Demystifying and Dignifying Singlehood

This book aims to demystify and dignify singlehood, and bridge a gap in the social narratives, by sharing the journeys of single women who live outside the dominant paradigm of marriage. Today, there are millions of unmarried women and numerous marriages are ending in divorce, but neither the narratives of society – nor the consequences that inevitably follow – have changed. Lives of single women still become the target of undignifying curiosity, assumptions, judgements and various other uncomfortable feelings. Society cannot continue to operate on assumptions and myths; rather, it needs to know what the lives of single women are, and how they are impacted by and impact society. Writings in this book will touch not only the lives of single women who are on a journey of creating a new path for themselves, but others – men as well as women – who are not served well by society’s dominant narratives. Hopefully, they will show new pathways on various unexplored terrains. Making these ongoing stories of single women public will also build collective awareness and will be a step towards reconstructing and reshaping the dominant narratives in society.