Widow + Mosque Courtyard, Delhi, India

Like many widows, she has been left to defend for herself and for her children. Instead of being looked after by her community, she belongs to the majority receiving nothing from the State and lacking a pension.

In many instances, life after the death of the husband is a life waiting for death itself. So many women are married when quite young to men much older than them. As a result, the death of their husbands leaves them as young women with children and without a security net. The stories are endless, the humiliation eternal.

Depending on position and caste, some of these women are forced to shave their heads, others refrain from wearing jewelry or from presenting their beauty to the world. They are to remain invisible for the rest of their lives, almost as a means to relieve Society from its conscience. With over 40,000,000 widows in existence, this leaves a void difficult to ignore.

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Widow in Mosque Courtyard, Delhi, India, 2007

Like many widows, she has been left to defend for herself and for her children. Instead of being looked after by her community, she belongs to the majority receiving nothing from the State and lacking a pension. 

In many instances, life after the death of the husband is a life waiting for death itself. So many women are married when quite young to men much older than them. As a result, the death of their husbands leaves them as young women with children and without a security net. The stories are endless, the humiliation eternal.

Depending on position and caste, some of these women are forced to shave their heads, others refrain from wearing jewelry or from presenting their beauty to the world. They are to remain invisible for the rest of their lives, almost as a means to relieve Society from its conscience. With over 40,000,000 widows in existence, this leaves a void difficult to ignore. 

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Widow + Mosque, Old Delhi, India, 2006

Like many women in her widowed situation, she has been left to defend for herself and for her children. Instead of being looked after by her community, she belongs to the majority receiving nothing from the State and lacking a pension. 

In many instances, life after the death of the husband is a life waiting for death itself. So many women are married when quite young to men much older than them. As a result, the death of their husbands leaves them as young women with children and without a security net. The stories are endless, the humiliation eternal.

Depending on position and caste, some of these women are forced to shave their heads, others refrain from wearing jewelry or from presenting their beauty to the world. They are to remain invisible for the rest of their lives, almost as a means to relieve Society from its conscience. With over 40,000,000 widows in existence, this leaves a void difficult to ignore.

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Widow, Mosque, Zakat Foundation of India, New Delhi, India, November 26, 2008

In the courtyard of a small mosque in Old Delhi this work was accomplished. The women and a few men, all widows, gathered to receive a bundle of dry goods to help sustain them for the next month. This work was made possible through the generosity of good people and the organization power of the Zakat Foundation of India.

The foundation arranged the day to coincide with my visit, and during the distribution of dry goods. As in the previous year we asked permission to use the local mosque's courtyard since the outside scene was beyond chaotic. To set up a tripod and make a photograph outside would be the equivalent of doing the same during the 'Running of the Bulls,' with only the slightest of exaggeration.

Thirty or so women and a few men gathered for their portrait. We used a light wall against which the women would stand, and set up the tripod perhaps three meters away. To my right was the basin in which the men would wash their feet and hands, and to my left was the entrance to the mosque. Behind the women and to her right was the entrance/exit to the courtyard.

We tried to pick the least cumbersome spot, but would inadvertently get in the way soon enough. About halfway through the session an older man walked over and told us that we needed to stop, that prayers were about to begin. He seemed to be the only one with the request, as I scanned the courtyard and received nothing but kind, generous faces in response.

He however kept at it, and what made it worse was that I had photographed him the year before and had his portrait in my bag, in a protective sleeve. He continued and continued until I finally had to break away from the work, go to my bag and pull out his portrait. I handed it to him with a sense of agitation and with a face that basically spoke of my disappointment. Here he was getting in the way of the women's portraits when he himself sat for his one year earlier.

A few of the men kneeling down saw this and made my day when they smiled with approval.

We then went forward with our work and finished photographing the rest of the women. What impressed me most was that none of the women walked away from the scene. They stood by me and the good people of the foundation, and demanded with their presence to continue with the work.

Such is the woman above, and for this detail alone she has my deepest respect.

A link to the foundation and to more work from this collaboration can be found through my website below.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Widow, Glasses, Mosque Courtyard, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, 2008

Like many women in her widowed situation, she has been left to defend for herself and for her children. Instead of being looked after by her community, she belongs to the majority receiving nothing from the State and lacking a pension.

In many instances, life after the death of the husband is a life waiting for death itself. So many women are married when quite young to men much older than them. As a result, the death of their husbands leaves them as young women with children and without a security net. The stories are endless, the humiliation eternal.

