More Muslim Women Steering Clear of Marriage, Kids: Census Data

The change in the percentage of women who were not married, or without kids were much lower among Hindus and Sikhs.

Representational Image. (Photo: iStock)

As the triple talaq debate grows in the country with the courts and the Muslim Personal Law Board fighting it out, government data shows Muslim women in India between the ages of 20 and 34 are more likely to get divorced than women from other religious communities.

The comparison of Census data of 2001 with that of 2011 shows that the percentage of Muslim women who never got married grew by 94 percent in this decade, which is much higher than the percentage seen among Buddhist (72.78 percent), Hindu (69.13 percent) and Sikh (66.21 percent) women.

Also Read: How Triple Talaq at 16 Led This Woman to Empower Young Girls

The percentage of Muslim women in this age group who don’t have children also increased in this decade by 39 percent, while the numbers for Buddhist women were 45 percent and 29.5 for Hindu women.

Muslim women in India also seem to be rising above the boundaries of Muslim personal laws.

(Source: Census Data 2001 and 2011)