A STUDY OF SINGLE MOTHERS IN
FOUR METRO CITIES OF INDIA
An Initiative by Ministry of Women and Child Development
Conducted by Partners in Development Initiatives
Year: 2011
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl. No.
Topic
Page No.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4-8
1
INTRODUCTION
9-11
2
METHODOLOGY
12-14
3
Socio-Economic background of Sample Single Mothers
15-27
4
Household Income, Savings and Borrowings of Single 28-36
Mothers
5
Challenges and Difficulties Faced by Single Mothers
37-45
6
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
46-47
7
RECOMMENDATION
48-48
8
REFERENCES
49-49
10
APPENDIXES
51-81
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LIST OF TABLES
Title
Table: 2.2 City Wise Type of Number of Single Mothers Covered by the
Survey
Table: 3.1 Background Characteristics-City Wise (Percentages)
Table: 3.2 Age, Education and Occupation of Sample single Mothers -City
Wise (Percentages)
Table:3.2(a) Age, Education and Occupation of Sample single Mothers –By
Type of Single Mother (Percentages)
Table:3.3 Percentage distribution of Widows, by Cause of Death of Husband City Wise
Table: 3.4Percentage Distribution of Divorced /Separated/abandoned
Women by Reason and who took the decision -City Wise
Table 3.5. Details about Number of Years Single and Living Arrangement –By
Type of Single Mother (Percentages
Table 3.6. Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Number of Children and
their Education–By Type of Single Mother
Table 3.7Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Amenities they have in the
House -City Wise
Table 3.7a Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Amenities they have in the
House–By Type of Single Mother
Table 3.8 Percentage of Single Mothers having Consumer Durables in the
House–city wise(Percentages)
Table 3.8a Percentage of Single Mothers having Consumer Durables in the
House of Single Mother
Table 4.1 Percentage Distribution of Households by Number of Earning
Members and Annual Household Income of Single Mothers -City wise
Table 4.1a Number of Earning Members and Household Income of Single
Mothers–By Type of Single Mother
Table 4.2 Percentage of Single Mothers Having Different Sources of Income–
By Type of Single Mother
Table 4.3 Details about Savings of Single Mothers –By Type of Single Mother(Percentage)
Table 4.4 Details about Borrowings and Loans of Single Mothers –By Type of
Single Mother
Table 5.1 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by their
Reaction/feelings on becoming Single
Table 5.2 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by Difficulties Faced by
them and the Availability of Support
Table 5.3 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by Attitude of Society
towards Them
Table 5.4 Problems Faced by Single Mothers Regarding Their Children and
their Expectation for their Children’s Future
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Executive Summary
Traditionally death of a spouse was the commonest cause of single parent family but now
more and more single parent families are coming up as a result of divorce or separation of
couples with children. There has been a world- wide increase in single parenting and a
general increase in children living in single parent homes. The increase in single-parent
families over the past few decades, has led to a serious debate on the impact it would have on
the society and how it would affect the children. A single mother is a woman who is taking
care of her children, but does not have the support of her husband in raising the children. In
India, with the gradual break-up of joint family system and with increasing rate of divorce,
the single mothers are left alone to fend for themselves. The plight of single mothers has
been a subject for research in the recent years. With the support from the Ministry of
Women and Child Development, Partners in Development Initiatives undertook this study to
understand the plight of single mothers in the country. The objectives of the present study
are to map the socio- economic profile of single mothers and understand the challenges and
difficulties faced by them.
The study was conducted in the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Kolkata during the period December 2011 to March 2012. The study adopted both
quantitative and qualitative research methodologies-conducting a quantitative survey of
single mothers and in-depth interviews (case studies) of single mothers living in the four
cities. A survey of one thousand single mothers i.e. 250 single mothers from each of the four
cities was conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition 20 case
studies, 5 from each of the cities (based on in-depth interviews) were conducted not only to
supplement the findings of the quantitative survey but also to understand the circumstances
under which they became single and the way they are coping with the situation.
Since the objective of the present study is to focus on the single mothers belonging to low
economic strata of society; in each city such localities where low income households reside
were identified. In each city one female team leader and four to five female field investigators
were appointed for conducting the field work. Of the 1000 single mothers who were
interviewed, around 54% of the sample mothers were widows, one fourth were separated
women, 15% were deserted or abandoned by their husbands and only 6% were legally
divorced. The study provides information on the circumstances under which they became
single, cause of death of husband in case of widows, reason for separation/divorce in case of
divorced/separated women, their present living arrangement, their present living conditions
etc.
The average age of the sample single mothers works out to be 33 years and there is not much
city wise variation in their ages except that women from Kolkata are slightly younger;
average age of mothers from Kolkata works out to be 30 years. Since the study is including
mothers belonging to lower strata of society, it is not surprising to know that the level of
education of these women is fairly low. However considering that they belong to a fairly
younger age group and living in a metro city, it is rather shocking to know that as high as 35
percent of them are illiterate. Compared to other cities, women from Kolkata seem much less
educated as nearly half of them are illiterate. In the other three cities nearly 28% of the
mothers have completed schooling and in Chennai and Delhi another 8% have studied
beyond schooling. The employment pattern of the sample single mothers shows that around
15% of them are unemployed. The job of a domestic servant/cook/ayah seems most sought
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after employment by these women as nearly 40% of the sample women are engaged in this
occupation. Since the women from Kolkata are less educated, as many as 63% work as
domestic help and only around 5% are in salaried jobs. While in the other cities (in particular
Chennai and Delhi) a much lower proportion work as domestic help and a much higher
proportion of mothers are in salaried employment. Although the percentage unemployed is
more or less same among the various categories of single mothers (15 to 17%), the
proportion engaged in salaried employment is much higher among the legally divorced.
In more than one fifth of the cases in Chennai and 17% of the cases in Delhi, the cause of
death of the husband has been reported as accident. In these two cities another 7 to 8% of
widows reported “suicide/murder” as a reason for their husband’s death. Alcoholism turns
out to be another important cause of death of these men. The HIV/AIDS related death of their
husbands has been reported by quite a few widows in Chennai (6.3%) and Mumbai (11.3%).
“Husband had an affair with another woman” turns out to be the most important reason for
marital discord. In Mumbai and Chennai this reason was mentioned by a very high
percentage of women-43% in Mumbai and 38% in Chennai. “Men having extra marital
relationship with other woman” as a reason for divorce/separation has been corroborated
by a number of case studies conducted by this study team. Alcoholism and related issues like
physical violence are also mentioned by the single mothers as major reasons for
divorce/separation. It is interesting to note that in nearly 50% of the cases (in Delhi 60% of
the cases); it is the women who took the decision to call off the marriage. In around 37% of
the cases (in Kolkata 50% of the cases), the husband seems to have taken a unilateral
decision to divorce/live separately. Only in 13 percent of the cases, the decision has been a
joint one. As many as 46% of the sample women who have had a legal divorce and 54% of
separated /deserted women have become single almost 5 years after their marriage. What is
even more surprising is that nearly one fifth of women have taken a decision to live alone i.e.
either divorce or live separately or were deserted by their husbands ten years after
marriage.
Of the total sample single mothers, around 90% have children of schooling age. It was found
that around 18% of the single mothers are not sending their children to school- this
percentage is highest among the deserted women at 22% and least among the legally
divorced. Although “child not interested in studies” has also been mentioned as a reason for
not educating the child, the financial difficulties seem the major reason. Nearly 50% have
given non-affordability as a reason; in 17% of the cases the child has to take up a job in order
to support the family and in another 15% of the cases the child has to take care of the
younger siblings.
More than 50% of the sample women are living in slums and another one third are in
resettlement colonies i.e.in low income colonies. While in the case of widows/ separated/
abandoned women more than 50% reside in the slums, in the case of divorced women only
around 40% live in the slums. While in Delhi, nearly 70% of the sample mothers are living in
a pucca house, in Kolkata the percentage living in a pucca house is much lower at 17%. The
most important indicator of economic status of any household or a person is their income.
In order to assess the economic status of the sample single mothers, the survey
questionnaire collected detailed information on number of earning members in the single
mother households, number of dependents, income of all the household members from
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various sources, the per capita income of the household etc. The study also makes an attempt
to understand the saving pattern of these women and to know whether they have a savings
account in a bank, chit fund etc. It is a common practice for the poor and low income
households to live perpetually on borrowed money. The study tries to estimate the
indebtedness of the single mother households and their source from which they borrow. In
most of the households there is only one earning member. This is not surprising since, more
than 60% of the single mothers are living alone with their children and another one third of
mothers are living with their parents. Nearly 63 percent of the households have single
earning member, and a fourth of the households have two earning members. Nearly 24
percent of the households have one dependent, 32 percent have two and nearly a fifth each
have three and more than three dependents. There is a huge variation both in the number of
earning members and the number of dependents among the different cities. The highest
proportion of households with single earning member (77 percent) is seen in Chennai, while
Kolkata has the lowest(45 percent), but it also has the highest proportion of households
with two earning members(about33 percent). While Chennai has the highest proportion of
households with one and two dependents, it also has the lowest proportion of households
with more than three dependents (5.6 percent). In both Delhi and Kolkata nearly 27 percent
of the households have more than three dependents, while the proportion is slightly lower at
21.5 percent in Mumbai. The frequency distribution of single mother households by their
annual household income shows that nearly 36 percent of the sample belongs to the lowest
income category -having annual household income of less than Rs. 36,000 and another 32
percent are in the next category. Thus nearly 68 percent of the sample households have
annual income of less than Rs. 60,000. This again is not surprising since the focus of the
present study is on single mothers belonging to the lower strata of society, and nearly 35
percent of the sample mothers are not even literate. Nearly 52 percent of the sample
households in Kolkata and 45 percent in Mumbai come under the lowest income strata, while
in Chennai nearly 47 percent of the households are in annual income category of Rs.36,001
to 60,000. Delhi, on the other hand has the highest proportion of households (24.3 percent)
in the highest income category. The average annual household income of the sample works
out to be Rs. 68,113, with Delhi having the highest with Rs.1,11,028 and Kolkata having the
lowest with Rs.44,254. The per capita household income works out to Rs.16,613 for the
whole sample, once again with Delhi having the highest with Rs.25,085 and Kolkata having
the least with Rs.9748 among the four cities studied.
The legally divorced mother households appear to be economically better off than the other
categories in the sample. Their average household income of Rs.1,13,165 and per capita
income of Rs.27,942 are much higher than those of other categories of women. This is
because nearly 27.1 percent of the divorced mother households have income above
Rs.1,20,000. Majority of the sample households have single earning members and nearly
68% of the households have income (from all sources) of less than Rs.60,000 per annum, and
only about a tenth have annual income above Rs.1,20,000.
The various sources of income of the households include the rental income, different types of
pensions, alimony in the case of divorced women, remittances etc. As the sample single
mothers belong to poor income households, it is seen that only a small proportion of
households get rental income (8.7 per cent). The BPL widows who belong to poor economic
strata of society are entitled to monthly pension from the government. Even though most of
the sample widows of this study belong to low income category, only 17 % of the widows
reported getting widow pension. This could probably be due to the fact that many of them
are less than 40 years of age. More than 80% of the widows have been denied their share in
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the in-laws’ property. Only 5.6 percent of the sample widows have received a share and
about4.5 percent hope that their children will inherit it, while 8.8 per cent of the widows
reported that there was no property in the husband’s family. Around 36% of the single
mother households have savings accounts in post office/ bank.
Only about 22% of the households get remittances from outside, and majority (62.6%) of
them are from the women’s relatives. Although about 15.5% of the households get
remittances from husband’s family, it is mostly in respect of widow households while about
35.6% of the sample households have post office/bank accounts, as low as only 5% of the
women or their children have insurance coverage. The single mothers seem to live
perpetually on borrowed money as nearly 45% of the households have borrowed in the last
one year, that too to meet the day today expenses. Nearly 15 percent of the households had
liquidated their assets when they became single that too mostly to meet day to day
expenditure.
The role of single mothers was found to be very stressful and challenging and along with
emotional and psychological problems, they face financial difficulties in meeting even the day
to day expenses of running a home. The data also shows that more than 40% of the divorced
women and more than 20 % of the separated mothers felt relieved once they left their
husbands. When they were asked to mention the persons who had given them the maximum
support, with the exception of widows more than 60% of the single mothers have mentioned
their parents. In addition to parents, a good percentage (in the case legally divorced women
37%) has mentioned their brother as someone who has given them maximum support. As
far as the widows are concerned, around 45% have mentioned their parents and another
18% their in-laws, as someone who has given them the maximum support.
The survey questionnaire had a series of questions to understand the attitude of the society
towards single mothers and their relationship of single mothers with their parents and inlaws. While 15% of the divorced women, 16% of the separated women and 17% of the
abandoned women have reported that the society is treating them differently, in the case of
widows the percentage complaining against the society has worked out to be much lower at
7%. This is understandable since in the eyes of the society, while death of a husband is
fate/destiny, divorce or separation is under the control of a woman. Hence the society may
be more sympathetic towards widows.
More than 80% of the single mothers have a cordial relationship with their parents. As far as
continuing relationship with in-laws is concerned, one does not expect such cordial
relationship. It is very heartening to know that the single mothers do not become a recluse
and they do interact with the outside world. Nearly two thirds of the sample women always
make it a point to socialize with the neighbors and more than 60% of the women are invited
for the social functions like Puja, weddings as well. Only a very small percentage of mothers
(4%) have said that they never socialize or they are never invited for social functions. One of
the problems people face in big cities is finding a suitable residential accommodation. It
looks as if it would be more difficult for the single mothers to get accommodation. More than
one fourth of the single mothers have complained that they do face difficulties in getting
accommodation on rent. Around 10 percent of the sample single mothers have also faced
sexual harassment.
The present study not only tried to find out about the problems faced by single mothers in
raising the children, but also about the expectation of the mothers regarding their children’s
future. The survey questionnaire included a few questions to understand the attitude of the
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society towards the children of single parents When the mothers were asked about the
difficulties faced by them in bringing up children, 57% mentioned financial difficulties. While
among the legally divorced women 44% talked about financial difficulties, among the
separated women and abandoned women, the percentage mentioning financial difficulties
was much higher at 65 and 63 respectively. One fourth of the mothers feel that they are not
able to provide good food to their children because of financial crunch. As sole earners their
income may not be enough to make ends meet. Not able to spend quality time with the
children and unable to pay attention to the education of children are the other major
problems faced by single mothers. Disciplining the children and preventing them from
getting into bad habits like smoking are very important concerns of any parent. In the
absence of a male companion this task was considered to be more difficult for the mothers
especially with regard to disciplining boys.
Nearly 64% of the mothers (in the case of legally divorced mothers as high as 78%) want
their children to be well educated. Around 35% want their children to have a secured job
with a good salary and nearly one fourth of the mothers do not want their children to be
dependent on anybody and want their children to be self reliant and stand on their own feet.
More than 60% of the single mothers wanted help in some form or the other for improving
their economic condition like secured jobs either for themselves or for their children and
financial help for setting up business. Even in the case of daughters, these single mothers are
giving importance to their education rather than their marriage. Not many single mothers
seem to know about the various government schemes that are available except for the
widow pension.
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Chapter1: Introduction
The term single parent refers to parents who are not living with their spouse or a partner or
those who are not married but taking the responsibility of raising a child or children as
dominant caregivers. A single parent family may be defined as a family comprising of a single
mother or father having their own dependent children. Traditionally single parent families
came up as a result of death of a spouse. Now more and more single parent families are
coming up as a result of divorce or separation of couples with children. There has been a
world- wide increase in single parenting and a general increase in children living in single
parent homes. Single parenting has become an accepted norm in the United States and is an
accepted trend in some other countries as well. For instance in the United States since the
1960s, there has been a marked increase in the number of children living with a single
parent. While the 1960 Census of United States reported that 9% of children were dependent
on a single parent, by 2010 US Census, the number of such children had increased to 27%.
This increase in single parents is mainly caused by an increase in unmarried pregnancies,
(with 36% of all births is by unmarried women), and by increasing prevalence of divorces
among couples. Similarly, it has been found that in the United Kingdom 1 out of 4 families
with dependent children are single-parent families. In Australia, in 2003, 14% of the
households were single-parent families.
In India, no such estimate of number/proportion of single parents in the population is
available. What is available is an estimate of number/proportion of widowed and
divorced/separated persons in the country. The Sample Registration System (SRS) of
Registrar General of India provides the sex composition of population by their marital status.
According to the SRS data, during the year 2010, the widows/Divorced/separated population
formed 6.4 percent of population aged 10 years and above. While among men there were 2.9
percent widowers/divorced/separated persons, among women this percentage was much
higher at 10. The proportion of widows/divorced/separated in female population is much
higher than in males at the national level as well as for all the major states. In some of the
southern states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala more than 14 percent of female
population of 10 years and above are widows/divorced/separated women; the percentage
for men are much lower (1.8 for Kerala, 2.2 for Karnataka and 3.0 for Tamil Nadu).
Considering that world- wide majority of single parents are females (for example in the
United States more than 80 percent of single parents are females), one can get a rough
estimate of single parents by looking at the data on number/proportion of widows and
divorced/separated women. As per the 2001 census, there were 34.3 million widows and
2.34 divorced/separated women in India. Another rough indicator of single mothers in the
country is the number/proportion of female headed households. As per 2001 Census 10.35%
of the households in India were headed by females, i.e. of the 193 million households, those
headed by men were 173 million and the female headed households were 20 million in
number.
The increase in single-parent families over the past few decades, has led to a serious debate
on the impact it would have on the society and how it would affect the children. Many social
scientists contend that children raised in single-parent homes are more likely to experience a
variety of problems than are children raised in two-parent families formed by their biological
father and mother who are married to each other. For instance the US census Bureau
statistics shows how quality of life of children living in single parent home can be affected.
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The statistics shows that children living at home with both parents grow up with more
financial and educational advantages than youngsters raised by a single parent. The absence
of a parent could cause emotional disturbance in a child as the child misses out on the
experience of living with a father or a mother.
Single women, broadly defined as unmarried, widowed, separated and legally divorced, are
usually the most vulnerable section of society especially if they come from a low-income
group. In addition if the single woman is also a mother, her problems increase manifold. In
India, in the olden days, many of the single parent households, in particular single mother
households were hidden behind the joint family set up and there were many persons in the
household to take the responsibility of single mothers and their children. However with the
gradual break-up of joint family system and with increasing rate of divorce, the single
mothers are left alone to fend for themselves.
In India, the plight of single mothers has been a subject for research in the recent years. For
instance, a report titled “Are We Forgotten Women?” recently released by the National
Forum for Single Women’s rights looked at the challenges of being a single woman in the
present-day India. The report is based on a survey conducted in 2009-2010 across six
states—Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and
included 386 respondents from the low income households. The study states that after being
separated or divorced 36.6 percent do not have a ration card or a voter card and only 13.5
percent receive social security pension. According to this report only 12.7 percent could
benefit from government housing schemes like Indira Awaas Yojana and of these most were
widow. It has also been found that that there is no scheme for ensuring shelter to single
women in the urban areas. Even the pension provided to widowed women is very meager.
(http//www.legalindia.in/low- income-single-women-in-India-face-tough-time)
A study entitled “Widowed, Divorced, Unmarried Single Mothers face an uphill task” which
was based on a number of In-depth interviews (case studies) brought out the emotional and
economic problems faced by single mothers and the uphill task of playing a role of mother
and father. For a single mother it is not only the financial struggle of meeting the household
expenses but also handling the daily domestic tasks.
Yet another study on the problems faced by single mothers in India shows how hard and
lonely it is for the single mothers to bear the full burden of child care, earning a living often
without the support of any other adult to share decision making and other
responsibilities.(Kotwal, Nidhi and Bharati Prabhakar,2009). This study based on a sample
of fifty single mothers selected through snowball sampling technique from the Jammu region,
concludes that majority of single mothers face economic, social and emotional problems and
they work hard to rear their children.
Given this background, with the support from the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, the Partners in Development Initiatives undertook this study to understand
the plight of single mothers in the country. The objectives of the present study are to map
the socio- economic profile of single mothers and understand the challenges and difficulties
faced by them. Mapping the socio-economic profile of the single mothers is to know about:
a) Socio-economic background of single mothers such as their age, education,
occupation, number of children etc;
b) Reasons/circumstances under which they became single mothers;
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c) Present living arrangement of mothers-whether they are living alone or living with
parents/in-laws etc, and
d) The living condition of single mothers (type of dwelling unit & other amenities
available in their household), household income, expenditure, savings, remittance,
loans etc.