Depending on position and caste, some of these women are forced to shave their heads, others refrain from wearing jewelry or from presenting their beauty to the world. They are to remain invisible for the rest of their lives, almost as a means to relieve Society from its conscience. With over 40,000,000 widows in existence, this leaves a void difficult to ignore.

One can see them on the streets, going about their day trying to form a life for themselves and their children. While the news portrays advances in their State's well-being, they tend to the homes of others for just enough to eat and little else. This is a most difficult existence and one made even more extreme by the social norms of the day.

Some will say that India has changed, that such practices have disappeared. It is my place only to describe the images created by me, the lives of the people represented within. For them, little has improved in their lives. The humiliation of presenting themselves in front of complete strangers for a sack full of rice is glaringly apparent. While making their portraits serves to support the foundation helping them, the difficulty in the portraiture could never be avoided.

Here are women that are in this position, standing in front of a stranger to have their picture made. I am a witness to their humiliation and yet another source of humiliation. It is the rape victim being forced to make pictures of her bruises, both external and internal.

The photograph in the end will hopefully tell her story without taking anything away from her.

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Widow, Glasses, Mosque Courtyard, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, 2008

What has she done other than lose her husband?

She wakes up one day without a spouse and finds herself without the support of the rest of her family. Her family has thrown her out, views her as a burden and at times a bad fortune. She wanders the streets asking perfect strangers for help when her own family is unwilling to offer the same.

One foundation is doing more for her than her own family. She receives a month's supply of goods from Zakat Foundation of India, due to the generosity of individuals according to their Muslim faith. The foundation helps the donors estimate their giving, enabling them to both adhere to their beliefs and to help someone else in need.

The effect of their giving is immediately felt on the other side of town, where a group of women are gathered today near the local mosque, next door to a medical clinic also run by the foundation that provides medical care to the indigent, to the homeless and to those without a single thread of support from Society.

On the street level, good work is being done daily by good people and out of the spotlight. The doctor of the clinic is barely noticed as nurses go about their routine, as patients walk in and out of the pharmacy. Here babies are delivered with care and love, and pride exists on the faces of the parents like under any other healthy environment.

Making portraits under these circumstances brings limitless value to my work, to my life.

You may learn more about this wonderful foundation by clicking below.

Zakat Foundation of India

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Widow, Courtyard of Mosque, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, November, 2008

Like the previous images of widows in my blog, the courtyard of a mosque is the scene for this portrait. The courtyard is open to the sky and for an hour or so allows direct light at a low angle against a white wall.

The wall is next to an area of washing hands and feet, where men gather to do so before prayers. So men are doing such constantly while we are making portraits. This is incredible due to the fact that we are photographing covered women in a mosque, with their acceptance and permission.

Over 40,000,000 women in India are widows, countless of them experience hardships like the woman above. For many, the remaining years are lived in anticipation of death to free them from this life of isolation. On becoming a widow, many women are viewed as burdens on the remaining family. While a tradition of burning widows has been outlawed, their remaining life is referred to as a living version of such.

Upon the death of a partner, women are traditionally forbidden to remarry while men are free to do so. In light of the reality that many women marry when young, this means that many will be handed a life of destitute loneliness for a long portion of their remaining life.

The woman above receives support from Zakat Foundation of India, and the good people that give of their earnings in accordance to their Muslim beliefs.

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Widow, Courtyard of Mosque, Zakat Foundation of India, Old Delhi, India, November, 2008

Like many in her situation, this widow feels neglected by her Society and her family as well.

With the help of Zakat Foundation of India, she receives a supply of goods on a monthly basis. The widows gather on a busy street next to a mosque, provide the foundation with their identification and wait in line for their turn.

The scene is calm, with women standing and sitting in groups sharing stories. The difficulty in their lives is unimaginable, and they present themselves with dignity and humility. The goods are made possible by donations from devout Muslims as part of their faith. It has been my experience to witness people walking in from the street, calculating their donation according to their financial standing and then making that donation on the spot.

On this day, her portrait is made in the courtyard of the mosque, the only calm place available for us in the area. Outside the streets are incredibly busy and filled with activity. In the mosque all is calm and quiet. The women arrange themselves on the floor and wait for their time. We find a white wall to act as our background and one by one they stand for their portrait. Some faces are covered, others are bare. Nonetheless they express a tiny but considerable part of their struggle through the lens, for us to experience.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography