The Impressive Times04 MARCH 2025: Marriage as a social institution has always been looked up to as a fundamental part in most societies. It is not only a basis of the family but also defines social roles and status ofboth genders. Marriage essentially means living together and raising a family. Desertion is negation of marriage and abandonment of spouse without any reason.
A deserted woman is defined as “one whose husband has denied marital co-existence. Even while the Draft National Policy for Women (2016) acknowledges the vulnerabilities of divorced, separated, deserted, and unmarried women, as well as widows, it fails to account for the unique challenges faced by deserted women.
As discussions around women’s empowerment and gender equality are leading to legal reforms and policy changes, a silent crisis persists in our society—the plight of deserted women. This exclusion is not a mere oversight but reflects a structural negligence to recognise a distinct category of gender vulnerability. While the 2011 Census highlights that approximately half of India’s population comprises women, without reliable data on deserted women, policy responses are conjectural, reinforcing their marginalisation.
The Chief Executive Officer , Zilla Parishad of Ahilyanagar district , ( Ahmednagar ) in Maharashtra conducted a survey of single women in May 2023 and found that more than one lakh were single and of these 4582 ladies were deserted. Abandoned by their spouses without the legal certainty of divorce, these women live in a judicial and social limbo that renders them invisible in the formal policy discourse. They maybe included as a part many of the schemes orwelfare policies of the state for women but devoid of clear definition lead to fundamental lacuna in India’s gender-sensitive policymaking perpetuating their socio-economic and psychological marginalisation.
Legal and Institutional Frameworks
Historically, India’s social and legal institutions have been fundamentally anchored within the normative understanding of marriage. Marriage is taken to be the default socio-economic unit, with legal systems constructed primarily around its preservation, The onus of preserving, maintaining and sustaining this relationship in a patriarchal society is on the woman so the fall out of any deviations or disharmony has a negative bearing on her social status.
In our current legal discourse, the difference in treatment is stark. A divorced woman, having legally ended marital relations has many entitlements. Likewise, a widow whose husband has passed away is acknowledgedsocially as well as officially and gets assistance. Conversely, a deserted woman is caught in a paradox; remains ineligible for the benefits of a divorced or widowed woman. She is abandoned without the social and economic support she needs. This discrepancy demands a thorough reexamination of gendered hierarchies. It requires policymakers and legal professionals to undertake a more nuanced understanding when framing gender-sensitive policies.
Socio-Economic and Psychological Challenges
The challenges deserted women face are multifaceted, extending well beyond the juridical domain. Socio-economically, these women confront an array of obstacles that severely curtail their ability to achieve financial stability. Many deserted women grapple with social ostracism, which often translates into diminished employment opportunities. Restricted to poorly paid or irregular jobs, they usually lack access to credit, shelter, and other welfare programs necessary to empower them economically. Their vulnerable economic situation is exacerbated by poor skills and education, strict social norms, and the lack of strong support systems which cumulatively hinder their capacity to access sustainable livelihoods.
Moreover, the psychological toll of desertion is equally significant. Deserted women often endure severe emotional trauma, characterised by low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. The stigma of being deserted—not only by their spouses but also by their extended families and communities—exacerbates their psychological distress. In many instances, societal pressure and familial rejection lead to isolation, diminishing their prospects for recovery and reintegration into society. In rural areas, where traditional patriarchal norms are deeply entrenched, these challenges are magnified, with intersecting factors such as caste, religion, and geographic location adding layers of complexity to their plight.
Policy and Legal Challenges
The lack of targeted state welfare measures further compounds the challenges deserted women face. Many social welfare benefits require stringent criteria, such as proof of long-term residency. For example, in Delhi, beneficiaries must have resided in the city for over five years to access certain benefits. For a deserted woman whose registered address may be in one state—such as Maharashtra—but who has migrated to another state in search of sustenance, such residency requirements become insurmountable barriers. This inter-state disparity results in the exclusion of many deserted women from essential welfare schemes.
Housing is another critical area where these challenges are evident. According to NFHS-5 data, significant gender disparities exist in property ownership among individuals aged 15 to 49, with only 42 per cent of women owning a house compared to 60 per cent of men. Large-scale flagship projects such as PMAY-G have only recently mandated joint ownership for spouses; however, properties are often registered solely in the husband’s name. This leaves deserted women without a secure claim to property, effectively stripping them of a vital social security net. Similarly, while some states—such as Delhi and Tamil Nadu—have categorized deserted women separately for ration card benefits, a lack of uniformity at the central level hampers the formal recognition of deserted women as eligible beneficiaries for social welfare schemes.
Even well-intentioned initiatives like the Swadhar Greh Scheme have struggled to yield tangible benefits for deserted women. Budgetary constraints and implementation challenges have often resulted in these programs failing to reach their intended beneficiaries. The broader issue of property access directly impacts employment opportunities. Limited access to property, low literacy rates, the burden of domestic responsibilities, and childcare obligations all reduce the bargaining power of deserted women in the labour market. Although schemes such as MGNREGA have identified deserted women as a special category to ensure access to less strenuous and more localized work, these measures are insufficient to address the comprehensive needs of this vulnerable group.
The pervasive lack of awareness regarding legal rights and personal agency is compounding these obstacles. Despite the existence of laws designed to safeguard deserted women, prohibitive legal fees, procedural complexities, and the stigma associated with pursuing judicial recourse discourage many from seeking justice. Even with the availability of free legal aid, many deserted women do not file maintenance cases or, if they do, receive only minimal support from their estranged spouses. A study of Sakhi : One stop Centres in Maharashtra revealed that out of the 703 women surveyed 658 deserted women had filed cases from which orders had been received only in 139 cases. The time variation was between six months to three years and of these only 16% reported receiving a judgement in their favour. These challenges underscore the need for reform in implementing legal measures and broader sociocultural advocacy.
A Pathway for Reform and Empowerment
Addressing the plight of deserted women requires an urgent and comprehensive policy intervention. First and foremost, it is essential to integrate deserted women into the framework of state welfare measures. Empowerment initiatives through existing networks, such as self-help groups (SHGs), should be expanded to include legal and socio-economic tools that enhance financial independence. Improving legal literacy is equally critical; dedicated legal support centres must be established to educate deserted women about their rights and the avenues for seeking justice.
Additionally, community support networks and free counselling are essential to helping these deserted women psychologically recover. Expanded access to health care and insurance coverage will also go a long way in helping protect these women against shocks of economic and social instability. A formal institution committed to the care of deserted women throughout the country would guarantee that policy interventions are applied uniformly and that deserted women are identified as a specific category worthy of essential interventions.
Legal reform is required to expedite processes and remove administrative roadblocks that hinder abandoned women from claiming their rights. The main goals of legal reforms should be to simplify procedures and efficiently enforce current legislation. Organisations like CORO India or Ekal Stri Sangahtana are working for bringing to light the plight of single women yet Women’s rights organisations must consistently attempt to confront and alter the sociocultural beliefs that lead to the marginalisation of deserted women.
Conclusion
The plight of deserted women is a stark reminder that progress in women’s empowerment must extend beyond high-profile legal battles and policy declarations. Their legal invisibility, compounded by socio-economic, psychological, and cultural obstacles, highlights a critical deficiency in current gender-sensitive policymaking.A comprehensive, multi-pronged approach is required—one that combines legal reform, policy innovation, and grassroots advocacy. In an era that celebrates the progress of women’s empowerment, excluding deserted women from the policy narrative is both a moral and practical failure that demands revision.
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