A Rakshabandhan of lifetime sisterhood

Single women in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra tie a rakhi to each other to mark Rakshabandhan, leaving a strong message of sisterhood and friendship

When a woman in rural Maharashtra loses her husband, either due to death or separation, she becomes lonely in more ways than one — she is ostracised by society and not allowed to take part in festivities or social gatherings. In Marathwada region in particular, women cannot even tie a rakhi on their brother’s wrist as their ‘single’ status is considered inauspicious.

To end this cycle of social stigma, women of the Committee of Resource Organisation (CORO) India’s Ekal Mahila Sangathan (Single Women’s Organisation), an NGO that works for the upliftment and rights of marginalised women in Maharashtra, have started celebrating Rakshabandhan with single women living in the four districts of Osmanabad, Beed, Nanded and Latur. The four-day programme was from August 30 till September 3.

It has been 12 years since Rukmini Ramesh Nagapure from Beed tied a rakhi to her brothers; they had cut ties after her husband passed away. “In Marathwada, a brother will not have a rakhi tied by a sister who is either a widow or separated from her husband. They fear they might face early death if they do so. Single women are considered bad luck,” shares Rukmini who strongly feels that women are emotionally manipulated at different stages of their lives. “If my brothers were emotionally connected with me, they would have cared for me when I really needed them. They only contacted me when they needed money,” she adds.

A widow in Nanded was surprised when her brother visited her on Rakshabandhan last year only to trick her emotionally to get her signature on the property documents. “The naive woman was waiting for him to visit her this year too but he never turned up. This is quite common. We need to be more practical,” adds Rukmini.

So far, women from 150 villages in the four districts have tied a rakhi to each other. From each village, there are 25 women who are celebrating Rakshabandhan with us,” says the Marathwada coordinator of Single Women Organisation, Mahananda Chavan.

“When brothers do not keep in touch or check on their sisters the entire year, then why tie the rakhi to them?, asks Mahananda and adds, “Rakshabandhan literally means the bond of protection and care.”

Seeing women tie the rakhi to each other, men in the village comment that the organisation is trying new ways to provoke women who are supposed to be indoors doing domestic chores and raising children. Older men argue that if women start tying rakhi to each other, then who will tie rakhi to men? “We asked them whether they have ever stood up for the rights and welfare of at least the women in their homes? None of them responded to us,” says Mahananda.