Rising Trend of Divorce in Tanzanian and Indian Homes: Gender Dimensions

Abstract

Divorce cases are rapidly increasing in both Tanzania and India where, in these largely traditional communities, such occurrences portend  a negative omen. Indeed, in many conservative African and Indian societies, for centuries women have had to put up with  unhappy marriages. In some areas of these societies, however, the situation is still worse because the social stigma is so strong that it  does not matter how difficult the relationship may be for the pair. Because of socialization and social conditioning, women are expected  to offer everything up on the altar of patriarchy. This article seeks to determine whether women’s empowerment influence divorce decisions. To find out how women’s employment and educational attainment influenced their decision to file for divorce, the study  looked into high divorce rating areas in both societies. The study analysed secondary data, recent census reports, population surveys,  and original publications from the two countries under review. It found a strong association between women’s independence and  divorce decisions. Its analysis of divorce rate and educational status of females shows a growing upward trend. In 1988 the literacy rate of  female was only 48.09% and 31.7%, whereas in 2018 it is rated 78.01% and 66.17% in Tanzania and India, respectively. Moreover, a comprehensive analysis of women’s demographic characteristics and patterns of divorce in high divorce areas revealed an important link  between women’s empowerment and the decision to divorce. Implicitly, education had a significant impact on women’s decision- making power. In addition, their self-independence that increased with education altered their fundamental perspectives on  relationships.