Carlos comments:
It should be noted too, that while widow-burning has largely stopped in India, the mistreatment of widows has not. Widows are often treated harshly by their deceased husband's family, even today, and they frequently live in poverty. Now, as I understand it, the burning of young brides over dowry issues still goes on, although disguised as "kitchen accidents".
True enough. Apparently, the practice of sending widows -- even young ones -- off to dilapidated, prison-like convents to live out their years in purity, devotion, and misery remains relatively common. There was a relatively wrenching movie in 2005 called Water that tracked the practice, focusing on a prepubescent girl who was betrothed from birth but whose husband died practically before she left diapers. So this child, who never even met her husband-to-be, was shipped off to a holding cell to await her own death, decades into the future. Upsetting stuff. On the bright side, the movie does feature the incomprehensibly beautiful Lisa Ray (and for the ladies, the undeniably dashing John Abraham).