The objective of studying the challenges and difficulties faced by the single mothers is to:
a) Understand the psychological, social and economic problems faced by the single
mothers;
b) Understand the difficulties faced by single mothers in bringing up their children in
the absence of a father -schooling, taking care during ill health etc.
c) Find out whether the single mothers and their children face any social stigma in the
family / society etc.
d) Get suggestions from single mothers on how best the society can help them in
meeting the challenges.
e) Know the support systems that are available to the underprivileged single mothers
within the family/ society or from the government or other sources.
The study was conducted in the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Kolkata during the period December 2011 to March 2012. The study used both the
quantitative and qualitative research techniques. A survey of one thousand single mothers
i.e. 250 single mothers from each of the four cities was conducted with the help of a semistructured questionnaire. In addition 20 case studies, 5 from each of the cities (based on indepth interviews) were conducted not only to supplement the findings of the quantitative
survey but also to understand the circumstances under which they became single and the
way they are coping with the situation.
The findings of the survey and the case studies are presented in this report. This chapter on
introduction is followed by a chapter on methodology where the procedure adopted for
selecting the sample single mothers for the survey and the case studies are explained in
detail. Chapter 3 draws the socio-economic profile of the sample mothers including details
like their age, education and occupational background and their living arrangements and the
present living conditions. In Chapter 4, the household income, savings and their
indebtedness are analysed to know their financial condition and sources of finance. In
Chapter 5, the social and emotional challenges and economic and other difficulties faced by
the single mothers are described. The last chapter on Summary and Conclusion draws
inferences from the findings of the survey and the case studies, and attempts to spell out the
suggestions and demands made by the single mothers to improve their plight. In the
annexure, the 20 Case studies are presented as individual stories. Even within the report,
cross references to the case studies are made at appropriate places.
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Chapter 2: Methodology
The aim of the present study is to draw a socio-economic profile of single mothers living in
the four metro cities of India and understand the difficulties and challenges faced by them in
rearing children and managing the household. The study adopted both quantitative and
qualitative research methodologies-conducting a quantitative survey of single mothers and
in-depth interviews (case studies) of single mothers living in the four cities of Delhi, Chennai,
Mumbai and Kolkata. In this chapter, the definition adopted for the study, methodology
followed for the selection of sample mothers, designing of questionnaire etc are discussed in
detail.
2.1 Definition of Single Mothers
For the purpose of this study the single mothers are defined as those women who are not
currently living with their husband and have at least one child who is less than 14 years of
age. The purpose of including only the mothers who have at least one child who is less than
14 years of age is to understand the problems that single mothers face in rearing children.
The study included the following categories of single women with children:
(i) The Widows
(ii) The legally divorced women
(iii) Women who are separated from their husbands
(iv) Women who are abandoned/deserted by husbands and
(v) The unwed mothers; women who became mothers out of wedlock not by choice but
by circumstances like rape, sexual abuse, cheating etc.
2.2 Quantitative Survey
Keeping in mind the time constraint and the cost involved in conducting a field survey, in
consultation with the sponsors i.e. the Ministry of Women and Child Development,
Government of India, it was decided to select a sample of one thousand single mothers i.e.
250 single mothers from each of the four cities for conducting the survey.
Selection of Localities:
Since the objective of conducting the survey is to study the single mothers belonging to low
economic strata of society, in each city such localities where low income households reside
were identified. Efforts were made to cover the entire city by selecting the localities from
different parts of the city and from these selected localities the survey covered the slums, the
resettlement and low income colonies. In Mumbai, the survey was conducted mostly in the
chawls and jopper pattis.
For instance, in Chennai, the sample is spread across the south, north and central parts of the
city. From north Chennai, the areas like Ernavoor, Pulianthoppu, Viasarpaadi, Choolai,
Aynavaran, Thiruvetriyur, Otteri, Kodungaiyur, Periyar Nagar, Kannagi Nagar, and K.K. Nagar
were covered. In South Chennai, Valasarawakkam, Alapakkam, Saaligramam, and Saidapet
and in Central Chennai, Anna Nagar, Purasaiwakkam, Aminthakari areas were covered by the
survey. In these areas the required sample of single mothers was selected from the slums,
resettlement colonies and lower middle class localities. Similarly in Delhi, the sample
mothers were selected from areas like Sangam Vihar and Dashinpuri in south Delhi,
Gokulpuri in north Delhi, Trilokpuri in the east and Uttam Nagar in west Delhi. The selected
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women were living in the slums, resettlement colonies and other lower middle class
localities of these areas. In Kolkata, they were mostly from the slums and resettlement
colonies. In North Kolkata areas like Kasipur, Ashutosh Pally, Rabindra Pally, MuktanGali,
Nimtala,Belgachia, Gouri Bari Lane, in South Kolkata, Beltala, Anwar Shah Road, GulamMd
Shah Road, Pijan Shah Road, Deshapran Sashmal Road, Kakulia, Behala,
Ekbalpur,SishirBagan, Rajpur, Bamacharan Roy Road areas, in West Kolkata, Lock Gate Road
and RabindraPalli and in East Kolkata Ultadanga, Muraripukur, Tiljala areas were covered by
the survey. Unlike other cities, in Mumbai the sample is not spread across the city, they are
mostly from north central Mumbai. The sample mothers are living in the chawls and jopper
pattis of Indranagar, Rahiwaasi sangh, Vikroli Bhandup sarovdaya Nagar Panchsheel Nagar
Budha Colony, Kurla Vashi Naka Vasant Nagar, Kurla Municipal colony, Vikroli Daya Nagar
etc.
Selection of Sample Single Mothers
Identifying single mothers and reaching them was a major challenge for the study team. No
systematic sampling frame could be followed, since no such data is available. Hence efforts
were made to identify 250 single mothers in each city, through informal data gathering in
selected localities with the help of the NGOs working with the underprivileged women, the
self help groups, key informants like the local leaders etc. In each city one female team leader
and four to five female field investigators were appointed for conducting the field work. The
team leaders and the field investigators who were already familiar with the localities and
have already worked with women were of great source of information for indentifying single
mothers. Identifying widow households was comparatively easier, but it was impossible for
the field investigators to identify and access unwed mothers as the unwed mothers and their
families did not want to disclose the fact. In spite of best efforts only three unwed mothers
could be interviewed. Hence unwed mothers are not included as a separate category in the
analysis. However they are included in the total number of single mothers.
Table 2.2 City wise Type of Number of Single Mothers Covered by the Survey
City
Widows
Legally
Divorced
Separated
Deserted
/Abandoned
Unwed
Mothers
Chennai
126
(50.4%)
10 (4.0%)
65 (26.0%)
49 (19.6%)
0 (0.0%)
Delhi
130
(51.8%)
32 (12.7%)
40 (15.9%)
49 (19.5%)
0 (0.0%)
Kolkata
101
(40.4%)
8 (3.2%)
95 (38.0%)
44 (17.6%)
2 (0.8%)
Mumbai
177
(72.0%)
9 (3.7%)
54 (22.0%)
5 (2.0%)
1(0.4%)
Total
534
(53.6%)
59 (5.9%)
254
(25.5%)
147 (14.7%)
3 (0.3%)
13 | P a g e
Total
250
(100.0
%)
251
(100.0
%)
250
(100.0
%)
246
(100.0
%)
997(10
0.0%)
Of the 1000 single mothers who were interviewed, the final sample turned out to 997 since 3
questionnaires were rejected due to various reasons (such as poor quality of data, the single
mother who was interviewed did not strictly fit in to the definition adopted for the study
etc). On the whole, around 54% of the sample mothers were widows, one fourth were
separated women, 15% were deserted or abandoned by their husbands and only 6% were
legally divorced. Again it was difficult to identify legally divorced women since in that
stratum of society not many were going in for legal divorce.
There are wide variations in the proportion of different types/categories of single mothers
covered by the survey in the four cities. In spite of fixing the proportion of different types of
single mothers to be selected and the instructions to the team leaders in each city, uniformity
could not be maintained. This is because inclusion of a particular category of single mother in
the survey depended a lot on the availability.
Preparation of questionnaire:
The selected sample single mothers were interviewed with the help of a semi-structured
questionnaire. The draft questionnaire was finalized after pre-testing with half a dozen
single mothers and holding a discussion among the core research staff. The questionnaire
had four sections- Identification particulars, Background information, Household Income,
Savings and Borrowings and Challenges and finally Difficulties Faced by the Single Mothers.
The questionnaire had multiple choice questions as well as open ended questions.
Field staff/training/language translation:
In all the four cities female investigators with field experience were selected for interviewing
the single mothers. In each of the cities a female team leader was made in-charge for
conducting and supervising the field work. The field investigators and the field team leaders
were given 2 day’s training in the respective languages. The filled in questionnaires were
checked and verified for data quality by the core research team.
Place of interview/Confidentiality:
The sample mothers were interviewed mostly at their residences and in privacy. They were
explained about the purpose of the study and informed consent was obtained before
interviewing them.
Survey period/months:
The field work was carried out simultaneously in the four metropolitan cities during the
period December 2011 to March 2012.
2.3 Case studies (In-depth interviews)
In order to go beyond the numbers and the data, it was decided to conduct in-depth
interviews with single mothers and present their stories as case studies. While conducting
the field survey, the team leaders in the four cities identified cases which gave in-sight in to
the emotional and practical problems that the single mothers had to go through. Some of the
case studies also showed how these single mothers managed to overcome their difficulties
and became independent self confident human beings. There are two case studies of unwed
mothers (case studies KI and K2) that were conducted in Kolkata. A detailed guideline was
prepared for conducting the in-depth interviews and with the help of these guidelines, in
14 | P a g e
each city the team leaders interviewed five single mothers. In all 20 case studies were
conducted and the stories of these women are presented in the Annexure.
Chapter 3: Socio-Economic background of Sample Single Mothers
One of the objectives of the present study is to draw a socio-economic profile of single
women who participated in this survey. The religious and social background of the sample
women, their age, educational qualification and occupation are presented in this chapter. The
chapter also provides information on the circumstances under which they became single,
cause of death of husband in case of widows, reason for separation/divorce in case of
divorced/separated women, their present living arrangement, their present living conditions
etc.
3.1 Religion and Caste
Table 3.1 Background Characteristics-City Wise
Religion
Hindu
Muslim
Sikh
Christian
Caste
SC/ST
OBC
Others
Total
(Number)
(Percentages)
Chennai
Delhi
Kolkata
Mumbai
Total
70.0
7.2
0.4
22.4
80.9
15.5
0.4
3.2
63.6
35.2
0.8
0.4
89.0
9.8
0.0
1.2
75.8
17.0
0.4
6.8
36.4
55.2
8.4
100.0
250
37.8
13.5
48.6
100.0
251
20.0
2.4
77.6
100.0
250
19.5
23.2
57.3
100.0
246
28.5
23.6
47.9
100.0
997
Of the 997 sample single mothers who participated in the survey, more than three fourth of
them are Hindus. While in Kolkata less than two thirds i.e. 64% of the sample women are
Hindus, in Mumbai the percentage of Hindus among the sample women is much higher at 89.
As compared to the other three cities, in the city of Chennai, Christians formed a much higher
proportion i.e. more than one fifth of the sample women are Christians. While in Kolkata,
more than one third of the sample women are from the Muslim community.
3.2 Age, Education and Occupation of Single Mothers
The details about age, educational qualification and the present occupation of the sample
women are presented city wise (Table 3.2) as well as by type of single mothers (Table 3.2a).
15 | P a g e
Table 3.2 Age, Education and Occupation of Sample single Mothers -City Wise
(Percentages)
Age group
<=25 yrs
26 to 30
31 to 35
36 to 40
40 above
Av Age(yrs)
Education
Illiterate
Primary
Middle
High School/
Higher Secondary
Above schooling
Occupation
Unemployed
Domestic servant /
cook/ Ayah
Petty shop/
vegetable vendor
Construction worker
/
wage labourer
Salaried employment
Self employed
Factory worker
Others
Secondary
Occupation
Women
having
secondary
occupation
Total (number)
Chennai
Delhi
Kolkata
Mumbai
Total
5.6
20.4
30.8
34.0
9.2
34.3
4.4
21.5
26.3
39.8
8.0
34.8
23.2
28.8
44.0
4.0
0.0
29.9
10.6
26.0
30.1
23.2
10.1
33.6
10.9
24.2
32.8
25.3
6.8
33.1
25.2
14.0
24.8
28.0
36.7
11.6
16.7
27.5
46.8
23.2
18.0
11.6
30.9
17.9
23.6
27.2
34.9
16.6
20.8
23.6
8.0
7.6
0.4
0.4
4.1
10.4
22.8
16.7
29.5
20.0
62.8
13.8
43.5
15.2
39.6
7.6
2.4
2.4
4.5
4.2
13.2
4.8
4.0
9.8
7.9
30.0
13.6
0.8
1.6
27.9
7.2
9.6
2.0
4.8
5.6
0.4
0.0
19.5
3.3
1.2
4.5
20.6
7.4
3.0
2.0
7.2
6.8
2.0
3.7
4.9
100.0
250
100.0
251
100.0
250
100.0
246
100.0
997
The average age of the sample single mothers works out to be 33 years and there is not much
city wise variation in their ages except that women from Kolkata are slightly younger;
average age of mothers from Kolkata works out to be 30 years. A look at the age structure by
type of women shows that the sample widows are older than divorced/separated women.
While more than 40% of the widows belong to “above 35 age group”, in the case of legally
divorced women (less than 30%) and the separated and abandoned women (less than 20%)
a much lesser proportion of mothers belong to “above 35 age groups”.
16 | P a g e
Table 3.2a Age, Education and Occupation of Sample single Mothers –By Type of Single
Mother (Percentages)
Widows
Age group
<=25 yrs
26 to 30
31 to 35
36 to 40
>40
Av Age
Education
Illiterate
Primary
Middle
High
School/higher
Secondary
Above schooling
Occupation
Unemployed
Domestic servant /
cook/ Ayah
Petty
shop/vegetable
vendor
Construction
worker
/wage labourer
Salaried employment
Self employed
Factory worker
Others
Secondary Occupation
Women with secondary
occupation
Total
Divorced
Separated Abandoned/ Unwed
Deserted
mother
Total
5.8
20.2
32.6
31.8
9.6
34.5
11.9
30.5
28.8
20.3
8.5
32.3
16.5
29.1
32.7
19.3
2.4
31.5
17.7
27.9
36.1
14.3
4.1
31.3
100.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
19.3
10.9
24.2
32.8
25.3
6.8
33.1
36.9
16.3
21.3
23.2
16.9
13.6
22.0
28.8
31.5
18.1
17.3
28.0
41.5
15.0
23.8
16.3
0.0
66.7
33.3
0.0
34.9
16.5
20.8
23.7
2.2
18.6
5.1
3.4
0.0
4.1
14.4
41.0
15.3
30.5
15.4
39.8
17.0
38.8
33.3
33.3
15.1
39.7
4.3
1.7
3.5
6.1
0.0
4.2
8.2
3.4
7.5
8.8
0.0
7.8
19.7
8.1
3.0
1.3
35.6
8.5
3.4
1.7
22.8
6.7
1.2
3.1
17.0
4.8
5.4
2.0
0.0
33.3
0.0
0.0
21.0
7.3
2.9
1.9
4.1
5.1
4.7
8.2
0.0
4.9
100.0
534
100.0
59
100.0
254
100.0
147
100.0
3
100.0
997
Since the focus of the present study is on single mothers belonging to lower strata of society,
it is not surprising to know that the level of education of these women is fairly low. However
considering that they belong to a fairly younger age group and living in a metro city, it is
rather shocking to know that as high as 35 percent of them are illiterate. Compared to other
cities, the sample mothers from Kolkata seem much less educated as nearly half of them are
illiterate and hardly anyone has studied beyond schooling. In the other three cities nearly
28% of the mothers have completed schooling and in Chennai and Delhi another 8% have
studied beyond schooling. An analysis of the level of education of single mothers by type of
17 | P a g e
mothers shows that as compared to others, the legally divorced women in the sample are
much better educated and the abandoned/ deserted women are the least educated. Among
the legally divorced mothers nearly 29% have studied up to High school/higher secondary
level and another 19% have studied beyond school level. It was discovered while conducting
the in-depth interviews (case studies) that only a few women take the trouble of getting a
legal divorce. It needs a certain level of education and/ or support of educated persons,
courage, smartness and determination to go through the legal procedure. The data on the
level of education also probably proves this point; the sample women who have gone in for a
legal divorce are better educated than the others.
The employment pattern of the sample single mothers shows that around 15% of them are
unemployed. The job of a domestic servant/cook/ayah seems most sought after employment
by these women as nearly 40% of the sample women are engaged in this occupation. Since
the women from Kolkata are less educated, as many as 63% work as domestic help and only
around 5% are in salaried jobs. While in the other cities (in particular Chennai and Delhi) a
much lower proportion work as domestic help and a much higher proportion of mothers are
in salaried employment. Although the percentage unemployed is more or less same among
the various categories of single mothers (15 to 17%), the proportion engaged in salaried
employment is much higher among the legally divorced. This is understandable since these
women are better educated. The job of a domestic help seems the most common form of
employment among all categories of mothers.
3.3 Cause of Death of Husband
In the case of widows the survey attempted to find out the cause of death of their husband
and these are presented in Table3.3
Table 3.3 Percentage distribution of Widows, by Cause of Death of Husband -City Wise
Accident
Prolonged illness
Heart attack
Cancer
Suicide/Murder
TB
Jaundice
Alcoholism
Kidney failure
HIV/AIDS
Other causes
Number of Widows
18 | P a g e
Chennai
Delhi
Kolkata
Mumbai
All
21.4
4.0
14.3
7.9
7.1
10.3
7.9
10.3
6.3
6.3
4.0
100.0
126
16.9
31.5
12.3
11.5
7.7
2.3
1.5
11.5
2.3
0.8
1.5
100.0
130
14.9
13.9
15.8
6.9
1.0
10.9
2.0
2.0
11.9
0.0
20.8
100.0
101
9.0
20.9
16.4
2.8
2.3
6.8
6.8
18.6
2.8
11.3
2.3
100.0
177
15.0
18.2
14.8
6.9
4.5
7.3
4.9
11.8
5.2
5.4
6.0
100.0
534
It is rather surprising that in a substantial proportion of cases, the husbands of the sample
women have had an unnatural death; this is specially so in Chennai and Delhi. In more than
one fifth of the cases in Chennai and 17% of the cases in Delhi, the cause of death of the
husband has been reported as accident. It is possible that these men were employed in
hazardous jobs. In addition, in these two cities another 7 to 8% of widows reported
“suicide/murder” as a reason for their husband’s death. Alcoholism turns out to be another
important cause of death of these men. It is not surprising since alcoholism is rampant
among the men who live in the slums and low income clusters of these big cities. As it would
be seen in the next section, alcoholism is an important reason for divorce/separation as well.
The HIV/AIDS related death of their husbands has been reported by quite a few widows in
Chennai (6.3%) and Mumbai (11.3%).
3.4 Reason for Divorce/separation/abandonment
There was an open ended question on the reason for divorce/separation and the women
were expected to narrate the reason for divorce/separation. The responses are presented in
Table 3.4.
