INTRODUCTION: India, with a population of 989 million, is the world's second most populous country. Of that number, 120 million are women who live in poverty. India has 16 percent of the world's population, but only 2.4 percent of its land, resulting in great pressures on its natural resources. Over 70 percent of India's population currently derives their livelihood from land resources, which includes 84 percent of the economically-active women. India is one of the few countries where males significantly outnumber females, and this imbalance has increased over time. India's maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the world's highest. From a global perspective, Indian accounts for 19 1
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INTRODUCTION:
India , wi th a popula t ion of 989 mi l l ion , i s the wor ld ' s
second most populous country . Of tha t number , 120 mi l l ion
are women who l ive in pover ty .
India has 16 percent of the wor ld ' s popula t ion , but only
2 .4 percent of i t s land, resul t ing in grea t pressures on i t s
na tura l resources .
Over 70 percent of India ' s popula t ion current ly der ives
the i r l ive l ihood f rom land resources , which inc ludes 84
percent of the economical ly-ac t ive women.
India i s one of the few countr ies where males
s igni f icant ly outnumber females , and th is imbalance has
increased over t ime. India ' s maternal mor ta l i ty ra tes in rura l
a reas are among the wor ld ' s h ighes t . From a g lobal
perspect ive , Indian accounts for 19 percent of a l l l ives
b i r ths and 27 percent of a l l maternal dea ths .
"There seems to be a consensus tha t h igher female
morta l i ty be tween ages one and f ive and high maternal
mor ta l i ty ra tes resul t in a def ic i t of females in the
popula t ion . Chat ter jee (1990) es t imates tha t dea ths of young
gi r l s in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000
each year , and every s ix th infant dea th i s speci f ica l ly due to
gender d iscr iminat ion ." Of the 15 mi l l ion baby gi r l s born in
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India each year , near ly 25 percent wi l l not l ive to see the i r
15th b i r thday.
"Al though India was the f i rs t count ry to announce an
off ic ia l fami ly p lanning program in 1952, i t s popula t ion
grew f rom 361 mi l l ion in 1951 to 844 mi l l ion in 1991.
India ' s to ta l fe r t i l i ty ra te of 3 .8 b i r ths per woman can be
considered modera te by wor ld s tandards , but the sheer
magni tude of popula t ion increase has resul ted in such a
fee l ing of urgency tha t conta inment of popula t ion growth i s
l i s ted as one of the s ix most impor tant objec t ives in the
Eighth Five-Year Plan ."
Since 1970, the use of modern cont racept ive methods has
r i sen f rom 10 percent to 40 percent , wi th grea t var iance
be tween nor thern and southern India . The most s t r ik ing
aspect of cont racept ive use in India i s the predominance of
s te r i l iza t ion , which accounts for more than 85 percent of
to ta l modern cont racept ion use , wi th female s ter i l iza t ion
account ing for 90 percent of a l l s te r i l iza t ions .
The Indian const i tu t ion grants women equal r ights wi th
men, but s t rong pat r ia rchal t radi t ions pers is t , wi th women 's
l ives shaped by cus toms tha t a re centur ies o ld . In most
Indian fami l ies , a daughter i s v iewed as a l iabi l i ty , and she
i s condi t ioned to be l ieve tha t she i s infer ior and subordinate
to men. Sons are idol ized and ce lebra ted . May you be the
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mother of a hundred sons i s a common Hindu wedding
bless ing.
The or ig in of the Indian idea of appropr ia te female
behavior can be t raced to the ru les la id down by Manu in
200 B.C. : "by a young gi r l , by a young woman, or even by
an aged one , nothing must be done independent ly , even in
her own house" . " In chi ldhood a female must be subjec t to
her fa ther , in youth to her husband, when her lord i s dead to
her sons ; a woman must never be independent ."
