Maharashtra Women's Commission Chief Welcomes Proposal To Refer To Widows As...

Even as the opposition parties in Maharashtra have objected to the state government's proposal to use "Ganga Bhagirathi" word to refer to widows in a bid to offer them respect, the chief of the state women's commission has welcomed the move, saying it would help empower women.

Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW), Rupali Chakankar, thanked state Women and Child Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha for the proposal.

Ms Chakankar's statement comes even as her Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) colleague and MP Supriya Sule criticised the government's move and asked the minister to withdraw the proposal.

Lodha, in a letter written on Wednesday to his department's principal secretary, has proposed the use of the word "Ganga Bhagirathi" to refer to widows in a bid to offer them respect. 

The proposal, however, drew flak from the Congress and the NCP, following which the minister issued a video statement, in which he said the move was only under consideration and no action has been taken in this direction.

Taking to Twitter, MSCW chairperson Ms Chakankar said, 'I thank Women and Child Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha for this move. The decision taken by progressive Maharashtra will help in empowering women." 

She said the state women's commission had asked the government to find a respectable word to refer to women after the death of their husbands.

"The word 'widow' is disrespectful to women. The commission had recommended to the government to use the word "Purnangi" to refer to widows. The government considered the recommendation sensitively and took a positive decision, for which I congratulate the minister," she said in a series of tweets.

Earlier, the Congress slammed Ms Lodha and sought his apology, while several social activists said the need of the hour was to undertake measures for equal rights and social safety for women rather than such "superficial and unwarranted decisions".

Slamming the idea, the Maharashtra Congress had said it revealed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s "Manuvadi" thought process and was the party's attempt to demean widows.

State Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said minister Lodha was a "kalank" (blot) on progressive Maharashtra and must apologise to women.

Terming the decision as painful, NCP's Supriya Sule said it must be scrapped immediately.

"Meritorious women like Rajmata Jijabai, Ahilyabai Holkar, Savitribai Phule contributed a lot to the society. While deciding on such a sensitive issue, the government should have consulted NGOs, individuals and organisations working for welfare of widows," she said.

Pramod Zinjade, who is spearheading a campaign aimed at ending the customs related to widows, condemned the government's move.

"Calling a widow 'Ganga Bhagirathi' is a regressive step. Instead these women should be referred to as 'Shrimati'," he said.

In his letter to the department principal secretary, minister Lodha had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the concept of referring to persons with disabilities as "divyang", which resulted in such people gaining respect in the society.

"The society's outlook towards 'divyang' people has drastically changed," the BJP leader noted.

"Prepare a detailed proposal for a discussion on the use of the word 'Ganga Bhagirathi' for widows on similar lines," Mr Lodha said in the letter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)