Paper Details

A deserted woman is the one whom husband has denied the marital co-existence. The husband deserts her even when she has not committed any serious offence. Cast- away women or parityakta in Marathi are the other terms used for these women. The number of such women is large in urban and rural areas in Maharashtra. A brief review of the studies conducted at the Government, NGO and individual levels on the issue of deserted women in Maharashtra will be taken. A study was conducted by the second author in 2001 in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts in Southern Maharashtra. There were 709 deserted women in the district headquarters and 26,033 deserted women in villages in these three districts. The study covers 71 deserted women from urban areas and 121 deserted women from rural areas from three districts. The focus will be on the both household settings, marital relations, social life and participation in movements. Some case-studies will also be presented. Thus the ground level realities of deserted women in Maharashtra will be presented.

Deserted woman, Alcoholism, Dowry, Child Marriage