Living Death in the City of Widows: A Mixed-Methods Study of Social Death, Stigma, and Abandonment Among Older Widows in Vrindavan, India

Vollständiger Abstract

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India has 46.4 million widows, the highest number globally, with thousands migrating to Vrindavan, the “City of Widows,” where they experience systematic social exclusion and marginalization (Loomba Foundation, 2015; Pathak & Tripathi, 2016). This study examines the socio-psychological, cultural, and economic problems faced by widows in Vrindavan through the lens of social death theory (Goffman, 1963; Kastenbaum, 1977). A convergent parallel mixed-methods design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017) employed structured interviews (N = 258) and qualitative case narratives. Participants were selected via stratified random sampling from government-run ashrams (n = 101), NGO-run ashrams (n = 56), and rented accommodations (n = 101). Quantitative data were analyzed using chi-square tests, and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Integration occurred at the interpretation stage using a weaving approach (Fetters et al., 2013). All respondents reported experiencing stigma (100%); 93.8% received no family visitors; 98.8% reported self-reported psychological symptoms; and 71.7% had no pension. Economic independence was significantly associated with spending capacity (χ2 = 126.502, df = 3, p < .001). Education was associated with lower levels of self-reported depressive symptoms (χ2 = 19.019, df = 20, p = .021). Qualitative thematic analysis revealed four key themes: (1) The Family as Site of Danger, (2) Internalized Stigma and Self-Exclusion, (3) Institutional Care and Its Limits, and (4) Resilience amid Social Exclusion. Widows in Vrindavan experience systematic social exclusion before biological death through four mechanisms: ritual degradation, spatial exclusion, affective abandonment, and economic destitution. The study extends social death theory by demonstrating that social erasure is a cumulative process rather than a binary state, and that cultural stigma operates independently of economic status. Policy interventions for pension coverage, mental health support, legal awareness, and dignified care are urgently needed.