Rural Production and Livelihood Systems

Women in Rural India: A Fact Sheet

Submitted to : Submitted by:

Prof Niraj Kumar Nikhil Kumar(27)

Sanjana Prabala(52)

PGPRM-I

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

HISTORY

In ancient India, women occupied a very important position with, in fact a superior
position to, man. Of the several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture,
one of the greatest is the honoured place ascribed to women. The worth of a civilization
can be judged from the position that it gives to women. Manu, the great law-giver, said
long ago, 'where women are honored there reside the gods'. According to ancient Hindu
scriptures no religious rite can be performed with perfection by a man without the
participation of his wife. Married men along with their wives were allowed to perform
sacred rites on the occasion of various important festivals. Wives were thus befittingly
called 'Ardhangani' (betterhalf). They were given not only important but equal position
with men. Later, however, the position of women started deteriorating, due to the Mughal
invasion. During the Muslim period, they were deprived of their rights. They were
compelled to keep themselves within the four walls of their houses with a long veil on
their faces. The conservative regimes of Iran and Pakistan, for example, have withdrawn
the liberties given to women folk by the previous liberal governments. Even in India the
Muslim women are far more backward than their Hindu, Christian and Sikh counterparts.
The women are, as a matter of fact, regarded as captive and saleable commodities in
Muslim families. One man is allowed to have many wives with the easiest provision of
divorce. The husband can divorce a wife just by saying 'I divorce you' under the
provision of Muslim laws.. Even in this last phase of the twentieth century rich and
prosperous men of Islamic countries keep scores of wives in their harems. It was the
natural outcome of the Muslim subjugation of India that woman was relegated to a
plaything of man, an ornament to decorate the drawing room.

Status, as the relative position of female with respect to male should be the same, but it is
not so. An inferior status is ascribed to women. Given the inferior status to women, it
turns to be the source of gender biases- implicit and explicit in different forms. Women
participation in development is also not free of gender biases. In the development
process, gender bias takes the form of alienation of women from mainstream, lesser or no
benefits to their efforts in terms of return or recognition, discriminatory policies and
programme, no control over resources and regulatory institutions including education,
employment and technology and even physical drudgery. The Indian constitution grants
women equal rights with men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist, with women’s
lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In most Indian families, a daughter is
viewed as a liability, and she is conditioned to believe that she is inferior and subordinate
to men.

The origin of the Indian idea of appropriate female behavior can be traced to the rules
laid down by Manu in 200 B.C.: "by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an
aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house". "In
childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her
lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent."

INTRODUCTION

India, with a population of 1027million, is the world’s second most populous country. Of
that number, 120 million are women who live in poverty. 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. The current
sex ratio is 933 women per 1000 males.

There seems to be a consensus that higher female mortality between ages one and five
and high. The deaths of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000
each year, and every sixth infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination. Of the
15 million baby girls born in India each year, nearly 25 percent will not live to see their
15th birthday. Although India was the first country to announce an official family
planning program in 1952, its population grew from 361 million in 1951 to 844 million in
1991. India’s total fertility rate of 3.8 births per woman can be considered moderate by
world standards, but the sheer magnitude of population increase has resulted in such a
feeling of urgency that containment of population growth is listed as one of the six most
important objectives in the Eighth Five-Year Plan.

The persistence of hunger and abject poverty in India and other parts of the world is due
in large measure to the subjugation, marginalization and disempowerment of women.
Women suffer from hunger and poverty in greater numbers and to a greater degree then
men. At the same time, it is women who bear the primary responsibility for actions
needed to end hunger: education, nutrition, health and family income. They are more
vulnerable, malnourished and prone to diseases which ultimately limit their ability even
to work. The poorer the family, the greater is its dependence on the women’s income.
Thus enhancing women’s economic productivity is an important.

Vicious Cycle of Rural Women

Undernourished women
& unhealthy environment
 Male children get High infant mortality
more care

Men more important

Unhealthy children

Women out of work

force Need for more
children

Women constantly
pregnant

The above cycle represents the vicious cycle of poverty of women, how one factor leads
to another. In rural poor households, it is generally women who suffer from greater
deprivation. The female headed households are increasing and a majority of these
families live below poverty line. These households also suffer from other social
deprivations which further reduce their access to development opportunities. They are
indeed among the poorest sections of Indian society, with the lowest wage levels and the
highest unemployment. Female casual labourers in rural areas have the highest incidence
of poverty, majority of them are unskilled and illiterate. Consequently they are more
vulnerable, malnourished and prone to diseases which ultimately limit their ability even
to work. The poorer the family, the greater is its dependence on the women’s income.
Thus enhancing women’s economic productivity is an important.

