NCRB Data Says 22,372 Housewives Died By Suicide In 2020

Housewives suicide 2020 data: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic while took many lives due to the infections in India, as per a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) it also led many people to end their own lives.

Trigger Warning: The following article mentions suicide. 

The recently released data shows that 1.53 lakh people died by suicide in 2020 making the number increase by 10 per cent as compared to 2019 when 1.35 lakh died by suicide. Students were the most vulnerable category as a 21.20 per cent jump from 2019 was seen in the number of suicides. 16.50 per cent increase was seen in suicide cases of salaried persons and professionals followed by 15.67 per cent in daily wage earners.

The report said, "This data depicts only the profession of persons who have committed suicide and has no linkage whatsoever regarding cause of suicide."

Another section that reported a massive number of suicide cases in India was housewives. As compared to the year 2019,  14.6 per cent more homemakers ended their lives during the pandemic. As per the NCRB report, 22,372 housewives died by suicide. What must have led to the jump in numbers can only be determined by case-by-case analysis but we must acknowledge that it was a time when most of the world was cooped up in their homes, a place where many homemakers reported being abused, assaulted and faced immense emotional distress. Read more here.

A report by Lancet in 2018 showed that young motherhood, early marriage, domestic violence, economic dependence and low social status have led many female homemakers to end their lives. Dowry harassment and unaffectionate marriages are also among the many reasons why women have gone into depression.

Clinical psychologist and a published author; Dr. Prerna Kohli spoke to SheThePeople about the matter and said that often women go through postpartum depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder and it remains unseen by their loved ones.

Dr. Kohli said, "Premenstrual dysphoric disorder or postpartum depression is as serious of problems as major depression. Just like depression, there is a risk of suicide and they should be getting help as soon as possible."

Many homemakers are conditioned to put themselves at last. They cater to the needs of their family members but hardly ever express their struggles. This also has to do with how society sees women as the giver, always. The crisis in its barest form can be seen in the rising suicide numbers among women and there is hardly attention to drawn to it. The question is, how are we going to make homemakers feel secure? What measures should the state or we as a society should take to help women see the value their life holds?

Among other categories, people in the agricultural sector and farmers constituted seven per cent of suicide cases in India in the past year. Out of 5,579 farmers, 5,335 were male and 244 female, said the NCRB report. The said data was revealed in the NRCB's ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides’ data which only started documenting in 2014.

Apart from the aforementioned categories, the following also showed an increase in suicide numbers:

• Unemployed persons:  11.65 per cent
• Self-employed persons (11.3%)
• Retired persons (1%)
• Another category stated as other persons showed an increase of 13.4 per cent in suicide cases.

Suggested Reading: 

NCRB Data Shows 8.3% Decline In Crimes Against Women In 2020

With Case Of Pune Minor’s Gangrape, Here’s Looking At India Rape Statistics

Domestic Violence and Connected Laws Indian Women Should Know Of

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