A s tudy of women in the Swayam Shikshan Prayog
(SSP) , based in 20 v i l lages in four d is t r ic ts in Maharasht ra
s ta te was in t roduced in th is way:
The pr imary i ssue a l l women in the SSP were s t ruggl ing
wi th was tha t of everyday survival . Insuff ic ient incomes and
the lack of employment were repor ted to be the i r most
press ing concerns . Survival i s a cons tant preoccupat ion and
a t i t s most bas ic , surviva l means food (Chambers 1983) . The
most common problems were the lack of bas ic ameni t ies
such as food, water , fue l , fodder and heal th fac i l i t ies . In
addi t ion , the de ter iora t ion of the na tura l envi ronment and
the fac t tha t many of the i r t radi t ional occupat ions were no
longer v iable were condi t ions tha t were making i t
increas ingly hard for women to cont inue sus ta in ing the i r
fami l ies , as they had done in the pas t
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What is rural?
This def in i t ion of rura l has severa l problems. For
s ta r te rs , there are 13 ,000 vi l lages wi th a popula t ion s ize
be tween 5 ,000 to 10,000. Are they rura l or urban? Moreover ,
the d is t inc t ion be tween the two is ge t t ing b lurred as there i s
a cont inuum of economic ac t iv i ty be tween them.
In termedia te se t t lements such as impor tant v i l lages , kasbas
and tehs i l s p lay a key ro le in the process of in tegra t ion
be tween the rura l and urban areas of India . This i s indeed an
impor tant observat ion of the Ficc i - ING repor t which goes on
to recommend as rura l a l l v i l lages and towns up to a
popula t ion s ize of 10 ,000 where the major i ty of the workers
are engaged in agr icul tura l and a l l ied ac t iv i t ies . This i s
indeed the popula t ion s t ra ta where the major i ty of rura l
ins t i tu t ions , agr icul tura l markets and rura l banking fac i l i t ies
a re concent ra ted . The observat ion of the economic
cont inuum between town and country , however , t ranscends
the l imi ted purpose of the insurance indust ry as i t indica tes
a quickening tempo of economic development . Ti l l recent ly ,
such a cont inuum was associa ted wi th only the l ikes of
Kera la because of i t s dense pa t te rn of se t t lement . That i t
ex is t s e lsewhere i s a sure s ign of economic progress .
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Current Status of Women in Rural
According India’s cons t i tu t ion , women are legal c i t izens
of the country and have equal r ights wi th men ( Indian
Par l iament) . Because of lack of acceptance f rom the male
dominant soc ie ty , Indian women suffer immensely . Women
are responsib le for bar ing chi ldren , ye t they are
malnour ished and in poor hea l th . Women are a lso
overworked in the f ie ld and comple te the a l l of the domest ic
work. Most Indian women are uneducated . Al though the
country’s cons t i tu t ion says women have equal s ta tus to men,
women are power less and are mis t rea ted ins ide and outs ide
the home.
India i s a soc ie ty where the male i s grea t ly revered.
Therefore women, especia l ly the young gi r l s , ge t very l i t t le
respect and s tanding in th is country . The women of the
household are requi red to prepare the meal for the men, who
ea t most of the food. Only af ter the males are f in ished
ea t ing , can the females ea t . Typica l ly the le f tover food i s
meager , cons ider ing the fami l ies a re poor and have l i t t le to
begin wi th . This c rea tes a major problem wi th malnut r i t ion ,
especia l ly for pregnant or nurs ing women. Very few women
seek medica l care whi le pregnant because i t i s thought of as
a temporary condi t ion . This i s one main reason why India’s
maternal and infant mor ta l i ty ra tes are so h igh. S tar t ing
f rom bi r th , g i r l s do not rece ive as much care and
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commitment f rom the i r parents and socie ty as a boy would .
For example a new baby gi r l would only be breas t fed for a
shor t per iod of t ime, bare ly supplying her wi th the nut r ients
she needs . This i s so tha t the mother can ge t pregnant as
soon as poss ib le in hopes of a son the next t ime (Coonrod) .
