For centuries, Hindus in Nepal required a widow to surrender to burning on their husband's funeral pyre. Now illegal and rare, social remnants of the practice persist. By the time the funeral fire is extinguished, the woman as wife no longer exists. Her separation from family and society, along with rites that change her social status, begin. Often, she is stripped of jewelry and other outward accoutrements of married life. Her red clothing--a symbol of life, vibrancy, and passion--is taken. Expected to mourn for the rest of her life, her behavior is carefully monitored.
Nepal is one of the few places worldwide where a male's life expectancy is greater than a female's. In a country where nearly half of the 25 million residents are unemployed and 42 percent live in poverty, widowhood is especially fraught with economic and social difficulties. No longer able to produce paternal line descendants and with no spouses to protect them, widows are particularly vulnerable to entitlement intrusions on their land, living space, business involvements, food portions, or personal property. Some face gossip and slander. Others are expected to live in seclusion.
The author traveled to urban Nepal to interview widows of various ages, castes, religions, and circumstances, and the compelling stories of Sodha, Anju, and others vividly portray their plight. Applying kinship modeling and practice theory to an examination of widow rituals, residence choices, and religion, Galvin analyzes--with some surprising results--how widows are rejected, choices they have available, and their survival strategies. Contrary to traditional assumptions, not just sons but daughters, too, are important to widowed mothers in ways previously unexplored. Her study also demonstrates that a shift from extended to nuclear residences is occurring, with profound impacts for widows. Forbidden Red is a noteworthy complement to the few contemporary studies of South Asian widowhood.
