NEW DELHI: The number of divorced and separated women in the country has increased by over nine lakh from 2001 to 2011, with Maharashtra leading the tally with 11,9554 such women, the parliament was informed today.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Ministry Virendra Kumar said while the number of divorced and separated women was more than 23 lakh in 2001, it rose to 32 lakh in 2011.
"The ministry of women and child development is implementing the Swadhar Greh scheme for women victims who are in need of institutional support for rehabilitation so that they can lead their life with dignity. A new home for widows with a capacity of 1,000 inmates has also been constructed at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh," the minister said.
The most number of divorced and separated women are in Maharashtra (11,9554) followed by Andhra Pradesh (11,0212), Tamil Nadu (92,483) and Karnataka (74,313), Kumar said.
The least number of divorced and separated women are in Lakhwadeep (35) followed by Daman Diu (96) and 363 in Anadaman and Nicobar Island.
The data, the minister said, had been culled from the census of 2001 and 2011.