Even though the const i tu t ion guarantees f ree pr imary
school ing to everyone up to 14 years of age ( Indian
Par l iament) , very few females a t tend school . Only about 39
percent of a l l women in India ac tua l ly a t tend pr imary
schools . There are severa l reasons why fami l ies choose not
to educate the i r daughters . One reason i s tha t parents ge t
nothing in re turn for educat ing the i r daughters . Another
reason i s tha t a l l the females in a household have the
responsib i l i ty of the housework. So even though educat ion
does not f inancia l ly burden the fami ly , i t cos ts them the t ime
she spends a t school when she could be doing chores . In
addi t ion , even i f a woman is educated , especia l ly in the
poorer regions , there i s no hope for a job . Most jobs women
perform are agr icul tura l or domest ic which do not requi re a
formal educat ion . Another reason gi r l s a re not educated i s
because fami l ies a re requi red to supply a chas te daughter to
the fami ly of her fu ture husband. With over two- th i rds of
teachers in India be ing men and s tudents predominate ly
male , put t ing daughters in school , where males surround
them a l l day could pose a poss ib le threa t to the i r v i rg in i ty
(Coonrod) .
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Because women are not educated and cannot hold a
pres t ig ious job , they take on the most physica l ly d i f f icul t
and undes i rable jobs . A typica l day for a woman in an
agr icul tura l pos i t ion las ts f rom 4am to 8pm wi th only an
hour break in the middle . Compared to a man’s day, which i s
f rom 5am to 10am and then f rom 3pm to 5pm. Most women
are overworked wi th no materni ty leave or specia l breaks for
those who are pregnant . P lus women do the major i ty of the
manual labor tha t uses a lo t of energy compared to the men
who do most ly machine opera t ing (Coonrod) . Even though
women work twice as many hours as men, the men say tha t
“women ea t food and do nothing.” This i s mainly because
the work the women perform does not requi re a lo t of sk i l l
and are smal ler tasks .
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Reasons for the above:
Women development issues in India.
Gender d iscr iminat ion cont inues to be an enormous
problem wi th in Indian socie ty . Tradi t ional pa t r ia rchal norms
have re legated women to secondary s ta tus wi th in the
household and workplace . This dras t ica l ly af fec ts women 's
hea l th , f inancia l s ta tus , educat ion , and pol i t ica l
involvement . Women are commonly marr ied young, quickly
become mothers , and are then burdened by s t r ingent
domest ic and f inancia l responsib i l i t ies . They are f requent ly
malnour ished s ince women typica l ly are the las t member of a
household to ea t and the las t to rece ive medica l a t tent ion .
Addi t ional ly , only 54 percent of Indian women are l i te ra te
as compared to 76 percent of men. Women rece ive l i t t le
school ing, and suffer f rom unfa i r and b iased inher i tance and
divorce laws. These laws prevent women f rom accumula t ing
subs tant ia l f inancia l asse ts , making i t d i f f icul t for women to
es tabl i sh the i r own secur i ty and autonomy.
In Rajas than, a l l of these problems are aggravated by
h igh levels of seasonal migra t ion . For many men in
Rajas than, migra t ion i s requi red s ince rura l par ts of
Rajas than of ten lack a suff ic ient economy to provide income
for a fami ly year- round. Women are commonly le f t behind to
care and provide for the ent i re household . This i s
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increas ingly d i f f icul t because i t i s es t imated tha t an average
woman 's wage i s 30 percent lower than a man 's wage
working in a s imi lar pos i t ion . Whi le these mothers work,
they must a lso tend to domest ic responsib i l i t ies . This
formula for support ing Rajasthani famil ies l eaves l i t t le
resource for the growth and development of women 's r ights
and educat ion levels .
A s t rong "son preference" exis ts in the region, as i t does
throughout the country , and h igh ra tes of female infant ic ide
and female fe t ic ide p lague the area . In 2001, for every 1 ,000
males l iv ing in Rajas than there were only 922 women
(Marthur e t . a l . , 2004) . Having sons i s economical ly
advantageous to fami l ies due to cul tura l ins t i tu t ions ; these
ins t i tu t ions serve to dras t ica l ly devalue the ro les women
play in the t radi t ional soc ie ty . Women cont inue to s t ruggle
to achieve equal s ta tus to men, making women 's
empowerment an i ssue of par t icular impor tance for
Rajas than.
