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INTRODUCTION

As Psychologist and sociologists point out- gender ,roles and expectations are assigned at
birth. As soon as people put the label on the child ‘girl’ or ‘boy’ they begin treating the child
in a stereotypical fashion . Though the Indian Constitution prohibits any kind of
discrimination on the ground of sex but discrimination against girl child continues to be
practiced in various parts of our Country in areas such as distribution of food in quality and
amount, education ,skill training,religion,employment etc.

GENDER STATISTICS

 As per Census 2011, the population of India is 1210.19 million comprising 586.47

million (48.5%) females and 623.72 million (51.5%) males.

 The sex ratio (number of women per 1000 men) is 940 in 2011 ‐ which shows continued

improvement over the sex ratios of 927 in 1991 and 933 in 2001. Among the States, in

Census 2011, Kerala has the highest sex ratio of ‐ 1084 and Haryana has the lowest of 877.

 46% of women are not involved in any kind of decision making. It is found that 32.7%

illiterate women, 21.6% unemployed women are not involved in any decision making.

 Cruelty by husband and relatives continues to occupy the highest share (43.4%) among the

crimes committed against women in 2011 followed by molestation (18.8%). 15.6% cases

are that of kidnapping, 10.6% of rape, 3.8% of dowry deaths and 3.7% of sexual

harassment. The highest conviction rate of 16.5% was observed for the crime ‘importation

of girls’ and the lowest of 4.0% for ‘indecent representation of women’.

CONCEPT OF GENDER

SEX VS GENDER:

 Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men

and women. Whereas,

 Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior,activities,and

attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
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 Thus, while sex is permanent and universal ,gender construction varies from

one society to another.

 To put in another way male and female are sex categories while Masculine and

Feminine are gender categories.

DEFINITION

 The WHO noted: "The word gender is used to describe the characteristics,

roles and responsibilities of women and men, boys and girls, which are socially

constructed. Gender is related to how we are perceived and expected to think

and act as women and men because of the way society is organized, not

because of our biological differences."

 Gender has been defined as: "The commonly shared expectations and norms

within a society about appropriate male and female behavior, characteristics

and roles. Gender can be considered a social and cultural construct that

differentiates females from males and thus defines the ways in which females

and males interact with each other. These roles and expectations are learned

and they can change over time as well as vary within and between cultures." --

( GR GUPTA).

ROLE OF GENDER

Gender role determines how a male or females should

think.speak,dress,and interact within the context of society.

 ▲ Women are expected to take care of the family and or domestic

duties and remain close to home. Mostly it is women who do the house

work like cooking,cleaning and washing etc. which are repetitive and

boring. Whereas-
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 ▲ All Men are expected to work and earn for the family.

 ▲Women have entire responsibility for child rearing

 ▲ Women have to look after older and sick people of the family.

 ▲ Women are always known by their father and husband name-they

have no individual identity.

All these works performed by a women is unpaid labour/work and it

has no economic value.

EXPLORING GENDER STEROTYPES

MEN WOMEN

Adventurous Patient

Brave Tolerant

Strong Forgiving

Hard tough Motherly

Manly Sacrificing

Intelligent, Handsome Beautiful,soft,loving

Breadwinner Caring

Hardworking Adjusting, quiet

Independent Sympathetic

Angry Cries easily

REASONS FOR GENDER

INEQUALITIES
 The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy
system. According to the famous sociologists Sylvia Walby, patriarchy is “a
system of social structure and practices in which men dominate, oppress and
exploit women”.
 The unfortunate part of gender inequality in our society is that the women
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too, continued socio-cultural conditioning, have accepted their subordinate

