I finally got a moment on this evening with the funny date (1/2/12) to settle in and watch Water, a beautiful but painful film set in the time of Ghandi (1938) that focuses on widows in India. The story follows an eight-year-old girl Chuyia, who after she is widowed is placed in an ashram. The Canadian-made film created riots in India as men caught wind of the storyline. Though not an attack on Hinduism, it is an honest and eye-opening look at how widows were forced to live in poverty, become prostitutes, and in the case of Chuyia, be expected to spend decades of life in seclusion from the world and never remarry.
I won’t say more about this brave historic exposé but I would encourage you to watch it if you have not. There are some amazing women portrayed in the film. There are some horrible women (as well as men) also in the story. I have also been hunkered down these past few days reading Little Bee, a wild story that twists and turns, again about strong women whose lives are torn apart by males.
I cannot help but think about women in the world who suffer greatly just because they are women. Bhagavati’s plea must be joined by millions of women who wish they had a different destiny. My heart is heavy thinking about some of the women that I met in DRC in particular, like this widow pictured here. I remember her sorrow as she revealed to me that no one talks about widows in her culture.
God willing, life will be gentler for women on this planet some day.
Peace,
Suzanne
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