In Rajas than severa l NGOs tha t have hos ted FSD
par t ic ipants a re ins t rumenta l in providing oppor tuni t ies for
women. These organiza t ions he lp to bui ld ne tworks among
women to crea te f inancia l se l f -he lp groups . They in t roduce
ideas about microf inance , a l lowing women to par t ic ipa te in
management ac t iv i t ies . Other loca l NGOs implement projec ts
tha t expor t the ski l l s of women abroad to genera te
s igni f icant income. In 2006, Olen Crane , an FSD in tern ,
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helped near ly 400 women ar t i sans in the Udaipur a rea by
col lec t ing samples of the i r text i le products and shipping
them abroad to se l l to American companies . S imi lar projec ts
have enormous potent ia l to improve the f inancia l and socia l
s ta tus of Rajas thani women. Organiz ing change a t a loca l
level and p lanning par t ic ipa tory ac t ion wi l l he lp to e l iminate
b ias and s tereotypes , and genera te awareness of the
s igni f icant gender d iv ide tha t exis ts wi th in Indian socie ty .
Chronic Hunger and the Status of Women in India
Malnutr i t ion:
India has except ional ly h igh ra tes of chi ld malnut r i t ion ,
because t radi t ion in India requi res tha t women ea t las t and
leas t throughout the i r l ives , even when pregnant and
lac ta t ing . Malnour ished women give b i r th to malnour ished
chi ldren , perpetua t ing the cycle .
Unski l led:
In women 's pr imary employment sec tor - agr icul ture -
extens ion services over look women.
Mistreatment:
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In recent years , there has been an a larming r i se in
a t roc i t ies agains t women in India , in te rms of rapes , assaul t s
and dowry-re la ted murders . Fear of v io lence suppresses the
aspi ra t ions of a l l women. Female infant ic ide and sex-
se lec t ive abor t ions are addi t ional forms of v io lence tha t
re f lec t the devaluing of females in Indian socie ty .
Poor Health:
Females rece ive less hea l th care than males . Many
women die in chi ldbi r th of eas i ly prevented compl ica t ions .
Working condi t ions and envi ronmenta l pol lu t ion fur ther
impai rs women 's hea l th .
Marriage:
Women are subordinate in most marr iages .
Exposure to and in terac t ions wi th the outs ide wor ld are
ins t rumenta l in de termining the poss ib i l i t ies avai lable to
women in the i r da i ly l ives . The s i tua t ion of women is
a f fec ted by the degree of the i r autonomy or capaci ty to make
decis ions both ins ide and outs ide the i r own household .
"The pos i t ion of women in nor thern India i s notably
poor . Tradi t ional Hindu socie ty in nor thern rura l a reas i s
h ierarchica l and dominated by men, as evidenced by
marr iage cus toms. Nor th Indian Hindus are expected to
marry wi th in prescr ibed boundar ies : the br ide and groom
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must not be re la ted , they have no say in the mat ter , and the
man must l ive outs ide the woman 's na ta l v i l lage .
"Wife g ivers" are soc ia l ly and r i tua l ly infer ior to "wife
takers" , thus necess i ta t ing the provis ion of a dowry. Af ter
marr iage , the br ide moves in wi th her husband 's fami ly .
Such a br ide i s "a s t ranger in a s t range p lace ." They are
cont ro l led by the o lder females in the household , and the i r
behavior ref lec ts on the honor of the i r husbands . Because
emot ional t ies be tween spouses are considered a potent ia l
threa t to the sol idar i ty of the matr i l inea l group, the nor thern
sys tem tends to segregate the sexes and l imi t communica t ion
be tween spouses - a c i rcumstance tha t has d i rec t
consequences for fami ly p lanning and s imi lar "modern"
behaviors tha t a f fec t hea l th . A young Indian br ide i s brought
up to be l ieve tha t her own wishes and in teres ts a re
subordinate to those of her husband and his fami ly . The
pr imary duty of a newly marr ied young woman, and vi r tua l ly
her only means of improving her pos i t ion in the h ierarchy of
her husband 's household , i s to bear sons ."