Table 3.4 Percentage Distribution of Divorced /Separated/Women by Reason and who
took the decision -City Wise
Reasons
Chennai Delhi Kolkata Mumbai All
Husband Suspicious
4.0
2.5
Lack of understanding
8.1
13.2
Husband beating /physical violence
8.9
9.1
Irresponsible father/ husband
0.0
14.9
Husband had affair with another woman
37.9
16.5
Frequent fights
3.2
4.1
Husband unwilling to earn
2.4
10.7
Husband was Dunked
14.5
14.9
Could not tell the reason
12.9
1.7
Other cause
9.7
5.8
No response
7.3
29.8
Number of Divorced /separated
124
121
Multiple responses- The percentages will not add up to 100%
Who took the decision to divorce/separate
Joint
12.0
15.3
Self
49.3
59.7
Husband/partner
34.7
25.0
No response
4.0
0.0
100.0
100.0
Number of Divorced /Separated women
75
72
19 | P a g e
0.7
1.5
6.1
25.0
20.4
7.4
2.7
0.0
25.2
42.6
0.7
7.4
7.5
5.9
15.6
20.6
0.0
0.0
10.9
5.9
17.7
0.0
147
68
in the above table
3.9
45.6
50.5
0.0
100.0
103
25.4
38.1
31.7
4.8
100.0
63
2.2
11.3
12.4
4.8
28.9
3.3
6.7
15.9
3.9
8.5
15.4
460
12.8
48.2
37.1
1.9
100.0
313
While a number of women mentioned more than one reason, it is a pity that in many cases
the field staff could not get response to this question. The overall non-response rate is 15%
and in Delhi it is as high as 30%. “Husband had an affair with another woman” turns out to be
the most important reason for marital discard. In Mumbai and Chennai this reason was
mentioned by a very high percentage of women-43% in Mumbai and 38% in Chennai. “Men
having extra marital relationship with other woman” as a reason for divorce/separation has
been corroborated by a number of case studies conducted by this study team. (For example
case study number B1, C4 and D3). Alcoholism and related issues like physical violence are
also mentioned by the single mothers as major reasons for divorce/separation. Some of the
case studies conducted during this study (e.g. case study numbers D1,D4, D5, C4, K2,etc)
narrate stories of women who were subjected to physical violence and had to put up with a
alcoholic husband. Although husband unwilling to earn has been given as a reason for
separated, divorced only by a small percentage of women, we have a case study (C1) from
Chennai to show that even though where the wife helped the husband to get financially
settled but still he never took interest to get stabilized.
C-1----separated
A 35 year old separated woman (TA) who lives in a TNSCB (Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance
Board) tenement in the city of Chennai who prefers to bear the entire burden of taking care
of the children and home rather than put up with a worthless husband. She fell in love with a
contract labourer and married him when she was 20. They lived happily for the first 8 years.
They had 2 children. But her husband stopped working, while she was working at TNSBC to
maintain the family. She even borrowed Rs. 60,000 from money lenders to start some petty
business. But, it did not work out, and they started having misunderstandings. At such times,
he would go off to the village and return only after 5-6 months. Things continued like this.
She became convinced that he was worthless and is living separately for the last 3 years,
looking after the children and her ailing father.
Another Case story where the separation was due to husband’s suspiciousness is given
below:
C—5—separated
T was married to a painter at the age of 18. Her husband had always been suspicious of her
behavior tormented her with words by linking her with all the men around her place of
living. She came to her mother’s house to deliver his first child and stayed with them for 10
years since she could not tolerate his words. After ten years, she was lured back to her
husband’s house saying that he was on his death bed, while he had only broken a leg. She
stayed there, and conceived again, and once again the tormenting started. For the 29 year old
single mother T, her parents and her siblings are the biggest support. She also specifies that
her daughters should not depend on others and would like the government to support at
least a part of her daughters’ educational expenses.
20 | P a g e
It is interesting to note that in nearly 50% of the cases (in Delhi 60% of the cases); it is the
women who took the decision to call off the marriage. In around 37% of the cases (in Kolkata
50% of the cases), the husband seems to have taken a unilateral decision to divorce/live
separately. This decision must have come us a blow to the women. Only in 13 percent of the
cases, the decision has been a joint one. The study team came to know during the field work
that in many cases it is the women who get fed up of their husband getting drunk and beating
them up and decide to leave the husband. All these women mentioned that after leaving their
husband, they do feel relieved, although it is difficult to manage their life as a single mother.
A Case story of women who voluntarily separated is given below:
D-4—voluntarily separated
‘F’, is a woman living in Delhi, who has voluntarily separated from her husband, and is
bringing up her 3 children single handedly. Married to a tailor at 17, she has 3 children. After
about 5 years of marriage, the husband left the job, started drinking and troubling her. When
things became bad, the in-laws threw them out as they could not take the burden. She started
working as a maid to support her family, but even then the drunken husband would beat her
and the children became scared. Unable to stand the torture, she separated from her
husband 3 years ago. Financially, it is very difficult, but her mother-in –law gives her moral
support.
3.5 Number of Years after marriage Became Single and Present Living Arrangement
The single mothers were asked to mention like the number of years after marriage they
became single. This question is especially important in the case of women who are divorced,
separated or abandoned. The intention of this question is to know how stable their marriage
was. One would normally expect a marriage to stabilize after 2 or 3 years or after the birth of
one or two children. However, the data presented in Table 3.5 on the sample single mothers
tell a very different story. As many as 46% of the sample women who have had a legal
divorce and 54% of separated /deserted women have become single almost 5 years after
their marriage. What is even more surprising is that nearly one fifth of women have taken a
decision to live alone i.e. either divorce or live separately or were deserted by their husbands
ten years after marriage.
It is rather sad that in the case of widows, around 30% have lost their husband just between
5to 10 years of marriage and 36% between 10 to 15 years of marriage. Given the age of the
widows, one could assume that these men would have died at a fairly young age. One could
probably blame their life style (alcoholism is rampant among these class of men) and the
type of job they were involved (a number of accidental deaths are reported).
21 | P a g e
Table 3.5. Details about Number of Years after marriage became Single and Living
Arrangement –By Type of Single Mother (Percentages)
Widows
Divorced
Separated
Number years after marriage became Single
<=1 yr
2.1
3.4
9.8
> 1 to 3years
6.0
22.0
15.0
>3 to 5 years
9.0
27.1
14.2
>5 to 10 years
30.0
25.4
34.3
>10 to 15 years
35.6
20.3
20.1
>15 to 20 years
12.5
1.7
5.9
>20 years
4.9
0.0
0.8
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
Living arrangement
Living alone or 66.1
39.0
49.2
Living
with
children
With
21.2
61.0
48.0
Parents/Siblings
Husband’s family
12.7
0.0
0.8
Home/Hostel/ Any 0.0
0.0
2.0
Other
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number of Women 534
59
254
*Included three unwed mothers
Abandoned/
deserted
All
10.2
15.6
18.4
30.6
23.1
2.0
0.0
100.0
5.3
10.7
12.8
30.9
28.9
8.7
2.8
100.0
55.8
58.5
42.2
33.7
1.4
0.7
7.2
0.6
100.0
147
100.0
997*
The living arrangement of a single woman would depend on a number of factors like the age
of the woman, number of children she has and the age of the children, her economic status
etc. It has been found by studies that widows are more likely to become household heads in
India and other countries. For instance in a few countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar the
headship rate of widows exceed that of divorced/separated women by more than 30 points
(Swain. Pushpanjali and Vijayan K.Pillai, 2005). It has also been found that mothers of
younger children are more likely to live with parents than the mothers with older children.
The single mothers with younger children may need the support of their parents for child
care.
The present study also shows that as many as two thirds of widows are living by themselves
with their children in a nuclear family. Since the average age of widows is comparatively
higher and in all probability their children must be grown up, the widows must be living
alone in a nuclear family. The proportion of women living alone is fairly high among the
abandoned women also as these women probably have no other choice. Around 60% of the
divorced women and 48% of separated women are living with parents/parental relatives
(living with brother’s or sister’s family).This indicates that in India family ties are still strong
and the parents are of support whenever there is a need. It is interesting to note that it is
only in the case of widows, a significant proportion of women (12.7%) are living with their
in-laws. This is understandable while the divorced/separated/abandoned women are not
likely to have any relationship with their in-laws once they leave their husband, the widows
may continue to interact with their in-laws.
22 | P a g e
3.6 Number of Children and their Education
The purpose of finding out the number of children the single mothers have is to know at
what stage of life these women were left alone to manage their life. The distribution of single
mothers by number of children they have shows that except the widows, most of the others
have one or two children only. Nearly 21% of the widows have three children and another
9% have more than 3 children. It is rather sad to know that in a very high percentage of cases
i.e. more than 90% of divorce cases and more than 80% of separation and desertion cases,
the women have become single after giving birth to one or two children. In fact it is shocking
that in the case of abandoned/deserted women, in 20% of the cases they were deserted after
they have had 3 or more children.
Table 3.6. Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Number of Children and their
Education–By Type of Single Mothers
Number of Children
1
2
3
>3
Number of Women
Percentage
of
Mothers
Reporting at least one of their
children (5-18yr old) not
studying
Reasons for not Studying
Not necessary to educate
Could not afford fees
Take care of younger siblings
/HH work
Had to take up job
Not interested in studies
Repeated failure
Others
Number of women having 518 yr old children
Widows
Divorced
Separated Abandoned
/Deserted
All
27.2
43.1
20.6
9.2
100.0
18.5
57.6
35.6
0.0
6.8
100.0
12.2
47.2
33.9
12.6
6.3
100.0
15.3
45.6
34.7
10.9
8.8
100.0
21.7
37.0
38.9
15.8
8.2
100.0
17.8
7.6
53.3
17.4
0.0
50.0
0.0
6.1
45.5
12.1
7.1
35.7
10.7
6.9
48.4
14.5
14.1
33.7
3.3
9.8
498
16.7
33.3
0.0
16.7
49
21.2
27.3
6.1
18.2
216
21.4
42.9
7.1
14.3
129
17.0
34.0
5.0
12.6
892
Of the total sample single mothers, around 90% have children of schooling age. The survey
attempted to find out whether these single mothers are able to send their wards to school. It
is a pity that around 18% of the single mothers are not sending their children to school- this
percentage is highest among the deserted women at 22% and least among the legally
divorced. Although “child not interested in studies” has also been mentioned as a reason for
not educating the child, the financial difficulties seem the major reason. Nearly 50% have
given non-affordability as a reason; in 17% of the cases the child has to take up a job in order
to support the family and in another 15% of the cases the child has to take care of the
younger siblings.
23 | P a g e
3.7 Living Condition of Single Mothers
As it is already seen in Chapter 2 on Methodology, more than 50% of the sample women are
living in slums and another one third are in resettlement colonies i.e.in low income colonies.
The remaining sample mothers are from lower middle class localities. The pattern is similar
across cities except in Kolkata where 90% are from the slums and the remaining 10%
mothers live in low income localities. Similarly, while in the case of widows/ separated/
abandoned women more than 50% reside in the slums, in the case of divorced women only
around 40% live in the slums. Thus among different types of sample women the legally
divorced women seem better off and among the women from the four cities, those living in
Kolkata seem worse off.
Table 3.7 Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Amenities they have in the House City Wise
Type of House
Kutcha
Semi Pucca
Pucca
Number of Rooms in the House
1 room
2 rooms
3 rooms
>3 rooms
Ownership of House
Own
Rented
Free of rent & Others
Percentage Having Piped water supply
Toilet Facility in the House
Separate Toilet
Sharing with another HH
Public Toilet
Open air
Number of Women
Chennai
Delhi
Kolkata
Mumbai
Total
16.8
37.2
46.0
18.3
12.7
68.9
14.0
69.2
16.8
25.6
35.0
39.4
18.7
38.5
42.8
62.4
30.0
6.8
0.8
51.0
27.5
16.3
5.2
93.6
6.4
0.0
0.0
83.3
15.9
0.4
0.4
72.5
20.0
5.9
1.6
52.8
36.4
10.8
46.8
51.8
26.3
21.9
73.7
20.4
54.8
24.8
3.6
58.1
34.6
7.3
38.6
45.7
38.0
16.2
40.7
54.4
30.0
8.4
7.2
100.0
250
61.0
20.7
9.2
9.2
100.0
251
3.2
56.8
39.2
0.8
100.0
250
8.1
13.8
77.2
0.8
100.0
246
31.8
30.4
33.3
4.5
100.0
997
The economic status of any household is judged by the type of house they occupy and the
availability of basic amenities like water, toilet facilities etc. In Table 3.7 and Table 3.7a, the
percentage distribution of sample single mothers by the availability of basic amenities in
their houses is presented city wise and by type of single mothers respectively. While in Delhi,
nearly 70% of the sample mothers are living in a pucca house, in Kolkata the percentage
living in a pucca house is much lower at 17%. Among different type of single mothers, a very
high proportion (78%) of the divorced women are living in a pucca house; not much
variation in this percentage is seen among other categories of single mothers- it varies from
37% in the case of separated women to 43% in the case of widows.
24 | P a g e
Table 3.7a Percentage Distribution of Mothers by Amenities they have in the House–
By Type of Single Mother
Widows
Divorce
d
Separated Abandone
d/Deserte
d
All
5.1
16.9
78.0
20.1
43.3
36.6
21.8
38.8
39.5
18.7
38.5
42.8
71.0
20.8
6.6
1.7
61.0
25.4
8.5
5.1
74.8
18.1
5.5
1.6
78.2
18.4
3.4
0.0
72.5
20.0
5.9
1.6
50.9
37.8
11.2
42.7
50.8
28.8
20.3
66.1
38.6
40.9
20.1
35.0
37.4
36.7
25.9
34.0
45.7
38.0
16.2
40.7
28.8
28.5
52.5
23.7
30.7
34.3
36.7
33.3
31.8
30.4
20.3
3.4
100.0
59
33.1
2.0
100.0
254
19.7
10.2
100.0
147
33.3
4.5
100.0
997*
Type of House
Kutcha
18.5
Semi Pucca
38.4
Pucca
43.1
Number of Rooms in the House
1 room
2 rooms
3 rooms
>3 rooms
Ownership of House
Own
Rented
Free of rent & Others
Percentage
Having
Piped water supply
Toilet Facility in the
House
Separate Toilet
Sharing with another
HH
Public Toilet
Open air
38.4
4.3
100.0
Number of Women
534
*Included three unwed mothers
More than 70% of the single mothers in the sample live in just one room accommodation.
There are variations across cities; while in Kolkata most of the women (94%) live in one
room, in Delhi only half of them live in one room. The sample mothers from Delhi seem
better off in this respect- 28% live in two rooms and another 16% in three room
accommodation. The distribution of different categories of women by size of accommodation
shows that while more than 70% of the widows as well as separated and abandoned women
live in one room houses, only 61% of the divorced women live in one room accommodation.
Among the different categories of sample, the legally divorced women are better off as
compared to others.
While in the three cities –Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai more than half of the sample mothers
live in their own accommodation, in Kolkata only 20% have their own house. Similarly while
51% of the widows and the divorced women have their own house, the percentage owning a
25 | P a g e
house works out to be much lower (around 37 to 38) in the case of separated and abandoned
women.
As far as the facility of water supply is concerned, while in Delhi almost three fourths of
single mothers have a piped water supply in their houses, in Kolkata only 4% have such a
facility (this could be because in Kolkata most of the women are living in kutcha houses in
the slums). While in Chennai 47% of the mothers have reported having piped water supply
inside their houses, in Mumbai the percentage having pipe water inside the house is lower at
39. Almost two thirds of the legally divorced women have piped water supply, among the
widows only 43% have such a facility and among the separated and abandoned women even
lesser percentage i.e. only around 34 to 35% have this facility. Having a separate toilet for
the house is a luxury for these single mothers who belong to economically lower strata of
society. While in Chennai and Delhi a fairly large proportion (54% and 61% respectively) of
sample women have their own separate toilet in their houses, in Kolkata and Mumbai only a
very small percentage (3% in Kolkata and 8% in Mumbai) have this “luxury”. The others
have to either share the toilet facility with the other households or use the public toilets. In
Kolkata since more than 90% of the sample is from the slums, most of them (77%) are using
public toilet. Similarly among different categories of single mothers, only the divorced
women seem somewhat better off in this respect as nearly 53% have their own separate
toilet. In the case of others this percentage works out to be much lower (29 for the widows,
31 for the separated women and 37 for the abandoned). It is sad that around 10% of the
households of the deserted women have to use open space.
3.8 Ownership of Consumer Durables
What kind of consumer durables a household possess becomes an indicator of economic
status. Hence the survey questionnaire had listed some of the consumer durables and tried
to find out from the mothers whether they own these items. The responses of single mothers
are presented city wise and type of single mother wise respectively in Tables 3.8 and Table
3.8a.
Table 3.8 Percentage of Single Mothers having Consumer Durables in the House–city
wise
(Percentages)
Fan
Bicycle
Television(B/W or color)
Refrigerator
Telephone/Mobile
Washing machine
Computer
Moped/Scooter/Motor Cycle
Car/Jeep/van
LPG Gas
Radio/ Transistor
Percentage Having None of the Above Items
Percentage Having all the items
Number of Women
26 | P a g e
Chennai
96.0
30.0
94.0
29.6
70.8
10.4
2.0
9.6
0.0
57.2
6.8
0.8
Nil
250
Delhi
93.6
22.7
84.1
49.8
77.7
15.5
11.6
10.8
1.6
84.1
31.1
2.4
Nil
251
Kolkata
88.4
5.2
55.6
2.8
52.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
15.6
3.6
9.6
nil
250
Mumbai
93.5
1.2
78.0
22.4
56.5
7.3
3.7
2.4
2.4
44.3
4.1
5.3
nil
246
All
92.9
14.8
77.9
26.2
64.3
8.3
4.3
5.7
1.1
50.4
11.4
4.5
nil
997
Table 3.8a Percentage of Single Mothers having Consumer Durables in the House - By
Type of Single Mother (Percentages)
Widows
Fan
94.9
Bicycle
15.0
Television(B/W or color) 81.6
Refrigerator
26.2
Telephone/Mobile
70.6
Washing machine
8.4
Computer
3.9
Moped/Scooter/Motor
5.2
Cycle
Car/Jeep/van
0.9
LPG Gas
53.9
Radio/ Transistor
13.3
Percentage Having None 3.6
of the Above Items
Percentage Having all the Nil
items
Number of Women
534
*Included three unwed mothers
Divorce
d
All
100.0
13.6
83.1
45.8
79.7
18.6
11.9
16.9
Separated Abandoned
/
Deserted
90.2
88.4
11.0
21.8
73.6
69.4
22.8
24.5
57.1
47.6
8.3
4.1
4.7
2.0
5.5
3.4
1.7
79.7
27.1
3.4
1.6
38.2
7.1
6.3
0.7
47.6
5.4
5.4
1.1
50.4
11.4
4.5
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
59
254
147
997*
93.1
14.8
77.8
26.2
64.3
8.3
4.3
5.7
It is interesting to note that none of the sample households has all the items listed in the
questionnaire and at the same time only a very small percentage of households do not have
even a single item from the list. Most of the households have fans in their houses; more than
two thirds have a television set (either color or black and white) and nearly two thirds of
households have access to phone, mostly mobile. Nearly half the households have LPG
facility; 80 percent of the sample households in Delhi and as many as 84% of the legally
divorced mothers have LPG connection. On the whole the Delhi sample and the divorced
women seem better off than their counter parts.
27 | P a g e
Chapter 4: Household Income, Savings and Borrowings of Single Mothers
The most important indicator of economic status of any household or a person is their
income. In order to assess the economic status of the sample single mothers, the survey
questionnaire collected detailed information on number of earning members in single
mother households, number of dependents, income of all household members from various
sources, per capita income of household etc. The study also makes an attempt to understand
the saving pattern of these women and to know whether they have a savings account in a
bank, chit fund etc. It is a common practice for the poor and low income households to live
perpetually on borrowed money. The study tries to estimate the indebtedness of the single
mother households and the source from which they borrow.
4.1 Household Income of Single Mothers
Table 4.1 presents city- wise details about the number of earning members, number of
dependents and annual income of the household from various sources.
