Traditionally in Hindu culture, widows are expected to renounce earthly pleasures. For the first time in decades, hundreds of widows participated in a Hindu festival in a northern town where many women become reclusive after the death of their husbands. Their participation in this Hindu festival is seen as an important symbol of resisting centuries of oppression of widows.
Hindu Widows End Oppressive Practices
5
A boy covered in colored powder poses with a group of widows during a Holi celebration, March 24, 2013.
6
Widows raise their hands as they throw flowers into the air during a Holi celebration, March 24, 2013.