Widow Marriage - Revealing Facts

In ancient Indian literature, one can find several references of  Widow Marriage. During the Vedic age, widow marriages were allowed among all the castes. The position of women in modern India has changed considerably. Her position in modern Indian society is equal to that of men, socially, economically, educationally, politically & legally. Her sufferings from Sati, Child marriage, Institution of Temple prostitution do no longer exist. Now, she has the right to receive education, inherit & own property, participate in public life & political life of the nation. She has become economically independent. She can seek employment anywhere and remains not a domestic slave. So, she is certainly enjoying the equal status with man in all respect.

For this change in the status of women several factors like women's education, reform movements by many social reformers, women participation in politics and many social legislation are held responsible. Today Indian womanhood is marching towards liberty and equality. For this march towards liberty and equality, various social legislation passed from time to time are mainly responsible. This legislation aimed at eradication of social evils. In the traditions Hindu society there was a ban on widow remarriage. Ban on widow remarriage was one of the most important evils from which women in the traditional Hindu society suffered a lot. 

This Act allowed  Widow  to remarry and section 5 of this Act ensured her to enjoy all the rights which a married woman did. The practice of child marriage was another social evil from which woman in traditional Hindu society suffered a lot. Age at marriage for girls was 9 or 10 and after passing this Act the minimum marriageable age of women was fixed to 15 years. Later it was increased to 18 years. Rules for the remarriage of widows differ from one group to another. Generally, lower-ranking groups allow widow remarriage, particularly if the woman is relatively young, but the highest-ranking castes discourage or forbid such remarriage. The strictest adherents to the non-remarriage of widows are Brahmans. 

Almost all groups allow widowers to remarry. Many groups encourage a widower to marry his deceased wife's younger sister (but never her older sister). Finding the perfect partner for a widow can be a difficult task. People use their social networks to locate potential brides and grooms of appropriate social and economic status. Increasingly, urban dwellers use classified matrimonial advertisements in newspapers & searching online matrimonial sites. The advertisements usually announce religion, caste, and educational qualifications, stress female beauty and male (and in the contemporary era, sometimes female) earning capacity, and may hint at dowry size.