Why more number of housewives are committing suicide in India?

According to the most recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) estimate, as many as 45,026 women committed suicide in India in 2021, with more than 23,000 of them being housewives. This occurs at a time when the number of suicide fatalities nationwide reached a record high and increased by 6.1% from the year before.

The NCRB study states that the majority of housewives’ suicides (3,221) were recorded in Tamil Nadu, followed by Madhya Pradesh (3,055) and Maharashtra (2,861).

The figures show the pandemic’s ongoing effects on people’s emotional and mental health. Amongst the many causes of suicide, the report highlighted that most of them were motivated by family issues and sickness.

According to the NCRB data, there were more female suicide victims in 2021 (72.5:27.4) than there were in 2020 (70.9:29.1). Problems with marriage, particularly those connected to dowries and infertility, were more common reasons among female suicide victims, the report said.

The most vulnerable age groups that took the extreme step were those under the age of 18 and those between the ages of 30 and under 45. This held true for male, female, and transgender suicide victims alike.

Why Indian Housewives Are Committing Suicide?

Experts believe coronavirus epidemic and associated lockdowns, which impeded public movement and possibilities for women to express themselves and form connections with others, have made the issue worse.

“During COVID, we saw a spike in domestic violence, and safety nets and protective factors reduced. Because of loss of jobs, there was less autonomy among housewives and this led to more work, less rest and time for themselves,” Nelson Vinod Moses, founder of the Suicide Prevention India Foundation, told DW.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) is doing a fantastic job of assisting women who are victims of domestic violence by offering counselling and connecting them with the district magistrate for judicial support. However, most of the time women either choose to keep quiet or fail to seek out the available resources.

The lack of awareness and financial dependency of housewives on other family members for treatment chances is another factor contributing to a rise in suicide rates. As a result, people are left to handle their own mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and others.

Even if we take into account a small percentage of housewives who seek professional help, for the vast majority of them, depression is not even seen as a problem given that they also need to take care of their homes and basic needs like food.

Most importantly, people need to realize and become more aware of the fact that having to provide care continuously, losing one’s identity, and not receiving adequate support from family or friends are major mental health problems faced primarily by housewives.

What is needed is a change of perspective. There has to be a change in how society treats women, and a more proactive law enforcement in place.