Alarming! Over 45,000 Women Died By Suicide In 2021, Majority Of Them Were Housewives: NCRB Data

As per the recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, 45,026 women committed suicide in India in the year 2021. The data has come to shed light on the severe impacts the pandemic has had on the emotional and mental health of different groups of people.

Out of the total 1,643,033 people who died by suicide in 2021, 23,178 were reported to be housewives, and about 5,693 and 4,246 were students and daily wage earners, respectively. The report also suggested that Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of suicides among housewives, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Suicides Peaked During The Pandemic

Among all genders, family problems and illness were among the leading cause of suicide. Other reasons were spread across drug and alcohol addiction, love affairs, bankruptcy or indebtedness, among others. The vulnerable groups who took the extreme step of committing suicide were mostly around the age groups of 18 and 30, and 30 to 45.

The number of female suicide victims was more in 2021 with a ratio of 72.5:27.4 as compared to the ratio in 2020, which was 70.9:29.1. The Business Standard reported that most of the suicide cases were attributed to marriage-related issues, particularly dowry and infertility.

The UN Women 2020 also noted that "women were fighting a shadow pandemic inside their homes", and about 86 per cent of women who experienced violence never sought help, while 77 per cent of the victims did not even mention such incident(s) to anyone. As per a study published by the Asian Journal of Criminology, data by the National Commission for Women (NCW) showed that domestic violence complaints had doubled nationwide during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Tamil Nadu police, in particular, reported an increased number of domestic violence complaints and received at least 25 calls reporting abuse every day. Along the same lines, even Bangalore Police had reported a spike in complaints from ten to 25 calls every day from victims of domestic violence.

Reflecting on this data, the suicide cases can easily be traced down to the cause as Tamil Nadu reported the most suicides among housewives, with 3,221 such cases. The numbers were followed by Madhya Pradesh with 3,055 cases and Maharashtra with 2,861 cases.

Also Read: NCRB Data Flags Delhi As Most Unsafe City In India For Women, Mumbai At Second In List