The Widows’ Livelihood Rights Federation has requested political parties to include in their Assembly election manifesto a promise to set up a welfare board for the benefit of 40 lakh widows across the State.
Releasing a charter of demands, Kasturi, the convenor of the federation, said there was a need to collect comprehensive data about the living conditions of widows and bring it into the 2021 Census.
“We demand the legislation ‘Prevention of Discrimination and Atrocities against Widows’ to establish equal rights for widows in socio-economic and political areas (similar to the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989),” she said.
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Another demand was to increase the widows’ pension from ₹1,000 per month to ₹3,000 per month.
Besides seeking free house-site title deeds for those who have been living on temple lands for many generations, she said that since there were hundreds of hectares of cultivable temple and government land available in Tamil Nadu, two acres of land could be given on lease to self-help groups for natural collective farming.
“Ensure reservation in not only the government sector but also the private sector, since more and more PSUs are being privatised. Guarantee job opportunities to one member of every widow’s family and priority in government jobs for the dependants of widows,” she said.
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The federation also sought an increase in marriage assistance given to daughters the poor widows under the E.V.R. Mani Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme and Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme. “Increase the marriage assistance from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 and from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 in the case of daughters who have completed a degree,” the federation said. and demanded implementation of total prohibition.