Written by, Sept. 16 -- Akshita Pandey, Muskan Shah, Moitrayee Das

In India, one's marital status is not generally seen as a private matter. Whether a person's marital status affects their perception, where they will live, how their family perceives them, or how they themselves will be recognized by the society are some of the issues related to marriage in India. That is why the increasing number of single women in India is not just a matter of demographics; it is also a challenge to the existing social system.

It is hard to dismiss the figures. The Census of 2011 showed that 71.4 million single women lived in India, ranging from those who were never married to those who were widowed, divorced or abandoned. This was a 39% rise compared ...