Sonalde Desai points out tha t the percept ion tha t sons
are the major source of economic secur i ty in o ld age i s so
s t rong in the nor th tha t "many parents , whi le v is i t ing the i r
marr ied daughters , do not accept food or o ther hospi ta l i ty
f rom them. However , g iven women 's low independent
incomes and lack of cont ro l over the i r earnings , few can
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provide economic suppor t to the i r parents even i f parents
were wi l l ing to accept i t . "
In the south , in cont ras t , a daughter t radi t ional ly marr ies
her mother ' s brother or her mother ' s brother ' s son (her f i r s t
cous in) . Such an ar rangement has a dramat ic impact on
women. " In southern India , men are l ike ly to marry women
to whom they are re la ted , so tha t the s t r ic t d is t inc t ion found
in the nor th be tween matr i l inea l and mar i ta l re la t ives i s
absent . Women are l ike ly to be marr ied in to fami ly
households near the i r na ta l homes, and are more l ike ly to
re ta in c lose re la t ionships wi th the i r na ta l k in ."
"Over the pas t severa l decades , however , marr iage
pa t te rns have changed markedly . Socia l , economic , and
demographic developments have made marr iages be tween
c lose re la t ives less common, and the br ide pr ice has g iven
way to a dowry sys tem akin to tha t in the nor th .
Never the less , as long as the under ly ing e th ic of marr iage in
the south remains the re inforcement of exis t ing k inship t ies ,
the re la t ive ly favorable s i tua t ion of southern Indian women
is unl ike ly to be threa tened."
Divorce:
Divorce i s not a v iable opt ion .
Divorce i s ra re - i t i s a cons idered a shameful admiss ion
of a woman 's fa i lure as a wife and daughter - in- law. In 1990,
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divorced women made up a miniscule 0 .08 percent of the
to ta l female popula t ion .
Maintenance r ights of women in the case of d ivorce are
weak. Al though both Hindu and Musl im law recognize the
r ights of women and chi ldren to maintenance , in prac t ice ,
maintenance i s ra re ly se t a t a suff ic ient amount and i s
f requent ly v io la ted .
Both Hindu and Musl im personal laws fa i l to recognize
matr imonia l proper ty . Upon divorce , women have no r ights
to the i r home or to o ther proper ty accumula ted dur ing
marr iage; in ef fec t , the i r cont r ibut ions to the maintenance of
the fami ly and accumula t ion of fami ly asse ts go
unrecognized and unrewarded.
Job Impact on Maternal Health:
Working condit ions resul t in premature and
st i l lb irths
The tasks performed by women are usual ly those tha t
requi re them to be in one pos i t ion for long per iods of t ime,
which can adverse ly af fec t the i r reproduct ive heal th . A s tudy
in a r ice-growing bel t of coas ta l Maharasht ra found tha t 40
percent of a l l infant dea ths occurred in the months of Ju ly to
October . The s tudy a lso found tha t a major i ty of b i r ths were
e i ther premature or s t i l lb i r ths . The s tudy a t t r ibuted th is to
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the squat t ing pos i t ion tha t had to be assumed dur ing July
and August , the r ice t ransplant ing months .
Impact of Pol lut ion on Women:
Women's hea l th i s fur ther harmed by a i r and water
pol lu t ion and lack of sani ta t ion .
The impact of pol lu t ion and indust r ia l wastes on heal th
i s cons iderable . In Environment , Development and the
Gender Gap, Sandhya Venkateswaran asser ts tha t " the h igh
inc idence of malnut r i t ion present amongst women and the i r
low metabol ism and other hea l th problems af fec t the i r
capaci ty to dea l wi th chemical s t ress . The smoke f rom
household b iomass (made up of wood, dung and crop
res idues) s toves wi th in a three-hour per iod i s equivalent to
smoking 20 packs of c igare t tes . For women who spend a t
leas t three hours per day cooking, of ten in a poor ly
vent i la ted area , the impact inc ludes eye problems,
respi ra tory problems, chronic bronchi t i s and lung cancer .
One s tudy quoted by WHO in 1991 found tha t pregnant
women cooking over open biomass s toves had a lmost a 50
percent h igher chance of s t i l lb i r th .