position to men. And they are also part and parcel of same patriarchal
system.
 ● Extreme poverty and lack of education are also some of the reasons for
women’s low status in society. This has become a major form of inequality
on the basis of gender.
 ● Lack of punishment for perpetrators of violence.
 ● Lack of safe spaces for women and girls, which can be physical or virtual
meeting spaces that allow free expression and communication; a place to
develop friendships and social networks, engage with mentors and seek
advice from a supportive environment.
GENDER SENSITIVE ISSUES
FEMALE FOETICIDE AND INFANTICIDE.
Another form of eliminating the girl child has been the practice of female
infanticide. It is a deliberate and intentional act of killing a female child within one
year of its birth either directly by using poisonous organic and inorganic chemicals
or indirectly by deliberate neglect to feed the infant by either one of the parents or
other family members or neighbours or by the midwife. Kolloor (1990) defines
infanticide as, “Killing of an entirely dependent child under “one year of age” who
is killed by mother, parents or others in whose care the child is entrusted”. It is
unfortunate that the parents also view her as a liability. This attitude is rooted in a
complex set of social, cultural, and economic factors. It is the dowry system, lack
of economic independence, social customs and traditions that have relegated the
female to a secondary status.
Sex selective abortions cases have become a significant social phenomenon
in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and communities and even
the North South dichotomy. The girl children become target of attack even before
they are born. Diaz, (1988) states that in a well-known Abortion Centre in
Mumbai, after undertaking the sex determination tests, out of the 15,914 abortions
performed during 1984-85 almost 100 per cent were those of girl foetuses.
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Similarly, a survey report of women’s centre in Mumbai found that out of 8,000
foetuses aborted in six city hospitals 7,999 foetuses were of girls (Gangrade, 1988:
63-70). It is reported that about 4,000 female babies are aborted in Tamil Nadu
(southern India) every year. Sex determination tests are widely resorted to even in
the remotest rural areas. Since most deliveries in rural areas take place at home
there is no record of the exact number of births/deaths that take place. Therefore, it
is difficult to assess the magnitude of the problem.
INEQUALITY IN HEALTH CARE
 Women receive less healthcare facilities than men.
 Women in developing countries face great health risks such as maternal mortality,
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as AIDS, and malnutrition. Women in developing

countries have an 80 to 60 percent higher death rate when giving birth than do women in
developed countries. The reasons include giving birth without knowledgeable help,

lack of emergency backup medical care, anaemia, and malnutrition.

INEQUALITY IN NUTRITION

Women typically have limited access to land, education, information, credit, technology, and
decision-making forums. They have the primary responsibility for child rearing and rely on
developed social networks that act as an informal safety net for the family in times of crisis.
When involved in formal employment, they typically command lower remuneration rates
than their male colleagues, even when they hold the same skills. Because of their triple
burden of productive, reproductive, and social roles, women also tend to have less time to
attend to their own needs, leisure related or otherwise. Poor female nutrition early in life
reduces learning potential, increases reproductive and maternal health risks, and lowers

productivity. This situation contributes to women’s diminished ability to gain access to other
assets later in life and undermines attempts to eliminate gender inequalities. In essence,
women with poor nutrition are caught in a vicious circle of poverty and undernutrition.

INEQUALITY IN ACCESS TO EDUCATION:

It has been seen that women receives less education than men. Only 18 per cent of women
between 15 and 24 years of age can read. . Also a woman's perception of increased social
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status and power is dependent on her education and occupation. Programs which provide a
meal for children who attend school lead to an increase of girls attendance at school.

 INEQUALITY IN RELIGION.

Most religions elevate the status of men over women, have stricter sanctions against women,
and require them to be submissive. While there has been changes towards equality, religions
overall still lag the rest of society in addressing gender issues. There are fundamentalists
within every religion who actively resist change. There is often a dualism within a religion
that exalts women on the one hand, while demanding more rigorous displays of devotion on
the other. This leads some feminists to see religion as the last barrier for female
emancipation.

INEQUALITY IN EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY:-

Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, according to the United nations
Millennium Campaign to halve world poverty by the year 2015. The overwhelming majority
of the labor that sustains life growing food, cooking,raising children, caring for the elderly
maintaining a house, hauling water is done by women. Universally this work is accorded low
status and no pay.Women earn only 10 percent of the world’s income. Lower
income,unregulated and insecure work and a lack of economic security makes women

more dependent and places them at greater risk of impoverishment and violence. This is
particularly true in developing countries, where economic inequalities are often even more
pronounced.

INEQUALITY IN RIGHT TO DIVORCE.

 VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE:-NCRB records that the highest percentage of crime against

women is torture (37.7%) followed by Moleslation (22.4%), Rape (11.8%),
Kidnapping(8.8%) and immoral traffic (3.7%).

 WIFE-BEATING:

SEXUAL HARRASMENT:

Sexual harassment is another form of intimidation used against women. Rape is also a
common occurrence worldwide. Females are kidnapped or lured to other countries by
promises of good employment and then are forced into prostitution Two million girls
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between the ages of 5-15 are introduced into the commercial sex market each year. Women
are raped by their husbands because it is believed a woman should submit to sex whenever
the man wishes it.Men harass women to show power. Women's careers are endangered

by harassment; if they refuse or report the harassment, they could lose their jobs.

