Chennai : This government of Tamil Nadu is looking up for women empowerment. The Tamil Nadu government is set to recognize single women who have separated from their parents or divorced women as ‘family’, which will now enable them to avail benefits, which they were so far not eligible for.
Single women in Tamil Nadu can now apply for ration cards now. Before this, such benefits were not availed by women. Under the existing norms, unmarried single women were ineligible to apply for ration cards as they were viewed as living with their parents.
For a married woman, to apply for a new ration card, she had to be legally divorced.
According to sources, the change is being brought in following multiple representations that women, who reside separately without legally parting ways with their partners, are unable to get ration cards.
Under the new norms, single women in Tamil Nadu will have the same criteria as families to be eligible to apply for a ration card.
This includes :
Women should have a kitchen.
Written self-declaration of staying alone
House will be audited by Revenue Inspector
Aadhaar and Gas bill
S Valentina, the state President of All India Democratic Womenâs Association (AIDWA) said the new policy will enable women, including those who are caught up in the legal process of separation to avail food security, without waiting for their estranged partner to remove the name from the ration card.
She also said that other than food security, getting a ration card is a crucial document for single women to avail other benefits, including getting school admissions for their children.
The All-India Democratic Womenâs Association (AIDWA) have been demanding ration cards for single women for a long time and welcome the governmentâs decision. âIâve been living separately from my husband for nearly two decades and looking after my two children. Since he refused to remove our names from the card, he has been enjoying the privileges, leaving us in suffering,â says Indhumathi, a single woman and domestic worker in Chennai, who is now relieved with the governmentâs decision and is looking forward to receiving her card.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