Table 4.1 Percentage Distribution of Households by Number of Earning Members and
Annual Household Income (2011-12) of Single Mothers -City wise
% distribution of Households by Number
of Earning Members
1
2
3
>3
No Earning Member
% distribution of HH by Number of
dependents
1
2
3
>3
Annual Household Income from various
Sources in Rs
<= 36000
36001 to 60,000
60,001 to 90,000
90,001 to 1,20,000
>12,0000
No Response
Average annual HH Income (Rs)
Per Capita Household Income (Rs)
Number of Women
28 | P a g e
Chennai
Delhi
Kolkata Mumbai Total
77.2
16.8
3.2
1.2
1.6
59.4
26.7
7.6
2.4
4
44.8
32.8
15.6
4
2.8
69.9
21.1
4.5
1.6
2.8
62.8
24.4
7.7
2.3
2.8
29.6
45.2
19.6
5.6
17.9
28.7
25.5
27.9
22.4
34
16.4
27.2
25.2
30.5
22.8
21.5
23.8
34.6
21.1
20.6
26.8
47.2
12.4
4.4
7.2
2
64370
19794
250
20.7
22.3
17.9
10.4
24.3
4.4
111028
25086
251
52.4
25.6
10.4
7.20%
2
2.4
44254
9748
250
44.7
33.3
8.1
8.5
2.8
2.4
53279
12838
246
36.1
32.1
12.2
7.6
9.1
2.8
68114
16613
997
In most of the households there is only one earning member. This is not surprising since,
more than 60% of the single mothers are living alone with their children and another one
third of mothers are living with their parents. Table 4.1 shows that nearly 63 percent of the
households have single earning member, and a fourth of the households have two earning
members. Only a very small percentage of households (10% of the households) have three or
more earning members. Nearly 24 percent of the households have one dependent, 32
percent have two and nearly a fifth each have three and more than three dependents.
There is a huge variation both in the number of earning members and the number of
dependents among the different cities. The highest proportion of households with single
earning member (77 percent) is seen in Chennai, while Kolkata has the lowest(45 percent),
but it also has the highest proportion of households with two earning members(about33
percent). While Chennai has the highest proportion of households with one and two
dependents, it also has the lowest proportion of households with more than three
dependents (5.6 percent). In both Delhi and Kolkata nearly 27 percent of the households
have more than three dependents, while the proportion is slightly lower at 21.5 percent in
Mumbai.
The frequency distribution of single mother households by their annual household income
shows that nearly 36 percent of the sample belongs to the lowest income category -having
annual household income of less than Rs. 36,000 and another 32 percent are in the next
category. Thus nearly 68 percent of the sample households have annual income of less than
Rs. 60,000. Only about 9 percent of the households come in the highest income category of
more than Rs.1, 20,000 per annum. This again is not surprising since the focus of the present
study is on single mothers belonging to the lower strata of society, and nearly 35 percent of
the sample mothers are not even literate.
Once again a huge variation is seen in the distribution of households by income classes
across four cities. Nearly 52 percent of the sample households in Kolkata and 45 percent in
Mumbai come under the lowest income strata, while in Chennai nearly 47 percent of the
households are in annual income category of Rs.36, 001 to 60,000. Delhi, on the other hand
has the highest proportion of households (24.3 percent) in the highest income category.
The average annual household income of the sample works out to be Rs. 68,113, with Delhi
having the highest with Rs.1, 11,028 and Kolkata having the lowest with Rs.44, 254. The per
capita household income works out to Rs.16, 613 for the whole sample, once again with Delhi
having the highest with Rs.25, 085 and Kolkata having the least with Rs.9748 among the four
cities studied.
29 | P a g e
Table 4.1a analyses the same data on the basis of type of single mothers. Among various
categories of mothers, the proportion of households having a single earning member is
nearly similar. It is seen that the proportion of two or more earning members in the
households is slightly lesser for widow households’ compared to the others. This is because
as high as 66 percent of the widows in the sample live by themselves or with children as can
be seen from table 3.5 of chapter 3.
Table 4.1a Number of Earning Members and Household Income of Single Mothers–By
Type of Single Mother
Widow Divorced
Number of Earning Members
1
65.5
2
23.8
3
5.4
>3
1.3
No earning member
3.9
Number of dependents
1
20.4
2
37.5
3
24.2
>3
18
Annual Household Income
from various Sources in Rs
(2011-12)
<= 36000
37.8
36001 to 60,000
31.8
60,001 to 90,000
11.4
90,001 to 12,0000
6.9
>12,0000
7.9
No Response
4.1
Average HH Income (Rs)
59406
Per Capita Household Income 14923
(Rs)
Number of Women
534
*Included three unwed mothers
Separated Deserted/ Total
abandoned
57.6
27.1
10.2
3.4
1.7
58.7
24.4
11.8
4.3
0.8
62.6
25.2
7.5
2
2.7
62.8
24.4
7.7
2.3
2.8
22.0
33.9
15.3
28.8
28.0
29.9
18.5
23.6
29.9
32.7
15.6
21.8
23.6
34.8
21.1
20.6
27.1
25.4
13.6
6.8
27.1
0
113165
27942
33.1
35
12.6
8.7
9.8
0.8
81584
18995
39.5
29.9
13.6
8.8
5.4
2.7
57359
13824
36.1
32.1
12.2
7.6
9.1
2.8
68113
16613
59
254
147
997*
The divorced mother households appear to be economically better off than the other
categories in the sample. Their average household income of Rs.1, 13,165 and per capita
income of Rs.27, 942 is much higher than those of other categories of women. This is because
nearly 27.1 percent of the divorced mother households have income above Rs.1, 20,000. This
can again be linked to the fact that this category of single mothers i.e. the divorced mothers,
has the least proportion of illiterates, highest proportion of above schooling educated, and
hence the highest proportion of households under salaried employment (Table 3.2a of
chapter 3).
30 | P a g e
Table 4.2 analyses the different sources of income of the sample households by different
categories of single mother households. The various sources include the rental income,
different types of pensions, alimony in the case of divorced women, remittances etc. As the
sample single mothers belong to poor income households, it is seen that only a small
proportion of households get rental income (8.7 per cent). The proportion is highest (18.6
percent) in respect of divorced mother households, and around 8 percent in the three
remaining categories.
Table 4.2 Percentage of Single Mothers Having Different Sources of Income–By Type of
Single Mother
Wido
ws
Divorc
ed
Separat
ed
Total
7.1
7.5
Abandon
ed/Deser
ted
8.8
10.9
% of HHs getting rental income
Percentage of HH reporting getting
pension
Percentage of Single Mothers getting
pension
% of HH getting following pension
Widow pension
Family pension
Old Age Pension
Disability pension
8.4
20.2
18.6
10.2
18.0
3.4
0.4
4.8
10.6
17.2
2.8
1.9
0.2
5.1
0
5.1
0
3.1
1.6
2.8
2.8
8.2
2
2.7
0.7
11.5
2.2
2.4
0.2
% of HH getting remittance from
outside
From whom the HH gets remittance
Women’s relative
Husband’s family
NGO/Charitable
21.3
6.8
23.6
27.9
22.0
55.3
22.8
21.9
100
0
0
71.7
8.3
20
65.9
7.3
26.8
62.6
15.5
21.9
Percentage of Divorcee getting NA
alimony
Percentage of divorced/separated NA
women who got lump sum settlement
13.6
NA
NA
13.6
37.3
5.9
NA
3.7
% of widows who got PF/Insurance
after husband’s death
In case of widows whether got
property
Yes
No
No property
Children got/likely to get
Number of Women
*Included three unwed mothers
10.5
NA
NA
NA
10.5
5.6
81.1
8.8
4.5
534
NA
NA
NA
NA
59
NA
NA
NA
NA
254
NA
NA
NA
NA
147
5.6
81.1
8.8
4.5
997*
31 | P a g e
8.7
14.9
The BPL widows who belong to poor economic strata of society are entitled to monthly
pension from the government. Even though most of the sample widows of this study belong
to low income category, only 17 % of the widows reported getting widow pension. This could
probably be due to the fact that many of them are less than 40 years of age. Only the BPL
widows who are over the age of forty are entitled to the widow pension that is any way a
very meager amount. Another 3 percent of the widows are getting family pension as well. A
very small proportion of households other than those of widows have also reported getting
widow pension. In these households may be there are widows who are getting widow
pension. Only a few households have reported getting other pensions like the family pension,
old age pension, and disability pension.
About 22 percent of the sample households are getting remittances from outside as a
support. Of this, nearly 63 percent of the households are getting remittance from the
paternal relatives of the single mothers; only about 15 percent are getting from the
husband’s family and the remaining 22 percent from NGO/ charities. As is to be expected, the
divorced mother households are not getting any remittances from the husband’s family,
while nearly 23 percent of the widowed mother households and a meager 7-8% of separated
and abandoned mother households are receiving remittances from the husband’s family.
This is in line with what is reported in the next chapter about the relationship of single
mothers with their in-laws. A significant proportion of the widows continue to have cordial
relationship with their in-laws. While none of the divorced women continue their
relationship with their in-laws, interestingly a small percentage of separated and abandoned
mothers also continue to interact with their in-laws.
The sample women who had gone in for a legal divorce would have come to a financial
settlement through the court. Accordingly they would have either received a lump sum
amount or agreed for a monthly alimony to be given to them by their estranged husband. It
has been found that about 13 percent of the divorcee single mothers are receiving alimony
and about 37 percent of divorcee single mothers and even 6 percent of separated single
mothers have received lump sum amount as settlement.
Only about 10.5 percent of widowed mothers have got PF/insurance money after their
husband’s death. Unless the husband was working in an organized sector, the widow is
unlikely to get benefits like PF/gratuity. It is not uncommon for the in-laws not to give a
share in their property to their widowed daughter-in-law. This is true in the case of the
sample widows of this study as well. More than 80% of the widows have been denied their
share in the in-laws’ property. Only 5.6 percent of the sample widows have received a share
and about4.5 percent hope that their children will inherit it, while 8.8 per cent of the widows
reported that there was no property in the husband’s family.
32 | P a g e
4.3 Annual Savings of Single Mother Households
Table4.3 gives the details about savings of the single mother households, during the last one
year (2011-12) by type of single mother.
Table 4.3 Details about Savings of Single Mothers –By Type of Single Mother(Percentage)
Savings
widow
s
Divorce
d
Total
42.4
Separate Abandon
d
ed/
Deserted
33.5
25.2
Percentage of Mothers having
savings
account
in
Post
Office/bank
Percentage of mothers who are
members of Chit fund
Av. amount saved in the last one
year in Rs
Percentage of women/or their
children having insurance policy
Percentage of women who bought
gold in the last one year
Average amount spent on gold
jewelry
Number of Women
*Included three unwed mothers
39.0
11
15.3
7.1
6.8
9.6
13760
14841
17002
7184
13841
4.5
8.5
5.5
6.1
5.2
4.5
10.2
6.7
7.5
5.8
15138
17900
12400
31227
17672
534
59
254
147
997*
35.6
Around 36% of the single mother households have savings accounts in post office/ bank. The
proportion of such households is the highest in respect of divorced mothers at 42%, and
least at 25% in respect of abandoned/deserted single mother households. Only about a tenth
of the households have reported being members of chit funds, once again, the highest
proportion being that of divorced mothers-15.3% and the least being that of
abandoned/deserted mothers-6.8%. Surprisingly, while the amount saved in the last one
year is the least RS.7184 by abandoned/deserted mothers, average amount spent by them on
gold (Rs.31, 227) is the highest among all the categories. Only a very small proportion i.e.
5.2% of these women or their children are covered by any insurance policy.
33 | P a g e
4.4 Borrowings by Single Mother Households during 2011-12
The details about the borrowings and loans of single mother households are presented in
table 4.4.
Table 4.4 Details about Borrowings and Loans of Single Mothers –By Type of Single
Mother
% of women who liquidated
assets after becoming single
Reasons for Liquidating assets
To repay loan
To meet day to day expenses
For medical expenses
%of Women who have loan
outstanding
Av Amount of Loan outstanding
(Rs)
% of mothers who borrowed in
the last one year
Source from which borrowed
Bank
Friends/relatives
Money lender/pawn broker
Chit fund
Employer
Credit/thrift society
Reasons for Borrowings
To repay loan
To meet day to day expenses
Medical expenses
Education of children
To buy land/house/jewelry
Wedding/funeral expenses
Travel
Number of women
*Included three unwed mothers
Wido
ws
Divorc
ed
Separat
ed
14.6
15.3
15.8
Abandone Total
d/Desert
ed
15.0
14.9
15.4
51.3
33.3
21.3
11.1
44.4
44.4
13.6
20
57.5
22.5
16.1
4.5
90.9
4.5
17.0
14.8
58.4
26.8
18.9
25316 42375
20452
22772
45.5
33.9
43.3
49.6
2464
3
44.8
12.3
59.3
30.5
3.3
20.2
1.2
10.0
75.0
20.0
0
25.0
0
9.1
55.5
31.8
4.5
23.6
2.7
2.7
67.1
31.5
1.4
27.4
0
9.8
60.4
30.4
3.1
22.4
1.3
20.6
58
36.2
24.3
3.3
14.4
1.2
534
5.0
70.0
55.0
35.0
5.0
5.0
0
59
12.7
61.8
40
23.6
4.5
7.3
0.9
254
6.8
65.8
38.4
26.0
9.6
8.2
1.4
147
15.7
60.9
38.3
24.8
4.7
11.2
1.1
997*
Nearly 15% of the sample households have reported that they had liquidated some assets
after becoming single, and this proportion is nearly the same among all groups. However,
there are variations in the reasons for doing so among the four categories of households. In
the case of abandoned/ deserted mothers, of those who have liquidated, nearly 91% have
liquidated the assets for meeting day to day expenditure. In the case of separated mother
34 | P a g e
households, while more than half have utilized it for day to day expenditure, nearly 20%
each have used it for repaying loan and for meeting medical expenditure. In the case of
divorced mothers too, a higher proportion(44.%) have liquidated the assets for day to day
expenses and medical expenditure, and only about a tenth have utilized it for repayment of
loans. The situation is almost similar in the case of widow households. On the whole, nearly
60% of the households who had liquidated their assets had to do so for meeting day to day
expenditure. This shows that these single mothers got a real jolt after they became single and
had faced emotional as well as financial difficulties in coping with the changed situation.
The households belonging to lower economic strata of society seem to be perpetually living
on borrowed money. They take a fresh loan to repay their past loan and the cycle goes on.
Nearly 19% of the sample households have loan outstanding as of date, and the highest is in
the case of divorced mothers. The average amount of loan outstanding for those reporting
loan outstanding has worked out to be highest for the divorced mothers at Rs.42, 375.
Nearly 45% of the households have borrowed in the last one year, the proportion being
somewhat similar in respect of widow, separated and abandoned mother households, and
slightly lesser for divorced mother households.
The source from which these sample mothers borrow is an important factor since the rate of
interest and other conditions vary enormously with different sources. Borrowing from
money lenders can prove out to be a very expensive affair. Luckily most of the mothers
(around 60%) have borrowed from their friends and relatives. However, next to
friends/relatives, money lenders (30.4%) and employers (22%) seem to be the preferred
sources of borrowings for these single mothers. Although about 35% of the households have
reported having post office/bank accounts, only about a tenth of the households have
borrowed from banks. A few of the households have also borrowed from chit funds and thrift
and credit societies.
Once again it is seen that majority (61%) of the households have borrowed to meet day to
day expenditure. This shows that many of them have difficulty in making the ends meet.
Medical expenses (38.3%), education of children (24.8%), repayment of loan (15.7%) and
wedding/funeral expenses (11.2%) appear to be other important reasons for borrowing. A
few of the households have also borrowed to buy assets like land, house and jewellery which
are in a way an investment for the future.
A brief of the case story of single mothers who have liquidated their assets and have
taken loan to meet their expenses is represented below:
B-4---widowed
Born and brought up in a middle class family, at 19, in the final year of graduation, she fell in
love with a boy two years her senior, working in a company, but had only passed 10th . when
the family did not agree, they ran away and got married. After marriage lived with in-laws
who treated her badly because she brought no dowry, but moved out to their own house
when the husband came to know of it. Had two daughters. Unfortunately, husband’s
company closed, he could not get any other job, became depressed , started drinking, and
then died after 19 years of marriage. The in-laws never helped even with hospital expenses.
Fortunately she has a house. Now, she and her elder daughter are both working while the
younger one is studying.
35 | P a g e
Conclusion
Majority of the sample households have single earning members. As the sample is from
slums, low income colonies and lower middle class localities, nearly 68% of the households
have income (from all sources) of less than Rs.60, 000 per annum, and only about a tenth
have annual income above Rs.1, 20,000. Only small proportion of the households gets rental
income and some pension. Only about 22% of the households get remittances from outside,
and majority (62.6%) of them are from the women’s relatives. Although about 15.5% of the
households get remittances from husband’s family, it is mostly in respect of widow
households.
While about 35.6% of the sample households have post office/bank accounts, as low as only
5% of the women or their children have insurance coverage. About 15% of the women
liquidated assets after becoming single, to cope up with the sudden change in their financial
condition. The single mothers seem to live perpetually on borrowed money as nearly 45% of
the households have borrowed in the last one year, that too to meet the day today expenses.
Majority (nearly 60%) of the households have liquidated assets /borrowed to meet day to
day expenditure. Medical expenses are the next important reason. While about 15% of the
households have liquidated assets/borrowed to repay loans, a meager 4.7% of the
households have borrowed to buy land/house/jewels—some asset. Although
friends/relatives are the main source for borrowing, around 30% of the single mothers have
also borrowed from money lender/pawn broker.
36 | P a g e
Chapter 5: Challenges and Difficulties Faced by Single Mothers
The role of single mothers can be very stressful and challenging especially in the case
mothers who belong to low economic strata of society. In addition to emotional and
psychological problems, they may have to face financial difficulties in meeting even the day
to day expenses of running a home. The problems of single mothers are also linked with
bringing up children against all odds and settling them in life. A single mother may not get
emotional or moral support from anybody. She has no other adult with whom she could
share her responsibilities both physical and financial or take advice in decision making or
share the burden of child care. It is all the more difficult for single mothers who have never
worked previously to start earning for the family. In this chapter, the challenges and
difficulties faced by the sample single mothers as reported in their responses to the study
questionnaire are discussed.
5.1 Reaction/Feeling on becoming single
Table 5.1 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by their Reaction/feelings on
becoming Single
Widows
Immediate reaction
Lonely
69.5
Helplessness
72.5
Insecure
55.1
Lack of confidence
18.7
Lack of identity
8.8
Suicidal
5.8
Felt
Relieved/
got 2.6
freedom
Felt a big burden on me
24.7
Current State of mind
Lonely
52.2
Helpless
50.9
Insecure
47.4
Lack of confidence
17.2
Lack of identity
3.6
Decreased
status
in 2.4
society
Decreased status in family 6.9
Got used to living alone
29.2
Feeling relieved
6.0
Number of women
534
*Includes three unwed mothers
37 | P a g e
Divorced
Separated Abandone
d/Deserte
d
Total
52.5
44.1
35.6
15.3
6.8
8.5
42.4
46.5
51.2
45.3
16.1
11.0
8.3
22.8
52.4
55.1
49.7
13.6
9.5
9.5
8.8
59.9
62.7
50.6
17.3
9.4
7.1
11.0
37.3
19.7
28.6
24.8
27.1
20.3
30.5
16.9
3.4
8.5
28.0
28.7
33.5
10.2
4.7
3.5
31.3
36.7
40.8
10.9
4.8
6.8
41.4
41.3
42.0
14.4
4.0
3.7
8.5
39.0
45.8
59
14.6
39.8
24.8
254
15.0
38.8
15.0
147
10.1
33.8
14.4
997*
The expressions like “loneliness, feeling insecure or helpless” are used to describe the initial
reaction of most of the single mothers when they lost their husband or got separated/
divorced from their husbands (Table 5.1). A comparison of initial reaction of the mothers
with their current state of mind shows that with the passage of time the mothers do learn to
adjust and the percentage of mothers still feeling lonely or helpless comes down. As they say,
time is a healer. As quoted in Kotwal, Nidhi and Bharati Prabhakar (2009), a study on the
effect of widowhood on physical and mental health found that women who were recently
widowed reported substantially higher rates of depressed mood. The responses of the
sample single mothers in this study also show that over a period of time one third of them
get used to living alone. The data also shows that more than 40% of the divorced women and
more than 20 % of the separated mothers felt relieved once they left their husbands. May be
they were subjected to domestic violence and had to put up with an alcoholic husband.
Brief of case story of single mother reflecting feelings is represented below:
C—5--separated
T was married to a painter at the age of 18. Her husband had always been suspicious of her
behavior tormented her with words by linking her with all the men around her place of
living. She came to her mother’s house to deliver his first child and stayed with them for 10
years since she could not tolerate his words. After ten years, she was lured back to her
husband’s house saying that he was on his death bed, while he had only broken a leg. She
stayed there, and conceived again, and once again the tormenting started. For the 29 year
old single mother T, her parents and her siblings are the biggest support. She also specifies
that her daughters should not depend on others and would like the government to support at
least a part of her daughters’ educational expenses.
