These real-life single mothers share their stories of struggles raising their children while stepping away from unhappy marriages, loss of husbands and also dealing with the societal pressures and stereotypes. They defied all odds and did their best to become the proud and strong mothers they are today. We appreciate these real-life single mothers for being so adamant about their decisions and doing what felt right for themselves.

Single mothers seem a very fun and open idea in various movies and films. However, in real-life it is a lot more different. Real-life single parent have to endure a lot more things than just handle their child’s tantrums. If anything, they need to be make twice as efforts than a parent with a partner. Not only this, specially in case of women, they even have to tackle the over-the-top stereotypes of the society, their prejudice that women cannot nurture a child alone and balance their career, child and household chores.

SheThePeople talked to some real-life single mothers to know how they handle their lives and we were expecting no less than harsh truth bombs hitting us:

Real-life single mothers: Ambica Agarwal

Stepping out of an abusive marriage with an alcoholic husband, Ambica Agarwal raised her daughter, who is now seven years old, all by herself. She mentioned while sharing her story, “Riddhi was 5 years old when one day she said, ‘mujhe yaha nahi rehna hain, nana ke paas jana hai’. Listening to that, I knew I had to leave this man, for the safety of my daughter. For all the 10 years of our marriage, he was an alcoholic and physically abusive. I never told my parents about it because I did not want them to worry about me.”

When she returned to her parents home to seek help from them, they asked her to go back to her husband’s saying “a woman in society has respect only when she has a husband and not when she’s alone.” However, this did not stop Agarwal to stop fending for herself and her daughter. She often had to leave her daughter alone at home while going to work but her young daughter is quite understanding for her age and accepts that her mother is a strong woman trying to provide for them both.

Ambica Agarwal with her son

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Struggles of Real-life single mother: Pooja Dasgupta

Pooja Dasgupta ended her marriage with her husband in 2021 brought a lot of emotional turmoil for her. However, she recollected herself for the sake of her son Rio while also managing her career. Dasgupta admitted that being a single mother is not always a cake walk. She had separated from her husband just around when the second wave of COVID-19 hit India. All her family had fallen ill and it became very difficult to manage Rio since he was very attached to her parents.

When Rio fell sick for the first time when he was only six-months-old, Dasgupta remarked that she became clueless as to how to console him. She mentions that it was her supportive parents and colleagues as well as her own willpower to push through everyday and emerge stronger. “A single mother’s struggle is real. We also make mistakes and at times we are clueless. But then that’s what motherhood is all about- making the impossible possible,” she shares.

My child is my strength: Yashika Jain

Yashika Jain lost her husband Mohit to COVID-19 in May 2021. Since then, she has raised her then two-year-old son Jash all on her own. While dealing with her husband’s tragic death led to major emotional turmoil, she stayed strong because Jash was all she had. “The first 3-4 months were difficult – I lost out on sleep, couldn’t face myself and nothing made me happy’, but every time I saw Jash it gave me the strength to fight. If not for myself, I have to do it for him.” She said.

She starting working again on the fifteenth day after her husband’s untimely demise. While the society presented its unsolicited opinions asking her to remarry, Jain paid no heed to any of it and did whatever she could do to make her son happy. Read her entire story here.

Yashika Jain with her son

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