”Attitude Of Society Towards Divorced Women”

Despite advances in the standard of living of people, the condition of widows and divorced women remains deplorable in society. Wives who cheat on their husbands are viewed badly while husbands who cheat on their wives do so because their wives failed to meet their “need” for love/affection/sex. Paying no heed to whatever the reason may be for divorce, women are made responsible for divorce and it is considered as a sin in society. Instead of consoling her and helping her to get out of that situation, society makes a divorced woman situation more miserable by insulting her, watching her with disgrace etc. In many cases, even the family member of divorced women parent doesn’t want to keep her at their home.

“Women normally suffer the most after a divorce, both in terms of quality of life and emotional well-being.” says Michele Weiner Davis, creator of the Divorce Busting Centers. Indian society has always looked at divorced and separated women as outcasts and treats them harshly. They look at divorced women as a disgrace and most of harassment (sexual and mental) is targeted at them. Their chance of future romantic relationships is pretty low. Biased attitude towards a divorced woman/baby girl remains the same from her parents’ side. She’s always seen as a burden to live with, whether it’s after her birth, or after her broken marriage. There are innumerable problems faced by a divorced women like rudeness of maternal family members, hardships in getting job, dependence on brother or other family members, remarriage problems, ridiculing and backbiting at workplace “this woman is divorced”. Few studies have found that women’s psychological well-being is more negatively affected by a divorce. Many people are quick to judge, stereotype and discriminate against others, without being fully aware of their circumstances. Many divorced women face such an unfair view, which adds to their difficulties.

A change in mindset of the society is required before these women get their rightful place, for which a strong will is needed in the minds of the people, and in law-governing bodies. There is no easy solution to make people change their attitudes, it all starts at home with the family educating their children to accept divorce. Also the role of the media, education, religious awareness, the law all can help to educate people and make them more aware in accepting to the true reality and circumstances of divorced woman. As long as people in the society do not change their attitude and have an open mind, many divorced women would go on suffering the added pressure that is inflicted on them which adds to their burdens. “We need to treat women like a human, not like an isolated part of society.”       — About the Author: The article has been contributed by our intern, Swati Agrawal.