Yes! Women can be happily unmarried! This new book has proof

We asked the women we knew who were single, as in never married, and who could write. That itself narrowed the field as there were women who could have been interviewed, but then that would have been a different book. We also wanted to have women from different age groups. We tried to get women from different parts of the country.

Of the two dozen or so that we approached, ultimately 12 sent in their essays. I might add, that writing about this subject is not easy. It is extremely personal, and not everyone is ready to tell their own story.

Kalpana Sharma book.

What comes across is that all these women want a society where women are respected for what they are. The institution of marriage in India, irrespective of caste or community, still does not provide women that space, or that respect. Secondly, economic independence has played a major role in these women deciding to remain single. Thirdly, they had supportive parents, who believed that their daughters could make their own choices and decisions on the question of marriage. And finally, many speak of the importance of support from friends and colleagues, an alternative family if you will, that has helped strengthen their resolve to not get married for the sake of it.

My hope is that this book will begin a conversation on marriage, on our society, on the rights of women and their fundamental right to make a choice. I hope it will also send out a message to the many women thinking about their future that they are not alone!

I have a book coming out in November "The Silence and The Storm: Narratives of Violence against Women in India" to be published by Aleph.