Over 1 lakh widows in many districts; No funds or schemes to empower them

Kozhikode: There are more than one lakh widows each in the various districts of the state. This was revealed in the survey conducted with the aim of socio-economic empowerment in the state. Elsewhere, the average is at least 30,000-40,000. Districts do not have accurate data regarding this. Even though there are so many widows, no special funds have been instituted for them and the project envisioned has not been implemented properly.

The project is under the department of women and child welfare and women protection officers are in-charge. The aim of the project was to ensure safety through opportunities such as further education and employment. Remarriage is also a goal. 

Kozhikode alone registered 1,07,017 widows. There are more than one lakh widows in Malappuram as well. There are 26,859 widows in Pathanamthitta, 42,500 in Ernakulam, 26,000 in Thrissur. Primary data of 1050 people were collected in Kannur. Data collection is complete in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram districts. However, no age-wise list of beneficiaries is prepared anywhere.

In many districts, data collection was done through ICDS in 2022-23. But the data was not codified, officials say.

Kozhikode has widows as young as 22 years of age. The idea was to tailor the scheme based on age, education and existing circumstances. It was planned to provide further education for widows who couldn’t complete their education when married. Widows between the age group of 18-40 are in need of employment. Some require geriartic or palliative care.

A scheme for self-employment, training and skill development was devised by the district administration for widows. The feasibility of the project was examined in collaboration with the panchayats. There also exist collaborations with NGOs and private institutions to offer means of employment to the women.