Self-immolation of a Widow: India's Best Kept Secret About Women

Self-immolation is an old practice which was evident from history and mythology of India. It is a very cruel practice and it almost died in recent times. It is commonly known as Sati in India. It got this name after the goddess Sati who immolated herself after her father humiliated her husband. From then on the practice of immolating is being referred popularly as Sati in India. By taking strict actions and by imposing laws against it, the government succeeded in eradicating it almost completely.

Many mythological stories referred to Sati as a holy practice. The famous Indian epic Mahabharatha says that Madri, one of the two wives of king Panduraja immolated herself after getting convinced that she is responsible for her husband's death, though indirectly. Such references were made in many mythological epics but none was said as brutal or unethical. But times are changing and people started developing and started thinking.

It was a common practice in earlier days and the wife should die along with her husband in those days. However young the wife is, she was forced to die. In some cases it was practiced willingly, in other cases it is more of a forced act. In older days, child marriages were very common and the little girls were married to men of older ages. By the time the girls got maturity, some of the used to die. The girls were forced to sacrifice themselves for spiritual attainment. Many girls died without seeing enough of the world.

This was earlier practiced as a ritual and later as a practice and finally as an act. It has prehistoric roots and many similar rituals were practiced in other cultures. The best example for this is the case of the ship burial of the Rus', where a female slave was burned along with her master. Though the practice was not restricted to widows and anyone could perform it showing their loyalty to the deceased at the funeral, it was widely accepted as a ritual practiced by a widow.

There are many reasons for this changed perception towards Sati. In olden days, the women are considered unworthy of living if there is no husband and the women were destined to look after their husbands. Widows were considered unholy and the sight of them and their touch were considered unhallowed. They were not given regular food and were not allowed to lead ordinary life. This initiated the practice of Sati and the widows started sacrificing themselves and were burned along with the deceased.

The act was always considered voluntary, though many involuntary cases were recorded. In some communities it was said as the marriage between the widow and her deceased husband. To show this, the widow used to get dressed in marriage robes, rather than mourning clothes. In many cases the women were forced to die and were tied to the funeral pyre with ropes and were forced to death.

Since the female education was not encouraged in those days, the women didn't have anything to do except looking after their husbands and their families. Thus if the widow doesn't have a child, she is said to be unworthy of living. It was accepted as a law for some time. But slowly female education started seeing light and women started protesting against Sati, though there were some women who accepted it as their way of reaching their husbands.

Many social activists protested against it and succeeded in eradicating it completely. Since the women are having minimum education and knowledge, they know that the death of the husband is not the end of their life. Added to this, widow remarriages are also being encouraged. These things give a woman a reason to live even after the death of her husband.