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Most mentally ill women in India are below 40

Uneducated single women have emerged as the most vulnerable among mentally ill patients. According to latest government data, most mentally ill female patients in India are living in deplorable conditions, with the highest number of them being single, young, hailing from nuclear families and are unemployed. 

Mostly they belong to the 30-39 age-group and have no formal education. These figures are from a research commissioned by the National Commission for Women.

The survey also indicated that most of the female patents hail from a nuclear family setup. Currently most these women who are undergoing treatment are still unstable and only a marginal section of them have shown improvement, said the report.

Based on the report’s findings, Ministry of Women and Child Development has decided to rehabilitate these women in the Widows centre being constructed in Vrindavan. Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi told Millennium Post, “We have carried out a survey of women in mental asylums - the first since Independence. In our survey, we found that many women have been abandoned by their families. Some of them have even forgotten their names, where they come from and who they are. We are going to take out these women and place them in the widows’ centre at Vrindavan so that they get a new life.”

As per the NCW report, mentally ill women were highest between 30-39 years with 31.1 percent, followed by 40-49 year group with 26.8 per cent and 22.2 percent are in the 20-29 age group category. When it comes to their education, maximum number of these women have no formal education with 33.3 percent in this category, followed by 26.7 per cent having completed elementary or middle school, and lastly 15.6 percent of them are literate (have attended elementary school for a few years).

The most startling statistic is that 83.7 per cent of them are unemployed, with 6.9 percent of them being semi-skilled labourers and 4.7 per cent semi-professionals or unskilled workers/casual labourers. Most of these women who are diagnosed to be mentally ill are single. 48.9 percent of them are single, 31.1 percent married, 15.6 percent separated and 4.4 percent are widows. These patients hail from families where they have been mostly staying with their parents. 64.4 percent of them are living with their parents/ brothers/ sisters, 31.2 percent with in-laws/husband/children and 2.2 percent live without a family or live on the streets.

Most of these women hail from nuclear families - 72.7 percent are those belonging to nuclear family, 25 percent from joint families and 2.3 percent from extended families. As per the Mental State Examination (MSE) of these women 51.1 percent of them are still unstable, 27.9 percent are stable but not working, 16.3 percent cases have deteriorated and there has been minimal improvement in only 4.7 percent.

Disturbing trend

Highest Number between 30-39 years at 31.1%, 26.8% in 40-49 age group and 20-29 age group with 22.2%

33.3 % have no formal education, 26.7% having completed elementary or middle school & 15.6% are literate (have attended elementary school for a few years). 

64.4 % living with their parents/ brothers/ sisters, 31.2 % with in-laws/husband/children and 2.2 % live without a family or living on the roads/found wandering

72.7 % belong to nuclear family, 25 % from joint family and 2.3 % from extended family

4.9 % are single, 31.1 % married, 15.6 % separated & 4.4 % are widows

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