Hyderabad: Ducking the trend for religion, the female Christian population in the city outnumbers the male population across nearly all age groups.
Though small compared to the total Christian population of 87,552 in Hyderabad, the gender gap of nearly 1,000 is representative of a difference seen across the State and the country. According to 2011 census data recently released, the difference is relatively larger in the working age-group of people with the most prominent gap visible in the population aged 20 years to 29 years. The census states the male Christian population is 43,291 and the female population is 44,231 in the city.
Lawyer Bhasker Benny opines that some of the difference can be partly explained by disparity in self-identification. “The scheduled castes and tribes among the Christians do not identify themselves as Christians fearing loss of reservation benefits. Due to low literacy levels among women and low awareness about reservation, they are more likely to reveal their religious identity,” he said.
The demand for SC status for Dalit Christians and Muslims has been long-pending. However, the data shows that the male Muslim population is higher than the female population, The Hindu reported.
The census data shows there are 20.46 lakh Hindus and 17.13 lakh Muslims in Hyderabad. While the number of Hindus is higher than the Muslim population in most age groups, between birth and 19 years the Muslim population is higher; the difference in this age group is nearly 67,000.
However the gender gap among the religions is the highest among Hindus.
The situation is not different in urban Ranga Reddy, which largely comprises greater Hyderabad. There are 30.3 lakh Hindus, 4.9 lakh Muslims and 1.3 lakh Christians with the female population exceeding the male population.