“Death by Fire and Housewife Suicides”- 16 November 2011

I am no good with facts and figures. Statistics was never my cup of tea. For they say, figures state much but do not reveal the exact picture. Also the human face behind the figure is lost in the game of numbers. But still when the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its annual report of Accidents and Suicides for the year 2010 just last month and it fell into my hands I was amazed with a few findings. These facts need more clarity in terms of definition and finer analysis but yet let’s take a look.

Death by fire /cooking gas cylinders /stove bursts, are the main cause for accidental death of women. Out of the total cases of 4,820 of 35 states, 1200 cases of death of men are reported whereas 3620 cases are death of women. This means that in this specific category of death by fire 75% victims are women whereas the remaining 25% are men victims. Among the cities the highest number of death by fire happen in Mumbai (130 cases total) where again the male female ratio remains the same. That there are no (recorded) cases in Nagpur is a matter of satisfaction. The other cities that follow in competition to Mumbai in death by domestic fire is Ahmedabad (82), Surat (80) and Hyderabad (73).

The second largest category of accidental death of women is during Child Birth/ Abortion. Among the national figures where 35 states are taken into account, a total of 785 cases are recorded. Again shamefully Maharashtra leads with 382 cases, M.P follows a little behind in second rank with 168 cases and U.P stands third with 51 cases. Needless to say there are no male statistics in this category.

So women tend to lose their lives more by accident at home by gas cylinders and during the process of child birth or abortion. Guess these are the two major domains of women’s life- the kitchen and the process of reproduction. There you are- since their lives rotate around these two vital areas, they lay down their lives there too. Not a very worthy cause to die for. During the discussions on dowry death the method of burning the bride through stove fires is well documented. A few could be due to natural fires but most could be look- alike- accidents but be actually ‘murders’.  Even child birth/abortion deaths could be suspect as women are often neglected, forced into the situation of abortion, lack of proper post- operative care (especially if a baby girl is born to the mother) and many more similar reasons.

The NCRB report 2010, in the subsequent section of national statistics for suicides reports that out of every 5 suicides 1 is of a housewife. What a figure! It’s a shocking state of affairs. A profile of the suicide victims by their profession reveals the following – self-employed (41.1%), housewife (18.6%), service (11.3%), unemployed (7.5%) and student (5.5%), retired (.7%) and others (15.3%). The professional housewife (given official recognition by the Govt. of India) is the second highest category for suicides. This is a sad commentary for the women who toil hard to raise a family and nurture them. The highest cause for suicides is family problems, followed by physical illness and third largest cause is mental illness. Among the housewife statistics, a total of 25,058 cases are reported across 35 states.

The highest number of suicides is among the age group of 15-29 years (11,008 cases), followed by the age group of 30-44 years (8,564 cases) and then age group of 45-59 years (3,798 cases). This means that young brides (15-29 years of age) are the most vulnerable group. Mothers and fathers should take serious note of this as the first decade of marriage is important and the young couples may need to be counselled to help them adjust well into a marriage situation.

More next week…..

I am no good with facts and figures. Statistics was never my cup of tea. For they say, figures state much but do not reveal the exact picture. Also the human face behind the figure is lost in the game of numbers. But still when the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its annual report of Accidents and Suicides for the year 2010 just last month and it fell into my hands I was amazed with a few findings. These facts need more clarity in terms of definition and finer analysis but yet let’s take a look.

Death by fire /cooking gas cylinders /stove bursts, are the main cause for accidental death of women. Out of the total cases of 4,820 of 35 states, 1200 cases of death of men are reported whereas 3620 cases are death of women. This means that in this specific category of death by fire 75% victims are women whereas the remaining 25% are men victims. Among the cities the highest number of death by fire happen in Mumbai (130 cases total) where again the male female ratio remains the same. That there are no (recorded) cases in Nagpur is a matter of satisfaction. The other cities that follow in competition to Mumbai in death by domestic fire is Ahmedabad (82), Surat (80) and Hyderabad (73).

The second largest category of accidental death of women is during Child Birth/ Abortion. Among the national figures where 35 states are taken into account, a total of 785 cases are recorded. Again shamefully Maharashtra leads with 382 cases, M.P follows a little behind in second rank with 168 cases and U.P stands third with 51 cases. Needless to say there are no male statistics in this category.

So women tend to lose their lives more by accident at home by gas cylinders and during the process of child birth or abortion. Guess these are the two major domains of women’s life- the kitchen and the process of reproduction. There you are- since their lives rotate around these two vital areas, they lay down their lives there too. Not a very worthy cause to die for. During the discussions on dowry death the method of burning the bride through stove fires is well documented. A few could be due to natural fires but most could be look- alike- accidents but be actually ‘murders’.  Even child birth/abortion deaths could be suspect as women are often neglected, forced into the situation of abortion, lack of proper post- operative care (especially if a baby girl is born to the mother) and many more similar reasons.

The NCRB report 2010, in the subsequent section of national statistics for suicides reports that out of every 5 suicides 1 is of a housewife. What a figure! It’s a shocking state of affairs. A profile of the suicide victims by their profession reveals the following – self-employed (41.1%), housewife (18.6%), service (11.3%), unemployed (7.5%) and student (5.5%), retired (.7%) and others (15.3%). The professional housewife (given official recognition by the Govt. of India) is the second highest category for suicides. This is a sad commentary for the women who toil hard to raise a family and nurture them. The highest cause for suicides is family problems, followed by physical illness and third largest cause is mental illness. Among the housewife statistics, a total of 25,058 cases are reported across 35 states.

The highest number of suicides is among the age group of 15-29 years (11,008 cases), followed by the age group of 30-44 years (8,564 cases) and then age group of 45-59 years (3,798 cases). This means that young brides (15-29 years of age) are the most vulnerable group. Mothers and fathers should take serious note of this as the first decade of marriage is important and the young couples may need to be counselled to help them adjust well into a marriage situation.

More next week…..