Under fire over remarks on Vrindavan widows Hema Malini defends stance on Twitter

Terming MP Hema Malini's statement about widows of Vrindavan as "insensitive", the NGOs working for them have said that this has "broken the heart" of thousands of widows who had many hopes from the actor-turned- politician. Hema, a Member of Parliament from Mathura, had made a controversial remark saying the widows from Bengal and Bihar should not crowd Vrindavan, the holy city in Uttar Pradesh home to thousands of destitute women. She had also said, "Vrindavan widows have a bank balance, good income, nice beds, but they beg out of habit."

Mohini Giri, the chairperson of NGO Guild of Service, which runs Amar Bari ashram in Vrindavan, has said that this statement has "broken the heart" of thousands of widows who had many hopes from Hema. "This is very insensitive statement. Why only widows are targeted. What is the dignity and status of a widow. We are not going to tolerate this," the veteran social activist said. "Tomorrow someone will say that you are also widow and you are from Andhra so go back to your state. What will I do then? Is this we expect in our country. My widows are crying. They has a lot of hopes from Hema who is not able to understand their condition despite being a woman," she said.

Giri claimed that she wrote three letters to the Bollywood actress but did not get any prompt reply. "She is an MP so she should ensure governance and social security to widows. I have written three letters to her and yesterday got her only reply that talk to my PA. I am now going to stay ahead and see that no widow is touched. We must provide them security, shelter and dignity," she said. Giri also claimed that these widows, living for decades in Vrindavan, do not want to go back to their place. 

"I met and spoke to then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu 20 years back regarding this issue. He said that he will give them roof and 300 Rs per month. I did a survey on widows and each one of them had said that they don’t want to go back to Bengal," she said. "If she (Hema) thinks that they are disturbing the people of Vrindavan then what is she doing. She has been visiting temples for last 10 years and disturbing common public there," said Giri. 

She said that her NGO will initiate a campaign to ensure voting right for each widow of Vrindavan now. "We are empowering them. Rather than giving money, we should make them independent. We will do a big campaign to make each widow a voter and we will also tell them not to get afraid. Now since whatever Hema has said, they (widows) will be pushed by local administration. They already take their share (hafta) from them and do not even hesitate to beat them by lathis," she said.

Another NGO Maitri which runs a widow ashram for about 500 widows at Radha Kund, Vrindavan has said that one should also consider their social and cultural background before making such statements. "We need to be sensitive about these women who have lost their dignity as they are widows and to tell them to leave the place they have been living for decades is like robbing them of any dignity left," Sonal Singh Wadhwa, the CEO of Maitri India, a Delhi-based NGO told PTI. 

Hema Malini on her part took to Twitter to defend her stance and said that she stood by her statement.

I thk none of u have listened to my actual interview. I personally found out tht there are abt 5000 widows in Vrindavan. Spoke to some.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) September 18, 2014

Most have been abandoned by family & put on trains to Vrindavan without any money.While some of them find jobs as maids,many take to begging

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) September 18, 2014

Younger ones are also exploited & then abandoned to their fate. Out of the 5000, only 1500 have a proper roof over their heads.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) September 18, 2014

I only want to say tht sons shd not throw their mothers out but arrange to take care of thm & provide for thm.Ths awareness is lacking.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) September 18, 2014

Also most are frm W Bengal,Bihar &Orissa.My request was to these ppl to have a more humane approach & look after these poor widows properly.

— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) September 18, 2014

She further said, "For no fault of theirs, they are thrown on the streets and are compelled to beg to survive. Is this fair? Do you think these old women deserve this fate? Please tell me if I am wrong in saying that sons and daughters cannot discard their duty and cannot bundle them onto a train and forget about them."

Calling for a collective responsibility to taking care of the widows, she said "Of course I intend doing what I can to improve their condition but Vrindavan with has a space limitation too. State government too should contribute... Look after those who are already here but create awareness in States they belong to. They should have accountability and create awareness too. Nobody wants to throw out destitute women but it should be a collective responsibility,"