Parenting is a blessing, it is a pleasurable and one of the most beautiful things to have children in life. Parenting requires two persons, mostly a male, and a female but in some cases, it can be female-female or male-male. Here we want to make it very clear that we are not gender-based old tradition followers. Love is unconditional, it does not know the gender. If you are still considering the male-female theory in the mind then it’s time to open your eyes and explore the essence of love.
Main Reasons Behind Becoming a Single Mother
- Death of male partner due to war, disease, accident, etc.
- Compatibility Issue with the male partner.
- Divorce due to relationship issues.
It is very surprising to know that 4.5% of all Indian households are run by single mothers.
Below are the problems faced by single mothers in India:
Table of Contents
Multiple Responsibilities
A single mother needs to fulfill the responsibility of mother and father. It is like juggling responsibility as children need both father and mother equally. Believe me, it is very tough to perform both the duties at one time. There will be a situation when you might miss one of the responsibilities due to some reason, it will become guilt for you for not performing that responsibility. Time will become one of the precious things for you as a single mother.
The Pressure to Get Married Again
In India being a single mother is a taboo. Men are considered as a protector that all females should have in their lives. If you are a single mother then there are chances of getting unwanted marriage proposals just because a single mother in India cannot live alone with their children because society will make different kinds of talks behind their back. A single mother in India gets constant pressure from both the families to get married again so that a male will take the responsibility of both mother and her children. In most cases, if she agrees on it but there will be always doubt on how trustable that person will be if he will be able to accept the children or not.
As we all know a relationship sometimes works and sometimes it miserably fails. It is up to you as a single mother to decide if you want to marry again or ignore the utter nonsense advice.
No Support – Either Socially or Financially
A single mother in India constantly faces both social and financial storms. She has to manage her financial expenses, also she stands strong and becomes her social support during hard times. Most of the time due to social behavior towards her children she becomes social support to manage the children’s emotions and social needs. It is hard to survive when there is no social and financial support but as a great saying about motherhood:
Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing.
– Ricki Lake.
The social treatment of single mothers in India is very different from the females having husbands. Sometimes behavior towards single mothers in India shows a sign of indignity, sometimes it is more sympathetic.
Difficulty in Finding a Reliable Babysitter
All mothers are always concerned about the safety of their children. When you are a working single mother then it becomes more difficult to manage everything. You might get the best babysitter but your mind will be always distracted towards your children if he/she has eaten properly or not. The babysitter is treating and behaving with the child in a proper manner. Finding the right hand to care for your child is a daunting task, also as a mother you will always worry about your child.
Documents Issue
We as an Indian must be aware that most of the legal documents in India require the name of the father. It becomes very hard for single mothers who are not married. They have to come up with excuses to justify being a single mother. Most of us are in our old state of mind that a child must have both father and mother, no question or raise in the eyebrows by the civilized people if a man had left the women. People in that situation assume the character of the women is followed for the single mothers, but eyebrows are always raised for the women in India.
Bottom Line!
It is indeed very hard for single mothers to raise their children in a male dominating society. We as a society must go with the changing world, we need not be stuck with the same old thinking where men are the superior and thus required for raising children. As a civilized society we must open our mind for:
- Single mothers
- Men raising children by opting surrogacy
