This ideological influence, however, may be less crucial than the simple fact that widows are often seen as an economic burden. The research project has found that there is already a substantial scope for improving the living conditions of widows. For instance, in most states of India, pension schemes of some kind do exist on paper, but they have a negligible coverage and impact. However, the government is unlikely to give adequate priority to the social protection of widows in rural India in the absence of public pressure. Much could be done without delay to bring about a more ambitious, efficient, and equitable implementation of these pension schemes.
Similar observations apply with reference to land rights.
Helping widows to assert and defend their basic property rights is another field where much could be achieved through public activism within the existing legal and policy framework, without waiting for the initiative and good will of the state. Several non-government organizations have helped in the current research and have agreed to undertake and document alternative measures in support of widows, including negotiating government pensions for eligible widows, securing property rights for widows, supporting the employment and incomes of widows, and promoting the social reintegration of widows in their communities. Marty Chen Dr Marty Chen is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Institute for International Development. No 40 of the Development Economics Research Programme, published in 1992 by the London School of Economics.