Why Bihar is still considered as a backward state of India?

 

                       Pain Areas of Widows in Terms of Economical Loss.

From the very beginning, the issues pertaining to widowed women have always been ignored. Whenever the government frames any public policy, this issue is hardly paid attention. Often we see, in almost every society, whenever one of the marital partner dies, it brings several changes in his/her life, both in social as well as economical ways, especially, in the case of women. When she loses her life partner, it becomes very difficult for her to sustain her life and, it even become worse when her partner was the only breadwinner for her and family. This pushes her towards the starting phase of poverty.

It is not hidden that the influence of patriarchy in our society still exists and women as comparison to men occupies a small section in both the formal and informal sector. The reason being, they were given less privilege in terms of education, sports, doing their own choice of works etc. as comparison to men. Even in the labour participation rate, the majority job holders are men and they are paid even more in comparison to women. Such discriminatory practices in the society make the condition of women, especially, when they become widowed, more vulnerable as comparison to widowed men.

It even becomes a nightmare for them when the widowed women is not educated, she would face a huge problem in getting a job that would help her survive, feed and nourish her children. She would either need to send her children out to work for earning income, or she would end up being involved in prostitution just in order to make her ends meet. The latter could even add to her problems, as she might end up with a sexually transmitted disease and even could die of it, leaving her children behind in the most vulnerable situation.

It has been found that, in India, there are about 55 million widows and counting.  And, it’s a harsh reality that, they have to go through many problems and deprivations because of negative attitude of the society towards them. They have been the victims of patriarchal customs, discriminatory behavior in the society, religious laws etc. They often denied the property rights after the demise of her partner and remarriages are hardly the case for them, as, most of them found to have been crossed the marital age or even if some of them have not then, it is considered against the religious laws in some religions. In a nutshell, they become the subject to deprivations and have to work here and there in order to meet the ends of her and family.

In Overall, the public policy has often been ignoring the pertaining problems of widows in India. Given the numbers of widowed women, this exclusion is likely to cost much not just for the women concerned but, for the society as a whole. The government needs to come forward and should take the required steps regarding the concerned problems, so that, the difficulties faced by them could be minimized. The society also needs to play an active role in eliminating such discriminatory practices and must keep positive attitudes towards them, so that, they could get the emotional support and find a better way to sustain their life. The members of the society together need to come forward and provide a helping hand towards the needy.

#women_empowerment #india #poverty #ecomomical_loss