Understanding the Livelihood Challenges and Community Support for Single Women in Rural Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

The present study examines the livelihood challenges and community support of single women in rural Himachal Pradesh, with particular attention to their socio-economic conditions, multidimensional livelihood vulnerabilities, and psychological functioning. Single women constitute a heterogeneous group whose experiences are shaped by economic circumstances, social relationships, access to productive resources, and institutional support. A convergent mixed-methods research design, grounded in the pragmatic paradigm, was adopted. Using a multi-stage stratified random sampling design, 435 single women were selected from Kangra, Shimla, and Kinnaur districts, representing low-hill, mid-hill, and high-hill/tribal regions, respectively. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, ANOVA, Tukey HSD, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression.

The findings reveal considerable socio-economic vulnerability. Agriculture was the primary occupation of 72.2% of respondents, 61.6% of households had only one earning member, 23.2% had none, and 86.9% reported annual household incomes up to ₹3 lakh. Economic and financial challenges ranked first (M = 2.932), followed by physical, social, and psychological challenges; healthcare emerged as the most prominent individual challenge. Significant differences across singlehood categories were observed for social and economic-financial challenges, with separated women displaying comparatively greater vulnerability. Community support was significantly associated with psychological functioning, with friends and significant others demonstrating particularly important predictive contributions. The study concludes that interventions should move beyond relief-oriented assistance towards an integrated, livelihood-centred approach combining income security, livelihood diversification, healthcare, social protection, financial inclusion, property rights, psychosocial services, and strengthened community support networks..