The Twice Cursed

Shattered by their husbands’ suicides and forsaken by their in-laws, Vidarbha’s widows can’t even turn to an uncaring state.

- Kiran Tare

When she tied the knot at the age of 18, Rupali Nagapure had no regrets about settling down so early in life. Her husband Sandeep was a farmer, who grew soyabean and tur (pigeon pea) on the two acres of farmland he owned at Dongargaon in Maharashtra’s Akola district. They had their own house, and after the birth of their son, Shivam, five years ago, Rupali and Sandeep thought they had everything they could ever want. They were not rich, but they led a comfortable life. Events took a bleak turn four years ago. First, a weak monsoon destroyed their crop. Sandeep took a loan of Rs 35,000 to get through the year. The next year’s monsoon was no better, leading to another crop failure. Frustrated—and now in debt—Sandeep decided to end his life. Rupali was distraught, but took solace in the fact that she still had the farm. However, worse was to come. Her in-laws told her that they wanted her out of the house, saying they were unwilling to carry her “burden”, she says, her eyes filling with tears. “They wanted Shivam, not me. They said they would raise him, look after him. But how will I live without him?”

A shattered Rupali returned to her mother’s house in Rustamabad, some 60 km from her in-laws’ place. She now works as a farm labourer, earning Rs 100 a day to support Shivam. She is one of about 1,200 women who are the ultimate victims of ‘farmer suicide’. Women in Rupali’s position find themselves swiftly abandoned by relatives after their husbands’ deaths. And while political parties are quick to extend sympathy when a suicide of this kind makes the news, no one seems interested in the fate of the widows.