Abstract
Very little is known about the socioeconomic status of separated, deserted, and divorced women in India. Where do they go? With whom do they live after separation? And how does their life pan out?
Kirti Singh attempts to answer these questions through a survey of 405 such women in mostly urban centers across India. Singh not only traces their post-separation economic condition, but also investigates their ongoing experiences with state institutions such as the police and the courts. Part of a project titled “The Rights and Entitlements of Indian Women on Separation and Divorce, including the Right to Spousal and Child Support and Right to Marital Property,” this survey was conducted between October 2008 and September 2009 by researchers, women activists, and lawyers on behalf of the Economic Research Foundation, Delhi, in selected cities in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi.
The foreword by Prabha Sridevan, an eminent jurist and former Judge of the Madras High Court, highlights how Indian law and policy do a great disservice to women by not recognizing the work they do at home, hence rendering them economically unproductive in the eyes of society. Spread across nine chapters, the book starts with a critique of the Indian laws, policies, and their implementation under which the economic entitlement of a woman from her marital home is limited to maintenance from her spouse. The existing laws in favor of women are often not enforced. There are various reasons for this, ranging from gender biases among the legal fraternity to a lack of funds to pursue a case in the courts. Singh buttresses her argument with references to existing empirical and localized studies on the condition of separated and divorced women.
The two subsequent chapters summarize the main findings of the survey, and elaborate on the profiles and social background of the women surveyed under this study. Chapter 4 focuses on the work status and earning capacity of both spouses prior to and during the marriage, and after separation. This is followed by a look at the “family status and lifestyle” of the women surveyed during marriage and after separation. The next chapter recounts the experiences of the separated and divorced women with public institutions and authorities that they approached to seek financial support from their former spouses. The book also dwells on the social status, mobility, skills, and decision-making ability that the surveyed women exercised during the marriage and after separation. It brings to the fore the geographical differences in some of the overall trends spotted in the survey, before wrapping up with a number of recommendations in Chapter 9.
This book marks a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in gender and legal studies by presenting detailed and disaggregated data by social strata, religion and region. The women surveyed form a cross-section of Indian society, from diverse backgrounds, social strata, religions, and geographical locations. The women also differ from one another in terms of their levels of education and number of children. The book shows how such differences affect marriage, separation and divorce. Singh sheds light on a wide range of issues such as work and income, separation and extended families, causes of separation and divorce, value of housework, stress and anxiety levels, loss of career opportunities, ownership of property, other assets, maintenance, stridhan 1 and dowry (the gifts/money given to the bride and groom by the bride’s family).
Singh makes a strong case for legal reform and strengthening the civil law, because women’s entitlements to economic rights on separation and divorce are extremely limited under all Indian laws. Marriage and divorce are governed by different personal laws in India, and most Indian couples opt to marry under either the Hindu Law or Muslim Law, depending on their religion. The Special Marriage Act (SMA) is the sole civil law, but not many couples opt for it. This is evident from the fact that only 4.2 percent of the women surveyed were married under the SMA. Legally, Indian women are entitled to a right to maintenance from their separated and divorced spouses. Realistically, however, most women do not gain any financial support or subsistence, as they find the judicial process too long and the related cost unaffordable. On top of this, their entitlement to the return of stridhan and dowry are neither enforceable nor sufficient for their future subsistence.
Singh also draws attention to the dismal economic condition that most of these women are subjected to for want of sufficient legal protection and law enforcement. She rues that Indian law and government policy have failed to recognize the significance of work within households, and have neglected ongoing gender discrimination and inequality. Singh notes that even though it is well known that women spend much greater time in reproductive work than their spouses, the government has failed to provide legal recognition to any form of household work. Consequently, the Separation of Property Regime is left intact, resulting in the registration of assets and property exclusively in the name of men, thereby rendering the separated and divorced women penniless. Most of these women return to and are financially dependent on their natal family, where they are seldom welcome. Often, they are blamed for their failed marriage and the loss of both stridhan and dowry.
Singh calls for legalizing a “Community of Property” Regime, as in Ontario, Canada, under which women are assured of equal rights in the couple’s property through the economic recognition of women’s work within the household. Indian women, the book demonstrates through the survey, also lack adequate and easy access to public institutions and legal services in the country.
Although the causes of divorce vary across regions and even religions, one of the most cited reasons is domestic violence and cruelty, followed by extramarital affairs and a second marriage. Interestingly, “inadequate” dowry is the most prominent reason given by women for domestic violence and cruelty against women.
