A new life for Indian widows

Some 40 million of the world's widows live in India. Surrounded by indifference and contempt, they have to beg in the streets to survive. After the death of her husband, a woman is worth hardly anything. Social reformer Dr. Pathak launched the fight for widows in 2012. He organized a series of welfare measures, but first of all he listened to them with love and care, respect and dignity. They were excluded from religious ceremonies. To counteract ingrained traditional ideas, he decided to set spectacular examples. Hundreds of widows celebrated festivals of colours forbidden to them. Doing something so different in traditional India started a shockwave. India is experiencing a peaceful revolution that will be nonetheless profound and irreversible.

Photos by Xavier Zimbardo