavan, and around 20,000 widows are living there and waiting to die. Even though the laws allow remarriage it is totally against the Indian customs, therefore these widows do not have a chance to remarry. They are often brought to this city by their own families, and they are forced to shave their heads and wear only white clothes. Many of these women are on the streets begging for scraps of food, because they are not allowed to work. The scariest thing is that widows are of different age, including really young girls, they were thrown by their families and have to lead the life of a homeless beggar. No matter what laws the government is passing, the vast majority of the India is rural and the traditions are especially strong in rural areas, moreover when the country has a population of over a billion people they would never take the problem of 3 million widows seriously.
Questions for the class:
Have you ever read or heard how other cultures treat widows? What is your opinion about the widows’ status in India?
How do you think the U.S. views widowhood? Are there any stereotypes or negative attitudes towards widows?
Link to the article:
http://www.sentinelassam.com/op_ed/story.php?sec=33&subsec=0&id=83270 dtP=2011-07-28&ppr=1
Wow, Polina! I had never thought about the ways in which widows are treated in other societies. The way that Indian widows are treated is crazy in my opinion! In many cases, the death of a husband has nothing to do with how his wife had cared for him. This is especially true in cases of disease or old age. To hold women responsible for the death of her husband is, in my opinion, nonsensical and unnecessary. One aspect of Indian culture that I would like to learn about it how widowers are treated. Are they held responsible for the death of their wife?
ReplyDeleteI think the US views widowhood in a pretty positive light. It is not something that is shunned and they are obviously free to remarry, so it really isn't that big of a deal. Although, I think that it may be more culturally acceptable for men to remarry. It is nice to know that I live in a society that doesn't send widows to another town to die. I guess it all comes down to the societies around the world and their view on men vs. women.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked at this article! I totally understand that all cultures are different and one cannot judge another but I just cannot believe that the Indian culture holds women responsible for their husbands death! I mean come on, it's sad enough for them already that they lost their loved one and now they need to be shunned from society as well? DO you know why it is that women are considered the ones responsible? I find this so fascinating. Man, I would be so awful in a culture like that. I challenge everything I slightly disagree with! I couldn't image not being able to have a say and stand up for myself.
ReplyDeleteWell, Devin, the ONLY reason why you challenge everything you slightly disagree with is because American society and culture lets you do that! if you were born and raised in that culture you would not question your status. I totally agree that these women are already depressed and isolated because they lost their husband but unfortunately in societies like that no one cares what a woman feels it is more about "what did YOU do to deserve that? why did YOUR husband die so early?"
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was shocking to see how other countries view widowhood. In America being a widow is generally something undesired and many people feel pity for women who are widowed. I know many women in America, primarily the older generation, see this is a time of grieving and are still very traditional and grieve for their husband for the rest of their lives. Many pick up the pieces and move on as best they can since they have children to raise on their own and they do their best to not think about it. Many people also see this is a second chance, they do things they wouldn't normally do, take chances, find new love, etc. I think it is hard to put one single view on widowhood in America because unlike other cultures it is constantly changing.
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to hear how different cultures treat widows. In the United States, it seems people are sympathetic towards widows and feel bad for them since they lost a husband. I don't think anyone in our culture would put shame or blame on a widow since they are already dealing with a great loss and it is not their fault. I am glad that I am part of a culture that has sympathy for people when they lose a loved one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chelsea. Losing your partner is something that only those who have experienced it can talk about. It's a difficult process that I am very fortunate to not have been through. My friend's mother lost her husband in the past year, and I cannot imagine putting blame or shame on her. I feel that our country allows us to grieve and makes it okay for us to show our emotions. Our country also provides us with things that we can use to help us remember our loved ones, such as necklaces or memorabilia
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, girls, that American culture allows emotions and grief, however it is important to remember that even within American society there are many cultures and ethnic groups who may view widowhood differently. Even the burial procedures are different in different cultures, for instance, in Russia we always bury on the 3-rd day. In Muslim tradition you have to bury a person the next day after death and without a casket. In Russia we use even number of flowers ONLY for funerals, and odd number of flowers for celebration. However in the U.S. it is normal to give a woman a dozen of flowers. It is fascinating how different the cultures are even when it comes to such things as funerals and widowhood.
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