Housewives make up 40% of suicides by women in Delhi: Govt data

New Delhi: Married women formed more than half the share of female suicide cases in the national capital in 2023, with housewives accounting for more than 40 per cent of the deaths, according to latest Delhi government report.

In 2023, of the 836 female suicide deaths recorded in the city, 455 of them (54.43 per cent) were married women. Housewives comprised 369 of the total female deaths, or 44.13 per cent, the data showed.

The trend has remained consistent over the past five years, including the pandemic period marked by mobility restrictions, economic distress and prolonged confinement at home.

In 2022, married women accounted for 521 of the 859 female suicide deaths, making up 60.65 per cent, while housewives comprised 387 deaths, or 45.05 per cent. In 2021 — a year significantly impacted by the second wave of Covid — 421 of the 746 female suicide victims were married (56.43 per cent) and 351 were housewives (47.05 per cent).

Similarly, in 2020, when lockdowns were imposed for extended periods, married women accounted for 542 of the 895 female suicide deaths (60.56 per cent), while 410 victims were housewives (45.81 per cent).

In 2019, before the pandemic, 400 of the 768 female suicide deaths were married women (52.08 per cent) and 305 were housewives (39.71 per cent).

Overall, the incidence of suicide in Delhi has consistently been higher among men than women. In 2023, of the total 3,131 suicide deaths recorded in the city, 2,295 were men and 836 were women. In 2022, the total number of suicides stood at 3,417, comprising 2,558 men and 859 women.

The data further indicated that between 2019 and 2023, the highest number of suicide victims among women fell in the categories of housewives and married women, while among men, the most affected groups were the unemployed and married men, underscoring the role of economic and family-related pressures, officials said.