Hindi

I was only 27 when I lost my husband. We had no children and I had become an ‘unlucky’, ‘helpless’ woman in the eyes of everyone around me. I left my home and my family to prove that I was worth much more. 

I left everything behind in the hope that I would earn a living by doing menial work. It has been thirty years since and I am now the founder and director of the “Ekal Nari Shakti Sangathan”, a collective that fights for the rights of widowed and single women. 

It has been 30 years, but my struggle still continues. I have started this petition so that many more widowed and single women like me in Himachal Pradesh can access government pension schemes and gain economic security. Sign this petition and help us in taking our demands to the government. 

Currently, in Himachal Pradesh, the income limit for women to receive benefits of many government welfare schemes is Rs. 35,000. If women have an annual income that is even a rupee more than 35,000, they are left out of welfare schemes such as pension. My demand from the government thus is that this income limit be increased from 35,000 to 60,000 so that many more women can receive pension security. 

I will be sending this petition to our honourable Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, the Social Justice and Empowerment Department and the Women and Child Department. It is my earnest appeal to all of you, please sign and share my petition, so that when we take this petition to the government, we would have the support of lakhs of people. Given the pandemic and the rising inflation, let this decision be taken at the earliest, so that many more women are able to find happiness. 

I know so many widowed and single women, who have experienced injustices similar to mine. For us, government pension and welfare schemes are the only way to achieve justice. In the last one year, owing to the pandemic, many women lost their husbands, and were abandoned by their families. They haven’t received their pensions yet. I know so many women who have been struggling to get their pensions for the last 5 years. How are they expected to navigate through these difficult times without pension support?

Empowering widowed and single women has been my mission since 1990. In 2008, I led a march demanding justice for widowed and single women, and I was joined by 3500 women. This petition is also a digital march, with the destination being the economic security for lakhs of single and widowed women. I truly hope that you sign this petition and support us in our journey to justice.