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International Widows Day: Over 10,000 women write to PM Narendra Modi to air grievances

The women, who will be writing these postcards, till June 30, have written to state officials and chief ministers of their respective states in the past

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Women show the letters they have written for PM Narendra Modi
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Not being able to manage a meeting with the Prime Minister to tell him about the problems they face, over 10,000 widows from over the country are now sending postcards to Modi.

In a campaign spearheaded by the National Forum For Single Women's Rights (NFSW), single women from all over the country have hand-written postcards to Modi as part of the International Widows Day. The women, who will be writing these postcards, till June 30, have written to state officials and chief ministers of their respective states in the past.

For instance, Prabhati Devi from Sikar district in Rajasthan has asked the PM for a social security pension of Rs 2,000 for the vulnerable, and an increase in the food grain allotment from 5 kg per person to 15 kg per person under the National Food Security Act. Devi, who is old and is unable to work, says that she hopes to receive a reply from Modi.

Vasantha, a leader from Telangana who, too, has written a postcard, says single women needs to be party of the Centre's priority in social security schemes. "Governments schemes of skilling the youth have overlooked the needs of crores of single women, many of whom join the workforce at relatively older ages, and continue to work long into their old age out of necessity," she says.

The 2011 census calculates the number of single women in the country as 5,05,09,941. This includes widows, separated, divorced and unmarried women.

Nirmala Chandel, national convenor of the NFSW said that the forum has been seeking an appointment with the PM for over a year. The forum is preparing a memorandum of demands after speaking to the women across the country who are associated with them.

Chandel says that in rural areas, landlessness is a huge problem. "Women without any land do not have any agency and are usually mistreated by their husbands or husband's families. Land is linked to their dignity," she says.

Another problem is that village panchayats do not have a dedicated bench to listen to their problem. "Some of the women fight court cases for decades, only to lose. A panchayet bench can go in the long way," says Chandel.

STANDING FOR RIGHTS

  • Widows from across the country have written postcards to PM Modi as part of the International Widows Day.
     
  • The women, who are writing these postcards till June 30, have also written to state officials & CMs of their respective states about the problems they face.
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