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| Female Force in India | | | Dr. Vikas Jamwal
The gender roles that we instill within our children in the family provide the legitimacy to the social beliefs which further strengthen through different social values created for men and women, which govern our behavior, for example a woman always sacrifices for the family, men should be ready to sacrifice their lives for the honour of Motherland, etc. Other institutions, systems, laws, jurisprudence, policies and of course religion and culture devise different norms of conduct for men and women and therefore they are called gender norms. Based on these norms, gender roles are devised. The strategies for making women more empowered in any planned action, including legislation, policies, and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres are in full swing to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equality, and to improve the quality life of women both at home and work place. The lack of leadership, ill political will, and gender inequality deeply rooted in our society making us difficult to understand, and address the women rights with concern and respect.
Normally gender does not indicate a hierarchy but in actual practice men and women do not have equal access and control over various kinds of resources and strict hierarchy exists between the two which is clearly evident in Indian society in the form of female feticide among developed states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Gujrat. The biological and social construction of gender disparities in India and in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has its own implications: The sex ratio in India as per last survey done in 2001 is 933/ 1000; J&K is having this figure as 900. The most progressive states and union territories of India are surprisingly touching low like Punjab with 874, Chandigarh 773, Delhi 821, while Daman & Diu got the distinction with lowest record figures of 709. The states in the Fareast of our country like Manipur with 978, Meghalaya 975, Tripura 950, and Mizoram with 938 give a sense of satisfaction with a guarantee in future for growth of female population. However, states like Kerala with the ratio of 1058 and Union territory like Pondicherry with 1001 reflect the gender based images, values and beliefs of inhabitants for their role performance to lessen the gap of gender disparities in a country like India.
The subordinate status of women in society deeply influences their health status; particularly maternal health remains poor, throughout the third world including India. The primary role of women in our society is to marry within her caste, expected to give birth to a child, especially to a male child to continue the progeny of her husband. The principal responsibility of a woman in many societies including our own is usually restricted to childbearing. The over emphasis on one biological aspect has led to such situations as early marriage and repeated childbearing and its attendant complications. Challenging the birth right of every baby to be born, the Son preference, another strong trait of Indian society has led to heinous practice of sex-selective, repeated abortion and its serious complications. Women who do not give birth to male child are looked down upon, in fact such women considered as fallen woman and many communities socially ostracized them.
Women’s workload in many places is considered minimal, but a careful daily analysis reveals that women hardly have a moment to spare in the course of the entire day while men are entitled to their share of relaxation after a day’s hard work. However, in the formulation of the Gross National Product, the contribution that is made primarily by women to the national economy remains invisible because it is not considered “work” in the economic senses of the world, but is seen as a part of their natural function derived from their role as reproducer of human species. The reproductive role with stereotypes that assigns them certain types of work is less valued socially, because it is the work “of women”. Many work in the area of production of goods and services, such in the area of health and primary school education; have also divided in accordance with gender roles. Women‘s increased access to employment is only to work a part –time nature, and women’s wages remain often less than men’s. The early gains made in terms of improved access of girls and women to education have not empowered or translate them into benefits in terms of increased employment opportunities.
The next aspect of women oppression is the ugly form of violence against them which exists on a continuum, from domestic violence in the privacy of the home, to violence as a weapon of war, where rape and other forms of sexual exploitation committed against women are now acknowledged as a crime against humanity. In a developing nation like India women are at risk of violence when carrying out essential daily activities-walking in open or taking public transport to work or way back home- especially when these activities are undertaken early in the morning or late at night. They are not safe even in police custody, where the number of rapes and incidence of sexual harassments are more than in any public office. Recently the brutal attack on women in a pub in a cosmopolitan and well advanced city like Mangalore by some religious fundamentalists left many in shock and moreover the government and different commissions made matter worse surprisingly, by letting all culprits walk free. Frankly speaking, I felt ashamed as an Indian like never before. The vulnerable group of poor and less privileged women and girls are subject to the exploitation at work place in the form of sexual slavery and at home as a domestic help. The problem of enforced prostitution and trafficking has raised the risk of deadly diseases, as estimated that almost 50 percent of those living with HIV and AIDS are now women as they have little means to protect themselves from infection.
Despite global recognition of the fundamental right of women and men to participate equally in political and public life, women is underrepresented at the most levels of government and have made slow progress in attaining political powers in legislative bodies. India, the largest democracy in the world has made some effective policies to increase women’s political participation in local elections which led to significant increase in women’s presence in local offices. ‘Madam’ Sonia, ‘Behan’ Mayawati, ‘Didi’ Mamta, ‘Amma’ Jayalalita, ‘Beti’ Meera Kumar and ‘Bahurani’ now the first citizen of India Mrs. Pratibha patil reflects the India we live in today. Where they have tremendous positive impacts on democratic governance with an illustration of the important leadership roles women play in Indian politics and offer much needed inspiration for all of us. Currently the highest percentage of women MP’s in the parliament since the birth of republic has recognized the importance of, including women, in participation of reconstruction and rebuilding democratic institution of Indian politics. Still this is a tip of iceberg and a lot need to be done to allow more women participation in big political arena by mobilizing the information and communication technologies in support of addressing the women empowerment in parliament and good governance.
The overall little change in some critical areas and very slow progress in women’s health and empowerment have negative impacts on developments outcomes. The main constraints to moving forward are not the effective application and recommendation of policy framework for gender equality and empowerment of women already in place. The platform for action contains many critical commitments, clear accountability from our political leadership which has yet to be implemented in practice at national level. What criteria make an Indian woman to move forward her concerns to achieve the possible goals of gender equality, empowerment and to bring women from different groups together? Very simple, they must take charge in their own hands in concrete action by exercising their right of voting only to the deserving female candidates and the parties which give maximum representation to women in the election fray and in party structures. Only a woman can empower a woman, as she remains the biggest enemy of her journey from “womb to tomb” in terms of gender discrimination, otherwise the law, lesson and literature focusing and fixing norms for women empowerment are as good as monsoons in Mumbai; when city is waterlogged but still short to provide a single drop to drink.
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