Abandoned Women

The Supreme Court of India made a landmark decision on August 22, striking down the controversial practice of instant triple talaq (divorce by uttering ‘talaq’ thrice to the wife in person, or at times over WhatsApp message or a phone call) in Muslim communities. However, another important issue affecting millions of women in the country across religions and communities remains to be addressed, the issue of ‘abandoned women’, where men simply walk out of the marriage without even uttering these words or any other formalities: legal or otherwise.

There are 2.3 million separated and abandoned women in India. That number is huge, approximately two times the number of divorced women as per the last Census. There are close to two million Hindu women who are abandoned and separated; this number is 2.8 lakhs for Muslims, 0.9 lakh for Christians and 0.8 lakh for other religions. However, no concrete steps have been taken to support these destitute women.