Widow

:Alternate uses: see widow (typesetting). For the British TV drama see Widows.

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A widow is a woman whose spouse has died. A man whose spouse has died is a widower. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or viduity.

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Widowhood has been an important social issue, particularly in the past. In families in which the husband was the sole provider, widowhood could plunge the family into poverty, and many charities had as a goal the aid of widows and orphans. This was aggravated by women's longer life spans, and that men generally married women younger than themselves.

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However, in some patriarchal societies, widows were among the most independent women. Widows sometimes carried on their husbands' businesses and were consequently accorded certain rights, such as the right to enter guilds.

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There were implications for sexual freedom as well; although some wills contained dum casta provisions (requiring widows to remain unmarried in order to receive inheritance), in societies preventing divorce, widowhood permitted women to remarry and have a greater range of sexual experiences. The Wife of Bath in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales refers to having been widowed five times, permitting her greater sexual experience.

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In some other cultures, widows are treated differently. For instance, in India there is often an elaborate ceremony during the funeral of a widows' husband, including smashing the bangles, removing the bhindi as well as any colorful attire and making the woman wear white clothes. Earlier it was compulsory to wear all whites after the husband was dead, however in modern day culture this has gradually given way to regular colors.

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Widow (typesetting): In typesetting, a widow appears if the first line of a paragraph is appearing at the bottom of a page with the remainder appearing on the following page. If a word or the last line of a paragraph appears at the top of a page, with the rest of the paragraph appearing on the preceding page, it is ref...

Poverty: Poverty is the state of being without the necessities of daily living, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. For some, poverty is a subjective and comparative term; for others, it is moral and evaluative; and for others, scientifically estab...

Charities: REDIRECT Charitable organization...

Widow related Images and Photos (experimental)

Merry Widow, The (DVD)	White Widow	Merry Widow	Black Widow
Black Widow #6 Cover: Black Widow	Merry Widow 1925	Merry Widow 1952	Black Widow Classic - Marvel
The Widow's Walk 1887	The Merry Widow	An Afghan Widow	Black Widow: Deadly Origins #1 Cover: Black Widow Bucky and Wolverine