Anemia makes a person more suscept ib le to carbon
monoxide toxic i ty , which i s one of the main pol lu tants in the
b iomass smoke. Given the number of Indian women who are
anemic - 25 to 30 percent in the reproduct ive age group and
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almost 50 percent in the th i rd t r imester - th is adds to the i r
vulnerabi l i ty to carbon monoxide toxic i ty .
Addi t ional ly , wi th an increas ing popula t ion , d iseases
caused by waste d isposa l , such as hookworm, are rampant .
People who work barefooted are par t icular ly suscept ib le , and
i t has been found tha t hookworm is d i rec t ly responsib le for
the h igh percentage of anemia among rura l women.
Women Are Uneducated:
Women and gi r l s rece ive far less educat ion than men,
due both to soc ia l norms and fears of v io lence .
India has the la rges t popula t ion of non-school-going
working g i r l s .
India ' s cons t i tu t ion guarantees f ree pr imary school
educat ion for both boys and gi r l s up to age 14. This goal has
been repeatedly reconf i rmed, but pr imary educat ion in India
i s not universa l . Overa l l , the l i te racy ra te for women is 39
percent versus 64 percent for men. The ra te for women in the
four la rge nor thern s ta tes - Bihar , Ut tar Pradesh, Rajas than
and Madhya Pradesh - i s lower than the na t ional average: i t
was 25 percent in 1991. At tendance ra tes f rom the 1981
census sugges t tha t no more than 1 /3 of a l l g i r l s (and a
lower propor t ion of rura l g i r l s ) aged 5-14 are a t tending
school .
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Although subs tant ia l progress has been achieved s ince
India won i t s independence in 1947, when less than 8
percent of females were l i te ra te , the ga ins have not been
rapid enough to keep pace wi th popula t ion growth: there
were 16 mi l l ion more i l l i te ra te females in 1991 than in 1981.
Sonalde Desai in Gender Inequal i t ies and Demographic
Behavior asser ts tha t "parents ' re luc tance to educate
daughters has i t s roots in the s i tua t ion of women. Parents
have severa l incent ives for not educat ing the i r daughters .
Foremost i s the v iew tha t educat ion of g i r l s br ings no
re turns to parents and tha t the i r fu ture ro les , be ing mainly
reproduct ive and perhaps inc luding agr icul tura l labor ,
requi re no formal educat ion . As more and more boys are
engaged in educat ion , there i s a growing re l iance on the
labor of g i r l s . Gir l s a re increas ingly replac ing the i r brothers
on the farm whi le car ry ing on the i r usual responsib i l i t ies in
housework. A large propor t ion of the roughly 40 mi l l ion
"nonworking" g i r l s who are not in school a re kept a t home
because of responsib i l i t ies in housework."
The ro le of parents i s to de l iver a chas te daughter to her
husband 's fami ly . Sonalde Desai goes on to point out tha t
"another d is incent ive for sending daughters to school i s a
concern for the protec t ion of the i r v i rg in i ty . When schools
are loca ted a t a d is tance , when teachers are male , and when
gi r l s a re expected to s tudy a long wi th boys , parents a re of ten
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unwil l ing to expose the i r daughters to the potent ia l assaul t
on the i r v i rg in i ty ."
There i s l i t t le response to counter these obs tac les :
school hours remain inf lexib le to the labor demands of g i r l s ;
many vi l lages do not have a school ; and fewer than 1 /3 of
India ' s pr imary and middle-school teachers are women.
According to Mapping Progress , "educat ional funds were
cut by 801.3 mi l l ion rupees in the 1991-92 budget . Funds for
the mass l i te racy movement , in which women par t ic ipa te
enthus ias t ica l ly , have been reduced by 5 percent f rom the
previous year . Budgetary provis ions for non-formal
educat ion have been cut by 17 percent , leading to c losure of
many night schools and adul t educat ion programs in which
working-c lass women par t ic ipa te . Reduct ion in government
expendi tures on h igher educat ion and encouragement to
pr iva te col leges wi l l reduce women 's oppor tuni t ies for
h igher educat ion s ince pr iva t iza t ion in educat ion promotes
only male-dominated profess ional and technica l courses , as
they are lucra t ive ."
