Widows: The double stigma

The Padma Bhushan awardee and activist Dr V Mohini Giri once remarked that "widowhood is a state of social death", an observation that succinctly summarises the realities facing widows, including my mother, the world over.

- SAURABH SHARMA

Why oppressive measures against widows are followed so reverentially is something that the Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Literary Studies, University of Leiden, Mineke Schipper, dissects in Widows: A Global History.

The eight chapters of Schipper's magisterial work offers a deep understanding into such issues as the kind of grieving considered acceptable for a widow, what clothes are appropriate, to what extent she must desexualise herself, and if she can claim any right on the property of her deceased partner.

The author's work in the domain of oral history also informs Widows. In fact, the idea came to her while working on a previous volume titled Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet: Women in Proverbs from Around the World. At the time, Schipper reflected, which she recollects in the Acknowledgements section: "A widow was associated with death — and a widower was not. There must be more to widowhood, and I promised myself to get back to it later."

All thanks to her for keeping the promise. The sheer scale of the stories, the range of historical evidence, and the way Schipper articulates the injustices that widows endure make it a worthy successor to the seminal work on widows by Margaret Owen's