Mumbai, May 30 (PTI) A Maharashtra-based social organisation on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a nationwide campaign to eliminate discriminatory social practices faced by widows.
The Solapur-headquartered Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal (MPSSM) also urged the Prime Minister's Office to issue an appeal to all states and Union Territories to convene special gram sabhas on June 23, observed as International Widows' Day, and pass resolutions aimed at ending such practices.
In its letter, the NGO urged Centre to initiate a national movement against what it described as inhuman customs and social discrimination faced by widowed women.
"Despite constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity, widows continue to face social exclusion, including being barred from auspicious functions and being compelled to abandon traditional symbols such as sindoor, mangalsutra and bangles after the death of their husbands," the organisation's president Pramod Zinjade said.
The letter said such practices amount to violations of rights related to quality, non-discrimination and life with dignity.
Referring to an initiative undertaken in Herwad village in Maharashtra, the organisation said the village gram sabha had passed a resolution in May 2022 against discriminatory customs targeting widows. It claimed the move later received recognition from the Maharashtra government and inspired similar resolutions in other villages.
The letter suggested that India present the "Herwad Pattern" before the United Nations and seek broader international recognition of efforts to eradicate discrimination against widows.
The organisation said adoption of the Maharashtra model across the country could help India emerge as a nation free from discriminatory widowhood practices and ensure a life of dignity for millions of women.
The organisation sought a national campaign modelled on the "Herwad Pattern", integration of the initiative with programmes such as "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao", and legal measures to treat discriminatory practices against widows as punishable offences under existing laws dealing with domestic violence and protection of women's rights. PTI MR BNM
