water

i know some of you make fun of my film taste (ie: Isaac Kim), but for those who can appreciate it- my favorite film i've watched this year is water.  i rented this video from blockbuster last month.  water is about widows forced into poverty and their response in different ages as they adapt to their outcast identities.  the hindu custom requires a widow to marry their husband's brother, throw themselves on their dead husband's funeral pyre, or lead a life of self denial.  one of the characters is a 8 yr old widow, Chuyia, who doesn't understand her separation from her family, who doesn't realize the impact of her 50 yr husband's death and has to join ashram in the holy city of Varanasi.  all the widows are expected to shave their heads and live in self denial at the ashram.  they have no possessions and beg for money at the temples.   the images of poverty and prejudice in this film is very thought provoking.  i googled this information online right after watching the video.  i had found frustrating that though laws have passed to protect the widows, no one enforces these laws. 

furthermore, while i was out to dinner with friends last night.  one traveler of india told me that during her last visit she heard numerous stories about husbands burning their wives repeatedly on purpose.  talk about domestic violence!  supposedly men are taking advantage of the bridal dowry by destroying their wives to remarry and increase their monetary gains.  hence, the wives either die or are left as abandoned widows that no one cares about.  the travelers came back frustrated that social, economic and cultural justice seemed so distant in india.