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Motherhood and female identity: Experiences of Childless Women of Two Religious Communities in India

Abstract Infertility or childlessness is an invisible defect or a hidden disability. It is not fatal but carries the burden of social stigma and results in a sense of personal failure, especially for women. The female partner generally feels more responsible and guilty even when the cause of infertility may be due to the male. This feeling is more pronounced in a society where womanhood and motherhood are important status symbols. Hence, infertility, particularly for women, imposes profound emotional and social stress, which in turn evokes feelings of denial, depression, desertion, grief and guilt in the way of a social disability. This article explores the lives of women of two religious communities from India whose personal stories depict their daily struggle to resist disempowerment and stigmatization. It also examines the position of childless women who are impacted by complex and countervailing social and familial pressures. The lives of Muslim women are rendered more difficult, given the various provisions of the Shariah on the one hand and the adoption law of the land on the other.