WUNRN
LINK TO PHOTO ESSAY - PLIGHT OF
WIDOWS OF VRINDIVAN, INDIA
http://www.white-shadows.com/ -
CLICK: ENTER FLASH GALLERY
India
- Widows of Vrindavan - Photo Image ©Tewfic El-Sawy, “White Shadows”
White Shadows is a photographic essay of widows living in Vrindavan, India. These women are destitute and reliant for their survival on charitable foundations and charities set up by wealthy Indian families, and on daily alms from pilgrims visiting the holy town.
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Link to Full CNN Article: http://www.dalitnetwork.org:80/go?/dfn/news/shunned_from_society_widows_flock_to_city_to_die
VRINDAVAN, India (CNN)—Ostracized by society, India’s widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die. They are found on side streets, hunched over with walking canes, their heads shaved and their pain etched by hundreds of deep wrinkles in their faces.
These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition—and because they’re seen as a financial drain on their families.
They cannot remarry. They must not wear jewelry. They are often forced to shave their heads, and typically wear white. Even their shadows are considered bad luck.......It’s believed that 15,000 widows live on the streets of Vrindavan, a city of about 55,000 in northern India......
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WUNRN Note: Though many of the widows in Vrindivan, and throughout India, are elderly, there are also young widows, even girl widows, often from child forced/arranged marriages, and widowed as in their teens.
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