Abandoned Women Vastly Outnumber Victims of Triple Talaq in India
Data shows the situation of Muslim women better than the rhetoric
We are presenting an insightful analysis of the situation of abandoned women, triple talaq (pronouncing divorce in one sitting), and its impact on Muslim women in India.
Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, USIPI’s Chief Scholar, and Syed Khalid, Research Associate at the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy (CRDDP) undertook a research analysis to understand the basic questions that became topics of national debate recently:
Is the Muslim women’s condition in India as pathetic as the government and sections of media claim it to be?
How is their situation compared to their sisters from the other religious communities?
Is the practice of Triple Talaq making Muslim women “extremely vulnerable”?
Since no credible data was put forth as evidence, they began by analyzing the Census of India – 2011 data. Using data from table C3 of the census on ‘Marital Status by Religious Community and Sex – 2011’ they were able to establish an empirical position on the issue.
Their principal finding is that the situation of Indian Muslim women seems better than women from other religious groups.
For example, the percentage of women staying in their marriage is highest among Muslims (87.8%) compared to Hindus (86.2%), Christians (83.7%), and other religious minorities (85.8%).
The percentage of widowed women is least among Muslims (11.1%) compared to Hindus (12.9%), Christians (14.6%), and other religious minorities (13.3%). It is likely that the culture of widow remarriages provides a higher level of family protection to Muslim women compared to women from other religious communities.
The percentage of separated and abandoned women is also least among Muslims (0.67%) compared to Hindus (0.69%), Christians (1.19%), and other religious minorities (0.68%).
The same census data suggests that the divorced women percentage is higher among Muslims (0.49%) and Christians (0.47%) compared to other religious minorities (0.33%) and Hindus at 0.22%.
The practice of getting a divorce among Hindus is traditionally non-existent. Out of 340 million ever-married women, 9.1 lakhs are divorced and among them 2.1 lakhs are Muslims.
Indian population according to the 2011 Census | Religion percentage estimate
Hindu: 79.80% 966.2 Million
Muslim: 14.23% 172.2 Million
Christian: 2.30% 27.8 Million
Sikh: 1.72% 20.8 Million
The detailed findings were reported in an opinion piece published by The Wire, an independent magazine in India.
About the Author: Abusaleh Shariff and Syed Khalid Research Associate at the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy (CRDDP). He is the Chief Scholar at the US India Policy Institute, Washington DC.
Source: The Wire.