Warangal Urban: A much needed social reform in our country has carried forward by a village in Warangal, by stopping all the rituals related with the widowhood. The ‘ritual’ of removing ‘kumkum’, bangles, ‘puste’ and ‘mattelu’ of a widow was being practised in Keshavapur village under Yelkaturti Mandal for generations.
But when Billa Komala (55)’s husband Venkat Reddy died of illness and she had to follow the rituals, her well-educated children objected to this age-old custom. Initially, Billa Surender Reddy took objection to this, she was afraid of the consequences. Subsequently, a nonprofit organisation- Bala Vikasa- which is on a mission to end discrimination of widows, extended its support to them in conducting the other rituals related to the death, reports Telangana today.
The village Sarpanch and executive members took inspiration from the incident and passed a resolution that no woman in the village should be humiliated after the death of her husband.
The NGO has reportedly adopted nearly 150 widows in the village. It is promoting development while creating awareness about irrational customs and traditions. It also set up a seven-member committee to instil confidence in these widows.
“Keshavapur has taken a bold step by deciding to end the tradition of removing ‘kumkum’, flowers and bangles after the death of the husband. Intellectuals, family members and people should cooperate to end such discriminatory practices,” said Anna Mary, Bala Vikasa Co-ordinator.
“After Bala Vikasa adopted the village, we are creating awareness about such irrational customs. Now, we have decided to stop widowhood rituals and make Keshavapur an ideal village,” said Prolu Rama, Sarpanch.