Separated and Divorced Women in India This page intentionally left blank Separated and Divorced Women in India Economic Rights and Entitlements Kirti Singh International Development Research Centre Ottawa • Cairo • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi Copyright © International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Jointly published in 2013 by SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd International Development B1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Research Centre Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India P.O. Box 8500 www.sagepub.in Ottawa, ON Canada K1G 3H9 SAGE Publications Inc www.idrc.ca 2455 Teller Road [email protected] Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA ISBN (e-book) 978-1-55250-551-9 SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Published by Vivek Mehra for SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/12pt Adobe Garamond by RECTO Graphics, Delhi and printed at De-Unique, New Delhi. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Singh, Kirti. Separated and divorced women in India: economic rights and entitlements/Kirti Singh. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Divorced women—India—Economic conditions. 2. Separated women— India—Economic conditions. 3. Separated maintenance—India. 4. Divorced women—Legal status, laws, etc.—India. I. Title. HQ928.S56 306.89'30954—dc23 2013 2012046755 ISBN: 978-81-321-0952-5 (HB) The SAGE Team: Rudra Narayan, Aniruddha De, Anju Saxena and Rajinder Kaur To my parents, Vir Bala Singh and Mahendra Pratap Singh. vi Separated and Divorced Women in India Thank you for choosing a SAGE product! If you have any comment, observation or feedback, I would like to personally hear from you. Please write to me at [email protected] —Vivek Mehra, Managing Director and CEO, SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi Bulk Sales SAGE India offers special discounts for purchase of books in bulk. We also make available special imprints and excerpts from our books on demand. For orders and enquiries, write to us at Marketing Department SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag 7 New Delhi 110044, India E-mail us at [email protected] Get to know more about SAGE, be invited to SAGE events, get on our mailing list. Write today to [email protected] This book is also available as an e-book. YZ Contents List of Tables ix List of Graphs xii Foreword by Prabha Sridevan xvii Acknowledgements xxi 1: Introduction 1 2: Main Findings 22 3: General Information about the Surveyees 36 4: Work Status and Earning Capacity 87 5: Family Status and Lifestyle 113 6: Spousal and Child Support and the Dowry System 136 7: Social Status, Mobility, Skills and Decision Making 165 8: Findings from Different Cities 173 9: Conclusion and Recommendations 187 Appendix 202 Bibliography 249 Index 253 About the Author 256 This page intentionally left blank Tables 1.1 The States/Territories Covered by the Survey 18 3.1 Distribution of Surveyees by Their Current Occupation in 45 Different Regions 3.2 Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Current 48 Monthly Income (in Rupees) Categories in Different Regions 3.3 Percentage Distribution of Male Spouses in Different 50 Income Levels by the Current Income of the Surveyees 3.4 Current Monthly Income of the Surveyees in Rupees 51 3.5 Number of Cases in Which Matrimonial Dispute Was 70 Taken to the Court of Law 3.6(a) Types of Cases Filed by the Surveyees 71 3.6(b) Types of Cases Filed by Husbands of the Surveyees 73 3.7 Frequency Distribution of Surveyees by Reasons for Separation 75 4.1 Number of Hours Spent on Housework by the Surveyees/ 93 Their Spouses during Marriage and after Separation 4.2 Percentage Difference of Hours Spent on Housework by 97 the Surveyees/Their Spouses during Marriage and after Separation 5.1 Information on Household Assets: Immovable 118 Asset—House 5.2 Immovable Assets: Current Possession of the House 119 5.3 Information on Household Assets: Immovable Asset— 120 Land (per cent) 5.4 Immovable Assets: Current Possession of the Land (per cent) 121 5.5 Information on Immovable Assets: Other Immovable 123 Properties (per cent) 5.6 Current Possession of the Other Immovable Property 123 5.7 Sources of Acquisition of the Movable Assets—Vehicles 124 x Separated and Divorced Women in India 5.8 Movable Assets: Current Possession of the Vehicles Bought/ 124 Gifted during the Marriage 5.9 Information on Movable Assets: Jewellery 125 5.10 Movable Assets: Current Possession of the Jewellery 125 5.11 Information on Movable Property: Television Set (per cent) 128 5.12 Movable Assets: Current Possession