All about India
Gender discrimination is a prevalent issue in India today. The low status of women in India is emphasised through many aspects of the Indian society. The impact of the patriarchal structure can be seen in rural and urban India, although women’s empowerment in rural India is much less visible than in urban areas. This is of particular concern, since much of India’s population resides in rural areas despite the high rate of urbanization and expansion of cities. Women living in rural areas, as opposed to women in urban settings, face much more severe inequality. An example of the manifestation of gender discrimination is the unequal employment opportunities. In India, women form only 17.40% of those involved in the organized sector.
In 1993, a milestone was made in India when articles were constructed to reduce and possibly eliminate the presence of gender discrimination. In article 14 of the Indian Constitution, it was decided that the state shall not deny any person of equality before or equal protection of the law. In Article 15, it was said that no women can be discriminated against on the ground of sex, while subsection (3) placed special emphasis that the state shall make special provisions for women and children. These were complemented by Article 16, which ensures equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment by the state (Bhatia, 2005). Although this milestone marked the engagement of India’s government with regards to gender discrimination, these efforts are insufficient to eliminate the problem of gender discrimination as can be seen from the ongoing rape cases of women in India, for example, the gang rape case in 2012.
1. Malnutrition of women
Female children are often treated differently from male children in terms of nutrition and health care. Especially since the population growth of India has caused an increase in scarcity of food and financial resources, the insufficient resources are prone to be allocated unevenly in favour of the male offspring as girls are seen as less useful and important. This imbalance in treatment often results in insufficient care given to both girls and women and is a major reason for the high levels of malnutrition of girls. For women, this nutritional deprivation causes them to never reach their full growth potential. Also, they are more prone to suffer from Anaemia. According to an article by World Bank Group, 60% of females in India are anaemic (World Bank Group, N.A.). Hence, maternal and infant deaths, as well as low birth weight infants, are common in India. On a side note, to learn more about how malnutrition in India is exacerbated by poverty, click here.
2. Unequal education opportunities
India's constitution guarantees free primary school education for both girls and boys up to age 14. Although this is the case, parents often consider it more important that they learn domestic chores and household skills so that they will be able to properly serve their future husbands and in-laws. Another disincentive for sending daughters to school is a concern for the protection of their virginity. When schools are located at a distance and when teachers are male, parents are often unwilling to expose their daughters to the potential assault on their virginity, which would ultimately result in an insult to the girl's family's honor. This results in one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world, where the female literacy rate is at 54% and the male at 76%. Due to the lack of access to education, girls often lack knowledge and skills to change the mindsets of those who feel that women are inferior and should be treated as such. With the lack of skills, it is also harder for girls and women alike to find employment opportunities to increase in their economic stability. Mothers' illiteracy and lack of schooling further disadvantages their children as low education levels often translates into poor quality of care for children, consequently leading to higher infant and child mortality and malnutrition, because mothers with little education are less likely to be exposed to and to adopt appropriate health-promoting behaviors, such as having young children immunized. Hence, a vicious cycle of discrimination against women is created - discrimination causes the lack of education for women and the lack of education causes future generations to continue living under discrimination. The unequal educational opportunities also leads to a high socio-economic gap in India. To learn more about the socio-economic inequality in India, click here.
3. Unequal distribution of Inheritance
Due to the presence of gender discrimination against women, any inheritance of a deceased husband or father would be passed down to the oldest son, while his wife or daughters would not receive any financial benefit. Subsequently, the women and daughters are often left to fend for themselves without any form of financial support as they are thought to be an economic burden to the male family, and her originating family is often unable or unwilling to take her back as well. Although there are laws in place to ensure legal protection for women's right to inheritance, the enforcement of the law is challenging. This is because when the woman is refused her right by the family, the lack of education and bad treatment she has received from the family usually leads to a lack of confidence and exposure to possible legal assistance to enable her to fight for her rights.
4. Employment Inequality
In India, women are only paid three quarters of what their male counterparts earn. In this predominantly agricultural country, women do more than half of the total agricultural work but their work is not valued. On average, a woman works 15 to 16 hours a day unpaid at home and underpaid outside. In 2011, women only made up 24.16% of the total labour force in India (Africa News Service, 2001). This is indicative of the unequal employment opportunities based on gender. According to Gender Diversity Benchmark in 2011, India has the lowest national female labour force and the worst leaking pipeline for junior to middle level position women. There are:
-
28.71% of those at the junior level of the workplace (Francesco, 2011);
-
14.9% of those at the middle level (Francesco, 2011);
-
9.32% of those at the senior level (Francesco, 2011).
Of 1,112 directorships on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100, just 59 (5.3%) are held by women. Out of 323 total executive directorship positions (generally considered to be prerequisites to holding the CEO position) on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100, just eight (2.5%) are held by women. 54% of companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100 have no women board directors (Banerji, Mahtani, Sealy, and Vinnicombe, 2010). Thus, we see that the unequal treatment of females in employment opportunities is an impact of the ingrained idea than males are superior to women and thus do not deserve to earn as much and to possess equal levels of power leadership.The unequal employment opportunities also leads to a high socio-economic gap in India. To learn more about the socio-economic inequality in India, click here.