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Women Are Overworked:
Women work longer hours and the i r work i s more
arduous than men 's . S t i l l , men repor t tha t "women, l ike
chi ldren , ea t and do nothing."
Hours worked
Women work roughly twice as many as many hours as
men.
Women's cont r ibut ion to agr icul ture - whether i t be
subs is tence farming or commercia l agr icul ture - when
measured in te rms of the number of tasks performed and
t ime spent , i s grea ter than men. "The extent of women 's
cont r ibut ion i s apt ly h ighl ighted by a micro s tudy conducted
in the Indian Himalayas which found tha t on a one-hectare
19
farm, a pa i r of bul locks works 1 ,064 hours , a man 1 ,212
hours and a woman 3 ,485 hours in a year ."
In Andhra Pradesh, (Mies 1986) found tha t the work day
of an woman agr icul tura l labourer dur ing the agr icul tura l
season las ts for 15 hours , f rom 4 am to 8 pm, wi th an hour ' s
res t in be tween. Her male counterpar t works for seven to
e ight hours , f rom 5 am to 10 am or 11 am and f rom 3 pm to 5
pm.
Another s tudy on t ime and energy spent by men and
women on agr icul tura l work (Bat l iwala 1982) found tha t 53
percent of the to ta l human hours per household are
cont r ibuted by women as compared to 31 percent by men.
The remaining cont r ibut ion comes f rom chi ldren .
The l inking of agr icul tura l ac t iv i t ies to male dominance
i s descr ibed by Roy Burman ( in Menon 1991) :
The anxie ty of man to monopol ize h is sk i l l in p lough
cul ture i s re f lec ted in the taboo tha t i s observed a lmost a l l
over India , agains t the women 's handl ing the p lough. In
many socie t ies , she i s not even a l lowed to touch i t .
Mies fur ther observed tha t "whereas opera t ions
performed by men were those tha t enta i led the use of
machinery and draught animals , thereby us ing animal ,
hydraul ic , mechanica l or e lec t r ica l energy, women a lmost
a lways re l ied on manual labour , us ing only the i r own
20
energy." Rice t ransplanta t ions , the most a rduous and labour
in tens ive task in r ice cul t iva t ion , i s car r ied out ent i re ly by
women wi thout the he lp of any tools .
"Gir l s learn to ass is t the i r mothers in a lmost a l l tasks ,
and f rom the age of 10 years par t ic ipa te fu l ly in the
agr icul tura l work done by women. Mies c i tes the case of
Laxmi , a three-year-old infant who, a long wi th her mother ,
pul led seedl ings for t ransplant ing . Boys on the o ther hand
were se ldom seen t ransplant ing or weeding though they d id
he lp out in p loughing or water ing the f ie lds ."
"Not only do women perform more tasks , the i r work i s
a lso more arduous than tha t under taken by men. Both
t ransplanta t ion and weeding requi re women to spend the
whole day and work in muddy soi l wi th the i r hands .
Moreover , they work the ent i re day under the in tense ly hot
sun whi le men 's work, such as p loughing and water ing the
f ie lds , i s invar iably carr ied out ear ly in the morning before
the sun ge ts too hot . Mies argues tha t because women 's
work, unl ike men 's , does not involve implements and i s
based la rge ly on human energy, i t i s cons idered unski l led
and hence less product ive . On th is bas is , women are
invar iably pa id lower wages , despi te the fac t tha t they work
harder and for longer hours than do men."
In cont ras t , a s tudy in Ut tar Pradesh repor ts tha t men
"only re luc tant ly conceded tha t the i r womenfolk rea l ly work.
21
The researchers in th is a rea were repeatedly to ld tha t
women, l ike chi ldren , s imply ea t food and do nothing."
The impact of technology on women:
The shi f t f rom subsis tence to a market economy has a
dramat ic negat ive impact on women.
According to Sandhya Venkateswaran, c i t ing Shiva , the
Green Revolut ion , which focused on increas ing y ie lds of r ice
and wheat , enta i led a sh i f t in inputs f rom human to
technica l . Women's par t ic ipa t ion , knowledge and inputs were
marginal ized , and the i r ro le sh i f t f rom being "pr imary
producers to subs id iary workers ."
