Widows, third gender also participate in ‘Shidoor Khela’

An exceptional ‘Shidoor Khela’ (vermilion game) was held in Siliguri where several widows and people belonging to the third gender participated.

The event was held at Winners Club in Siliguri, in association with Unique Foundation team of Siliguri. The programme was aimed at providing a social message that widows and people belonging to the third gender have equal rights to participate in festivals.

This programme brought smiles on their faces. Widows and trans women thanked the organisers for organising such a programme

for them.

“I never thought I would get such an opportunity. My Husband died 13 years ago. Since, then, I couldn’t attend this ritual. I thank the organisers for giving me such an opportunity,” said Kaveri Sarkar, a window who participated in the event.

Guddi, a woman who belongs to the third gender said: “We got joy from a monotonous life. People feel too shy to even talk to us. But here, other women performed Shidoor khela with us, which makes us happy.”

On the occasion of Vijaya Dashami of Durga Puja, women performed Shidoor khela. But, widows cannot participate in the festival due to social barriers. Meanwhile, people do not give equal importance to third-gender people; therefore, they also cannot participate in the festival like others.

This social organisation took the initiative to give them equal opportunity. The Shidoor Khela was organised on Tuesday. Along with widows and trans women, other women performed Shidoor Khela there.

“These women are still neglected due to social barriers. They also have the right to enjoy festivals. Therefore, we have organised such a programme. We received a great response from people. This is the fourth year of the programme. We will organise such a programme in future,” said Sakti Paul, founder of the organisation.

A total of 25 widows and trans women took part in the event.