Women with single status more successful than others: Survey

Contrary to popular belief, women with single status in the Hindi belt are carving out a niche for themselves, and find their status helpful in leading a more successful and hassle-free life, according to a survey.

The survey, by Department of Women Studies of Lucknow University, done in the Hindi belt, where women are considered to be clinging to tradition, said a number of them have no reservation in admitting that their single status has helped them deliver better results than their married counterparts in the professional field.

A majority of women, almost 93%, of those belonging to unmarried, separated, deserted and widows classification in the sample of 1,581 interviewed by the department admitted that 'single' women performed better at work, Professor Rakesh Chandra, under whose guidance the survey was conducted, said.

The women interviewed included both high profile professionals as well as those doing menial jobs such as selling vegetables and belonged to different age groups.

All agreed that their hassle-free life was giving them great satisfaction from work as well as motivating them to do well in professional areas, Prof Chandra said.

The sample group included women employed in the private sector, poor artisans, young girls pursuing English-speaking courses, housewives, rural women, political aspirants in Sitapur, Chandauli, Varansi, Lucknow and Barabanki.

Interestingly, the survey found, most of the single women were so satisfied with life that they were not willing to swap places with their "happily married" counterparts leading "highly protected lives" under the shadow of male members of their families.

"This level of satisfaction is evident even in women hailing from a conservative background who rejected all pressures from the family to settle down (get married) and opted for professional satisfaction as also in those who walked out of violent marriages to eke out a living," Prof Chandra said.

For illiterates, the single status which mostly came after widowhood brought total freedom and with it enjoyment of life as it brought the relief of not being dominated by the male partner, Prof Chandra said, citing the example of a 70-year-old vegetable seller.

Though enjoying satisfaction of freedom, 87% admitted they were easy targets of sexual harassment while 51% said they were not immune to the attraction of the opposite sex.

The study also claimed that 53% found marriage an "overrated institution" and 65% said the presence of a husband is of no importance in their life, making clear that for them marriage is not on the cards.

Single women, however, found their mobility restricted because of their status, Prof Chandra said.