unapologetically HER

All the single ladies, now put your hands up!

- Diya J Verma

You see, I’ve hit that age—20-something, teetering on the brink of disaster— where my mum’s and my worries collide: “Time to settle down, eh?,” she quips each time she catches me doomscrolling, hoping I’d spent those wee hours vetting eligible bachelors instead.

Dinner table conversations have matured from “how was your first day?” to “when is the day?”, and family gatherings lend the perfect opportunity to expedite the inevitable—marriage, kids...you get the drift.

As I inch closer to dirty thirty, my anxiety is at its peak, with no man in sight. Do I envision a family portrait up on the wall? Sure, someday. Today, or in the near future? Perhaps not. The thing is, our forebears have us believe that motherhood—ensuing marriage, of course—is a rite of passage to womanhood. We dare not tread the road less travelled, for it will infringe upon this prevailing narrative. Stats, however, suggest otherwise.

Based on Morgan Stanley forecasts [rise of the SHEconomy report] and Census Bureau historical data, 45 per cent of prime workingage women, between 25–44, will be single and childless by 2030...the largest share in history. But since the scope of this survey is limited to the West, Cosmo India did one of its own—and findings were, well, divided.

A staggering 60 per cent of our readers concur with the above, as per the Cosmo India survey*, while 56 per cent want to experience parenthood.