Single and in no rush to mingle

Author and activist Sreemoyee Piu Kundu has formed a community of single women across the country with her bestselling book. It has now evolved into an online talk show.

Being a single woman in India is seen as a grave problem. Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, author and activist, saw and experienced this constant questioning of women who chose to stay single and wanted to do something about it. “Single women are seen as incomplete in this country. We never see single women as icons and their stories aren’t celebrated. I wanted to change that,” she says.

The beginning of what she terms as a movement, began with the book, ‘Status Single’ in 2018. “It drew from my own experience as the unmarried daughter of a single mother who lost her husband to suicide and remarried at 40 to a man almost a decade younger. I talked to over 3,000 women about their struggles. It ranges from navigating the marriage market and Gynaecologists to housing discrimination and widows seeking independence. There are even stories of lesbians who have been forced into heterosexual marriages because staying single was such a taboo,” she says.

She clarifies that the book was neither meant to create pity nor one that glorified singleness. “It was meant to provide a community that shows other single women that their struggles were recognised, despite all odds,” she explains, adding, “they can achieve whatever they want to without a man by their side.”

Post the release of the critically acclaimed book, Sreemoyee says she received a barrage of calls and texts from fellow women.

“A community was starting to take shape organically and we formalised it with a Whatsapp and Facebook group,” she says. Once the lockdown began, more women began reaching out about their struggles. “There were women living alone for the first time, widows living away from their children; I felt like there needed to be a renewed effort to acknowledge and lift up the voices of single women,” she says.

Out of this idea was born the virtual show ‘Status Single with Shree’. The first season, which ran from April to August, was similar to her popular offline chat series ‘Salon with Shree’. It covered a variety of topics from managing finances as a single mother to men and mental health.

“For the second season, I wanted to break away from the format of panel discussions and refocus it on the stories of successful single women. Each episode features a woman I look up to,” she explains.

She says that this format allows for more in-depth conversations and understanding and will shine a light on the people who need to be heard. The season began with activist Kamla Bhasin. “Her episode aired on Suicide Prevention Day. She has experienced life with a bipolar partner and lost her daughter to suicide. Those perspectives are important to hear,” Sreemoyee explains.

The subsequent ones will feature LGBTQI and animal rights activist Mona Ambegaonka, who is an unwed single mother and writer-poet Sreela Das Gupta who leads the
diversity and inclusion space at Tata Consultancy Services.

To catch an episode, check out her Youtube channel or Facebook page.