38 | P a g e
5.2 Difficulties Faced by Single mothers and Availability of Support
Table 5.2 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by Difficulties Faced by them and
the Availability of Support
Widow
s
Divorced
Separat
ed
%
reporting facing financial
difficulties
Kind of Difficulties Faced
To maintain same standard
To meet day to day expenses
To repay past loan
Educate children
Medical expenses
Pay rent
Help received in case of
emergency/crisis
No help
Husband’s relatives
Her relative
Neighbors/friends
Loan from money lenders
86.1
72.9
12.6
76.5
11.3
16.1
7.6
2.8
Loan from employer
NGO/Charitable institutions
Regular client in case of sex
worker
Person who has given maximum
support
Parent
Employer
In-laws
Paternal Relatives
Neighbors/friends
Brother
Landlord
Other (Ex-Husband, Children,
NGO)
No One
Number of women
*Includes three unwed mothers
39 | P a g e
Total
85.8
Abandone
d/Deserte
d
82.3
16.3
83.7
4.7
7.0
7.0
2.3
17.9
69.7
6.4
13.8
7.8
0.5
14.0
82.6
7.4
17.4
13.2
7.4
14.6
75.8
9.1
15.2
8.4
2.8
16.1
24.3
52.1
30.1
9.9
6.8
8.5
66.1
35.6
3.4
9.1
7.9
64.6
25.2
10.6
10.9
6.8
55.1
25.2
10.9
12.9
16.5
56.7
28.5
9.8
5.4
3.4
0.0
15.3
0.0
0.0
10.6
4.3
0.0
19.0
4.1
0.0
9.3
3.5
0.0
45.1
3.9
18.4
7.9
14.9
12.5
0.7
3.9
64.8
1.9
3.7
7.4
13.0
37.0
0.0
0.0
60.2
6.2
1.4
6.6
11.8
16.1
0.0
2.8
65.4
8.4
3.7
7.5
14.0
15.0
0.9
2.8
53.1
4.9
11.2
7.5
13.9
15.3
0.5
3.3
11.8
534
7.4
59
10.0
254
3.7
147
10.0
997*
84.7
More than 80% of the mothers reported that they have financial difficulties. However in the
case of divorcees, the percentage reporting financial difficulties has worked out to be
comparatively lower at 72.This could be because as it has been seen in the previous chapter,
the legally divorced women in the sample are financially better off than other categories of
women in the sample such as widows and separated/abandoned mothers. Most of the
sample mothers reporting financial difficulties seem to have problems in meeting day today
expenses. More than ten percent of the widows have to repay their past loan; it is possible
that these women had borrowed for the treatment of their husbands.
Nearly two thirds of divorced and separated women and more than half of the widows and
the abandoned women do get help from their parental homes in case of financial difficulties
or crisis situation. While in the case of one fourth of widows the in-laws are also of support,
in the case of others there is hardly any support forthcoming from the husband’s relatives.
Interestingly, the neighbors and friends are quite supportive and helpful when there is a
crisis situation. Again, when they were asked to mention the persons who had given them the
maximum support, with the exception of widows more than 60% of the single mothers have
mentioned their parents. In addition to parents, a good percentage (in the case legally
divorced women 37%) has mentioned their brother as someone who has given them
maximum support. As far as the widows are concerned, around 45% have mentioned their
parents and another 18% their in-laws.
5.3 Attitude of Society towards Single Mothers
In India traditionally the widows were the single mothers and it is a known fact that outside
the educated elite society, widows have a very low status in our society. In the traditional
families the widows are not allowed to dress up, are made to wear white clothes and not
allowed to eat rich food. Their presence is not welcomed in auspicious occasions as they are
considered unlucky. The plight of divorced/separated/abandoned women could be worse
than that of widows since generally only the women are blamed for the separation/divorce.
In the present study, the survey questionnaire had a series of questions to understand the
attitude of the society towards single mothers and their relationship of single mothers with
their parents and in-laws. The responses of the single mothers are presented in Table 5.3.
40 | P a g e
Table 5.3 Percentage Distribution of Single Mothers by Attitude of Society towards
Them
% reporting society treating them
differently
Ways in which society treat them
differently
People say I am character less
People say I have cheated my husband
As a widow I am avoided in social
functions
In-laws side tease me
Cannot actively participate in marriage
rituals
Look Down Upon me / abuse / taunt me
Other (Think that I am an unlucky woman
/Men make sexual advances/ People
sympathize with me)
% sharing cordial relationship with
Paternal relatives
Husband’s relatives
% who socialize with neighbors
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
% invited for social functions like Puja,
wedding etc
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
%facing
problems
in
getting
accommodation on rent
% reporting sexual harassment
Where did they face sexual harassment
Neighborhood
Relatives/family
Workplace
Other (Don’t want to tell, by stranger,
Police)
Number of women
*Includes three unwed mothers
41 | P a g e
Widows Divorce
d
Separat
ed
Total
16.1
Abandon
ed/Deser
ted
17.0
7.3
15.3
10.3
2.6
25.6
44.4
11.1
0.0
36.6
9.8
0.0
32.0
4.0
0.0
27.6
6.0
25.6
7.7
17.9
0.0
0.0
2.4
7.3
0.0
8.0
3.5
10.3
28.2
7.7
44.4
0.0
39.0
2.4
44.0
8.0
37.1
5.2
80.1
47.8
89.8
3.4
83.9
10.2
84.4
14.3
82.3
30.5
67.2
20.0
8.4
4.3
76.3
11.9
3.4
8.5
62.2
21.7
12.2
3.9
70.1
19.7
8.8
1.4
66.9
20.0
9.1
4.0
62.0
24.7
9.0
4.3
24.3
72.9
16.9
6.8
3.4
23.5
56.3
28.7
11.4
3.5
32.7
68.0
18.4
12.9
0.7
27.8
62.0
24.5
10.0
3.5
27.1
8.6
10.2
10.2
12.9
9.7
32.6
15.2
23.9
28.3
50.0
0.0
16.7
33.3
26.9
23.1
26.9
23.1
42.1
21.1
26.3
10.5
34.0
17.5
24.7
23.7
100.0
534
100.0
59
100.0
254
100.0
147
100.0
997*
11.6
While 15% of divorced women, 16% of separated women and 17% of abandoned women
have reported that society is treating them differently, in the case of widows, percentage
complaining against society has worked out to be much lower at 7%. This is understandable
since in the eyes of society, while death of a husband is fate/destiny, divorce or separation is
under the control of a woman. Hence the society may be more sympathetic towards widows.
In the case of widows, the main grievance seems to be that they are not allowed in social
functions and not allowed to participate in marriage rituals. However, the divorcees,
separated and abandoned women in the sample complained that people accuse them of
immoral character. According to them the society does not hesitate to abuse them or taunt
them and look down upon them, although even 28% of the widows who have complained
about the society’s attitude have also mentioned that the society looks down upon them.
More than 80% of the single mothers have a cordial relationship with their parents. As far as
continuing relationship with their in-laws is concerned, one does not expect such a cordial
relationship. It is not surprising that only a very small percentage of the divorced women
have cordial relationship with their in-laws. But it is rather surprising to know that 10% of
the separated single mothers and around 14% of the abandoned mothers continue to have
good relationship with the in-laws even after they have cut off their relationship with their
husband. In the case of widows around 48% continue to have cordial relationship with their
in-laws. These figures talk highly about the strong family ties which continue even after the
unpleasant experiences like death of the husband or separation from their husbands.
It is very heartening to know that the single mothers do not become a recluse and they do
interact with the outside world. Nearly two thirds of the sample women always make it a
point to socialize with the neighbors and more than 60% of the women are invited for the
social functions like Puja, weddings as well. Only a very small percentage of mothers (4%)
have said that they never socialize or they are never invited for social functions.
One of the problems people face in big cities is finding a suitable residential accommodation.
It looks as if it would be more difficult for the single mothers to get accommodation. More
than one fourth of the single mothers have complained that they do face difficulties in getting
accommodation on rent.
Around 10 percent of the sample single mothers have also faced sexual harassment. They
could face the problem anywhere- neighborhood, workplace, within home from the relatives.
The single mothers seem vulnerable and men do try to take advantage of their being alone.
5.4 Problems Faced by Single Mothers in Bringing up Children
The US Census Bureau statistics have shown that children living at home with both parents
grow up with more financial and educational advantages than those raised by single parent.
The single mothers are likely to face financial, physical and emotional problems in rearing
the children since they may not have anybody to share the responsibility. Moreover children
living in a single parent household may go through emotional problems. The child may be
missing the company of the father and loosing out on the experience of having an adult male
in the house, although the absence of a father is sometimes better than the bad one.
The present study not only tried to find out about problems faced by single mothers in
raising children, but also about expectation of mothers regarding their children’s future. In
addition the survey questionnaire included a few questions to understand attitude of society
towards the children of single parents. The findings of the survey are presented in Table 5.4.
42 | P a g e
Table 5.4 Problems Faced by Single Mothers Regarding Their Children and their
Expectation for their Children’s Future
Whether the children invited for birth
day parties etc in the neighborhood
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
% Reporting children are treated
differently
By other children
By Teachers
Problems faced by Single Mothers in
raising Children
Lack of quality time
Lack of attention in checking bad habits
like smoking
Lack of attention towards their
education
Unable to provide good food
Disciplining them
Financial difficulties
Providing emotional support
All above
None
Mother’s Expectation for their children’s
future
Become well educated
To become self reliant
Financially secured future
Good life partner for daughter
Success in life
To become a good human being
Get good life /
Good standard of
living
Get Stable job with good salary
Number of women
*Includes three unwed mothers
43 | P a g e
Wido
ws
Divorc
ed
Separat
ed
Abandone Total
d/Deserte
d
70.6
18.2
7.9
3.4
81.4
13.6
5.1
0.0
59.1
27.2
9.8
3.9
68.0
19.0
9.5
3.4
68.0
20.3
8.4
3.3
0.8
1.8
0
0
0.4
0.4
2.3
2.3
0.9
1.4
31.8
14.2
44.1
5.1
30.3
8.7
28.6
6.8
31.7
11.1
31.8
32.2
27.6
29.9
30.4
25.5
21.2
53.6
10.3
8.4
3.9
33.9
28.8
44.1
11.9
1.7
6.8
18.9
28.7
64.6
16.9
6.3
2.4
31.3
19.0
62.6
11.6
8.8
4.1
25.1
23.2
57.1
12.4
7.5
3.7
61.8
25.8
4.1
6.7
12.4
1.5
1.3
78.0
28.8
18.6
1.7
13.6
1.7
1.7
65.0
23.6
7.9
4.7
9.4
0.4
0.4
62.6
26.5
6.1
8.8
8.2
1.4
0.0
63.8
25.5
6.3
6.2
11.0
1.2
0.9
34.3
534
23.7
59
39.8
254
35.4
147
35.1
997*
It is very heartening to know that the children of single mothers are not discriminated
against and most of the children are invited for birthday parties etc in the neighborhood.
Only around 3% have said that the children are never invited. Similarly, neither the peer
group nor the teachers in the school treat these children anyway differently. The percentage
of single mothers voicing such complaints is negligible. One of the reasons for this could be
that in big metropolitan cities, people lead such a busy lifestyle that they may not find time to
know about other families and get involved in their personal matters. Secondly, in the strata
of society from which the sample mothers come from, leaving one’s husband or being
abandoned by husband may not be very uncommon. Hence their society may be more
accepting.
When the mothers were asked about difficulties faced by them in bringing up children, 57%
mentioned financial difficulties. While among the legally divorced women 44% talked about
financial difficulties, among the separated women and abandoned women, percentage
mentioning financial difficulties was much higher at 65 and 63 respectively. One fourth of
mothers feel that they are not able to provide good food to their children because of financial
crunch. As sole earners their income may not be enough to make ends meet. Not able to
spend quality time with the children and unable to pay attention to the education of children
are the other major problems faced by single mothers. As a single parent, and a sole bread
earner, a single mother may have to work long hours and also take care of other household
responsibilities. Hence she may not get sufficient time to take care of the children.
Disciplining children and preventing them from getting into bad habits like smoking are very
important concerns of any parent. In absence of a male companion this task may be more
difficult for mothers especially with regard to disciplining boys. A study conducted among
single mothers in Jammu and Kashmir found that 60% of them found it hard to maintain
discipline among children due to absence of male counterparts and felt that their children
were out of control and not responding to their parenting (Kotwal, Nidhi and Bharati
Prabhakar, 2009). In the present study also, single mothers have mentioned such difficulties.
With regard to what single mothers expect about the future of their children, it has been
found that in spite of the fact that most of the sample mothers are not well educated (in fact
some are illiterate), they want their children to become well educated. They are able to
realize that education alone can assure them a secured future. Nearly 64% of the mothers (in
the case of legally divorced mothers as high as 78%) want their children to be well educated.
Around 35% want their children to have a secured job with good salary and nearly one
fourth of the mothers do not want their children to be dependent on anybody and want their
children to be self reliant and stand on their own feet.
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A brief of a case story reflecting the mother’s expectations from their children future is
represented below:
K-2 ---widowed
Being a graduate, she chose a boy for herself and married him with her parent’s consent.
They had a daughter in a year. Only after the marriage, she realized that her husband was not
educated, had no income apart from that of his parents. Moreover, he used to drink and illtreat her. She was prepared to earn, and wanted to study further, but he would not hear of it.
She started giving tuitions, but had to leave her daughter at her parents at such times. When
her plight became very bad, she moved to her parent’s house. But, he used to come there
also, trouble her, and at times even take away the daughter. This continued for about 4 years
until he passed away due to liver ailment. She has now finished her masters and teaches in a
school. Having realized her mistakes, she now advices her students to take decisions in life
logically and not emotionally. She stresses the importance of education in order to be self
reliant and live with respect and dignity. She expects the children of single mothers to get
admission in schools and also wants government to start vocational training for those of
them that are not well educated.
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Chapter 6: Summary and Conclusion
The present study focuses on single mothers who belong to poor/ low economic strata of
society and tries to know about their socio-economic background. The study attempts to
understand the difficulties and challenges faced by the single mothers and the various coping
mechanisms and survival strategies that the mothers are adopting. The intention of the study
is to know about the support systems that are available to these underprivileged mothers
within the family, society, and from the government and to suggest measures to improve the
plight of these women. The findings of the survey and the case studies of the single mothers
provide an insight into the emotional, psychological, financial and social problems of the
single mothers and hope to give directions for future course of action.
During the field work, the study team realized that not many women from this class of
society bother to go in for a legal divorce; only a few women take the trouble of going
through the legal process of getting a divorce. Of the various categories of single mothers in
the sample, the legally divorced single mothers are found to be better educated than the
others. This shows that it needs a certain level of education and/ or support of educated
persons to go through the legal procedure. Since most of the women end up living separately
without any legal sanction, they do not get or cannot claim any financial support or other
legal rights from their husband. For instance nearly 50% of the legal divorced sample
mothers have reported getting either alimony or a lump sum settlement at the time of
divorce, while only a very insignificant proportion of separated women received a lump sum
amount at the time of separation; none of the abandoned mothers got anything. Given that
the sample is from the metro cities and most of the women are in their early thirties or even
younger, it is rather shocking that around 35% of them are illiterate. Since they do not have
any formal education, when they became single and had to earn for a living, they had no
choice but to work as domestic servant, cook, ayah etc.
On becoming single, initially the mothers felt lonely, insecure and helpless, with the passage
of time the mothers do learn to adjust and the percentage of mothers still feeling lonely or
helpless somewhat comes down. In a number of cases the women reported that they felt
relieved after the divorce /separation since they were subjected to physical and emotional
torture by their husbands. In a substantial proportion of cases the decision to divorce or live
separately has been taken by the women. Also, the field data as well the case studies revealed
that some of them felt relieved after the divorce/separation although financially and
emotionally they might have gone through a difficult period. This shows that there is a limit
to which women can tolerate evils like domestic violence and alcoholism.
A very high proportion of divorced as well as separated women are living with their parents
or parents’ side relatives like brother etc, Most of these women have also reported getting
help from their parents at the time of financial crisis or any other emergencies. Similarly a
significant proportion of widows do get help from their in-laws and they are having cordial
relationship with their in-laws. These findings show that in the absence of any other support,
the family gives the moral and financial support. This speaks for the strong family ties in
India. Not only the family, on many occasions even the friends and neighbors seem to rise to
the occasion.
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Although widows belonging to low income class are entitled to widow pension, in the
present sample only 17% of widows have reported getting widow pension as most of the
sample widows in the present study are below forty years of age; another 3% reported
getting family pension. Since in all probability the husbands of these widows would have
worked in the unorganized sector, only around 10% of them got benefits like Provident Fund
or Gratuity after their husband’s death. More than 80% of the widows are denied their
legitimate share in the property by their in-laws.
A very high proportion i.e. as high as 85% of the sample mothers seem to face financial
difficulties in running their household as a single earner. Most of the single mothers in the
sample have loans outstanding and they seem to be perpetually living on borrowings. The
fact that they need to borrow even to meet day to day expenses shows that they have
difficulties in making ends meet. In fact around 18% of the single mothers are not educating
their children (of 5 to 18years of age) and resource crunch has been reported as the most
important reason for not educating these children.
Around 15 to 17% of divorced/separated/ abandoned single mothers do feel that the
society treats them differently although the percentage is much lower at 7 in the case of
widows. Also more than one fourth of the mothers do face difficulties in getting
accommodation on rent. However, most of the single mothers are invited for social functions
like puja etc and these single mothers do socialize with the neighbors. It is heartening to
know that these single women do not become a recluse and they do socialize with others.
This shows that at least in metro cities there has been a change in the attitude of society. Or
may be divorcing one’s husband or being separated or abandoned is not considered “wrong”
in the kind of society they belong to.
It is not surprising that even after husband’s death quite a good proportion of widows have
cordial relationship with their in-laws and they do interact with them, but what comes as a
surprise is that even among the separated/abandoned single mothers, a few of them
continue to have cordial relationship with their in-laws. The single mothers do seem
vulnerable and around 10% have complained of facing sexual harassment at some point of
time or other.
Though the children of single mothers do not seem to face any social problem neither in the
neighborhood nor at school, the mothers do feel guilty about not being able to pay enough
attention and quality time with their children. The financial difficulties in providing good
food and good education also seem to add to their woes. But what is interesting is that
though the mothers themselves are not well educated, almost all of them want their children,
both sons and daughters, to get well educated. They do realize that education is the only way
to have a secured future. Nearly one fifth of the mothers expect financial help from the
government to educate their children.
When single mothers were asked to mention the kind of facilities they expect from
government to cope up with their difficulties, more than 60% of them wanted help in some
form or other for improving their economic condition. They want secured jobs either for
themselves or for their children and financial help for setting up business. Thus educating
their children and getting a secured job are clearly their priorities. It is interesting to note
that only a small percentage of women want financial help for their daughter’s marriage.
Even in the case of daughters, these single mothers are giving importance to their education.
Not many single mothers seem to know about the various government schemes that are
available except for widow pension.
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Chapter 7: Recommendations from the Study
1. From the survey of 997 single mothers 892 mothers reported having children in the
age group of 5-18 years. The total eligible children for schooling comprised of 1621
including males and females. Out of 1621, 261 children were not sent to school by the
mothers. Of which over 50 % were among male children and 111 were among female
children who were not sent to school. Out of all the reasons given by mothers for not
sending their children to school, “not been able to afford fees” was the highest chosen
reason by 48.4% of the mothers. It was also shared by the mothers that along with the
fees they are also unable to bear the expenses for stationary, uniform, etc. In case of
female child there are schemes that exist like Ladli etc but in case of male child there
are no such schemes. Therefore, more numbers of male children are not sent to school
as compare t their female counterparts.
There should be a scheme to provide help to single mothers having a male child based
on their condition and economic status so that they would be able to educate the male
child as well.
2. The survey also brings out the difficulties faced by single mothers in mastering any
skill which will help them generate a livelihood.
The single mothers should be linked with the existing job/work oriented vocational
training programs for women implemented by NGOs/companies or VT programs
especially focusing on single mothers should be initiated to be able to generate
livelihood opportunities for single mothers.
