The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has directed all gram panchayats in Maharashtra to pass resolutions scrapping widowhood rituals to mark the birth centenary of social reformer Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj.
The order issued by the State Rural Development Department cited the example of Herwad village in Kolhapur that passed a resolution, along with Mangaon village in the district, banning age-old, regressive rituals that ostracise widows on May 1 to mark Maharashtra Day.
The government’s circular said such practices violate human rights and hurt the dignity of women. The need of the hour is to eradicate such customs, it added.
“The Herwad gram panchayat in Kolhapur banned rituals of widowhood by passing a resolution in that regard… now other gram panchayats need to be encouraged to do so. Old, ill practices should not have any place in a science-oriented era,” Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif said in a statement.
Last week, Nationalist Congress Party MP from Baramati Supriya Sule had invited the villagers of Herwad and felicitated them.
Mr. Mushrif, who hails from Kolhapur district, had earlier said that the Maharashtra government would take steps to make the resolution a part of the State’s directives. Women and Child Welfare Minister Yashomati Thakur had also announced that it would be a part of the State’s policy for women.
