Widowhood, gender and disadvantage in India: Current trends and future trajectories

Widowhood presents significant challenges in India. These challenges will intensify in the next two decades. Both the widow and widower populations will increase, with the proportion of widowed women being continuously greater than that of men. We argue that the current disadvantages faced by widows are poised to grow. Evidence from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India Wave 1 (2017–18) highlights the specific nature of these disadvantages: among Indian adults aged 45 and older, a higher percentage of widows than of widowers do not work, lack financial support, suffer from multimorbidity and functional disabilities and rely on family caregiving. We anticipate that, absent social and policy reforms, widows in India will face increased poverty and ill health due to inadequate safety nets, limited caregiving options and insufficient incomes. In addition to robust national and state initiatives, further research is essential to address the challenges we posit will confront the growing population of widows in India.