Where technology has been in t roduced in areas where
women worked, women labourers have of ten been displaced
by men. Threshing of gra in was a lmost exclus ive ly a female
task , and wi th the in t roduct ion of automat ic gra in threshers -
which are only opera ted by men - women have los t an
impor tant source of income.
Combine harves ters leave v i r tua l ly no res idue . This
means tha t th is source of fodder i s no longer avai lable to
women, which has a dramat ic impact on women 's workload.
So too , as ca t t le dung i s be ing used as fer t i l izer , there i s less
avai lable for fue l for cooking.
22
Dominat ion by Men:
Empowerment wi l l not be ef fec t ive unt i l women enjoy
the same r ights as men. Gender inequi t ies and power
dynamics inherent ly involve both genders , so i t i s impor tant
tha t men are not excluded when i ssues af fec t ing women are
addressed. Sens i t iz ing females and males to these i ssues a t a
young age may reduce r i sky behaviors and vio lence whi le
enhancing informat ion-seeking behavior and female
autonomy. The Uni ted Nat ions Popula t ion Fund, The
Popula t ion Counci l , the Uni ted Nat ions Development Fund
for Women and other organiza t ions have s tar ted severa l
programs in India and throughout the wor ld to promote
const ruc t ive and
Heal thy re la t ionships these programs encourage men to
be suppor t ive par tners and take responsib i l i ty in i ssues of
sexual and reproduct ive heal th .
In India , these programs must promote the va lue of women
as people and reverse the concept of women as proper ty
t ransfer red a long wi th dowry f rom fa thers to husbands . More
must be done to examine the ef fec t of p lac ing responsib i l i ty
and blame for sexual ac t iv i ty , marr iage and reproduct ion
sole ly on the shoulders of women, whi le re l ieving men of
responsib i l i ty of sexual r i sk behaviors and vio lence .
Couples ' counsel ing , fami ly p lanning, and medica l tes t ing
23
and care provide another out le t to promote open
communica t ion be tween genders . Such programs can he lp
reduce the prac t ice of b laming women for infec t ions ,
infer t i l i ty and other sexual and fami ly i ssues , whi le
encouraging both par tners ' involvement in dec is ion-making.
Crime against women
Pol ice records show high inc idence of c r imes agains t
women in India . The Nat ional Cr ime Records Bureau
repor ted in 1998 tha t the growth ra te of c r imes agains t
women would be h igher than the popula t ion growth ra te by
2010 ear l ie r ; many cases were not regis tered wi th the pol ice
due to the socia l s t igma a t tached to rape and moles ta t ion
cases . Off ic ia l s ta t i s t ics show tha t there has been a dramat ic
increase in the number of repor ted cr imes agains t women.
Sexual Harassment:
24
Half of the to ta l number of c r imes agains t women
repor ted re la ted to moles ta t ion and harassment a t the
workplace . Eve teas ing i s a euphemism used for sexual
harassment or moles ta t ion of women by men. Many ac t iv is t s
b lame the r i s ing inc idents of sexual harassment agains t
women on the inf luence of "Western cul ture" . In 1987, The
Indecent Representa t ion of Women (Prohibi t ion) Act was
passed to prohibi t indecent representa t ion of women through
adver t i sements or in publ ica t ions , wr i t ings , pa in t ings ,
f igures or in any other manner .
In 1997, in a landmark judgement , the Supreme Cour t of
India took a s t rong s tand agains t sexual harassment of
women in the workplace . The Cour t a l so la id down deta i led
guidel ines for prevent ion and redressa l of gr ievances . The
Nat ional Commiss ion for Women subsequent ly e labora ted
these guidel ines in to a Code of Conduct for employers .
Dowry
Defini t ion of Dowry: - Dowry or Dahej i s the payment
in cash or /and kind by the br ide ' s fami ly to the br idegroom’s
fami ly a long wi th the g iv ing away of the br ide (ca l led
Kanyadaan) in Indian marr iage . Kanyadanam is an impor tant
par t of Hindu mar i ta l r i tes . Kanya means daughter , and