At a time when widows are shunned and neglected by the society, the Bala Vikas, an NGO of Warangal district, organised a seminar on the protection of rights of widows and campaigned against the practice of banning them from various activities, in Huzurabad town of Karimnagar district on Sunday.
The NGO mobilised hundreds of widows to the seminar, which was addressed by Karimnagar MP B. Vinod Kumar, Bala Vikas executive director Shoury Reddy, and Lok Satta district president N. Srinivas.
Lighting the lamp during inauguration of a programme is considered auspicious, and the Bala Vikas ensured the widows lit the lamp to remove any taboo.
Recluse life
On this occasion, the widows poured out their woes of leading a recluse life as they are considered a bad omen for losing their husbands.
A majority of them demanded that the government constitute a widow development corporation to make them self-employable and ensure the welfare of their children. They also demanded reservation for their children in all educational institutes.
While welcoming the State government’s decision to provide pension to single women, the widows urged the government to provide financial assistance of ₹1 lakh if they remarry under the Kalyana Laxmi scheme.
Mr. Kumar said he was against the widow system since he was a child. He said that he would raise the issue of providing reservations to the children of widows in educational institutions in Parliament.
The MP said he also favoured widows getting remarried.
