Data | Most Indian women who got divorced were pushed towards it Premium

The share of divorced women who faced sexual abuse from their husbands during marriage was more than two times higher than what currently married women face

A higher share of divorced/separated women suffered harassment from their husbands than currently married women | Photo Credit: GOPINATHAN K

On May 1, the Supreme Court said that in cases of a marriage being “wrecked beyond hope of salvage,” the cooling-off period of six to 18 months would only “breed misery and pain.” It held that its extraordinary discretion under Article 142 of the Constitution can be used to provide justice for couples trapped in bitter marriages.

This judgment may help ease the suffering of Indian women who wish to be divorced. Data show that a higher share of divorced/separated Indian women endured emotional, physical and sexual harassment from their most recent husband than currently married women. A higher share of divorced/separated women also experienced restrictions on their mobility and had a limited say in their spending decisions during their marriage compared to currently married women. A higher share of divorced women had faced suspicion from their (then) husbands during marriage. These conclusions are based on the National Family Health Survey-5.

The share of divorced women who experienced emotional violence (insults, humiliation, threats) from their most recent husband during marriage was two times higher than currently married women (Table 1). The share of divorced women who experienced sexual violence (13.4%) was more than twice that of currently married women (5.8%).

Table 1 | Experiencing violence: Share of women who experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence in the hands of their husband/most recent husband

Marital status	Emotional violence	Physical violence	Sexual violence	Physical or sexual violence	Emotional, physical or sexual violence
Currently married	13.2%	27.3%	5.8%	28.3%	31%
Divorced/ separated/ deserted/ widowed	26.9%	42.9%	13.4%	43.6%	46.4%

Charts appear incomplete?Click to remove AMP mode

 Similarly, the share of divorced women who experienced physical violence during pregnancy was two and a half times higher than currently married women (Table 2).

Table 2 | Experiencing violence during pregnancy: Share of women who have ever experienced physical violence during pregnancy

Marital status	%
Currently married	2.9%
Divorced/ separated/ deserted/ widowed	7.2%

About 21% of divorced/separated women were accused by their most recent husbands of being unfaithful during the marriage compared to 10.1% of currently married women. Similarly, the share of divorced/separated women who experienced marital control by their husbands, when the couple was together, was much higher than the share of currently married women (Table 3). 

Table 3 | Marital control by husbands: Share of women whose husband...

Marital status	...is jealous or angry if she talks to other men	...frequently accuses her of being unfaithful	...does not permit her to meet her female friends	...tries to limit her contact with her family	...insists on knowing where she is at all times	...does not trust her with money
Currently married	25.7%	10.1%	19.7%	15%	19%	20.5%
Divorced/ separated/ deserted/ widowed	35.7%	21%	23%	23.4%	24.3%	26.9%

So, data show that in most cases, the decision of women to separate from their husbands was a result of years of physical and emotional abuse. And the perception held by some that “couples break the nuptial tie for flimsy or selfish reasons” in recent times, as observed by the Kerala High Court in September last year, is not true for a majority of the cases.

Click to subscribe to our Data newsletter

The recent Supreme Court judgment will help women to move on with their lives quickly, as data show that the share of divorced women who were employed was much higher than currently married women.

Table 4 | Women’s employment status: Share of women 

Marital status	Employed in the 12 months preceding the survey: Currently employed	Employed in the 12 months preceding the survey: Not currently employed	Not employed in the 12 months preceding the survey
Currently married	26.6%	5.4%	68.1%
Divorced/ separated/ deserted/ widowed	49.1%	8.7%	42.3%

As shown in Table 4, 49.1% of divorced/separated women were employed compared to only 26.6% of currently married women. Their freedom of movement was much higher than currently married women (Table 5). 

Table 5 | Freedom of movement: Share of women who were allowed to go to...

Marital status	...the market	...a health facility	...the village/ community	...all three places
Currently married	57.5%	53.5%	51.1%	43.6%
Widowed/divorced/ separated/deserted	79.9%	76.1%	74.3%	68.8%

Moreover, they had a higher say over monetary decisions, with 72.8% of divorced women allowed to make their own spending decisions (Table 6).

Table 6 | Women’s access to money: Share of women who have access to...

Marital status	...money that they can decide how to use	...a bank or savings account that they themselves use
Currently married	53.6%	79.9%
Divorced/ separated/ deserted/ widowed	72.8%	87.6%

While the share of divorced/separated women who faced abuse from their most recent husbands was high, it is important to note that the share of currently married women who endure such pain is only relatively small in number. Over 30% of currently married women have faced either emotional, physical or sexual violence in their lives. Close to 80% of them have never revealed this to anyone, which partly explains the very low divorce rates in India.

Moreover, while divorced women have gained relatively more autonomy after divorce, their freedom is not absolute (Table 5), with only around 70% of them allowed to go alone to many places and have money that they can decide how to use.

rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in and vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in

Source: National Family Health Survey - 5

Watch our latest Data video: Watch | Data Point: Which State has India’s richest MLAs?