3. Most of the schemes providing financial assistance are for widows or legally divorced
women. Apart from these two categories there are many women who belong to
deserted and/or separated group or who have filed for divorce but have not attained
the status of ‘legally divorced’. The cover of financial assistance should be extended to
such women as well.
4. A more detailed and larger survey especially focusing on gathering awareness among
single women about Government Schemes for women should be initiated.
5. Of 534 widows only 18% are receiving pension. The rules for availing benefits from
widow pension needs to reviewed to increase the number of beneficiaries for this
scheme. At present there is a strict age criterion and time limit for the widows to avail
benefits under this scheme.
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References:
Swain Pushpanjali and Vijayan K.Pillai (2005): Living Arrangement Among Single Mothers in
India, Canadian Studies in Population, Vol.32.12005 pp. 53-67
Kotwal Nidhi and Bharati Prabhakar (2009): Problems Faced by Single Mothers. Journal of
Social Sciences 21(3): 197-204
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration 1997. Census Brief
Census 97-1, Issue September 1997.
http://nitawriter.worldpress.com/2006/10/05/single-mothers-face-an-uphill-task/
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Annexure
Case Studies
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Case study-C1
Getting Rid of an Useless Husband
This is the story of a 35 year old separated woman (TA) who lives in a TNSCB (Tamil Nadu
Slum Clearance Board) tenement in the city of Chennai. This story tells how a woman would
prefer to bear the entire burden of taking care of the children and home rather than put up
with a worthless husband. TA is originally from Aannaa Nandan village, in Thiruvanamalai
district of Tamil Nadu. Her mother left the family when she was a baby and never returned.
Her father, a daily labourer raised her with the support of relatives and neighbours. Now that
the father is bed ridden, TA is taking care of him.
TA did her schooling in three different schools in Thiruvannamalai district. She has studied
up to 12th standard; when she failed in +2 she had decided to discontinue her education. She
enjoyed her school days and had lots of friends in the school. After TA completed her
schooling, along with her father she migrated to Chennai in 1995 and stayed in a rented
house at Ayanavaram. She worked in a Day care center run by a social service institution
based at Ayanavaram for 6 years and then joined the Tamil Nadu Slum clearance board as an
animator in the Tsunami project. She has been working in TNSCB since 2006 and earns
Rs.3000 per month.
She fell in love with a man who was working as a contract labourer in Chennai and after
meeting him in 1977 she married him in a temple. She was 20 years old when she got
married. No dowry was given and she and her husband started their newly married life in
Ayanavaram and later shifted to Semmencheri TNSCB tenement which was allotted to them.
She has never been to her husband’s home town, Villupuram and has not met her in-laws
either. She has two children- daughter, 9 years of age studying in 4th standard and a son 7
years of age studying in 3rd std. Her children don’t like their father since he had never bought
anything for them.
They lived happily for the first eight years but TA’s husband stopped going to work in 2005.
She tried to motivate him by getting him a loan of Rs.60000 from money lenders to start a
petty shop. The business didn’t do well as per their expectation since her husband was not
very to run the business. This created misunderstanding between the two and TA’s husband
used to fight with her and often leave for his native place and come back after 5 or 6 months.
Since the problem continued, TA decided to leave her husband. Since 2009 i.e. for the past 3
years she has been living separately. Her husband never came back from his village and she
is least bothered about him, since he is of no use as he is not willing to work and earn for the
family. She is taking care of her two children and her father who is bed ridden. She is facing
financial difficulties to meet the day to day expenses since she also needs to repay the loan.
However, she is bold enough to face any situation without the support of her husband and
bring up her children and ensure good status for them in the society. Her neighbours and a
few office colleagues are of emotional support to her and help her during emergencies.
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Case Study-C2
Once Bitten Twice Shy?
P who is a resident of East Tambaram in Chennai, has been unfortunate to have had the
experience of broken marriage twice in her life time. P who is currently 32 year old was
married first at the age of 18 and again at the age of 22 and both the marriages did not work
out. P is originally from a village in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Her parents were farmers and owned 20 cows. They made a living by selling milk and curd to
the neighbours. In addition her mother worked as a farm labourer. She has a brother and a
sister who is mentally challenged. P did her schooling in Kanchipuram district and in
Tambaram. She discontinued her education after 6th standard since she was not interested in
studies.
She was married to one of her relatives at the age of 18 and although no dowry was given,
her parents spent around Rs.60,000 for the wedding. However the married life was not
happy since the couple did not get along. There were misunderstandings between the two
even on small issues. On mutual agreement they got separated within a year. After the
separation she lived with her parents and helped her father in his milk business.
After a while, P took up a job of a helper in a nearby hospital and she got married again with
another relative of hers who was already married and living separately since he had fought
with his wife. He had given assurance that soon he will divorce his first wife. Again her father
spent Rs 50,000 for the marriage by taking a loan from a bank. P lived happily for 3 years and
had two children- two sons, one is studying in 4th standard and the younger one in 3rd
standard.
Her husband started going back to his first wife and this created problem in the family. P’s
parents started treating her husband badly and this resulted in misunderstanding. Her
husband left her permanently and started living with his first wife in another district. She
does not know his whereabouts and her in-laws also do not divulge the details. She is living
with her parents and taking care of her children.
P has been working as a helper in a private hospital for the past two years and earns Rs.
5000 per month. Her father died recently due to prolonged illness. She feels that only her
neighbours are standing as an emotional support to her and help her during emergencies.
She wants her children to study well and get a good job and support her in her old age. She
wants the Government to support her child’s education and give free provision in ration shop
so that she can lead her life more comfortably.
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Case Study-C 3
Fate of a “Childless Woman”
R, aged 35, now a single mother lives in a middle class locality of Chennai. After being
separated from her husband, she earns her living by cooking for two nearby households.
From her childhood she has lead a life filled with sorrow and anxiety. Though her father
worked as a wireman in the electricity board, he was irresponsible. He was a drunkard and
had many extra-marital affairs. He earned sufficient money but spent all his earnings on
drinks and women. Her mother worked in a small groundnut factory and looked after her
seven children. Her uncle and grandmother also supported them. Since no one in the family
earned well, at times the children had to go without food. All these factors lead to
disturbance in her studies and she discontinued her schooling while studying in standard 8
in a government school.
R fell in love with her cousin during her teenage and her parents got her married to him at
the age of 16 with a dowry of 4 sovereigns of gold jewellery and an auto rickshaw worth Rs.
37000/-. Her husband looked after her very well for a year. Then the problem began to crop
up since she did not get a child. Her mother-in-law provoked her son to ill-treat her. This
problem continued for 7 long years. After one year of marriage, she started working as a
cook since her husband ceased to give her any money to meet the day-to-day expenses. The
medical tests on R and her husband showed that the husband had a problem. But he failed to
accept it and kept abusing her physically and mentally after drinking. He forcefully got a
divorce from R and married another woman. He remains childless till date.
After she became single her parents got her married her again and this time to a widower
who already had two children from his first wife. R conceived after 3 months of her second
marriage and gave birth to a son. She was happily married till her son’s first birthday. Her
husband who is a taxi driver wanted to marry his widowed cousin and said to R that it was
his duty to look after his widowed cousin. R left her husband and went to her mother’s house.
R is not able to understand till now the reason for the separation- is it his kids from his first
wife or his cousin or his relatives??? She sought the support of women police to get him back,
but was denied justice as her husband holds a post in the state political party. She was even
verbally abused by them. She also went to the house where he lives and requested him to
come back to her. But every time she goes to convince him she is chased away from that
house with the help of the police. She is not able to have him since she does not have money
and powerful political background. Now son is 3 years old now and is studying in pre-KG in a
private school.
She herself came out of her mother’s house and started living in a rented house. She earns Rs.
4000/- per month. She recently sold her jewellery for meeting the expenses of her son’s
operation. She too has health problems and complaints that she cannot stand and work for
long hours and she is being treated for it in a private hospital. She does get loan from her
employer whenever she needs and her brothers or sisters are not rich enough to help her
financially.
She remains isolated from the neighbourhood. She lives in distress and says that she would
have committed suicide but for her son. Her son craves for his father’s love and often asks for
him.. Her husband is ready to look after her son but she does not want her son to go to his
53 | P a g e
father since she lives only for him. She wants to give him good education and see to it that he
is settled in life.
Case study-C4
Unable to Put Up with an Unfaithful and Drunkard Husband
The 42 year old separated woman S lives in Chennai. She was born and brought up in a small
village called Sirapur in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. Her parents are basically
farmers and had agricultural land. S did her primary education in Sirapur and higher
education in Sattan kulam in Tirunelveli district. She has studied up to 11th std and after that
she earned money by making match boxes at home. She enjoyed her childhood very much
with her friends in the village since all of them worked together. Every month they would go
to the monthly market and buy whatever they wanted.
She is a very spiritual person and was very much involved in local church activities with her
friends. She used to help in cleaning the church and regularly attend the church service.
She got married at the age of 26 to someone from the same village. Her parents sold their
land to meet the marriage expenses; she was given 20 sovereigns of gold. The couple lived
happily and had two children in 3 years.
Her husband was working as an electrician and earned up to Rs.6000 per month. He used to
drink and this created tension in the family and children started to hate him since he used to
beat them up when he was drunk. He even had an affair with his neighbour. S decided to
leave her husband and go to Chennai to live with her parents. Her relatives tried to pacify her
but she was very firm in her decision. They took a house on rent and she started working in
an export company and earned Rs.6000 per month. Her parents used to prepare sweets at
home and sell it to the nearby shops and earn some money out of it.
Her elder son has studied up to 10th and has started working in a company and earning
Rs.6000 per month. Younger son is studying in 9th std in the nearby Government school.
Meanwhile her husband tried to convince her to come back to the village but she didn’t
agree. He married the woman with whom he had an affair and now has children through the
second marriage as well. Her relatives helped in the settlement of property and her children
received Rs.1,50,000 as settlement.
S and her husband are not legally divorced and her husband helps her during need. But the
children don’t like their mother being supported by their father and don’t want to use their
father’s name as their initial either. They also don’t want to visit their father.
She feels that her relatives and neighbours are standing as an emotional support to her
She hopes that her children would get a good job and wants her younger son to become a
pastor.
She expects the Government to support her with pension, a shop and a home and some more
provisions so that she could have a peaceful living.
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Case Study-C5
Suspicious Nature of Husband Leading to Separation
For the 29 year old single mother T, her parents and her siblings are the biggest support. She
was married to a painter at the age of 18 and was given 7 sovereigns of gold jewellery as
dowry. She lived in a joint family along with her in-laws. Her father-in-law worked as a
watchman and mother in-law was a house wife. Her husband has 2 elder brothers and 4
younger sisters. Her husband had always been suspicious of her behaviour. He tormented
her with words by linking her with all the men around her place of living. She says she had
quite a happy childhood and no one had ever spoken to her the way her husband did. He
became mentally ill because of the suspicious attitude. She came to her mother’s house to
deliver his first child and stayed with them for 10 years since she could not tolerate his
words.
A year ago she received a phone call from her in-laws saying that her husband had fallen
from the ladder while doing his painting work and was about to die. She went to see him
since she was told that her husband was in his death bed. But actually her husband was not
all that ill and only his leg was fractured. As soon as she went to see him, his relatives
convinced her to stay back. She started living with him after 10 years gap. He looked after
her well for a few months. She conceived again. The same old story started; he was filled with
suspicion and again began to abuse her. Once again she left her husband and came back to
her mother’s house. Now she is living with her parents, her younger brother and sister in a
comfortable rented house located in a middle class locality in Chennai. Her husband is in
Bangalore, living all alone.
T is now 29 years old. She has 2 daughters; the first one 11 years old studying in standard 5
in a private school and 2nd daughter is just a year old. Her first daughter met her father only
at the age of 10. She had not asked about her father till then. T works as a domestic servant
and earns Rs. 4000/- a month. The salary of her brother and sister put together amounts to
Rs. 8500/- per month. She says that her brother and sister are supporting her financially and
she is worried about losing it when they get married.
Once, T approached her in-laws to lend some money to educate her elder daughter Ramya,
but they refused to give money and also told T to send her to work as a maid and earn. T
says that these words hurt her very badly and now she has taken it as a challenge and
sending her daughter to a good school. She also specifies that her daughters should not
depend on others and would like the government to support at least a part of her daughters’
educational expenses.
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Case Study-B1
Is it Greed for Money or Lust for ‘Other Women’?
This is a story of a woman (X) in her early thirties belonging to a lower middle class family
living in the slums of Mumbai. Almost 10yrs after marriage, her husband who is a local goon
(‘dada’), threw her out of the house as he wasn’t getting the dowry he demanded. X is born
and brought up in Mumbai, her mother works as a domestic help and cooks in nearby
houses. Her father worked as a watchman but presently unemployed. She is the only
daughter and has 3 brothers. As a child she had wishes like other girls which were never
fulfilled. X was hardly 10 years old when her mother fell from a height and injured her back.
She had no choice but to work as a domestic servant. Her household did not get anything
from her father’s income as he was always drinking and squandering money. In spite of all
odds, she continued her education along with her job and completed 9th Standard.
At the age of 20, she was married off by her parents. Before marriage the boy’s parents did
not demand any dowry but once she got married they started demanding dowry which her
parents could not afford. Her husband is educated till 12th Std and worked as an auto
rickshaw driver, but now he is a goon. After marriage, X lived in a joint family consisting of 8
persons. The financial condition of her in-laws was stable as almost every member of the
household worked. She wasn’t allowed to continue her job as a domestic help since her inlaws did not want their daughter-in-law to work in other’s houses. Till the time she was in
her husband’s house she never took up any job as she was not allowed to do so.
She gave birth to two daughters and the first girl was born after a year on the same date as of
her first wedding anniversary. Her husband’s behavior and life style slowly started changing.
His extra marital affairs were now out in the open and he often invited other women home.
His greed for money increased and he started ill treating and beating her up for money. Ten
years after marriage, X and her daughters were thrown out of the house by her husband. Her
initial reaction was to kill herself as she did not have any idea how to face the society or
where to go. Only thing that stopped her from taking such a drastic step was her children;
she decided to live for them and give them a good life. Today she feels better that she is not
beaten up and does not have to go through mental and emotional torture every day. She
works hard to give her children good education and a good life.
She is currently living with her parents in their house and works in a government school as a
helper in distributing food to children. Recently, her elder daughter has left the house
without informing her to live with her father; she is now living with her younger daughter.
She does not have any contact with her in-laws, but is aware of her husband’s whereabouts,
as they live close by. The younger daughter does not miss her father; in fact she is very angry
for whatever her father has done.
As a working mother, bringing up kids and giving them correct values while living in a slum
was a difficult task but she has managed it fairly well and now she is confident that she can
do it. Her life has changed a lot since she became a single parent as she learnt the ways of life
in a hard way. She knew she had to earn enough to educate her daughters and give them a
good life. She has become a strong woman and learnt to become independent. She is
currently in the process of getting a divorce. Once the legal formalities are over she would
even consider marrying again. If she comes across a good man, willing to accept her with her
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daughter and has no demands of dowry, she is willing to settle down once again or else she is
very happy to spend rest of her life with her daughter.
Case Study B2
Unstable Marriage with a Migrant Worker
N, who is currently 42 years old, is a Bengali, born in village Khandakgram in the Methnapur
Zillah, Tamluk Mahakumar of West Bengal. She is the youngest among all her siblings and
when she was just 6 months old she lost her parents. She, along with her 3 sisters and 2
brothers were brought up by their father’s elder brother. Among her brothers and sisters,
she was the only one who was sent to school as her siblings were not interested in studying.
She has studied till 5th Standard. She had started working as a domestic help at the age of
nine; she would do dusting and odd jobs in houses. She joined an agency for domestic
servant in Kolkata at the age of 13yrs and through the agency she came to Mumbai at the age
of 27yrs. Since she had got used to Mumbai, she did not want to go back to the agency. She
started working as a cook in various houses and decided to stay on in Mumbai.
While living in a chawl in Mumbai, she came across a group of men staying in the house
opposite to hers. She fell in love with one of them and at the age of 31 and married him in the
court. Her husband was from Nepal and was educated up to 7th Standard and worked as a
driver. After marriage, they lived in a rented accommodation for 3yrs and then she bought a
house with her savings; her husband did not contribute towards buying the house. Within a
few months of her marriage, she discovered that her husband was already married and had a
family in his village. In spite of this, she continued to live with him because her husband told
her that he did not want to go back to his first wife. N was comfortable with the thought that
he was going to be with her but never trusted him completely. That was the reason for her
deciding not to have children. She did not want to have children since her husband was
frequently visiting his village. After coming back from the village he would also abuse her.
He even started having affairs with other women in Mumbai and started bringing those
women home when she was away on work.
It was 7 ½ yrs after marriage she decided to leave her husband and she asked for a divorce.
The divorce was settled through the court. There were negotiations in settling the property.
Since her husband did not want to leave the house, a decision was taken by the court that the
husband would give her a certain amount of money for the house and the house would go to
the husband. N took the money and bought another house for herself. Other than this money,
she did not get any other compensation from her husband. In any case when she married
him, she thought she would get lots of love from him, money was not her concern as she
herself was earning. In fact her husband did not have money even to buy her a box of Sindoor
but it was for the sake of love that she married him. Immediately after the divorce she was
upset and mentally disturbed but her own strength and support from her nephew helped her
to pull through. She now feels that there is no point in thinking about it and spoiling rest of
her life and she should move on. She has her own house (one room plus kitchen) and she
continues to work as a cook in nearby houses and earns enough to sustain her.
Whenever she needs any kind of support her parents and her relatives come forward.
Interestingly, she is in touch with her in-laws as well. Her in-laws feel that what she did was
right and they do come to meet her, call her home for certain. She receives no financial
support from them but they are in good terms with her. She is already 42yrs old and does not
intent to get married again. After the bitter experience she had in her first marriage, she does
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not trust any man and is happy to be single. Note: this case study has been selected in spite
of the fact that this woman has not been a mother. This study shows that since she was
not sure of her husband and stability of the marriage she did not go in for a child.
Case Study-B3
Separation by Choice
Here is a woman who has decided to live away from her husband since she does not want to
go back to village and slog in the joint family. The story of R shows that given a chance how a
woman can be assertive and determined to live her life the way she wants to. R was born in a
village named Lilapurkhurd in Uttar Pradesh. Her father worked as an agro cultural labour
and later started a Paan Shop which he is still running. She has 2 sisters and 3 brothers. She
has studied in the village school till 8th std. She got married when she was in the 6th Std and
even after marriage continued her studies for two more years in the same school.
The marriage proposal came through some relatives who knew the boy and his family. She
had not met her husband before marriage and she says if she had met him she would have
never married him. He was not educated but after marriage he came to Mumbai and started
working as an auto rickshaw driver. R continued to live in the village with her in-laws and
came to Mumbai only 4 years back. In the village she lived in a joint family and financial
condition of her in-laws was not good. Besides her husband no other member earned in the
family. Her husband had two older brothers and one of them expired. The other brother lives
in Mumbai in whose house she is currently living. This brother of her husband does
financially support his family.
A few months after R came to live in Mumbai, her husband decided to go back to the village.
But R did not want to go back to the village as she preferred to live in a nuclear family in
Mumbai than slog in the village kitchen the whole day. She had three live births but the 3 rd
child died within a few hours after the delivery. Thus she has decided to live separately out of
choice as she did not want to go back to the village and her husband did not want to live in
Mumbai. After her husband left for the village, she took up a job in a garment factory on daily
wages and in addition she works in a house as a domestic help.
The separation was completely her choice; her husband and the in-laws still call her back to
the village but she insists that only if her husband gives all the money he earns to her, she
would return to the village. She does not want to ask anybody for anything and she does not
want to cook for everybody. The children are with her in Mumbai and she did not let her
husband take them to the village. She does face problems in living alone since she has to
work and maintain the house and look after her children as well. The in-laws with whom
she’s staying do not bother since they have left their own children in the village. Now she
feels that if her husband gives into her demands she will think of going back or else she will
stay here only and work, she does go through a lot of difficulties but somehow she manages.
She lives with her husband’s elder brother and his wife in a chawl. While the first floor is
occupied by them, the ground floor accommodation is given to R and her children. Even
though they live in the same building, R claims that she does not get any help from them.
