Journey of singlehood

In Status Single, a pathbreaking work on female identity, author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu explores how women, whether single by choice or circumstances, face and battle societal pressure, scrutiny and criticism.

Being single at 40 was the inspiration for author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu to write a book that explores the many prejudices that single women face and weather. “There is a prejudice about being single and everyone asks why someone is married or not. But there are 74 million women in India who are single — divorced, abandoned, widowed or never been married. And the number is on the rise,” she says.

In what promises to be a pathbreaking work on female identity, her fiercely honest and painfully vulnerable book, Status Single, explores how women, whether single by choice or circumstances, are under societal pressure, scrutiny and criticism. Be it the difficulty of renting an apartment, being character-assassinated by one’s gynaecologist, or slut-shamed as having slept one’s way to the top, even when one is successful professionally, a single woman’s life choices are the easiest to dissect and criticise.

“I used to write a lot of columns on being single. My own struggles of being single made me think of writing a book on the same. I have been writing on gender and sexuality for a long time. There is no specific target audience but I feel every Indian parent should read this,” she says.

Status Single, her fifth book and first work of non-fiction, talks about how being a single woman in India after the age of 30 entails a multi-pronged and multi-layered struggle. The walls built by societal norms lead to taunting and even ridicule. The only way to survive is to ignore the remarks passed by narrow-minded people, and be in one’s own zone achieving things that will earn respect.

“I feel women need to be economically and financially sound, and supported by their families when unmarried. It is an uphill task to struggle daily in a country where the highest validation of one’s gender remains marriage and motherhood. I am a single woman and 40 years of age, so I know how it feels,” she points out.

While being single allows a woman the freedom to make her own choices and walk a path of her own choosing, there’s no escaping the flip side. Sreemoyee says, “Sometimes it gets a bit irritating. For example, if I attend a wedding with my mother, someone will pull her aside and ask her why I am not married. All sorts of things are said about single women that are not right. I interviewed 3,000 women from all walks of life all over the country, so I know about the struggle they are put through,” she adds.

“I also feel that once women empowerment improves, there will be a vast improvement in the lifestyle, attitude and mentality of a single woman,” she signs off.