INTRODUCTION
In India, single motherhood is deeply entrenched in the patriarchal structure, where traditional family models are prevalent. There are several reasons why a woman may raise a child alone, including divorce, widowhood, abandonment, and personal choices. The legal system reinforces a model in which the father’s role is prioritized via the requirement of the father’s involvement for crucial documents like birth certificates and passports, which end up creating more hindrances for single mothers. Yet, recent cases and judicial perspectives have challenged and reshaped the patriarchal norms, by acknowledging the mother’s role as primary caregiver and making room for a more inclusive and flexible view of the welfare of children.
This blog discusses the transient shift in the legal landscape for single mothers in India, along with vital cases that have redefined parenthood without associating it with biological ties. It also considers the intention and efforts invested in raising a child. In India, this legal advancement indicates a progressive shift toward acknowledging and advancing support for diverse family structures and advancing the recognition of nontraditional parenting.
LEGAL BARRIERS FOR SINGLE MOTHERS
Being a single mother in India has always been a difficult task in the patriarchal society. A society that exercises or propagates stereotypes in the name of traditional beliefs and customs that view women from the lens of dependency and seem complete when they perform all the rituals within the patriarchal norms, which are imposed on women either directly or indirectly. Thus, societal norms suggest that a woman becomes a mother only after marriage, neglecting the concept of single motherhood, which is often viewed as a modern concept that tarnishes traditional beliefs.
As traditional beliefs and customs make it difficult for women to become single mothers, the legal obstacles reinforce patriarchal norms and make it more difficult for single mothers to survive and navigate society. In addition to social stigma, legal obstacles have made it difficult for single mothers to protect their children. Obtaining essential documents for their children can be an arduous task.[1] This patriarchal inclination is evident in the process of procuring birth and caste certificates. One of the specific examples is hospitals and educational institutions requiring that the father’s name be included in the birth certificate, thereby making it difficult for any child born out of a single mother to acquire such basic documents.
In some severe cases, sex workers have resorted to naming acquaintances as the child’s father to secure a birth certificate. For instance, birth records obtained from hospitals and schools often contain the father’s name, which poses challenges in securing these important documents for children born by single mothers. In some severe cases, sex workers have resorted to naming acquaintances as the child’s father to obtain the child’s birth certificate. This only makes matters worse because the caste of marginalized groups could affect their provision of certain economic resources that only serve to increase social stratification. Another area where single mothers experience difficulties is obtaining admission to schools. Under the Right of Education Act, when schools occasionally claim refusals to accept documents from single mothers such as income certificates in place of a father’s, such children are also deprived of the opportunities that the Act purports to offer, especially to the poorest of the poor. Furthermore, applications for passports and PAN cards have most commonly presented situations of discrimination against single motherhood. Until recently, passport-issuing authorities and tax departments demanded that the father’s name be included in identification documents for children. Due to the absence of a father’s name on the application, requests from single mothers were often either kept on the shelves for eternity or rejected outright. These examples illustrate the difficulties single mothers face in nearly all patriarchal societies. Nonetheless, an improvement has been witnessed over the years as some alleviation of legal prescriptions has taken place, and even some courts have nullified some laws. Furthermore, progress has been made in this regard. Although there have been some improvements, the legal and social obstacles remain substantial, and the oppression of single mothers makes it difficult for them and their children to achieve equitable status in society.
KEY JUDICIAL SHIFTS
A landmark judgment that contributed to the transient and significant shift was ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi) in 2015,[2] where the Supreme Court recognized a single mother’s rights as the child’s sole guardian. In this case, a Christian woman raising her son single-handedly wished to name her son in financial papers as a nominee without divulging the identity of the father. The Court made a ruling in her favour and allowed her to be recognized as the only guardian of the child, setting a precedent that there is no need to involve a legal father in legal guardianship if there is no active participation from the father in the child’s life.
Another case of noteworthy significance was Githa Hariharan v RBI (1999),[3] in which the position of the Supreme Court favoured a mother as the natural guardian of her children. The case was of a married woman who applied for guardianship in respect of a monetary investment made in the name of her son. The Court reasonably construed the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act to allow her guardianship because the father was unavailable. These instances benefitted in the case of ABC v State, wherein the aspect of single motherhood was enlightened and demonstrated how the judges were able to place the caring mother over an absent father whose role was negligible.
These judgments reveal the readiness of the courts to go beyond the conventional notions of biological and marital bonds and prioritize the love and care of mothers for legal entitlement.[4] These also indicate a movement towards a more progressive and inclusive approach to law that recognizes family systems that extend beyond the rigidly defined patriarchal systems.
REFORMATIVE MEASURES
Judicial progress has been made recently but more efforts are needed to ensure that single mothers have their legal and social position that is duly recognized.
In the first place, legal reforms should aim at establishing provisions that will guarantee mothers as co-equal guardians. For example, revisions to the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act Would make it clear that mothers are legal parents of equal standing, not only in single mothers’ cases but for every family structure. In addition, it would ease the bureaucratic hitches in vital documents like birth certificates or school admission papers and even identification cards, by taking out the need for a father, which causes mothers to shy away from claiming their child.
To ease the burden of social stigma, there is a need for large-scale awareness strategies that can tackle the biases related to single mothers. The Role of single” mothers, for example, should be highlighted to help change the status quo. In addition, equipping civil servants with appropriate training on how to apply the new systems to provide good service to single mothers helps protect their dignity in government facilities.
Finally, widening the scope of social protection is essential. Economic empowerment, guidance, and peer support for lonely mothers will help them manage work and domestic chores more productively, while low-cost daycare services will help lighten the burden of childbearing. In line with Adrienne Rich’s perspective, values associated with mothering should be given due recognition. Such values cannot be overlooked in the case of single mothers caring for the next generation.
CONCLUSION
The fight toward the legal recognition of single motherhood in India is not merely an advancement in legal mechanisms, but rather a significant affront to patriarchal impositions and beliefs that are staunchly ingrained in the society. The legal recognition of single mothers as functional caregivers is the legal system’s gradual principle of upholding that family forms are inclusive and that a mother’s role is not negated in any way by the lack of a father figure. This transformation entails much more than an adjustment of existing policies; it challenges the long-held view of parenthood as simply a string of provisions where care, commitment, and love take precedence over avowed principles. However, the real challenge lies in ensuring that such legal developments are accepted and put into practice by most people so that single mothers can raise their children with dignity and entitlement. For society, accepting single motherhood goes beyond enacting new laws— it means finding new ways of seeing things so that different family systems can be appreciated and practiced. So too does Indian society, in this case, draw closer to the day when families of all kinds are embraced in their diversity. Because without such a picture, single mothers would face unnecessary limitations.
Author(s) Name: Sneha Raj (Chanakya National Law University)
References:
[1] Shubham Mittal, ‘The Practice of Single Motherhood in India and Why the Father’s Surname Is Preferred over the Mother’s Surname While Naming a Child’ (Manupatra, 04 October 2024) <https://articles.manupatra.com/article-details/The-practice-of-Single-Motherhood-in-India-and-why-the-fathers-surname-is-preferred-over-the-mothers-surname-while-naming-a-child> accessed 10 November 2024
[2] ABC v State (NCT of Delhi) AIR 2015 SC 2569
[3] Ms Githa Hariharan & Anr v Reserve Bank of India & Anr AIR 1999 SC 1149
[4] Saptarshi Mandal, ‘Biology, Intention, Labour: Understanding Legal Recognition of Single Motherhood in India’ (2019) 15(2) Socio-Legal Review <https://doi.org/10.55496/ARDU8798> accessed 09 November 2024
