Jalgaon: Special Survey Registers 1.22 Lakh Single Women In Rural Areas; Majority Widowed

Jalgaon: A special survey conducted by the Jalgaon Zilla Parishad has registered approximately 1.22 lakh single women in the rural areas of the district. The highest number of women was registered in Jamner and Raver talukas. The number of widowed women is the highest, at 1.09 lakh. This survey was conducted based on the concept of the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad, Meenal Karanwal. The objective behind this survey is to empower women economically.

To bring single women into the mainstream and provide them with support, a survey of single women in the rural areas of the district was conducted from December 10 to December 25, based on the concept of the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad, Meenal Karanwal, and under the guidance of District Collector Rohan Ghuge. This special survey was conducted at all Anganwadi centres in the district through Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers.

Considering the large number of single women in rural areas, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad, Meenal Karanwal, with the help of the District Program Officer of the Women and Child Development Department of the Zilla Parishad, Hemant Bhadane, trained Anganwadi workers and helpers and provided instructions on how to conduct the survey. The survey was then conducted across the district from December 10 to December 25.  A total of 1,22,063 single women were registered. The highest number of women were found in Jamner taluka, with 15,162, followed by Raver with 12,195 and Chalisgaon with 11,192.

The highest number of widowed women

Some important facts have emerged through this survey conducted by the Zilla Parishad. The number of single widowed women in the district is significant, and this survey has recorded 109,981 widowed women in the rural areas of the district. This includes 1088 women in the 16-29 age group, 14,144 in the 30-44 age group, 33,599 in the 45-59 age group, and 61,150 widowed women in the age group of 60 and above. The number of divorced single women recorded is 3413, while 4059 abandoned women have been registered. It has been found that 1465 women are destitute and dependent. It has also emerged that 1336 women are living separately from their husbands. The number of unmarried women above 30 years of age has been found to be 1674.  Additionally, 135 other women have been registered through this survey.

This survey is an important initiative to enable single women in the district to live with dignity and become self-reliant. The main objective is not only to survey these women but also to empower them economically through the UMED (Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission) programme.  Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad, Minal Karanwal, said that through this initiative, they will focus specifically on the skill development and employment of single women.

An online survey was conducted using Google Forms to survey single women in the district. A questionnaire with 26 questions was prepared for this purpose. Through this questionnaire, various types of information were collected, including the name of the taluka, the name of the Anganwadi area where the single woman resides, the name of the single woman, age, mobile number, type of single woman, current occupation, annual income, whether the single woman owns her own house, what business the single woman would like to do, the number of children the single woman has, and any long-term illnesses.

The taluka-wise statistics of single women recorded in the survey are as follows:

Amalner - 9549

Erandol - 6921

Chalisgaon - 11192

Chopda - 8999

Jalgaon - 8040

Jamner - 15162

Dharangaon - 4975

Pachora - 7815

Parola - 7864

Bodwad - 3412

Bhadgaon - 6536

Bhusawal - 4703

Muktainagar - 6299

Yawal - 8400

Raver - 12195