PANAJI
Back in March 2023, the Assembly unanimously supported a legislation to protect the rights of widows and prevent the discrimination against them that still prevails in some remote parts of Goa.
“I make a commitment that in the next Assembly session, maybe in July (2023), we can bring in legislation within the purview of the law to prevent any kind of widow discrimination,” was the assurance by Minister for Women & Child Vishwajit Rane on the floor of the House in response to Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao’s Private Member’s Bill seeking preventing “unjust customs of widow discrimination, widow abuse, and widow isolation.”
Since then, three Assembly sessions have been held “ monsoon, winter and Budget “ but legislation on the critical issue is still nowhere in sight.
Ironically, neither the Opposition nor some ruling MLAs who supported the demand have pursued the matter with due diligence even outside the Assembly complex.
Sources revealed to The Goan that the proposal has been discussed by the Department and some attempts were made to draft a proposal.
During the Budget session this February, the issue was tabled through an unstarred question, to which the minister responded that the department is in the process of framing a policy on “widowhood practices.”
“Once a draft of the policy on widowhood practices is framed, a meeting will be called to discuss and take views as assured on the floor…Once the law is enacted it will be implemented,” the reply stated although no timeline was provided for its completion.
Around 14 panchayats have already adopted resolutions against discriminatory customs to treat widows on par with married women.
Not too long ago, a Goan couple's marriage attracted national attention when Usha Naik, a widow, defied societal norms by performing the wedding rituals of her daughter, Dr Gautami. The bride and groom’s families challenged the age-old stereotypes surrounding widowhood making a progressive shift and debunking the belief that widows are inauspicious for religious or ritual ceremonies.
