Miscellaneous
Red colour movement: Breaking taboos surrounding widowhood
Widowhood in Nepal, particularly for those women who belong to Hindu faith, is to mourn her dead partner for ever.Widowhood in Nepal, particularly for those women who belong to Hindu faith, is to mourn her dead partner for ever. Our society by and large expects a widow to maintain a sombre demeanour and live somewhat like an outcast for the rest of her life after her husband’s passing. She is not allowed to wear any make-ups or jewellery, and, in some tradition, she must always wear white clothes.
This tradition of segregating widows from married women makes widowhood nothing short of living under a totalitarian regime. And this is especially true for young widows in the country.
With the aim of breaking this tradition and the taboos surrounding it, the Women for Human Rights, Single Women Group (WHR-SWG) has launched Red Colour Movement, where widows are encouraged to wear make-ups and embrace colours, so that there is no telling apart between them and any other women in the society.
After the movement’s success in Lalitpur, the WHR-SWG organised a function in Bhaktapur on Sunday where it gifted make-up items like red stick-on tikas, beads and bangles to the women who had lost their husbands in the 2015 earthquake.
“The Red Colour Movement has offered me the courage to restart my life,” said 40-year-old Radha Humagain. After losing her husband in the earthquake, Radha had stopped wearing red, a colour traditionally associated with brides and marriage.
Although the Red Colour Movement was targeted for the earthquake widows, several women who had lost their partners before the earthquake also showed active participation.
Uma Thapa, communication officer of the WHR-SWG, said more than 100 women from places like Thimi, Suryabinayak and Nagarkot participated in the programme.
“We want to provide these women the support to restart their life with dignity as well as break the social and traditional taboos,” said Thapa. “A widow’s life is equally important and, given the opportunity, she too can contribute a lot to our society.”