of the Television Set 128 5.13 Information on Movable Assets: Fridge 129 5.14 Movable Assets: Current Possession of the Fridge 129 5.15 Information on Movable Assets: Other Electronic Goods 130 5.16 Movable Assets: Current Possession of Other Electronic Goods 130 5.17 Information on Financial Assets: Cash in Bank 131 5.18 Financial Assets: Current Possession of Cash in Bank or 131 Elsewhere 5.19 Information on Financial Assets: Deposits 132 5.20 Financial Assets: Current Possession of Deposits 132 5.21 Information on Financial Assets: Mutual Funds and/or Shares 133 5.22 Financial Assets: Current Possession of Mutual Funds 133 5.23 Information on Financial Assets: Insurance Policy 134 5.24 Financial Assets: Current Possession of Insurance Policy 134 5.25 Financial Assets: Information on Other Savings 135 5.26 Financial Assets: Current Possession of Other Savings 135 6.1 Whether the Surveyee Was Awarded Spousal Support/ 137 Maintenance for Herself and Her Children and Whether She Was Satisfied with the Quantum 6.2 Average Maintenance Awarded to the Surveyees 138 6.3 Support or Maintenance for the Child/Children 139 6.4 How Long Did the Court or Other Process Take (in Years)? 141 6.5 Frequency of Cases in Which Appeal Was Filed Against the 142 Order of Maintenance 6.6 Time Taken by the Courts for the Appeal Filed 142 6.7 Frequency of Surveyees Getting Either Lump Sum or 144 Monthly Maintenance 6.8 Whether the Surveyees Got the Maintenance Payments 145 6.9 Whether the Maintenance Awarded as Lump Sum/Monthly 147 Was Received by the Surveyees? 6.10 Whether the Surveyees Got the Monthly Payments Regularly 147 Tables xi 6.11 Correlation between Parent’s Income and Dowry Given at 156 the Time of Marriage of the Surveyees by Their Parents, as Distributed between Given Caste Groups 6.12 Dowry as a Financial Burden on the Parents 159 7.1 Percentage of Surveyees Whose Interaction with Others Got 167 Affected Due to Their Separation 7.2 Who Were the Decision-makers during Marriage in the 168 Marital Home regarding Various Tasks 7.3 Who Is the Decision-Maker regarding Various Tasks after 169 Separation 7.4 New Skills Learnt or New Tasks Performed by the 171 Surveyees after Their Separation (in percentage) 7.5 Identity Cards Held by Surveyees 172 Graphs 3.1(a) Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Age 38 Groups in Different Regions 3.1(b) Age-wise Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by 39 Their Social Caste Groups 3.2(a) The Current Residential Status of the Divorced and 40 Separated Women (Surveyees) in Different Regions 3.2(b) Distribution of the Surveyees Belonging to Different Social 41 Caste Groups by Their Residential Status after Separation 3.3(a) The Current Activity Status of the Surveyees and Their 42 Spouses after Divorce or Separation in Different Regions 3.3(b) Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees Belonging to 43 Different Caste Groups by Their Current Work Status 3.4 Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Current 44 Activity Status/Occupation 3.5 Percentage Distribution of Surveyees by the Current 46 Activity Status of Their Husbands 3.6 Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Current 48 Monthly Income (in Rupees) Categories in Different Regions 3.7 The Current Monthly Income (in Rupees) of Spouses of the 49 Surveyees after Divorce or Separation in Different Regions 3.8 Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Religion in 52 Different Regions 3.9 Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Caste in Different 54 Regions 3.10 Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Educational Level 55 in Different Regions 3.11 Distribution of the Surveyees Belonging to Different Caste 56 Groups by Their Educational Status 3.12(a) Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by the Number 57 of Children They Have in Different Regions Graphs xiii 3.12(b) Distribution of the Surveyees Belonging to Different Caste 57 Groups by the Number of Children They Have 3.12(c) Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by Their Age and 58 the Number of Children They Had 3.12(d) Parent With Whom the Children of the Surveyees Are 59 Staying 3.13(a) Percentage Distribution of the Surveyees by the Age of 60 Marriage in Different Regions 3.13(b) Distribution of the Surveyees Belonging to Different Caste 61 Groups by Their Age at the Time of Marriage 3.14(a) Percentage Distribution of 405 Surveyees by the 62 Type of Marriage They Had in Different Regions 3.14(b) Distribution of Surveyees by the Type of Marriage 63 (Inter-religion/Inter-caste) They Had in Different Regions 3.15(a) Distribution of Surveyees by the Law under