In 2021, over 45K women died by suicide in India, 23,000 of them are housewives
As many as 45,026 women killed themselves in 2021 in India with more than 23,000 of them being housewives, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report said. This comes even as the rate of deaths by suicides across the country during the year peaked to the highest-ever recorded level – rising 6.1 per cent from the preceding year.
The NCRB data found 1,64,033 people died by suicide in 2021 of whom, 1,18,979 were men. A total of 28 transgenders also feature in this list.
Of the 45,026 women who died by suicide, housewives accounted for 23,178 followed by students (5,693), and daily wage earners (4,246), the report added.
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The numbers reveal the continued impact of the pandemic on the emotional health and mental state of individuals.
States that recorded most suicides of housewives
According to the NCRB report, that most suicides among housewives were reported in Tamil Nadu (3,221), followed by Madhya Pradesh (3,055) and Maharashtra (2,861). These states accounted for 13.9 per cent, 13.2 per cent and 12.3 per cent of total such suicides during 2021, respectively.
Reasons for suicides
Family problems and illness were the primary reasons behind suicides in all cases - men, women and transgender – accounting for 33.2 per cent and 18.6 per cent, respectively.
Other reasons include drug abuse and alcohol addiction (6.4 per cent), marriage-related issues (4.8 per cent), love affairs (4.6 per cent) and bankruptcy or indebtedness (3.9 per cent), among others.
Ratio comparison
The NCRB report showed that the female ratio of suicide victims for 2021 was 72.5:27.4, which is more as opposed to 2020 when it was 70.9:29.1. The report further stated that the proportion of female suicide victims were more in marriage related woes, especially those pertaining to dowry, along with infertility.
Age groups with most suicide victims
Those between 18 and aged below 30, and from 30 to below 45 years were the most vulnerable groups taking the extreme step. This was applicable to suicide victims across genders - men, women and transgender.
