SHILLONG, June 23: Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) chairperson, Phidalia Toi, has accentuated the need to discern the root cause of the alarming rise in the number of single mothers and teenage pregnancy in Meghalaya.
Addressing the inaugural function of the one-day seminar on ‘Socio-Economic Status of Single Mothers’ at the State Convention Centre here on Friday, Toi said according to a survey, conducted by the MSCW in collaboration with Department of Anthropology of NEHU and Department of Social Work of Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU), there is 13.5 percent of single mothers in the state.
Informing the report of the survey was released by the MSCW in December last year, Toi said she had also tried to reach out to educationalists, sociologists and NGO leaders, especially Maitshaphrang Movement, to identify the factors that are contributing to the growing numbers of single mothers in Meghalaya.
“We know about the socio-economic status and problems of single mothers. But we need to find out the root cause to be able to diagnose the problem and also to find out ways to cure it. It is imperative that a consultation with different stakeholders to understand the overall problems, which the single mothers had to face, is held,” MSCW chairperson said.
According to her, apart from preventing the rising trend of single mothers, there is also the need to find ways and means to help and support them.
Meanwhile, National Commission for Women (NCW) member, Delina Khongdup, stressed on the need to understand the impact of single mothers on the upbringing of the child.
It has been witnessed that children of single parents always suffer from depression, stress and even are addicted to substance abuse, Khongdup said.
One of the factors that has led to the rise in the number of single mothers, according to Khongdup, is the trend of blindly following the western culture and not following the customs and practices of matrilineal society.
“We need to learn from the positive things of our past society in order to prevent it,” she said.
Meanwhile, delivering her keynote address on the occasion, Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Public Health Dr Melari Nongrum said the prime factor for the rising trend of single mothers in the state, as per the study which she had conducted, is due to abandonment by the husband as an impact of adultery.
Giving statistics of her findings, Dr Nongrum said that there are 15.57 per cent of single mothers in rural areas while there are 11.77 percent of single mothers in urban areas.
According to her, the rate of single mothers is on the higher side among the Jaintia community, which is around 16.33 per cent, while the Khasi and Garo communities stand at 12.01 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively.
