Why are young women killing themselves in Kerala?

Sociology: paper I: Sociological thinkers: Emile Durkheim: Suicide

Paper II: Violence against women

 

NEWS IN SHORT:

• Three young women committed suicide within 48 hours on June 21-22, leaving behind notes saying ‘dowry harassment’ forced them to take the extreme step.
• The suicides have triggered a heated debate in Kerala about the gender insensitivity prevalent in the state.
• Left-liberal Kerala claims to have the highest female literacy–95.2%–in the country and has produced astonishing women leaders in many fields.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Syllabus: paper I: – EMILE DURKHEIM “SUICIDE” & PAPER 2 – Violence against women

Durkheim’s theory of ‘suicide’ is related in various ways to his study of the division of labour. It is also linked with the theory of ‘social constraint’. Durkheim has established the view that there are no societies in which suicide does not occur.

Types of Suicide

Emile Durkheim classified different types of suicides on the basis of different types of relationship between the actor and his society.

(1) Egoistic suicide:

According to Durkheim, when a man becomes socially isolated or feels that he has no place in the society he destroys himself. This is the suicide of self-centred person who lacks altruistic feelings and is usually cut off from main stream of the society.

(2) Altruistic suicide:

This type of suicide occurs when individuals and the group are too close and intimate. This kind of suicide results from the over integration of the individual into social proof, for example – Sati customs, Dannies warriors.

(3) Anomic suicide:

This type of suicide is due to certain breakdown of social equilibrium, such as, suicide after bankruptcy or after winning a lottery. In other words, anomic suicide takes place in a situation which has cropped up suddenly.

(4) Fatalistic suicide:

This type of suicide is due to overregulation in society. Under the overregulation of a society, when a servant or slave commits suicide, when a barren woman commits suicide, it is the example of fatalistic suicide