Looking through the lens of hunger and poverty, there are seven major areas of
discrimination against rural women in India:
 Malnutrition: India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because
tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when
pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children,
perpetuating the cycle.
 Poor Health: Females receive less health care than males. Many women die in
childbirth of easily prevented complications. Working conditions and environmental
pollution further impairs women's health.
 Lack of education: Families are far less likely to educate girls than boys, and far
more likely to pull them out of school, either to help out at home or from fear of violence.
 Overwork: Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men's,
yet their work is unrecognized. Men report that "women, like children, eat and do
nothing." Technological progress in agriculture has had a negative impact on women.
 Unskilled: In women's primary employment sector - agriculture - extension
services overlook women.
 Mistreatment: In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against
women in India, in terms of rapes, assaults and dowry-related murders. Fear of violence
suppresses the aspirations of all women. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortions
are additional forms of violence that reflect the devaluing of females in Indian society.
 Powerlessness: While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution,
legal protection has little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Women
lack power to decide who they will marry, and are often married off as children. Legal
loopholes are used to deny women inheritance rights.

Position of women in India: An overview

Women population in India

According to the Census Reports, the total population of India in the year 2001 was
1027.02 millions. Out of which women constitute of 495.74 millions. Looking at rural
population which consists of 718.87 millions with 348.11 millions women, make up
69.99% of the total population. Comparing the previous Census Reports we can find that
the female population has increased by 26.5% in the previous decade. Comparing the sex
ratio we can see that it declined in 1991 but increased in 2001. In table 1.1, a comparison
between the census reports of different decade has been provided.
Table 1.1
Census Reports (1981-2001)

Population (in millions) 1981 1991 2001

Total Population 683.33 844.32 1027.02

Male 349.93 437.81 531.28
Female 321.35 406.48 495.74

Rural Population 525.00 627.00 718.87

Male 269.00 323.00 370.76
Female 256.00 304.00 348.11

Sex Ratio (Female/1000 Males) 933.00 927.00 933.00

Source: Census 1981, 1991 & 2001

Rural Women and Employment

In our country, over 400 million persons are engaged in organized or unorganized sector
and contributing to the GDP of the country. Female worker comprises of 11.98% of the
working population of the country. Of the total working population around 60.42% has
been engaged in primary sector, 17.49% in secondary sector and 22.09% in tertiary
sector. Most of the females are into the agriculture sector as laborers and cultivators.
Table 1.2 and 1.3 gives the total idea of the working population in different sectors.
Distribution of Workers by sectors (Figures %) in 2001
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Total 60.42 17.49 22.09
Rural 76.24 11.82 11.95
Urban 8.69 33.95 57.36
Source: NSSO.

Number of main workers by Industrial Categories and Sex (1991)

Main workers Total persons (%) Male (%) Female (%)
Cultivators 38.41 39.63 34.22
Agricultural labourers 26.00 21.00 45.00
Livestocks, 2.00 2.00 2.00
fisheries,forestry,etc.
Mining 1.00 1.00 0.33
Manufacturing & others 2.00 2.00 3.50
Other than household 8.00 9.00 4.00
industries.
Constructions 2.00 2.00 1.00
Trade & conveyance 7.00 9.00 2.00
Transport, storage 3.00 3.00 .32
&Communication
Other services 10.00 11.00 8.00
Source: 1991 census, Excluding Assam, Jammu & Kashmir.

