இரண்டாவது கணவனை தேடும் பெண்களின் எண்ணிக்கை அதிகரிப்பு

விதவைத் திருமணத்தை ஆதரிப்போம் அதில் எந்தவித மாற்றுக் கருத்தும் யாருக்கும் இல்லை. ஆனால் அதே வேளையில் பொய் வரதட்சணை வழக்கு மூலம் குடும்பத்தை சிதைத்துக்கொண்டு பிறகு மீண்டும இரண்டாவது கணவனை தேடுபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கைதான் அதிகரித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறதோ?

Widows, divorcees break taboo in Tamil Nadu - The Times of India

timesofindia.indiatimes.com Mar 14, 2012

CHENNAI: A quiet revolution is sweeping across socially conservative Tamil Nadu. The state is witnessing an increase in remarriages of widowed and divorced women. Society also appears to have become more tolerant of what was once considered taboo.

People in the matrimonial industry said urbanization, financial independence of women and changing cultural values have been the primary drivers of the change. The trend started around 10 years ago and has been growing over the past decade, people said.

Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Consim Info, the company behind bharatmatrimony, said there has been a change in the mindset of parents of widows and family members. "Parents themselves are hunting for suitable bridegrooms for daughters who have been widowed early in marriage," he said.

Remarriage of widows has been promoted in Tamil Nadu for a long time, with the state government extending financial assistance of Rs 20,000 through the Dr Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme. The scheme was launched in 1975 to rehabilitate widows and encourage them to remarry. But most remarried women do not apply for assistance under the scheme, social welfare department officials point out. "Only 167 women received assistance from the government under the scheme in 2008-2009 and 181 women in 2009-2010," a senior official said.

Young widows have welcomed the development. "My first husband died in an accident when I was 27 years old. After a couple of years I agreed to remarry. Life is good now. I married a man who was happy to accept me with my five-yearold daughter. We are leading a meaningful family life now. I hope this change is here to stay," said K Rohini, corporate company employee.

Janakiraman said the number of profiles registered on bharatmatrimony's site for remarriage launched three years ago has been increasing by 20 per cent to 30 per cent annually. "Many of the women who have registered on the site are divorcees but there are also around 10,000 widows," he said. "Chennai has the third highest number of remarriages after Mumbai and Bangalore, and Coimbatore is also among the top 10." The average age of those who marry again is 36 for men and 32 for women.

S Priya, who operates a matrimonial centre especially for remarriage, said only few hundred women registered when she started the centre. "Now we have more than 1 lakh profiles," she said.

B Radha, gender and media researcher and professor at Tirunelveli-based Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, pointed out that rural Tamil Nadu has not changed much.