22 Women Register As Single Mothers In Ahmedabad: A Progressive Wave For Motherhood

About 22 women in Ahmedabad registered themselves as single mothers according to the birth and death records maintained by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the last five years. These women have only mentioned their names on the child’s birth certificate and chose to leave the father’s name blank.

Between 2019 and 2022, six women have given birth as single mothers and have chosen not to reveal paternity details, according to the sources in AMC.

The AMC officials also said that women can obtain birth certificates without mentioning the father’s name. According to a resolution issued by the state government in 2005, schools must not insist on mentioning the father’s details in school records, and students can be registered with the mother’s details alone.

Women Register As Single Mothers

This is definitely a progressive step towards women's empowerment because, in a patriarchal society like India, marriage is seen as the end goal for women. Many women today don’t wish to get into wedlock for reasons of their own but want to experience the joy of motherhood. Yet our society is widely against the idea of single motherhood, be it for unwed or divorced mothers.

Single mothers and their children are deemed outcasts and face a lifelong stigma from society. This regressive mindset of society forces many women to get married even if they don’t wish to and to stay in an unhappy or toxic marriage. Unlike the olden days when women were dependent on men for their survival, today’s women are highly educated and economically independent. Why should marriage still be their end goal? Why can’t women experience the joy of motherhood without getting into wedlock?

More women are coming forward and shattering the stigma by "choosing" to register themselves as single mothers is much-welcomed progress. In 2018, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, while viewing a case of a child born to a single mother through intrauterine fertility treatment, ruled that single mothers don’t have to reveal the biological father’s name on the birth certificate. This move was a huge boost for single mothers.

In the case of unwed mothers who give birth through intrauterine fertility, the biological father is only a sperm donor, and he isn’t going to play any role in the child’s life. The single mother is going to raise the child on her own. So why do the details of the sperm donor matter?

In the case of divorced or separated single mothers, some women in closed social media groups have expressed their anguish over educational institutions insisting they provide the father's details. Many single mothers are raising their children alone, without the physical or financial involvement of the biological father. Why is it necessary to mention the details of the biological father, who is not present in the child’s life?

We live in a society that still pictures a complete family as consisting of a father, mother, and child(ren). However, we have come a long way from the conventional setup of a family. Regardless of marital status, becoming a mother is recognised as a fundamental right of a woman. Rulings like this by the judiciary will help in recognising the legitimacy of single mothers.

In our society, the concept of single motherhood is still frowned upon. Unwed mothers especially face extreme stigma to the extent that their character is assassinated. Divorced mothers are tagged with labels including "opinionated," "family-breakers," "rebellious," etc. Inclusivity towards single moms remains a huge issue that needs to be addressed in our society. It holds out hope for a progressive and inclusive future when more women come forward and declare themselves as single mothers without fear of social stigma. How long will society need a man to verify a child's legitimacy, determine a woman's character, and complete a family?

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