Ostracized – The Widows of Vrindavan

"No woman should lose her rights when she loses her husband." - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

In certain parts of India, widows are considered evil and are held responsible for their husband’s death. Without a husband, the women no longer have an identity and are not considered a person but a financial liability for their children who often abuse and abandon their own mothers.

Maree DeFrancesco, a Zurich-based photographer, tried to capture the vulnerability, the courage, and sometimes the desperation of the widows who lost everything but their will to live. In 2016, she traveled to India to collaborate with Maitri, a developmental and humanitarian NGO that offers food and shelter to widows in Uttar Pradesh.

Ostracized - The Widows of Vrindavan shows the women’s struggle to regain dignity and respect in a world that sees them as outcasts.

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