International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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Volume 8 Issue 4
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Beyond the Wedding: The Unspoken Realities of Live-in Partnerships for Delhi’s Professional Women

Author(s) Ms. Kratika Solanki
Country India
Abstract The landscape of intimate relationships and family formation in urban India is undergoing a profound structural transformation, catalyzed by the synergistic forces of globalization, rapid urbanization, rising female labor force participation, and shifting normative paradigms regarding the institution of marriage. This comprehensive research critically examines how working women in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi perceive and navigate live-in relationships amidst the intense dialectical tension between modern individualistic aspirations and deeply entrenched traditional cultural norms. Drawing upon a rigorous mixed-methods empirical design comprising quantitative survey data from 400 working women and qualitative case narratives, the study interrogates the socio-demographic and psychometric determinants of cohabitation attitudes. A robust theoretical framework integrating Anthony Giddens’ Transformation of Intimacy, Ulrich Beck’s Individualization Theory, Feminist Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Social Exchange Theory, and Structural Functionalism is deployed to contextualize the empirical findings.
Quantitative analyses, including multiple linear regression and analysis of variance, reveal that family background, educational attainment, media exposure, and peer influence are highly significant predictors of progressive attitudes toward cohabitation. Conversely, religion and caste exhibit no statistically significant independent effect on generalized attitude scores, suggesting an urban homogenizing effect on ideological paradigms. However, qualitative thematic interpretations uncover a complex landscape characterized by "precarious autonomy," wherein women negotiate emotional and relational emancipation within the private domestic sphere while facing acute legal insecurity, moral policing, and bureaucratic discrimination in the public sphere. Furthermore, the analysis evaluates the profound chilling effect of recent legislative developments, notably the introduction of mandatory registration under Uniform Civil Code (UCC) frameworks (2024–2026), which effectively criminalize informal intimacy and weaponize state surveillance against non-marital unions. The paper concludes by advocating for comprehensive institutional and policy reforms to dismantle marriage-centric administrative practices that systematically marginalize non-marital families, ensuring that the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and dignity are not contingent upon marital status.
Keywords Uniform Civil Code, Individualization Theory, Feminist Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Structural Functionalism, Structural Functionalism
Field Sociology
Published In Volume 8, Issue 4, July-August 2026
Published On 2026-07-19
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.84112
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CrossRef DOI prefix of IJFMR is 10.36948/ijfmr

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