Women workers in Rural India-1999-2000

Sector Description No of women workers (%)
Primary Sectors 85.3
Mining and quarrying 0.3
Manufacturing 7.6

Construction 1.1
Secondary sector 9.0
Trade, Hotelling etc. 2.0
Transport and communication 0.1
Services 3.6
Tertiary Sector 5.7
All Non-Agricultural 13.7
Source: NSSO

Rural Women in Farm Sector:

According to the official estimates, one third of the agriculture labour force and nearly
half of self employed farmers are women. In overall farm production, women’s average
contribution is estimated at 55-66% of total labour. The extent of their contribution can
be gauged from the finding that in the Himalayan Region a pair of bullocks works 1064
hours, a man 1212 hours and a woman 3485 hours a year on a one hectare farm. In
animal husbandry there is an estimated 20 million women as compared to 1.5 million
men and in the dairy sector thee is an estimated 75 million women as compared to 15
million men. They also contribute a lot towards forestry (gaining and uses of first range
of forest products) and fisheries (fish drying, marketing, mending nets, etc.). Beside
these women’s participation in agro-based rural industries (broom making, basket
making, rope making, etc.) has been quite significant.

Due to migration of male members of the family to off farm employment, one-third of the
rural family for all purpose is headed by women. This can be seen as “feminization of
agriculture”. All these make up women’s share to 25.7% in earned income. The need for
empowering rural women in agriculture through effective training and extension services
arises from the gradual decrease in the availability of arable land, increasing population
pressure and growing environmental degradation which have for reaching implication got
food and nutritional security in future.

Health and Nutritional Status

Women’s discrimination is clearly seen with regard to their health and nutrition. Their
health is intrinsically associated with her socio-economic conditions. Many women in
rural, belonging to low and middle class families do not have hygienic environment.
Degradation of environment had resulted in lack of clean water, scarcity of water, lack of
sewerage facilities, lack of storm water and improper dwelling places.
The gender ratio is found to be 933 per 1000 males. Of which 951 per thousand is
in rural India. Ratios in the age group 0-4 years were 975 per 1000 males and in 5-9 years
age group it is 940 per 1000 males. And in the 10-14 year age group it is 816 per 1000
males. The main reason for this disorder is because of social discrimination and neglect
of female in the matter of health. The health of married women is bound to suffer due to
frequent pregnancies as their husbands wanted to have male issues and the unevenly
spaced pregnancies often caused risks for the mother , poverty , illiteracy, malnutrition,
traditional way of medical treatment , and careless family planning operation and lack of
post-operation care had all contributed to the susceptibility of the women to illness,
generally, women’s illnesses are initially ignored , while medical help is restored to when
illness turned to be acute and serious.
Every year, in the country 12 million female children are born, about 1.5 million of them
die before celebrating their first birthday, another nearly one million before their fifth
year and only about 9 million will be alive at the age of 15. Today in many parts of India,
technology is misused, resulting in sex discrimination tests during prenatal period. If the
verdict of the test is a girl, it is followed by abortion. The discrimination does not end
there. A girl’s health is of minor significance and morality among girls is higher, a truth
reflected in the abysmal sex ratio.

Maternal Mortality:

Maternal death is the death of the woman while pregnant of within 42 days of
termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy, from any
cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from
accidental or incidental cause. One of shocking figure shows that more maternal deaths
occur in our country in one week than in all of Europe in one year, in a single day in this
country, the total number of casualties due to pregnancy and childbirths related
complications is mote than that recorded in one month in the entire developed world.

Studies show MMR among scheduled tribes (652) and scheduled castes (584) is higher
than in women of other castes (516, according to one study). It is higher among illiterate
women (574) than those having completed middle school (484). The key determinant
seems to be access to healthcare. Less-developed villages had a significantly higher
MMR (646) than moderately or well-developed villages (501 and 488 deaths,
respectively).

The National Health Policy (1982) aimed at reducing the maternal mortality rate in India
from the over 400 per 100,000 live births to less than 200 per 100,000 live births
by the end of year 2000. According to RGI estimates for the year 2000, maternal
mortality rate was 407 per 100,000 live births.

The probability of an Indian mother dying during childbirth is roughly 10 times that of
her Chinese counterpart. Reducing the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by three-
quarters in 10 years is now a Millennium Development Goal.

Rural Women and Education

Women and children consist of 67.7% of country’s total population. So it is very

necessary that the condition of women in education sector should be improved and
government is keen to ensure that women are empowered both economically and socially
and they become equal partners I national development along with men.
In many countries, women and girls have less access to schooling and lower
completion rates than to boys and men.

