Single in Kerala not by choice: Dowry the cause

Jisha Surya
First Published : 07 Feb 2010

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Spinsterhood is not a pers­onal choice of the majority of Kerala’s unmarried women as three-fourth of them find dowry as the main or subsidiary cause standing as a hindrance to marriage, according to a Women’s Commission study.
The annual report of the Kerala Women’s Commission has unveiled the real picture of the ‘glorified’ social situation existing in the state.
The family was another factor against marriage in cases where the women were the only earning members or when they had to take up the responsibility of the family.
The study conducted among 26 unmarried women living in old age homes and 40 living in Mahilamandirams showed that only two among them opted to remain single. The study, which featured women in the age group of 30 to 85, did not cover nuns.
Financial or social dependence emerged as the main factor determining the marital status of women in the state. Some of them remained unmarried as their siblings showed reluctance to share ancestral properties. The abs­ence or demise of parents or siblings was another reason.
One of the major problems affecting unmarried women is insecurity. The majority of the women interviewed by the Commission said they were insecure at home, in public and at their work places. Among those remaining single, 23 per cent lived alone.
The study showed that 15 per cent had been subjected to some kind of abuse. Eight per cent of the women had disputes with close relatives in the sharing of ancestral properties, while some chose to remain single because of disease or health problems.