Sati: When Widows Chose Death Over Widowhood (Or Were They Forced?)

For centuries across India, Hindu widows would throw themselves onto their dead husband's funeral pyres and burn to death - a practice called sati (or suttee). Some climbed willingly onto the flames, drugged with opium or convinced they'd achieve spiritual glory and reunite with their husbands in the afterlife. Others were tied down, held by family members with bamboo poles, or pushed back into the fire when they tried to escape the unbearable pain. British observers reported women screaming as they burned, crowds cheering, and families celebrating the "virtuous" widow's death while she writhed in agony.

The practice was rooted in complex religious, social, and economic factors. Some Hindu texts praised sati as the ultimate act of wifely devotion - a  ...