A city full of widows
“Millions of widows in our world face persistent abuse, discrimination, disinheritance and destitution,”- Ban Ki-Moon, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
For years, thousands of widows have been making their way to Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, India. Cast out by their families, or simply alone in the world, some travel hundreds of miles to get there, and nobody quite knows why. There are as many as 10,000 of them in this place alone and more in the surrounding countryside.
Considered inauspicious, many soon find they have lost their income and are ostracised in their home villages. Some are sent away by their husbands' families who want to prevent them inheriting money or property.
Nobody can quite explain why this particular town attracts widows from all aroundIndia - particularly, it seems, from Bengal.
I met, interviewed, and photographed widows living in a care home in Vrindavan. This portrait series is about such “unwanted” mothers who try and seek solace in pursuit of divine love.