Kerala Celebrates Its Achievements In Women’s Empowerment, But Rising Reports Of Spousal Violence Reveal A Far More Uncomfortable Reality
Kerala takes pride in projecting itself as a model of women’s empowerment, a state where women are more educated than men, often enjoy greater financial inclusion, possess property in their own name and increasingly contribute to family incomes. Yet behind this progressive image lies an uncomfortable and disturbing reality: Women continue to face rising levels of violence within their own marital homes.
The contradiction is striking, and the number of married women coming forward to report domestic abuse keeps growing steadily. According to the recently released NFHS-6, nearly 18% of ever-married women aged 18-49 in Kerala have experienced spousal violence, 16% in urban areas and 20% in rural areas. This marks a significant increase from 10% recorded in NFHS-5.
While the figure remains below the national average of 22%, the sharp rise in a state that constantly celebrates its social achievements and high literacy should be a matter of serious concern, since women’s empowerment has not translated into safety, dignity or equality within marriage.
The survey also found that 2% of women experienced physical violence during pregnancy itself. NFHS-6 covers data collected between 2023 and 2024, while NFHS-5 covers the earlier 2019-21 period.
The paradox becomes even more glaring when these figures are viewed alongside indicators of women’s advancement. Women with ten or more years of schooling account for 87% of the population, compared to 82% of men.
Nearly 97% of married women take part in major household decisions, while 92% hold bank or savings accounts that they operate themselves.
Female labour force participation has risen to 46%, with rural women touching 49%. Women also now outnumber men in higher education enrolment.
The Kerala Educational Survey 2021-22 report puts the female gross enrolment ratio in higher education institutions in the state at 49%, compared to 34% for men, while Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 data show female labour force participation in Kerala at 46%, with 49% among rural women.|
If education, employment, financial independence and decision-making power are all steadily improving, why is domestic violence increasing as well? The answer lies in a harsh truth that patriarchal Kerala often refuses to confront: Women’s empowerment has advanced faster than society’s willingness to accept empowered women. Economic independence, it turns out, has not dismantled patriarchal power structures.
An educated, working daughter is celebrated, but an educated, working woman is expected, once married into her husband’s home, to remain obedient, silent and willing to sacrifice. A wife who dares to assert her autonomy, challenge control, resist abuse or refuse traditional gender roles is, more often than not, punished for it.
D Dhanuraj of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) said, “Despite all these achievements, we are still a patriarchal society and the power equation at home has not yet changed for women.
Women barely have any representation in the political power structure, and even when they are educated or employed, it is often in low-paying jobs. Unless this changes, the patriarchal power dynamics in society will not change.”
“I am not at all surprised by this result, because women in Kerala, especially poor and lower-middle-class women, carry a larger share of family responsibilities, including a greater share of financial responsibility, yet function within an extremely patriarchal family framework that is enforced by caste communities in Kerala,” said Devika J, feminist and social critic.
She said women in Kerala seem to possess more resources, both material and mental, and therefore tend to assert and resist more forcefully. “Even the reporting of domestic violence is a sign of women’s willingness to acknowledge it,” she added.
Experts point to several factors that together influence spousal violence: A husband’s alcohol consumption or drug addiction, his inability to accept his wife’s financial independence, the societal expectation that the wife multitask, care for in-laws and children, family pressure, social stigma, and fear of further victimization. The irony is that many women continue to remain in abusive marriages and normalise it in the name of family, children, fate, or the need to have a man in their life as protection from the outside world.
The high court, in a recent judgement, noted, “Matrimonial cruelty is a continuing offence, as the suffering of the victim does not end with a single isolated incident but continues so long as oppressive conduct persists. Harassment and cruelty within the marriage cannot be viewed in isolation but must be assessed in the context of continuous conduct.”
P Sathidevi, chairperson of the Kerala Women’s Commission, “This doesn’t mean that domestic violence is now increasing, but only goes to show that women no longer bear domestic violence in silence and now immediately report it.” She said that while physical assault does occur in homes, it is mental abuse that is increasingly being reported from homes, in both rural and urban areas, where the wife is an earning member.
The irony is that, in this ongoing power clash between couples at home, what often gets ignored is the impact it has on children. Some children come to the conclusion that they should never marry at all, seeing marriage as nothing but compromise and abuse, while others end up subconsciously becoming what they criticized in their own parents.
Psychologist Jisha Scaria said children who grow up in such families tend to feel insecure, and this insecurity gradually becomes a personality trait. “In future, when they get into a relationship, they will have trust issues too, and become hyper-vigilant in future relationships. It is a mental trap that they set for themselves in their future relationships,” Scaria added.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