Despite the pervasiveness of domestic violence in India, most divorce cases are filed by men. What is more, most women in India prefer not to divorce, as they are financially dependent on their husband and socially vulnerable without the marriage. Not agreeing to a divorce is also a means of sitting at a negotiation table with their spouses to claim their legal share. However, it is often minimal in amount, takes a long time, and subjects a woman to gender-based discrimination in the courts, as was evident from the experiences of the women surveyed in the book.
The book also studies the employment status and earning capacity of these women after their divorce. Most of the women surveyed had not worked outside of their homes prior to their marriage, and had only undertaken reproductive and community work during their marriage unlike their husbands who held jobs. However, about 58.5 percent of the women surveyed started to work after separation due to their poor financial circumstances caused by insufficient maintenance from their spouses. Unsurprisingly, their earning capacity remains low. In addition, during the post-separation period, most women experienced a high degree of anxiety and insecurity relating not only to their future but also to that of their children. Singh blames their current low earning capacity on the lost opportunity and the deprived earning capacity of these women during their marriage. Even though their household responsibilities were intangible and non-monetary, Singh argues that it is important to acknowledge the non-financial contribution of these women to the earning capacity of their former spouses. More than 80 percent of the women surveyed said that their spouses had benefitted from the women’s work at home.
The survey provides impressive findings in regard to the lifestyle and status of these women before and after separation and divorce. Although the women steadily gained in freedom and self-confidence after separation, their lack of control over property and the weak law for maintenance had left them financially disadvantaged. In the absence of a law for the division of marital property, the biggest problem for separated women, the book notes, is the outrageously inadequate amount of maintenance they receive, which Singh ridicules as “charity” (p. 146).
The book also highlights the positive side of separation and divorce. Most of the women surveyed said they enjoyed being decision makers in their households after separation. They now had more opportunity for personal development by learning new skills and performing new tasks, which was unlikely during the marriage when they had only a minimum say even in making personal choices, such as what to wear and whom to meet. It was interesting to see how the findings pointed to the possibility of empowerment for the women after separation, thus promising a happy ending for these women trapped in abusive and oppressive marriages.
Despite the Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry is still practiced widely in Indian society and it is often cited as one of the major reasons for violence against women by the husbands and the in-laws. Singh has presented an impressive array of statistics to show how husbands and the in-laws often seize the dowry and stridhan, compelling the women to approach police and other agencies to get it back. But unfortunately, they have to face harassment at the hands of the police as well, as was borne out by the survey.
The book also provides a comparative analysis of the findings from 24 different cities from four different regions across India. Apart from the socioeconomic problems in each city, what most had in common was the inability of the courts to provide the women with adequate and timely maintenance, and excessively long delays in court proceedings.
Toward the end of the book, Singh also provides a comparative analysis of cases from 1998 until 2000, mapping the transition and similarities, and describing a number of unique cases. The book critiques the Indian judiciary for not only failing to deliver justice to these women in time, thus allowing husbands ample time to hide their property, but also for reinforcing the Indian patriarchal system by linking the law of maintenance to the conduct of the wife (p. 189).
Overall, this book depicts the unique nature of Indian society that discriminates and disables single women “pushing them to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder” (p. 195). Besides covering every possible legal and social aspect of the issue, and producing strong statistical as well as qualitative evidences for each, the research has also been a medium of realization and change for the 405 respondents who were able to “formulate their feelings” (p. 187).
Singh concludes the book by making some recommendations to address the miserable conditions of these women. They include entitling a woman to half the share of the assets at her marital home and assets acquired during the marriage, legal reform to ensure adequate maintenance for spousal and child support, and recognition of a woman’s right to maintenance, besides a single woman’s entitlement to financial support from the state.
The detailed and in-depth research that Singh has presented can serve as primary data and reference for further discussion and analysis of the enabling factors for strengthening women’s legal and economic empowerment. The findings make it a must-read for all feminist researchers, policy-makers, and law practitioners.
Officially, the number of separated and divorced women in India is estimated at 2.34 million, and is widely thought to be increasing rapidly in contemporary society. The survey findings that Singh provides in this book highlight some striking facts about their plight, and strongly suggest the need for a public discourse on their lot and immediate action on law reform, enforcement, and policy making.
Overall, this is a highly informative book about the stark reality of separated and divorced women’s lives in India, and the challenges and constraints they face, both in marital and natal families before and after separation. More importantly, it provides a new ray of hope for all the separated and divorced women in India who may think they are alone in their struggles.