New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS): Shattering the long-celebrated "pativrata" image of Indian married women, a new survey on Wednesday revealed that 53 per cent of Indian women admitted having already had an intimate relationship outside their marriage, as compared to 43 per cent of men.
Over 40 per cent of married Indian women admitted of having had regular sexual intercourses with someone other than her spouse, against a 26 per cent of men admitting the same, according to the report from global extra-marital dating app Gleeden.
The research suggests that Indian women are pretty "open minded about infidelity". The report, however, did not say that the search for a "lover" outside marriage could be due to stress or lack of happiness in the marriage.
"Indian women seem particularly open minded about infidelity, especially when it involves romance. Gleeden offers a virtual environment where start a new love story with like-minded individuals without the downside of a real-life affair," Solene Paillet, Marketing Director of Gleeden, said during an event here where the report was launched.
Gleeden started its operations in India in 2017 and now claims to have over 8 lakh active Indian users.
"Women can have the full romantic experience, resting ensured that their privacy will be fully protected, and their secret will remain safe. That's why Gleeden is attracting a bigger number of female users every day: it provides them with privacy, discretion, and a choice of partners way beyond their usual circles," she added.
Conducted online, the survey involved a sample size of over 1,500 people from across major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad.
Also, the target respondents were married individuals between the age group of 25-50 years.
The results showed that 55 per cent of Indian have already cheated on their spouses, especially women.
Nearly 50 per cent of married people in India confessed of having had an intimate relationship with someone other than the spouse, while almost 5 out of 10 have already indulged in casual sex (47 per cent) or one-night stands (46 per cent).
In fact, 48 per cent of Indians believe that is indeed possible to be in love with two people at the same time, while the 46 per cent think that it is possible to be cheating on a person while still be in love with him/her.
This is probably why Indians are ready to forgive their partner in case they found out about the affair.
While 37 per cent would forgive the partner without a second thought, 40 per cent would do so if the circumstances were extenuating.
Similarly, they expect to be forgiven by their partner, said the report.