VIJAYAWADA: Thousands of widows gathered on World Widows’ day here on Saturday, demanding eradication of the practices discriminatory to them. The event was organised at Indira Gandhi Municipal stadium by Bala Vikasa, a nonprofit community development organisation.Addressing the gathering, Bala Vikasa Executive Director S. Shoury Reddy said, “Even though our country has a rich culture and heritage, widows are discriminated against, harassed and isolated due to superstitious beliefs, even among the educated families. As many as 29 per cent of Indian widows consider committing suicide, and this indicates the severity of the problem.”
“As part of women empowerment initiatives, Bala Vikasa has been working towards elimination of social discrimination against widows in the region. It has been trying to give them their share of respect and opportunities,” he added.
B Parvathamma, a widow from Gannavaram, said, “My children were just three and six-years-old when my husband passed away. I thought of committing suicide because of how my neighbours treated me. But keeping my children’s future in mind, I started ignoring all insults and working. Now people consider me an inspiration.”