Dr Saheb Sahu
Once in the mythical city of Bagdad, a thief was brought in front of the caliph to be judged. The usual punishment was to have his hands cut off, but that day the caliph was in a good mood and he offered the bandit a way out. “Tell me what women want and you will be free,” he said. The man thought for a while, and after invoking Allah and His Prophet, he gave the caliph an astute answer. “Oh, sublime caliph, women want to be heard. Ask them what they want and they will tell you.”
This is what women want: to be educated, to have their own resources, to be safe, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be treated as equal. (Allende)
I will confine my discussion to women in India.
A – To Be Educated
Though it is sharply increasing, the female literacy rate in India is less than the male literacy rate. Far fewer girls than boys are enrolled in school, and many girls drop out. In urban India, girls are nearly on a par with boys in terms of education. However, in rural India, girls continue to be less educated than boys.
According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-21, the average literacy rate in India was 77.7%, 84.7% for male and 70.3% for female. The highest literacy rate was in Kerala. The average was 96.2%, and for male 97.4% and for female 95.2% .In Odisha the average was 77.3%, and for male 84.0% and for female 70.3%.
According to experts no country has attained developed status without educating most of its population. Quality public education is core strategy in fighting poverty everywhere. Not only education is important in fighting poverty, it is also key to wealth creation. Without creating wealth poverty cannot be eradicated.
All developmental experts agree that the potential benefits of girls’ education are even greater than that of boys’ education. The benefits of educating girls are many: decrease pregnancy rate, reduction of under- 5 mortality rates, increase productivity and income, gender equality in family decision making and many more. Women who are educated are more likely to work outside the home. Women who have independent income have higher social standing and more likely to run for political office.
B – To Have Resources of Their Own
How does one get resources of one’s own? One gets an education and gets a job or inherits some wealth. If you do not have a decent education, your chance of getting a job in India is very slim. Without an education a woman will be a laborer or domestic servant. In India women have equal rights under law to own property and receive equal share of their inheritance like their brothers, but in practice, it is not happening.
Women constitute almost half of Indian population (48%), but their participation in the work force amounts only to one-fourth of the total working people. The gender pay gap in India is estimated to be around 20 % (2019), e.g. women make 80 cents while make a rupee for similar work.
Women perform around 10 times more unpaid works (house hold work, caring for children and parents) than men do. Sixty percent of working women in India work in agriculture sectors, where the pay is low. Research suggests that when countries are able to raise the female labor participation rate, this stands to benefit the entire economy.
Only about four percent CEOs of Indian major companies are women. In Indian Lok Sabha out of 543 members only 78 are women (14%).
C- To Be Safe
Violence against women has been common in most societies for millennia. It is worse in India. A young woman thinks twice before doing something as routine as walking past a group of men. Safety of women in India is threatened by various acts like- feticide (aborting female fetuses), child marriage, domestic violence, rape, forced prostitution, honor killing, bride burning for dowry, sexual harassment at work place and many more. About third of Indian women have suffered from domestic violence.
Nearly a decade since the gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi that shocked the country, state and central spending to combat violence against women is “grossly inadequate”, according to Oxfam India.
How to solve this unacceptable situation? All the state governments should vigorously enforce the existing laws against all forms of violence against girls and women. Child labor should be completely banned. All girls until the age of 16 should attend schools. Some of the reasons for drooping out of schools are under-age marriage, pregnancy and child labor. Sanitary pads, birth control pills, morning after pills, immunizations, iron and vitamin tablets should be available to all high-school and college- going girls at low cost or be free.
Families, educational institutions, and societies should teach boys and men to respect women. Only strict laws on the books will not solve the problem of women safety in India. Implementation of existing laws in a time bound manner will help. However, unless men change their mindset towards women, laws alone will not solve the problem. Unfortunately politicians are satisfied with passing the laws but are not serious enough to implement them in a timely manner.
D- To Be Treated As Equal
Although the constitution of India grants men and women equal rights, gender disparities remain in all aspects of Indian lives. While Indian laws on domestic violence, rape, and dowry related killing, and adultery have women’s safety at heart, these unacceptable crimes are still rampant in India.
Women have equal inheritance rights under the law, but in real practice, they are not inheriting equal shares of their parental properties as their brothers. Less than 25% of women own any agricultural land in their names.
India is one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. Yet, when it comes to gender equality, India ranks poorly on global indicators (UNICEF). Across India gender inequality results in unequal opportunities for girls and women, almost in all spheres of their lives.
The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system going back to thousands of years. Patriarchy is defined as a system of social structure and practices, in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. Exploitation of women is a cultural phenomenon of Indian society. The system of patriarchy finds its validity and sanctions in India’s religious beliefs, whether it is Hindu, Muslim or any other religion.
For instance, as per Ancient Hindu law giver Manu,” Women are supposed to be in the custody of their fathers when they are children, must be under the custody of their husbands when married and under the custody of their son in old age or as widows.”
Most girls and women in India do not fully enjoy many of their rights due to deeply entrenched patriarchal views, norms, traditions and social structure. The patriarchal system is changing but not fast enough. India will not be a developed country unless both girls and boys are equally supported to reach their full potential.
Conclusion
The UN Commission on the Status of Women adopted agreed conclusions on “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” on 26 March 2021.
Women all over the world want to be educated, have their own resources, to be safe and like to be treated equal to men. Unfortunately, in most countries these aspirations are not being met. India is no exception. According to UNICEF, when it comes to gender equality, India ranks poorly on various indicators. India’s constitution guarantees equal rights to women with men but in real life, every day, in every part of India; women are treated as second class citizens. Things are changing but in a snail pace. The age-old patriarchy system persists. Unless women get an education, are employed in large number outside their homes, have their own money and resources, and get political power, things are not going to change that much. In 2014, 11.42% members of Lok Sabha were women. It increased to 14.36% in 2019. What a slow progress! Unless Indian women are elected to all political offices (from panchayat to parliament) in much larger percentage than at present, things will not change fast.
Sources
1- Isabella Allende. The Soul of A Woman. Ballantine Books: New York, 2020
2-UN Women.org