Single Mother - WOW (Women of WIll) Single Mother - WOW (Women of Will) | Page 9

Pressure of remarriage. Its sad but
there aren’t people around to take
social and financial security of a
widow with children. Hence, many
widows are pressurised to marry
again so that they may have some fi-
nancial security with a new partner.
However, being a strong headed
woman my mother wasn’t willing
to give the security of her children
to a man who she didn’t know.
He further added “Shunned from
festivities.” This still brings tears
in my eyes. My mother wasn’t al-
lowed to be present in any import-
ant religious ceremonies. In fact
when her own brother was getting
married she was asked to sit aside
while the wedding rituals were in
process. I retaliated and ensured
that she was sitting next to me
while me or my sister got married.
Widows are respected as individ-
uals with an identity of their own
that is not solely attached to the
man they marry. I have seen plac-
es where a woman is as good as
a living corpse once her husband
passes away. It saddens me deeply.
They say that a women leads a life
of renunciation once her husband
dies. Like a wait for the day that
she dies as well and gets to join her
husband. She is told that this fate
has befallen her due to her bad
karma.
Without wanting to skirt on femi-
nism, I must say that it is unfair that
a man never compromised on his
life should his poor wife die early
No make-up, no expensive ward-
robe. A widow is supposed to dress
as sober as she can. She was fond
of silk and zari saris while she grew
up. Though beautiful, she still loved
to wear a lipstick and light makeup.
All of that weren’t allowed. Howev-
er, when I became the man of my
house, I ensured she wore what she
liked and was comfortable. She now
wears western outfits as well when
we travel abroad for holidays. And
we are living a very happy life now.
9