December 11, 2006 : The Story of the SOWC in IndiaBrief Outline Gender Issues in India – The Challenges (a Vicious Lifecycle): 1st Intervention Girls Education. But that’s not where it ends… Solutions: Equality in the Household A Roadmap to Gender Equality Seven milestones… Discrimination of women based on their gender occurs throughout their lifecycle.Survival is the first challenge. SEX RATIO: India is one of the few countries worldwide with an adverse child sex ratio in favor of boys. In 80% of districts in India the situation is getting worse. For example, in 14 districts of Haryana and Punjab, there are even fewer than 800 girls per 1000 boys. These are some of the most affluent areas of India, with a higher level of access to advanced prenatal diagnostic techniques, leading to widespread termination of the female foetus. While the PNDT (Pre-Natal Diagnostic Testing) Act has passed in India in 1994, enforcement has been lagging with only one conviction to date. INFANT MORTALITY: There are also gender differentials in infant mortality, which is the death of children under age one. After birth, son-preference continues to persist leading to the neglect of girls and their lack of access to nutrition, health and maternal care in these critical early years. MATERNAL MORTALITY: In the year 2000, India alone accounted for one quarter of maternal deaths worldwide. Today, one woman dies every seven minutes from a pregnancy related cause, which indicates progress over the last five years. However, constraints to this progress include high rates of anaemia amongst pregnant women and low proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel. For example, in Assam, 72% of pregnant women aged 15-49 are anaemic. In Jharkand, only 28.7% of births are attended by skilled health personnel. EARLY MARRIAGE: Early age of marriage is also a contributing factor to maternal mortality, as it results in early pregnancy with girls giving birth before their bodies are sufficiently mature. In India, 45% of women are still being forced into marriage before the age of 18 in violation of the law. Globally, girls under 15 are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and child birth than women in their 20’s. In Indian states like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the average age a woman gives birth for the first time is before she reaches nineteen. EDUCATION: Education provides a vital entry point into changing social norms that discriminate against females and it is a platform for securing equal opportunities. If a household only has one girl child the likelihood of her being sent to school is 56%. The bigger the family, and the more boys in it, the less likely the girls are to go school. Keeping girls in school also has many long term benefits. Female secondary schooling delays the age of marriage and provides women with the knowledge to secure their children’s well-being in the form of improved childcare. For example, in India, for those who are illiterate, the average age of marriage is 17.6 years. For graduates and above the average age is 22.6 years. Over the past 15-20 years there has been a rapid increase in the rates of enrolment in and completion of girls in primary schools, clearly indicating a demand. However, the transition to post primary education for girls is poor. If there are no toilets and there is a ten mile walk that is insecure, the likelihood of parents allowing their adolescent daughters to continue their schooling is low. The lack of female teachers also serves as a major disincentive, given that parents are often more comfortable sending girls to a classroom with a female teacher. In the Indian context, gender disadvantage intensifies with other forms of social inequality, and education provides an important reminder of the stark reality. In Scheduled Tribe communities only 54% of females go to school, whereas 77% of boys from the general population go to school. Another striking comparison is the rate of primary school completion, which is 68% for boys from the general population, as compared to 48% for an ST girl.
The Way Forward As the State of the World’s Children Report argues, the way forward is empowering women, and there are three critical domains in which change needs to take place.Gender Equality in Household Decision-making Family and other social structures in India place significant responsibilities on women to care for their families without the rights of decision-making within the home. For example, evidence from Rajasthan and Gujarat shows that the decision to go to the healthcare center is often not a woman’s own decision, but is taken by her husband or mother-in-law. In the case of women who have pregnancy-related complications, their lack of decision-making power can cost them their lives. Economic security is also a critical factor that can contribute to women’s greater status within the home and community. In India, micro-credit initiatives offer women an important window for collective action and economic empowerment. They enable women to get independent income, build up assets and improve their financial security, thereby enhancing their position and gaining them respect and voice. Gender Equality in Employment Women in India are primarily responsible for child care and household responsibilities. In rural India, agricultural work performed by women is often unpaid. Opportunities for non-agricultural employment remain very low. 86% of non agricultural women workers are in the informal sector, which involves difficult working conditions, long hours, lack of benefits and no job security. Furthermore, there is a severe gap in wages between men and women who do the same work, making women economically undervalued. Gender Equality in Politics and Government Women’s involvement in politics – whether local or national – can help advance legislation that is more focused on women, children and families. When women lack a voice in politics, powerful advocates for children remain unheard. In India, 33% of Panchayat leadership positions are reserved for women. Villages led by women in West Bengal achieved twice the investment in drinking water, increased visits by health workers, and a 13 % decrease in gender gap in school attendance as compared to other villages. Building the capacity of women panchayat leaders is a key strategy, as most women leaders are entering public spaces in a position of authority for the first time. Nationwide, there is a movement favoring the same 33% quota for women in the national parliament. At the present time, only 8.3% of parliament members in the lower house are women. Conclusion All in all, achieving gender equality in the home, in the work place and in the political arena, are the three key objectives that can have a profound improvement on social development. And the process begins by significantly changing attitudes towards women and giving them access to the services they would otherwise be excluded from, such as reproductive health services and quality education. Education: Improving the quality of schooling, securing gender parity in secondary education and increasing the proportion of women teachers from the current level of 20% to at least 50% are all critical strategies for realizing gender equality through education. Financing: The Government of India is making significant steps towards gender budgeting. Legislation: In India, there is impressive legislation on key development issues affecting women and children but poor enforcement. For example, marriage laws specifying the legal age of marriage as well as progressive inheritance and property right laws remain on paper and require strong advocacy and awareness campaigns to become a reality. Legislative Quotas: In local governance, women’s quotas have been fulfilled beyond 33%. To date they are around 40%. The role of quotas in breaking the political glass ceiling is irrefutable. Women Empowering Women: Giving women spaces to organize and collectively reflect on their rights is an important way for them to impact the decisions that affect their lives and their children. We need to systematically promote more SHGs in all states. Engaging Men & Boys: There are many powerful examples in India where men are allies of women. In Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, men who were sensitized to women’s issues set up a program to safely escort women through a dangerous pathway on the way to school. In Dholpur, Rajasthan, women can call a helpline in which taxi drivers then take them to an institution for a safe delivery. Sometimes the taxi drivers even donate blood in times of need. Bringing men into debates and action for gender equality is a critical strategy that needs far more support. Improve Research & Data: While disaggregated data is available for most of the national data sources, there is a need to identify and fill gaps in such data, for example, gender specific disaggregated data on under five mortality and neo-natal mortality.
India SOWC Factsheet |