DOWRY

 INEQAULITY IN POLITICS

CLOTHING INEQUALITY.

GENDER SENSITIVITY

 Gender sensitivity is the awareness and insight into the state of other sex with reference to
historical roots of sexiest stero-typing,discrimination and violence. Another definition would
be the awareness and acceptance of the roles and duties of each as expected from them and
from the people that they work with.Gender sensitivity is an integral part of decision making
in industrialized countries where there is a growing number of female headed households,
especially in the urban setting.

However, Gender Sensitivity is not about pitting women against men. An education that is
gender sensitive benefits members of both sexes.

PROMOTE GENDER SENSITIVE EDUCATION

 Universal Primary Education (UPE) was launched in 1997. The policy emphasises equal
opportunity for both boys and girls. It focuses on promoting gender parity in enrolment,
retention, and performance in primary education.As a result of this, girls’ enrolment in
primary schools has increased from 46 % in 1997 to 48 % in 1999

 The National Strategy for Girls Education (NSGE) was launched to foster gender parity in
education.It acts as a master plan for use by all stakeholders in girls’ education

 The Promotion of Girls Education (PGE) scheme aims at improving girls’ retention and
performance at school.

The Equity in the Classroom (EIC) Programme aims at facilitating equal participation of
girls and boys in the classroom. It is a USAID funded program that provides

Technical Assistance and Training workshops whose great target is to increase girls’
classroom participation and completion of primary school. It is in line with the MoES’
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mission to “provide quality education to all. Teachers have been sensitised to change any
negative attitudes towards girls’ education and adopt methods to promote equity in the

classroom.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

‘’ Wherever Women is respected, God resides there’’- Vedic verse.

For centuries women were not treated equal to men in many ways.They were not allowed
to own property,they did not have a share in the property of their parents, they had no
freedom to choose their work or job and so on. Now, we have to come out of these
oppression

of women there is a need for strong movement to fight for the rights of the women and to
ensure that they get all the rights which men have or in other words a movement for the
empowerment of women.

RIGHTS OF WOMEN:

 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE 1973:- Under this a legitimate wife can claim
maintenance ,if her husband is living with another women and he has neglected to maintain

her.

 → HINDU LAW:- Under Hindu law women have been given right of marriage ,divorce,
maintenance,adoption rights which were denied to her earlier and right in the ancestral

property and father’s self acquired property.

 DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT (1961) :- Under this Act, women have been given special
rights.If any unnatural death takes place of bride within 7 years of a marriage,it is presumed
to be dowry death unless proved other wise. The punishment is imprisonment of not less

than 7 years and it Can get extended to the remaining period of life.

 →FACTORIES ACT (1948) :- To protect women labourers ,it is the protection given to
women labourers that they should not be employed near hazardous machines.

→ MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT (1961) :- As per this Act women can have a maternity
leave of 12 weeks which she can take before or after delivery. In 2016 Maternity Amendment
Bill was passed which increased the maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks. While there is
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already a provision of 26-week or 6-month maternity leave for the government employees,
most private sector firms offer maximum three months of such leave.

DEFINITIONS:

 The manifestation of redistribution of power that challenges patriarchal ideology and male
dominance –Chandra (1997)

 ● Empowerment is an active process of enabling women to realize their

identity,potentiality and power in all spheres of their lives.---- Sharma (1992)

 ● Women empowerment is the process by which women strengthens their

capacity,individuality,and collectively to identify,understand and overcome gender

discrimination thus taking control of their lives — Arrow

Historical Background of Women

Empowerment in India

THE VEDIC AGE

MUGHAL PERIOD/BRITISH RULE

AFTER INDEPENDENCE

REASONS FOR CHOICE OF WOMEN FOR EMPOWERMENT:

Willingness to be empowered by the women.

 Interested to lead a meaning ful life with productivity.

 Need of stronger position to support others and to make substantial contribution to

society

PRE-REQUISITES OF EMPOWERMENT

Active participation in social economic and political spheres.

Desired Self-respect.

Social dignity.