She gets support from her parental home as and when she needs it. She does speak to her inlaws but only when she needs any help or if there is any emergency. Only at such
circumstances, children speak to their father and grandparents or else they have no contact.
Currently she is not getting any financial support from her husband either. In spite of the fact
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that the children miss their father and she also faces difficulties in managing her household
chores, job and bringing up children, she is determined not to go back to village life. Yes, her
economic condition has improved as she is earning fairly well. Even in an emergency she is
able to borrow from her neighbors or from the house where she works as a domestic help.
Case Study B4
Woes of a Widow
She was born and brought up in a middle class family in Bhandup in Mumbai with lot of love
and care. She was pampered a lot and she enjoyed every little thing and was never told “No”
for anything. Her father worked in Bombay Municipal Corporation and mother in Customs
department. She has two brothers and a sister and has completed B.A. in political science.
She wanted to study law and had also given appeared for the entrance exam. In her last year
of college she was married. She was also fond of sports and took part in activities.
She had a love marriage and at the time of marriage she was 19 yrs and her husband was
21yrs old. Her family did not approve of the boy but they eloped and got married, the in-laws
wanted dowry but since she got married without the consent of the parents, no dowry was
given. Her husband was 10th pass and worked in a company but that company shut down
after a few years. He did odd jobs like painting etc. After marriage she lived with her in-laws.
Since she did not bring any dowry, she was tortured by her in-laws and often not given food.
She never informed all this to her husband because she did not want him to fight with his
family. One day her husband happened to see the way she was being treated and decided to
buy a house nearby and shifted there with her.
She has two daughters and her first child was born after a year of her marriage. Her husband
got into the habit of drinking alcohol after he lost his job. He started getting depressed and
the neighbors started talking ill of him and that added to his frustration. Under the influence
of alcohol he would abuse his wife verbally and physically. She had to start working and earn
for the family. When her elder daughter was in the 12thand the younger daughter in 10th, her
husband got his first alcoholic attack. She took him to the best of doctors but everybody said
there were no hope and no chance of his survival. Within a few months his condition
worsened and he passed away after 19 yrs of their marriage.
When her husband’s condition was worsening her in-laws visited him and admitted him in a
hospital even though there was no hope. The night before her husband died, her in-laws
went home and never returned. She did not have money to pay hospital bills, so she had to
sell whatever jewellery. Her mother did help her a lot through these difficult times of her life
but she felt it was not right on her part to ask them for money every time.
The in-laws did not even come for the last rights of her husband and it was her elder
daughter who did everything, nobody came to support them. It was the saddest night of their
life which they would never forget. She gets no support from her in-laws, fortunately she has
a house which her husband bought for the family. On special occasions the children do visit
their grandparents but are not welcomed. She was only supported by an old school friend
about whom she did not wish to mention much. She is currently working with an NGO as well
as is studying; she is doing her masters in social work. Her daughter has started working
after completing 12th and is also simultaneously studying and now her younger daughter
works and studies too.
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She no longer feels insecured or worried. She faced a lot of sexual harassment, people would
bang her door late in the night, in fact there were some relatives also who initially tried to
take an advantage of her but she never gave in. She and her daughters fought their way out.
Now she is strong enough to handle everything. At times she feels lonely and worries that
once her daughters are married she has nobody to be with.
Case study—B5
Left High & Dry
‘P’ was born in a large family of seven sisters and three brothers. Her father is a farmer,
mother a housewife who occasionally went to work in the fields to help her husband.
Although her father had enough to feed his large family, he did not have the means to
educate all his children. As is generally the case in such families, the girls were not educated
at all, but, the boys studied till class IV. P’s parents arranged her marriage, when she was 12
years old. She got married to a boy from a similar status and had studied up to class IV. Her
husband also worked in farms, and so she stayed with her husband’s joint family and
continued working in the farm with her husband. She conceived after 6years of marriage but
lost the baby within a year due to some illness. Again conceived after 9yrs and that is the
only child she has now.
Later, her husband got a job in Mumbai in a gas company. So, she shifted to Mumbai with
him. But suddenly after 25 years of marriage, her husband left her and the child and went
away. Neither she nor anyone else is aware of the reasons for his action. In the beginning she
was completely shattered and still feels miserable for what her husband has done to her. Her
life has changed drastically and suddenly she had to take up all the responsibilities. She felt
as though her world had come to end, but then when she realized that he had left her, she
became strong and decided to make her son a strong man so that he can face the world and
society. She now stays with her son in Mumbai in her husband's house, and works as a cook
in houses. She does get support from her parental home but she does not need it as her inlaws support her a lot.
She knows her husband is in the village, but neither his family nor she and her child are in
touch with him. Her child does not even wish to meet his father. She gets no financial support
from her husband. She does face problems in bringing up her child because there are times
when they do not even have food to eat, but she does not ask for money from anybody. She
and her son prefer staying hungry for a few days rather than asking for money from others.
She makes sure that her child is getting good education. She does not want to compromise on
that at any rate, and is prepared to do additional work for it. She does not intend to get
married again as she is only separated and not divorced.
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Case Study – DI
Is Divorce Better Option than a Drunkard Husband?
P is born and brought up in Delhi and has three brothers and a sister. She has studied till VIII
standard in Noida. Her father used to work as a watchman in the American Express Bank and
her mother was a housewife. She had a very normal childhood. The economic and social
condition of the family was good and they lived a very peaceful life. She was married at the
age of 17. It was an arranged marriage and her father and father-in-law knew each other
very well. P’s husband was a tailor by profession and has studied till VII standard. After
marriage P moved to an apartment which belonged to her father-in-law and she lived in a
joint family. After three months P fell sick. Since her in-laws were not willing to look after
her, she was sent to her parents. P stayed with her parents for a month as she was extremely
unwell. After a month when her condition became normal she went back to her in-laws’
house. Though her father-in-law was a very kind to her, the mother-in-law, sister-in-law and
brother-in-law used to treat her very badly. P’s husband used to consume alcohol regularly
and physically torture her. Her in laws were financially quite sound and owned a house in
East Delhi. But they used to hide from her matters relating to property and finances. After a
year P gave birth to a baby girl. The relationship started deteriorating after her daughter’s
birth, though her father gave dowry twice to keep his daughter happy. But her in-laws
(except her father-in-law) were very greedy. They used to taunt her every now and then. Her
husband left his job and started consuming alcohol day and night. He became very violent
and started physically torturing her. It has been nine months since she has left her husband
and his family. P, who is currently 35 year old, is living with her ailing father and her
daughter. She has taken up a job as a nanny and earning Rs. 5000/-a month. Her daughter is
14 years of age; P is not sending her to school since she cannot afford to educate her. She
does not get any support from her husband and his family. She has filed for a divorce and the
case is pending in the court. She has had three hearings so far but her husband did not turn
up for the hearings. Only her father is supporting her financially. P does feel sorry that she is
unable to provide a normal childhood to her daughter. She thinks that the locality in which
she is living is not at all safe for her daughter.
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Case Study – D2
Abandoned Due to Ill Health
The 22 years old, abandoned mother S was born and brought up in Delhi. She has three
brothers and two sisters. She has studied till VII standard. Her father was a carpenter by
profession and mother, a house wife. She had a very normal childhood and before marriage
she used to live in Trilokpuri. The economic condition of the family was not particularly
good. S got married at the age of 20. It was an arranged marriage and dowry was also paid to
the grooms. Her husband did not have a job at the time of marriage. After the marriage she
started living with her in-laws in Mangolpuri. The financial condition of her in-laws was
better than that of her parents. After a month of her marriage she fell sick and the in-laws
were not ready to take care of her. They asked her parents to take her back to their place.
Their behavior was very bad towards her especially that of her father-in-law. He used to
throw her out of the house every now and then whenever she fell ill and unable to contribute
towards household work. Within a year of marriage she gave birth to a baby boy. She
delivered the baby at her parents’ house and the parents bore the expenses. Again S became
unwell and finally her in-laws asked her to leave their home once and for all. S came back to
her parents’ house. The economic condition of her parents is very bad. Her father is suffering
from cancer. Both her legs have become very weak, although treatment is going on. She is
going through a lot of financial difficulties since she does not earn anything. Although her
brother supports her financially, since he is also physically challenged he is unable to earn
more. S has been married for three years now but has lived with her in-laws for only 5 to 6
months. Comparatively, the financial position of her in-laws is good and they own some
properties. But S does not get any share in it. Since her in-laws feel that S cannot look after
her son, they have taken their grandson with them. S is not in a position to claim back her 2
year old son either.
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Case Study- D3
Forced Marriage and Forced Separation
R is a woman aged 32-33 years. She has one sister and two brothers. Her mother is a house
wife and her father used to work as a gardener and is now retired from the services.. At the
age of 16, when her sister got married, along with her, R’s marriage was also arranged in the
same family and she got married to the younger brother of the groom. Soon after the
marriage of her sister, the grooms’ family started forcing her parents to send her also even
though she had not completed 18 yrs of age. At the age of 16, she was taken to her in-laws’
house after gauna. At the time of marriage there were no demands from the grooms’ family
for both the sisters; however her father did everything and gave them gifts to the best of his
ability.
The husband of R is a contractor and belongs to a well off family. They have enough property
and assets. At the age of 17 R gave birth to a baby boy. After the birth of the first child the
groom’s family started troubling both the sisters for dowry. The girls’ father had to succumb
to the pressure and had to take early retirement. He gave all the cash to the groom’s family
but still their atrocities on both the girls never discontinued. R’s husband used to blindly
follow his elder brother (eldest sister’s husband). If the elder one beats his wife, the young
brother also used to beat R. Although they were not alcoholic, both of them were involved
with other women. Once when R was beaten very badly by her husband she ran to the
nearest police station and lodged a complaint against her husband and in-laws. The police
called both the families but with the power of money, her in-laws managed to get the support
of the police. This instance boosted the courage of her in laws all the more. They neither had
to fear the police and nor the girl’s family. After 5 years. R gave birth to a girl child. The
relationship with her husband and her in-laws never got better and for the sake of the
children both sisters tolerated everything. Soon, their husbands started beating their
children as well. When R opposed she was sent back to her parents’ house along with her
children and sister.
Since her marriage was fixed at a very young age she could not complete her studies. At
present she is living at her parent’s house. The house has just two rooms where she and her
children, her sister and her two children, her brother, his wife and their children and the
parents are living. Since her eldest sister could study till 10th, she has taken up a job and is
earning for the family. Her brother is earning but he spends his income only for his family. R
is involved in stitching readymade flowers on cloths and earns a meager amount of 200 to
300 Rs per month. From their side, efforts have been made to contact the husband’s family
but are in vain. Neither the husband nor his family shows any interest in talking to her or her
children. On the other hand, the husband’s family threatens that they may kill her if she
returns back. It has been now four years since she is separated from her husband. The
children do miss their father but they are not in favor of going back to their father as the
violence has scared them. Her son is in a government school and her daughter in a private
school. Since R’s father knows the principle of the school well, the fee of her daughter is very
nominal. She does curse her fate for giving her daughter such pains but in a way she thinks
that they are better off here than with her husbands’ family. At least here they are not beaten
by anybody.
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Case Study –D4
Better to be lonely than face torture.
This is the story of ‘F’, a woman living in Delhi, who has voluntarily separated from her
husband, and is bringing up her 3 children single handedly. She is about 39 years of age now.
‘F’, who was born in Aligarh, came to Delhi when she was about 5 years old. Her father used
to work in a cycle shop and mother was a housewife. She has studied up to V standard.
Though they were not financially sound, her father provided the basic necessities to the best
of his ability. When she was 17, her parents arranged her marriage with a boy who was a
tailor by profession. The boy had also studied up to class V. The boy’s parents had some
property in Trilokpuri, although the family earned just enough to survive on a daily basis.
Dowry was also paid during the marriage.
She shifted to husband’s place after marriage and stayed in the joint family along with her inlaws. Five years after the marriage, her husband left his job and started consuming alcohol
day and night. He also started abusing her physically. By then, they had 3 children, one girl
and two boys. Things started deteriorating, and her in-laws asked them to leave the house
along with the children, as they could not bear the burden of their son’s family. They started
living in a rented accommodation in Trilok Puri area. Though she had never worked before
marriage, she started working as a house maid in order to take care of her three children. It
was difficult to make ends meet with her earnings alone, and at times she and the children
were forced to sleep without food. Added to this, her husband continued to come home
drunk and torture her. The children were scared of the environment at home.
Things came to a head, and unable to take the torture from her husband, she separated from
her husband about 3 years ago. Today, she is earning about Rs. 5000/- per month. Although
she gets emotional support from her mother-in-law, she does not get any financial support.
She had to take a loan of Rs. 20000/- from her mother as her daughter became very ill, but is
unable to repay it as her earnings are just enough to get by. She is however happy that she is
managing to send all her children to school (government).
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Case Study – D5
Case study of a widow
Surviving and not living
‘G’ was born in a very poor family. She is one among 7 children, and she has two brothers and
four sisters. Her father worked as a labourer and mother worked as a maid. All her life she
has lived in Delhi. She did not have a normal childhood, as they were very poor and they had
no social life either. She has never been to school. She used to work as a domestic maid even
before her marriage.
Her marriage was arranged when she was just 16 years of age with a boy who worked as a
driver. He was also uneducated and hailed from a very poor family. No dowry was given in
her marriage. After marriage, she and her husband lived by themselves in a slum in
Trilokpuri. She continued to work even after her marriage. They had four children, two boys
and two girls. Her husband never shared the responsibilities at home. The little bit that he
earned, he gave it to his parents. Although she wanted to, she could not send her children to
school as she could not earn enough. Her husband used to drink a lot and hit her with iron
rods. He tortured her so much that her left hand is almost useless. Because of his bad habits,
her husband’s health deteriorated, and he had lung infection. With such a big family, and no
money, she could not even get him treated and he died due to the infection about 12 years
ago.
Now, she is 36 years of age. She managed to get her daughters married with the support of
her relatives, and they are now living with their respective families. One of her sons is now
earning, but, he does not support her financially. The other son is too young to support her.
She is presently earning only Rs.600/- per month. She neither has financial support from her
in-laws nor does she get a widow pension.
She has had a miserable life before and after marriage. She just prays to God that at least
when her youngest son becomes economically independent he would take care of her.
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Case Study- K1
Case Study of an Unwed Mother
This is the story of a young unwed mother who lives with her parents and brother in
Pearabagan Basti in Beltala Road in Kolkata. Her father works as a mason and mother as
domestic servant–She has a younger sister who got married 4 months ago and lives with her
husband. Her younger brother is studying in Class V. The young unwed mother T has studied
up to Class IV. T had discontinued her studies after class IV since the family was making
plans to move to their ancestral village in Diamond Harbour Road. However the family did
not move to Diamond Harbour. T stayed home in the 6 x 6 feet dingy room in the slum,
helping with household chores and looking after her younger siblings.
When she was around 18, her cousin from their ancestral village came to invite her family for
his son’s birthday. T went to the village along with her grandmother to attend the birthday.
There she met BG, whom she had earlier met during a wedding in the village. BG started
frequenting her cousin’s house and T and he starting spending a lot of time together. One day
BG told her that he was in love with her and wanted to marry her. T was too innocent and
naïve and did not understand his ulterior motive.
One evening BG took T to a deserted place and had physical relationship with her. T said she
was scared and wanted to scream for help but BG shut her mouth and told her that if she got
pregnant he would marry her. That night she came back home late while the others were
asleep.
A few days after this incident, T returned to her home in Kolkata. She became pregnant but
did not realize it. She felt some uneasiness and weakness but that did not bother her.
Gradually her stomach started showing up and her mother and the neighbours suspected
something was wrong. T’s mother took her to a hospital with the intention of getting it
aborted. However since she was already eight months pregnant and it was too late to abort.
B’s maternal uncle arranged a meeting between the guardians of BG and T’s parents. But BG
refused to marry her. On 12th August, 2011 at 6.30 pm T delivered a baby boy at the nearby
Government Hospital. The boy is now 7 months old and is being brought up by T and her
parents. T is frail and thin and her large eyes are ringed by dark circles. She does not look up
while talking and speaks very softly.Her face conveys the message that she is not living but
somehow surviving. She has lost interest in life and a couple of times she even tried to
commit suicide but her mother and the neighbours saved her.
She spends sleepless nights worrying about the future of her son, and herself. She feels
helpless about how to bring up her son. She dreams that her son will go to school and study
and would eventually look after her. But as reality sets in she sinks into depression and
worries, her son and herself. She wonders if there will be any man who will marry her and
accept her child.
T likes sewing and would like to use this skill to earn a living. She would like to get training in
sewing and also buy a sewing machine. T wants financial assistance from the Government for
her child’s education.
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Case study-K-2
Reaping the results of choosing a wrong husband
This is the story of ‘A’, a widow, who presently lives with her father-who works in a GPO,
mother- who works as a housemaid, and her daughter studying in class II in a local school. ‘A’
also has a brother and a sister, both of whom are married and live with their families
separately. ‘A’ along with the other three members of the family lives in a small room-, in a
slum behind Golf Gardens in Kolkata.
‘A’, a graduate, chose a boy for herself, and with her parents’ consent, got married to him in
2004. A daughter was born to them in 2005 at the M.R.Bangur hospital. It was only after
marriage. A realized that her husband was not only uneducated, but also that he had no
income except from a roadside shanty stall owned by his family. To make matters worse, he
was also an alcoholic and used to beat her up when drunk. In the circumstance, ‘A’ felt that
she should study further, take up a decent job and look after the family. Her husband,
however, did not approve of her going out of the house or studying further.
In order to manage the child’s as well as her own expenses, ’A’ decided to give tuitions. At
such times and while attending classes for her further education, ’A’ had to leave her
daughter in her parent’s care. Along with that, at times, she was also forced to take financial
help from her parents. Her plight at home became worse, and along with her daughter she
came to live with her parents in 2007. Even this gave her no respite. Her husband’s house
being close to her mother’s, he would come there and create trouble, and at times even take
the daughter away. This went on till November 2011, when her husband passed away due to
liver ailment.
‘A’ earned her master’s degree and took up a teaching job in early 2011. She loves teaching.
She plans to keep her daughter in the nearby local school till class IV, and then put her in a
good recognised school. She hopes that her daughter will be well educated, and turn out to
be a good human being. This may perhaps lessen the guilt of her mistake in marrying the
wrong person.
Having realized her mistakes, ‘A’ now advices her students to take decisions in life logically
and not emotionally. She stresses the importance of education in order to be self reliant and
live with respect and dignity. When asked about her expectations from the government, she
felt that there should be some system by which children of single mothers could get
admission in schools without the lottery system. She also expects the government to arrange
for vocational training as well as marketing facilities for single mothers who are not well
educated.
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Case Study K-3
Having no means to be self reliant
(Case study of a widow)
This is the story of ‘B’, who has been widowed recently-i.e. about 3 months ago. She presently
lives in a slum situated between Rash Behri crossing and Kalighat. The small 6’ by 8’ room
that they occupy provides shelter not only for ‘B’ and her two sons, but also for her mother,
sister, and sister’s daughter. The room is unlike others in the locality as it is well equipped
with gadgets like refrigerator, micro-wave oven, television, mixer etc. ‘B’ also has a brother
who is married, and lives with his two daughters in Tollygunge. ‘B’s father expired when she
was young. Her mother works as a maid and contributes towards the household expenses.
‘B’ has studied only up to class VI. She had to discontinue her studies to look after her ailing
father, as her mother had to support the family by working as a domestic servant. Her father
passed away as a result of his ailment. When ‘B’ was about 15 years of age, she met a boy, a
resident of Tollygunge, who was a frequent visitor to their neighbor. They decided to get
married, and with the family’s consent they got married in a private hall in the presence of
relatives and friends in 2002. Her husband’s parents were very poor and had given him away
to the Greek Orthodox Church at Kalighat, and had been brought up by the Fathers and nuns
of the church. Although he had studied only up to IV standard, he was intelligent, could
converse in English and had travelled to the United States and Greece with the church
authorities. He also had a technical bent of mind, and learnt to service household appliances
like television, refrigerator, air-conditioner etc. He was however associated with a local
political leader of Kalighat and used to work for him.
