India: Information on discrimination against widows
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND13855 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information on discrimination against widows, 1 April 1993, IND13855, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ace914.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on this specific subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.
According to one source, however, Indian law is often ahead of the country's social norms, which limit the sphere of women's activities and their equal participation in Indian society (Calman 1992, 50). India also has a socio-economic and political system that pervasively discriminates against women, according to the source (Ibid., 51). Furthermore, many structures of inequality like caste, community, class and geographic setting create different situations for Indian women (Ibid., 52).
Religion is considered to be the main influence on the cultural value and legal position of women in India (Ibid.). The same source states that religion is also law in India and in most matters concerning family life like marriage, divorce, inheritance and guardianship of children religious law is recognized by the state. Modern India retains the British practice of allowing the laws of each religious denomination to govern its believers (Ibid.). As a result of this practice Hindu law governs the Hindu community, and Muslim law the Muslim community, and the state also recognizes Christian, Parsi and Jewish law.
British rule in India brought enormous socio-economic changes but personal law simply stood still (Ibid.). For instance, Article 14 of the Indian constitution guarantees equality of the sexes before the law, but some aspects of every religious community's laws, which are also recognized by the courts, discriminate against women (Ibid.). This discrepancy between Indian law and practice, and the pervasive influence of religion on Indian life, is corroborated by Women And Society in India (1987, 46), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992 (1993, 1144), and Women's Movements of The World (1988, 124).
The practice of sati (the suicide of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre), acceptable in Hinduism, was outlawed by the British and Indian governments have maintained this ban ever since (Mews 1989, 100). For information on the sati, please refer to Response to Information Request IND13854.
Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
Calman, Leslie, J. 1992. Toward Empowerment: Women and Movement Politics in India. Boulder CO: Westview Press.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Desai, Neera and M. Krishnaraj, eds. 1987. Women and Society in India. Jawahar Nagar: Ajanta Publications.
Shreir, Sally, ed. 1988. Women's Movements of the World. London: Longman Group UK Ltd.
Attachments
Calman, Leslie, J. 1992. Toward Empowerment: Women and Movement Politics in India. Boulder CO: Westview Press.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Mews, Stuart, ed. 1989. Religion in Politics: A World Guide. Chicago: St. James Press.
Robinson, Francis, ed. 1989. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Shreir, Sally, ed. 1988. Women's Movements of the World. London: Longman Group UK Ltd.