EMPOWERING WOMEN IN DIFFERENT ASPECT

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DECISION MAKING :

 In terms of decision-making NFHS II had reported in the rural areas women take
71%decisions regarding "what items to cook" 26% decisions regarding obtaining health care
for herself 10% in purchasing jewellery or other major household items. 12% decisions
weretaken by women with reference to staying with their parents or siblings and 37% about
how to spend money,which they had earned. In the urban areas these figures were 71%,
35%,13%,18% and 57% respectively. Women between ages 15 to 19 nearly 24% are not

involved in any kind of decision-making. only. 14% do not ask permission to go to the
market.In rural sector 10% are involved with any decision-making and 74% need permission
for going to the market. In urban sector however only 7% are not involved with any decision
making and 53% need permission for going to the market

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:-

 UNDP advances women’s economic empowerment by:

 Advocating for increased recognition, reduction and redistribution of women’s unpaid

care work

 Supporting women’s entrepreneurship through training in production skills and

techniques, business management and functional literacy;

 Supporting efforts to strengthen women’s legal rights to property.

EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT:

 Education is a powerful tool of social transformation.Hence,education for women has to

be paid special attention

 Universalisation of education eradicate illiteracy,also improve vocational, technical skills

 For educational development Central Government is providing financial assistance under

planned schemes to establish schools and colleges exclusively for girls in backward states

HEALTH And NUTRITION

MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL- 3 (PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND

EMPOWER WOMEN )

Three indicators of assessment:

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• Eliminate gender disparities in education;

• Increase women’s economic independence and access to economic resources;

• Increase women’s participation in and influence on political decision-making

NATIONAL POLICIES FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:

 FIFTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1974-78) has marked a shift in the approach to women issues
from welfare to development .In recent years the empowerment of women has been
recognized as the central issue in determining the status of women.The 73rd and 74th
Amendments (1993) of the constitution of India has provided for reservation of seats in the
local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women.

 Seventh Five-Year Plan emphasised provision of gainful employment to women and

youth.

 NINTH & TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN gave special attention to the empowerment of
women as the agent of social change and development.

 The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY):This Yojana has been conceived as a
comprehensive programme of self employment, through organisation of the rural poor into
self-help groups and their capacity building.Govt. is providing several opportunities to
women led SHGS and Swarojagar is to market their products without any middleman to
urban consumers. Thus helps in improving their professional skills, promoting marketing
technology and developing entrepreneurship amongst the rural entrepreneurs

 The Indira Awas Yojana (IAY):- Its aims at providing assistance for construction of
houses for people below the poverty lines in rural areas. Under this scheme, priority is
extended to widows and unmarried women. It is stipulated that IAY houses are to be allotted
in the name of women members of the household or alternatively, in the joint names of
husband and wife.

 Rashtriya Mahilakosh (RMK):It was constituted in 1993, by the Govt. to facilitate credit
support or microfinance to poor women for income generating activities. RMK offers support
to develop and stabilize Self Help Groups (SHGs) and to conduct awareness programmes

 Training for Rural Youth and Self Employment (TRYSEM) :- Under this programme
action is being taken to provide technical skills and upgrades the traditional skills of rural
youth and finances are given for self-employment. The Ninth plan (1997-2002) specifically
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stipulated identifying “Women component plans” for which at least 30% of funds should
flow to women development schemes

 All India Women’s Education Fund Association: Its aim is to promote education of
women and girls in India while the federation of university women wants to stimulate the
interest of university women in academic, cultural and civic life.

 BALIKA SAMRIDDHI YOJANA :- Started on 1997 target is BPL girls

 National commission for Women:- This Act was set-up in 1990 to sage-guard the

rights and legal entitlements of Women.

NGO’S IN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

 AWAKE (Association of women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka) – 1983- Aim to

promote entrepreneurship among and there by empower them economically and

improving social status.

 SEWA ( Self –employed Women Association)- 1972- It is an organization of poor ,self-

employed women worker who earn diving through their own labour or small business.
 OXFAM (Oxford committee for family relief ) 1951- Its area of concern is –

poverty, economic justice, gender injustice etc.

CONCLUSION

Equality or non-discrimination is that state where every individual gets equal opportunities
and rights. Every individual of the society yearns for equal status, opportunity, and rights.
However, it is a general observation that there exists lots of discrimination between humans.
Discrimination exists because of cultural differences, geographical differences, and gender.
Inequality based on gender is a concern that is prevalent in the entire world. Even in the 21st
century, across globe men and women do not enjoy equal privileges. Gender equality means
providing equal opportunities to both men and women in political, economic, education and
health aspects.

BIBLIOGRAPHY