The Sulabh initiative for widows is meant to emancipate them from all kinds of deprivations, restrictions and humiliations. All right-thinking people must come together to lend our widowed sisters and mothers healing and helping hand.
~ Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
Restoring Dignity with Love and Compassion
Shunned by their own families, thousands of Hindu widows make their way to the holy city of Vrindavan in northern India to find solace. But most also end up impoverished and neglected.
Located on the banks of the river Yamuna in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Vrindavan is considered sacred to India’s majority Hindu population. It’s believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna, one of the most revered gods in Hinduism. With more than 5,000 temples, ashrams of various religious gurus and sects, the town is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in India.
It is also home to more than 10,000 widows, most of them living lives of destitution and neglect and surviving by begging on the streets.
A global report on widows by the charity Loomba Foundation found there are 46 million widows in India, which makes up more than 9% of the population.
Those who make it to Vrindavan come from a broad cross-section of society, but they are also one of the most neglected and marginalised groups in the country.
One study by the National Commission for Women found the majority of widows living in Vrindavan are illiterate and have no access to government pension schemes or subsidised meal schemes.
Dr. Pathak’s idea was not just to help them but to bring a smile on their face so that they could live their remaining live with confidence and hope. He showered them with love and affection.
Plight of the Widows
1. Most of the widows died of starvation and had no access to medical treatment.
2. In 2012 National Legal Services told the Supreme Court through a PIL that when a widow died, her body was chopped into pieces and disposed of, as there was no money to pay for the funeral rites.
3. The widows’ plight shocked India’s Supreme Court. Some of them suffered from severe disabilities and had no access to health faculties
4. The court then asked NALSA to approach Sulabh International, (letter from NALSA to Sulabh) for providing better services and care for the women. Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh stepped in to improve their situation.
