Telangana Women Face The Highest Marital Violence in South India

The latest survey shows the difference between women’s upward social mobility and their safety at home. Telangana recorded the highest occurrence of spousal violence among the southern states at 30.8% followed by Tamil Nadu at 28.5% and Andhra Pradesh at 22.7%. Although this total figure represents a decrease from the 37.2% recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21), the frequency of abuse remains significantly higher than the national average of 22.3%.

The violence is notably more common in rural Telangana, where 33.0% of ever-married women reported experiencing physical and sexual violence from their husbands, compared to 24.8% of women from urban areas.

On the more positive side, Telangana has stood as a leader in bridging the gender digital divide as women using internet in the state has more than doubled. The figures have gone from 26.5% in NFHS-5 to 64.8% in 2023-24. Digital adaptation is higher with 80.3% of women having used internet in urban centres and 65.8% of women now using a mobile phone that they own themselves.

The data also suggests that Telangana women are actively gaining control over their finances and education. Women having and using their own bank or saving accounts rose to 92.3%, up from 84.4% in the previous survey. Over half of the women, 53.2% worked in the last 12 months and were paid in cash, an increase from 45.1% five years ago.

In terms of education, the percentage of women with 10 or more years of schooling has gone up from 45.5% to 51.1%. Empowerment metrics also show that 89.9% of currently married women participate in major household decisions, such as their own healthcare and large purchases.

Despite these advantages, other social surveys show room for improvement. While child marriage rates have dropped, 17.9% of women ages 20-24 were still married before turning 18. Physical violence during pregnancy also remains a major concern, affecting 2.7% of ever-married women in the state.

The survey also highlighted unique health trends in the state, such as a high rate of caesarean sections, which account for 62.2% of all births in Telangana, making it one of the highest in the country reaching 83.9% in private health facilities.

The NFHS-6 findings reveal a sharp contradiction in Telangana. The gains in digital and financial empowerment coexist with high marital violence. While the decline from the previous survey (37.2%) has been positive, these figures underscore the socio-economic progress has not been able to take down the rooted patterns of domestic violence.