A few years back, I read a really great book called Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan.  It's a young adult novel about a young girl married at the age of 13 to a young man who dies shortly after their wedding.  It gives you a real painful but truthful view into the traditional treatment of widows in India.  Part of the book takes place in Vrindavan, Inida - a city where widows live off the charity of visitors and Hindu temples there.

I happened to be on CNN.com today and found the article "Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die".  It's eye-opening to be sure.  Makes me happy to be a woman in the US, but angry that some parts of the world haven't caught on yet. 

And for further reading: The UN website regarding women's issues