5. Violence against women
Due to gender discrimination, violence against women in prevalent in India. A sexual harassment occurs in every 42 minutes, a woman is kidnapped every 43 minutes and a woman is molested every 34 minutes in India (Chauhan, 2010). From this it can clearly be seen that the lack of a voice for the women has negatively affected their well being. For example, according to the Dehli Police, by October 2013, the number of reported crimes against women have sky-rocketed reporting 250% to 500% increases from 2012. Also, 13330 rape cases, 2844 molestation cases, 793 eve-teasing complaints and 2906 kidnap cases have been reported within 10 months of 2013. (Mahapatra, 2013)
Gender Discrimination
Impacts
Causes
1. Women as Liabilities
Women are considered liabilities as they are deemed incapable of earning their own income and hence are dependent on men. Additionally, women live with their husbands after marriage and thus no longer help provide for their families, leading families to feel that females are a burden as they do not contribute back to the family after effort put into raising them. Furthermore, the dowry tradition whereby the bride has to send gifts to the groom’s family becomes an additional unnecessary financial burden. On the other hand, males are valued as they are considered able to earning money for the family and carry on the family line. Sons are also able to marry wives that can serve as domestic helpers, and the dowry system also helps the male's family financially. Thus, men are deemed more valuable as they bring more benefits than women. Over time, women lose the respect they deserve, leading to the low status of women in India.
2. Dowry Tradition
A cause of the discrimination against women is India's dowry tradition. During marriages, it is common practice for the woman’s family to present the male with wedding gifts such as jewellery and money. Although the act of dowry gifting was prohibited in 1961, the practice persisted. This is because the idea has long been engraved in the Indian society, especially among the older generations. The failure of the enforcement of this law caused the system to spread to other communities who traditionally did not practice it, because the resistance of the legislation by people of higher social statuses caused the system to turn into a means to increase their social standing, to achieve economic security and to accumulate material wealth. The price of the dowry is calculated based on the bridegroom's education and future earning potential, while the bride's education and earning potential are only relevant to her role of being a better wife and mother. The bridegroom's demand for a dowry can easily exceed the annual salary of a typical Indian family, and consequently be financially disastrous for families who are unable to afford it. To prove the significance of the dowry system in India, there is the example of the “Bride Burning” (or other form of murdering) of the newly-wed wife by the husband and his family, who would claim, that she died in a domestic accident, so that the widowed husband would be free to marry again and collect another dowry. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 8,239 dowry death cases, 1,285 cases of attempted dowry deaths, and another 4,890 cases with pending investigations in 2009. Hence, it can be clearly seen that the dowry tradition has indeed caused women to be unrightly treated in the Indian society.
3. Imbalance in numbers
In the world, India is one of the few countries where males outnumber females. The sex ratio at birth (SRB) which tells us about the number of males born to every female is high at 1.12, whereas other developed and developing countries usually range from 1.05 to 1.09 (Central Intelligence Agency, N.A.). Although this lopsided ratio runs throughout India, there are also differences between Northern / Western regions such as Punjab and Delhi, where the sex ratio is as high as 1.25, to Southern / Eastern India like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, where sex ratios are around 1.05 (Haryana, 2011). Though prenatal sex discrimination was ilegalised in 1996, there is still a persistence in the preference for males due to practical and financial concerns. This domination of males have led to many higher ranking jobs and positions being taken by males. This caused the formation of the misled idea that males are more capable and superior as compared to women, aggravating the problem of gender discrimination in the Indian society as can be seen from the increase in selective abortions, murdering of female babies and abandonment of female babies. In total, 11 million abortions take place annually and around 20,000 women die every year due to abortion related complications (Cherian, 2010).
Women Empowerment
Women’s empowerment in India is heavily dependent on geographical location, educational status, social status and age. Policies on women’s empowerment which include health, education, economic opportunities, gender-based violence and political participation exist at the national, state, and local levels in many sectors. After India’s independence, many laws have been passed to empower women in India. A National Commission on Women was set up to act as a watchdog on the matters concerning women in 1992. As a result, literacy rates are going up and fertility rates coming down. Universalisation of education, elimination of drop-out from schools, promotion of Balwadi‟s and Crèches, girls' hostels, technical Institutions for women and distinct emphasis on health, nutrition and family welfare programmes etc. are some of such initiatives (Africa News Service, 2001). However, as there are significant gaps between policy advancements and actual practice at the community level, these initiatives are not sufficient to curb the problem of gender discrimination against women (Reecha Upadhyay, N.A.).
The Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987 (The Hindu, 1999)
This Act is aimed at increasing the effectiveness in prevention of the commission of sati, which is the burning or burying alive of any widow along with the body of her deceased husband or any other relative (Periyar Maniammai College of Technology For Women, N.A.), and its glorification. In this context, ‘glorification’ is defined as the involvement of any kind in sati-related activities. In this Act, punishment for offences relating to sati have specially been set up to serve as a deterrent for anyone who has the thought of committing the offence.
The National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (The Hindu, 1999)
This Act mandates the formation of a National Commission for Women in order to examine, investigate and review the formulation and implementation of various policies and legislations concerning women. The Commission is responsible for investigation and examination of all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women, conduction of reviews of existing provisions of the Constitution and laws affecting women, as well as to suggest areas for improvement in legislation. This ensures that the well-being of women are protected to mitigate hardships and ensure the accessibility of relief for women.
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
After recognizing the dowry system as one that required immediate attention, the Dowry Prohibition Act was proposed in 1961 and rules were enacted to complement the provisions of the Act. In this Act, dowry was clearly defined and the acts of both giving and receiving dowry were prohibited. The prohibition of dowry exchanges was hoped to eliminate the idea of profitable marriages and the killing of women to get more dowry.
National Policy on Empowerment of Women, 2001
This policy aims to bring about advancement, development and the empowerment of women through prescribing the adoption of different measures to improve the status of women. Some measures include reforms to increase responsiveness to the needs of the women, eradication of poverty and bettering access to education and health facilities. Through this policy, the importance of gender equality is highlighted. With the empowerment of women, it is hoped that women will be able to speak up for themselves, to fight for their rights and change their social status in the long run.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (Mahajani, 2013)
This Act aims to effectively protect the rights of women who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family. This is done by providing protection to females from violence by any male counterparts.
Policies and Measures Taken
