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Where Marriage Is Dangerous for Women
“Better to have never been born than to be born a woman!” I have heard this sentiment expressed numerous times by low-income Dalit and lower-caste women friends of mine in Tamil Nadu. Married women in urban slums and low-income settlements have a tough time keeping their families functioning. Unemployment, domestic violence due to male alcoholism and crushing poverty affect families and it is the women who bear the brunt. No wonder that in urban Tamil Nadu one often hears of female suicides.
“Better to have never been born than to be born a woman!” I have heard this sentiment expressed numerous times by low-income Dalit and lower-caste women friends of mine in Tamil Nadu. Married women in urban slums and low-income settlements have a tough time keeping their families functioning. Unemployment, domestic violence due to male alcoholism and crushing poverty affect families and it is the women who bear the brunt. No wonder that in urban Tamil Nadu one often hears of female suicides. A recent report (in Lancet 2018) reveals that Tamil Nadu leads the Indian states in female suicides.
Nearly 40% of all female suicides in the world occur in India (Safi 2018a). In other words, nearly two in every five women who kill themselves are Indian. This is reported in this major Lancet (2018) study which declares that India’s female suicide rate constitutes a major public health crisis.
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