After marriage, ‘B’ convinced her husband not to get involved in active politics. He took up a
job in a household appliances servicing company. He was an efficient worker and also of
amicable nature, and so while his supervisor was fond of him, he was popular with the
customers too. He earned good money. As he had no family, he considered his wife’s family
as his own, and looked after his wife and family very well. Their first son was born in April
2003, and the second in November 2004, and are presently studying in class III and II
respectively in Tirupati Institution.
On 20th December 2011, ‘B’s husband went on his motorcycle to fetch his elder son from the
school. He was about to enter the road to the school from a lane, when a Tata Indica car hit
him from the back. He fell off the motorcycle, but was pulled along the car at high speed. It
was a cold winter morning, and except for a few tea stall owners and customers, not many
people were on the road. They tried to stop the car and even pelted stones. The car stopped
with a jerk, throwing the victim and then it sped away. The profusely bleeding victim was
taken to the nearby Hospital, and his family informed from his mobile phone. He passed
away after 3 days. ‘B’ suspects that it was a planned murder, but has neither the energy nor
the right connections to fight the perpetrators of the crime. Even the car number noted by
the eye witnesses turned out to be fake, yielding no clue.
‘B’ is still in shock and the reality is yet to sink in fully. She has two young children to bring
up and she herself is very young-only about 25 years of age. She hopes to get a job. The
reality is that she is neither educated, nor trained for any economic activity. Having found
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herself in this situation all of a sudden, she finds it very difficult to articulate even about what
help she expects from the government.
Case Study K-4 jumping into relationships with eyes closed
‘(Case Study of Unwed Mother)
C’-an unwed mother of a two year old daughter, lives with her parents, younger brother and
sister in Pearbagan Basti on Beltala road in Kolkata. The five of them, along with ‘C’s
daughter live in a small dingy room of about 6’ by 6’. ‘C’s father works as a fee collector in a
car parking in south Kolkata, and mother as a housemaid. Her brother and sister are in
school, in class VIII and V respectively. ‘C’ herself has studied only up to class V, and had to
give up her studies to help her mother with household chores since both her father and elder
sister were ill, the sister was suffering from brain tumour.
‘C’, who used to be at home all the time, became friendly with a boy who lived a few rooms
away, and used to go out with him quite often. In one such outing, the boy took her to a small
eatery, and according to her, mixed some pills in the food, which made her intoxicated. He
then took her to a deserted roof top, and was sexually abused. She, however, does not
remember exactly what happened. In course of time, she realized that she had conceived, and
her mother also became aware of the facts. Her family then arranged a meeting with the
boy’s family wherein he at first denied his relationship with ‘C’. He was then beaten up by
those present at the meeting, and told to marry ’C’. Although he promised to do so after 2-3
months, so far he has not so far married her. Their daughter in now about 2 years and 3
months of age. The little girl was under weight when born, and developed rickets. Her speech
has also not developed as yet.
The most painful situation for ‘C’ is that the boy stays a few rooms away and very often she
sees him passing her home. He sees the baby, but does not acknowledge her. ‘C’ feels very
concerned that the child is being deprived of her father’s love. ‘C’ holds her own father’s
indifference as the main reason for her not being married. She feels that if her father had
been strict with the boy, she would have been married by this time and would be living with
her husband and daughter. She believes that the boy’s parents still want to take her and the
daughter, but are apprehensive about providing for the child’s expenses.
A few months after her daughter’s birth ‘C’contracted tuberculosis. She is being treated at the
local DOTS centre for the past 8 months and is now much better. However she looks very
frail and suffers from weakness. She has been advised to take rest for the next one year and
eat nutritious food. But, in a family where getting two meals for everyone is so difficult, how
can she afford nutritious food? Her situation is worse, as her parents have to bear the
additional burden of her daughter’s upbringing also.
‘C’ has however, not lost hope. She is confident that after she is cured of tuberculosis, she
will work, be financially self-sufficient and bring up her daughter. She likes sewing and
would like to use it for earning a living. She is taking sewing lessons at a nearby Vocational
Training Centre of St. Lawrence High School. If the opportunity arises, she desires to work as
a sales girl in a shop. She would like some financial assistance from the Government for her
daughter’s education.
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Case Study K-5 Believing that suffering atrocities is as bad as committing them
(Case Study of a woman separated from her husband)
This is the story of a woman ‘D’, who has on her own accord separated from a husband who
tortured her physically and mentally. In spite of her parental family not supporting her, the
courageous woman has overcome many hardships, and is bringing up her son with the help
of a friend.
‘D’ lives in a lower middle class colony on Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata, just opposite the
affluent dwelling of The Merlin Residency. ‘D’, with her son, a bright intelligent boy of eight
years, and her friend (girl) lives in the open verandah measuring about 5 X 6 feet, while her
mother lives inside the room of a rented house.
After her Class X school leaving examination (Madhyamik), ‘D’ wanted to study further. But,
her mother fixed her marriage with a boy who told her mother that he worked in a
Government office. It was only after the marriage that they found out that he did not have a
job and was addicted to gambling. ‘D’ stayed with her husband and his family at Sonarpur.
Their son was born in 2002. By this time the torture for money started. Not only did ‘D’s
husband take away whatever little ornaments she had been given at the time of marriage, he
also forced her to work and earn money which he would spend in gambling. ‘D’ tolerated
this in the hope that her love and the son may change his behaviour. On many occasions, she
had to go without food inspite of breast feeding her child. Things came to a head one day
when he wanted to snatch her only saving ,a gold ring, which she wanted to sell and buy
food. When she refused to give that, her husband kicked her off the bed.
‘D’ discussed her plight with her own family. Her mother was never fond of her and flatly
refused to help her. Her father sympathized with her but he had no earning and could not
support her. Unfortunately, her three brothers- one- an advocate, the second-a medical rep,
and the third-who works in a private firm were also not sympathetic, and refused to help her.
When she got pregnant for the second time in 2005, her husband refused to accept the child
as his own. Emotionally shattered, she had an abortion which was not done properly and she
still suffers from an occasional pain in her lower abdomen. After her abortion, she moved to
her parent’s home taking her son with her. he was not welcome but she insisted on staying
there trying to convince her mother and brothers’ that it was the family’s responsibility to
take care of her and her son as they had got her married.
She took up a job in a Xerox shop and used to contribute money to her mother for food.
There was pressure on her to contribute more money to the family. So she took up a job in
SBI (State Bank of India) Credit Card Sales, but could not continue for long as she developed a
kidney problem. A kind Homoeopathic doctor treated her but she was not allowed to travel.
So, SBI offered her a tele-caller’s job. She was getting good money and could contribute more
at home. However, her mother refused to look after her baby boy in her absence, forcing ‘D’
to give up her job. ‘D’s father also passed away in 2011.
During this time, ‘D’ met an old colleague from the Xerox shop, who suffered from a heart
ailment which her family ignored. This common bond of despair united them. They became
friends and decided to stay together and support each other. ‘D’ brought the friend to stay
with her in her home, which further enraged her family. Her father consulted the landlord
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and the local people and after a series of meetings, it was decided that the two women would
stay in the open verandah of the home and cook their own food. The earning of Rs.1000/from the Xerox shop was too meager and they both decided to do something on their own.
The friend’s heart condition deteriorated and she needed an operation. The two friends
advertised in the local newspaper. A local popular FM radio station, Radio Mirchi, saw the
advertisement and aired it on their channel. The collections from the public came to about
Rs. 2 lakhs and the remaining amount was sponsored by the R.N. Tagore Hospital. The friend
underwent an open heart surgery and has now completely recovered.
The two friends have started a vegetable vending business. They bring fresh vegetables from
a wholesale market and sell to local people. They do face problems from local troublemakers
but they have enrolled the assistance of the local club that supports them. They are managing
to make ends meet with this business. ‘D’s son is now in class V in Bangur high school. The
two friends are looking after the boy. They say they will always stay together as they have a
long struggle ahead of them.
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Questionnaire for Single Mothers
INSTRUCTION 1: Select only those women who are “Single” and have at least one child who is
less than 14 years of age. The following categories of women are treated as Single:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Widows
Legally Divorced
Separated
Deserted/abandoned
Unwed mothers
INSTRUCTION 2: Avoid interviewing the sample/selected women in the presence of others;
Interview them in privacy i.e. when they are alone, so that they can answer the questions without
any hesitation.
STUDY NUMBER:
Identification Particulars
DECK:
1
1. City (Chennai-1, Delhi- 2, Kolkata-3,
Mumbai-4)
2. Interview Number
3. location
(slums-1,
resettlement
colonies/lower middle class-2, middle
class localities-3)
4. Name of interviewer
5. Date of interview (DD/MM/YY)
6. Place
of
interview
(house-1,
office/work place-2, NGO-3,
Homes for destitutes-4 hostel-5, any
other (specify) -9
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Consent Form
Introduction:
“My name is………………………………………..I’m working for a social
research organization. I have come to interview in connection with a study which has been
sponsored by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. We are
collecting information about ‘single women’ (not by choice) and have at least one child below 14
years. The study seeks to understand the needs and concerns of single mothers with children less
than 14 years of age. The results of this study would help in designing appropriate strategies for such
women in the future. Your views are very valuable to understand the present situation and how
things can be improved for women in similar situations.
Confidentiality and Consent: I am going to ask you some personal questions that you may find
difficult to answer. Your answers will be kept completely confidential. Your name will not be
written on this form, and will never be used in connection with any of the information given by
you. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not want to answer and you may end
this interview at any point of time. However, your cooperation and answers to all questions will
help us to understand the issues being faced by single mothers and to design better programs for
them. We would greatly appreciate your help in responding to this survey. The interview will take
about 20-30 minutes. Would you be willing to participate?
Yes- 1
Continue
No- 2
End
I certify that the nature and purpose, the potential benefits and possible risks associated with
participating in this research have been explained to the respondent.
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I.
BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS
1. Name (optional): …………………………………………………….
2. Address: (Optional): …………………………………………………
3. Religion (Hindu-1, Muslim-2, Sikh-3, Christian-4, Others-9)
4. Caste (SC/ST-1, OBC-2, Others-3)
(Note: Write actual caste name and code later)
5. Age in completed years
6. Education (in completed years) Illiterate=00
Graduate/Diploma-13 Post Graduate-14
7. Present Occupation: (Write actual occupation and code later)
Primary occupation:
Secondary occupation:
(Unemployed-01, domestic servant/cook/aayah-02, vegetable/flower vendor/petty
shop/Tea-stall-03, construction worker-04, wage labour-05, salaried employment -blue
collar-06, salaried employment -white collar-07, employee in shops (sales girl, beauty
parlor, petrol pump etc)-08, self employed-09, Sex worker- 10, Factory worker-11, Ragpicker-12)
8. Since when you have started working?
(Not applicable/never employed-1, before marriage/before getting into relationship-2, after
marriage-3, after becoming single-4)
9. Reasons for being Single:
(Widowed-1, LegallyDivorced-2, Separated-3 Deserted/abandoned-4
Unwed mothers-5)
10. If Widowed, Cause of death of Husband:
………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………….
11. (a) If Divorced/separated, reasons:
…………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………
(b) Who took the decision of separation/divorce?
Joint-1, self-2, husband/partner-3
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12. For how long have you been married (in yrs)
13. How many years after marriage you became a widow/separated/divorced/single?
14. Number of years of being single
15. Living Arrangement:
(Living alone-1, living only with children-2, With Paternal Relatives-3, Husband’s family4, living in a Home-5, living in a hostel-6 Any other(specify)-9)
16. Size of family (Total number of persons in the family)
17. Total number of children you have:
Boys :
Girls:
18. Details about education of children in the age group 5-18 years:
Sr.
No
Name
Sex
(M-1,
F-2)
Age
Is the
child
studying
? Yes-1,
No-2
If yes: type
of schoolGovt.-1
Private- 2
Informal -3
If not studying
reasons
(multiple) *
If not
studying no.
of years of
schooling
completed
(*Not necessary to educate -1 Could not afford school fee-2, Take care of younger sibling/
household work-3, had to take up a job-4,, Child not interested in studies-5, Repeated failure -6,
Had enough education-7, Discriminated in school/socially not comfortable-8, Others-9)
19. Type of House (Kutcha-1, Semi Pucca-2, Pucca-3)
20. Number of rooms in the house
21. Ownership of House (own-1, Rented-2, free of rent-3, Any other specify-9)
22. Does the house have piped water supply inside the house (Yes-1, No-2)
23. Toilet facility in the house:
Separate toilet-1, sharing with other households-2, Public toilet- 3, Open air-4
24. Does the Household have following Items: (Yes-1, No-2)
Fan
Bicycle
Television (B/W)
Computer
Moped/Scooter/Motorcycle
Car/Jeep/van
Television (color)
Refrigerator
Mobile Phone
LPG Gas
Telephone
Washing Machine
Radio/transistor
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II.
HOUSEHOLD INCOME, EXPENDITURE, SAVINGS etc
DECK:
2
City
Interview No.
A. Details about Household Income
1. Number of Earning Members in the family
2. Number of dependants
Details
3.
about earning members in the family
Note: Code for Relationship- Self-1, Mother/Father-2, Mother/Father-inlaw-3, Children-4
Sister/brother-5, Sister/brother-inlaw-6
Instruction for calculating income of the household members- If he/she is a wage
earner, then ask for No. of days worked in a month and Average daily wages to
calculate the monthly income. To arrive at the annual income multiply by 12
.
Sex
Relationship to Occupation (use the same
Income
(Male-1 the Single
code as given in Q -7 sec-1
earned in last
Female- Mother(see
)
one year(Rs)
2)
codes)
Name
Total=
Income
4.
from other sources:
(a) Rental Income earned in last one year (Rs.)
(b) Do you/does any of the household members get any pension? Yes-1, No-2
(c) If yes, who gets the pension? Self-1, Other-2
(d) If yes, specify the type of pension
(Widow pension-1, family pension-2, old age pension-3 disability pension-4)
(e) How much pension did the household get in the last one year? Rs.
(f)
Does the
household get any remittances from outside? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, from whom the household gets remittances?
(Women’s relatives living elsewhere-1, husband’s family -2, charitable organizations/NGO-3)
(g)
How
much remittance did you get in the last one year? Rs.
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(h)
If you
are a divorcee, do you get any monthly amount as alimony for the maintenance of you
and your children? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, amount of alimony received in the last one year. Rs.
(i)
If you
are separated/ divorced, did you get any lump sum amount as settlement?
Yes-1, No-2
If yes, how much did you get? Rs.
(j)
If you
are a widow, did you get any money from PF/insurance of your husband?
Yes-1, No-2
If yes, how much did you get? Rs.
(k)
If you
are a widow, did you get/likely to get any share in the property from the in laws?
Yes-1, No-2, Not applicable (no property)-3, Children got/likely to get-4
If yes how much did you get or likely to get? Rs.
(l) In case of rape victims did you receive any compensation money?
Yes-1, no-2
If yes, then how much? Rs.
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B. Details about Household Expenditure
Please
1.
give details about your monthly/annual expenditure on the following items:
Items
Average
Monthly
expenditure
Expenditure in
last one year
Monthly Expenditure
i.
F
ood (Rice/wheat, pulses, oil, vegetables, fruits, milk
and milk products, Sugar, Meat, egg
spices,
tea/coffee etc)
ii.
R
ent incl. electricity
iii.
T
ransport (incl. fuel if there is vehicle)
iv.
E
ducation of children (include school fee, uniform)
v.
T
elephone/mobile
vi.
C
able TV, entertainment, cinema
vii.
F
uel (Gas, kerosene etc.)
viii.
T
oilet articles (soap, toothpaste etc)
Total Monthly expenses
Last one year
ix.
M
edical expenses
x.
O
ut station travel
xi.
C
lothing, footwear
xii.
R
epair/ maintenance of house
xiii.
M
ajor functions like marriage etc
xiv.
P
urchase of consumer Durables like fan, pressure
cooker, Mixer grinder, computer, furniture etc
Annual Expenses
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C. Details about Household Savings
A)
1.
Do
you have a savings account in a bank /post office etc? Yes-1, No-2
B) Are you a member of any chit fund? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, i.e. if you have a savings account or chit fund, how much money did you save in the
last one year?
Rs.
2. Do you or your children have any insurance policy? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, how much premium did you pay in the last one year? Rs
Did you
3.
buy any gold jewelry in the last one year? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, how much did you spend for the jewelry? Rs.
D. Borrowings/Debts
1.
Did you
have to liquidate any of your assets (like land, house, jewelry etc) after you became single?
Yes-1, No-2
If yes,
2.
reasons for selling your assets:
(Reasons: to repay loan-1, to meet day to day expenses-2, for medical expenses-3)
Do you
3.
have any loan outstanding? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, how much?
Did you
4.
borrow any money in the last one year? Yes-1, No-2
(4a) If yes, how much have you borrowed?
(4b) If yes, source from which borrowed? (multiple)
(Bank-1, friends/relatives-2, local money lender/pawn broker-3, chit fund-4,
office/employer-5, credit& thrift society-6, client in case of sex worker-7)
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(4c) If yes, reason for borrowing?
(Reasons: to repay loan-1, to meet day to day expenses-2, medical expenses-3, education
of children-4, to buy house/land-5, to buy jewelry-6, to celebrate
festival/wedding/funeral-7 travel-8)
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III.
CHALL
3ENGES AND DIFFICULTIES FACED BY SINGLE MOTHERS
DECK NO:
City
Interview No
1.
What
was your immediate reaction/feeling when you became single?
(Multiple answer)
(Loneliness-1, helpless-2, insecure-3, lack of confidence-4, lack of identity-5,
suicidal-6, felt relieved/got freedom-7, felt big burden on me-8
2.
How do
you feel now? (Multiple answers)
(Lonely -1, helpless-2, insecure-3, lack of confidence-4, lack of identity-5, decreased status in
society-6, decreased status in family-7 got used to living alone-8 feeling relieved-9)
3. (a) Do you face any financial difficulties after becoming single?Yes-1, No-2
(b) If yes, what kind of difficulties?
(To maintain same standard-1, to meet day to day expenses-2, to repay past loan-3, educate
children-4, medical expenses-5, pay rent-6)
4. At the time of emergencies/financial crisis what kind of help do you get? (multiple)
(No help-1, Husband’s relatives-2, your relatives-3 Neighbors/friends-4, loan from money
lenders-5, loan from employer-6, NGO/Charitable institutes-7, regular client in case of sex
worker-8, Not applicable-9)
5. Does the society treat you differently after you have become single? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, in what way?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
6.
Do you
share a cordial relationship with: (Yes-1, No-2)
(A)
relatives
(B)
Husband’s relatives
7.
Your
Do you
socialize with your neighbors? Always-1, Sometimes-2, Rarely-3, Never-4
8.
Are you
invited for social functions like wedding, Puja etc?
Always-1, Sometimes-2, Rarely-3, Never-4
81
9.
Are your
children invited for birthday parties etc in the neighborhood?
Always-1, Sometimes-2, Rarely-3, Never-4
10.
Are your
children treated anyway differently in the school? (Yes-1,No-2, NA-9)
a) By other children
b) By teachers
If yes in what way: ……………………………………………………………………
11. Do you face any problem in getting accommodation on rent? Yes-1 No-2
12. The person who has giving you most support:
Please give details: ……………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
13. What kind of problems do you experience in raising your children as a single parent?
(Multiple answer)
(Lack of quality time for children-1, Lack of attention in checking ill habits among children
such as smoking -2, Lack of attention towards children’s education-3 Unable to provide
nutritional food-4, Disciplining children-5, financial difficulties-6, providing emotional
support-7, all above-8 None-9)
14.
Have
you faced any sexual harassment because you are single? Yes-1, No-2
(multiple)
If yes, where: Neighborhood-1, Relatives/family-2, Workplace-3, any other-9
15. Are you aware of social welfare schemes for single mothers? Do you know any facilities
available for single mother from Govt. /NGOs and other sources? Yes-1, No-2
If yes, please mention the schemes:
(Widow pension-1, Crisis intervention centers such as nirmal chhaya (in case of Delhi)-2,
For Widow’s daughters’ marriage scheme-3, self help groups-4 any other, specify-9)
16. What facilities do you expect from government agencies?
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
17. What are your expectations for your children’s future?
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………...
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