Brave Widows Broke a 400-Year-Old Tradition at This Year's Holi in India

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Wed March 30, 2016 | 00:00 AM


In many cultures around the world, women are still unfairly oppressed by ancient traditions. In America, females make just 79% of what men make. In 2015, Saudi Arabian women finally gained the right to vote in elections. In India, widows aren't allowed to participate in Holi , the country's joyous festival of colors that purports to dissolve social barriers for the day and serve as an equalizer in a system long ruled by castes, classes and social hierarchy.

But in 2016, as Quartz India reports, thousands of Indian widows gathered at temples in in Vrindavan in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to celebrate Holi and, in the process, they violated a 400-year-old Hindu tradition. That orthodox tradition holds that women renounce earthly pleasures after their husbands dies and live out their days in worship. They are often ostracized by society and are considered cursed. Widows are expected to dress only in white, and to stay away from the festival of colours – even as the general premise of Holi is one of relaxed social barriers and a happy celebration for all. 

Holi 2015 Tinka Kalajzi Faces Of Holi   41

Photo by: Tinka Kalajzi

Though more and more widows have been gathering to celebrate Holi each year, it is still not widely accepted – especially in the more rural parts of India. 

The bravery it took for these Indian women to break this old, embedded tradition is almost unfathomable. Consider this: A 2009 Stanford University research paper about Hindu widows says: “Widowhood in India is often described as a definitive and tragic moment in a women’s life—one in which her identity is stripped away with the death of her husband...This system of marriage places women in a situation of vulnerability after their husband’s death, particularly if they do not earn income: they can neither reintegrate with their parental family, nor do they necessarily receive adequate support to live contentedly in their husband’s village.”

Holi 2015 Tinka Kalajzi Faces Of Holi   39

Photo by: Tinka Kalajzi

The Times of India has a particularly powerful quote from one widowed reveler:

“Times have changed for the good. People no longer look at us as a curse. When I see these young children having no inhibitions in sharing their joys with women like me, I feel very happy,” Rasia said during the Vrindavan's  Holi celebrations. She lost her husband at age 17 and is now 65.

We can only hope to see more and more widows banding together at Holi in the coming years.