Disparities of literacy rate among men & women

Urban Male 81.09%
Urban Female 64.05%
Rural Male 57.87%
Rural Female 30.62%
Scheduled Caste Male 49.91%
Scheduled Caste Female 23.76%
Scheduled Tribe Male 40.65%
Scheduled Tribe Female 18.19%
Source: Census Reports 1991

It is often observed that female children especially in the rural India assist their mothers
in household chores instead of going to school. They are denied schooling and education.
Many parents consider education, a waste. Girls constitute mote than half the illiterate
children in the age group or 5 to 9 years and 65 percent in the 10 to 14 year age group.
Young girls do not go out to play as boys do. Instead they stay at home to augment the
family income.
A comparison can be seen between the literacy level or women in rural and urban India.

Female Literacy in India : 1961-2001

(in percentages)
Year Rural Urban Overall
1961 10.13 40.46 15.33
1971 15.52 48.84 21.97
1981 20.66 54.40 28.47
1991 30.62 64.05 44.69
2001 46.58 79.46 59.21

Source: http://education.nic.in/ (HRD Ministry)

From the table given above we can see that there is a large gap between the rural and
urban literacy of women.

Rural Women and PRI (Panchayati Raj Institution)

Through the experience of the Indian Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) 1 million women
have actively entered political life in India. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment
Acts, which guarantee that all local elected bodies reserve one-third of their seats for
women, have spearheaded an unprecedented social experiment which is playing itself out
in more than 500,000 villages that are home to more than 600 million people. Since the
creation of the quota system, local women–the vast majority of them illiterate and poor–
have come to occupy as much as 43% of the seats, spurring the election of increasing
numbers of women at the district, provincial and national levels. Since the onset of PRI,
the percentages of women in various levels of political activity have risen from 4-5% to
25-40%. The PRI has also brought about significant transformations in the lives of
women themselves, who have become empowered, and have gained self-confidence,
political awareness and affirmation of their own identity. The panchayat villages have
become political training grounds to women, many of them illiterate, who are now
leaders in the village panchayats.

Government Interventions for development of rural women:

To begin with, IRDP was the only self employment programme. Beginning with the
TRYSEM, a number of allied programmes have been implemented over the years such as
Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), Supply of Improved
Toolkits to Rural Artisans (SITRA) etc. After their introduction, Government decided to
restructure the self-employment programmes. A new programme known as
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was launched in April 1999. This is a
holistic programme covering all aspects of self-employment such as organization of the
poor into Self-Help Groups (SHG’s), Training , Credit, Technology, Infrastructure and
Marketing.

The coverage of women under different programmes can be seen in the tables given
below:

Coverage of women under DWCRA programme from 1993-94 to 1998-99

Year Coverage of women(in lakhs)
1993-94 2.68
1994-95 5.92
1995-96 6.97
1996-97 5.81
1997-98 4.60
1998-99 2.35
Source: Empowerment of Women and Rural development.

Coverage of women under TRYSEM programme from 1993-94 to 1998-99

Year Coverage of women(in lakhs)
1993-94 1.54
1994-95 1.38
1995-96 1.24
1996-97 1.95
1997-98 1.32
1998-99 0.46
Source: Empowerment of Women and Rural development.

Coverage of women under JRY programme from 1993-94 to 1998-99

Year Coverage of women(in lakhs)
1993-94 2386.58
1994-95 1588.76
1995-96 2308.27
1996-97 551.51
1997-98 1046.99
1998-99 1038.64
Source: Empowerment of Women and Rural development.

Government expenditure on rural development

Year Total outlay on RD schemes (n crores)
1993-94 5010.00
1994-95 5935.00
1995-96 6392.00
1996-97 12327.00
1997-98 6806.00
1998-99 7280.90
Source: Empowerment of Women and Rural development.

The efforts made during the plan periods realized that the empowerment of rural women
helped in removal of poverty. Hence, the participation of women is a means to achieve
the goals of development through gender aware and more efficient economy-wide
policies. Women’s participation is not only essential to the economic development, but it
will also have a transformative effect on the goals of both economic and social
development. Though women in India have been playing a predominant role in the
development of rural society by their direct or indirect contribution, limited opportunities
are provided in the process of rural development preventing them to become empowered
both economically and socially.

Maternal Health care has been a part of the Family Welfare Programme since its
inception. Interventions were identified and vertical schemes namely the National
Nutritional Anaemia Control Programme, TT immunization of pregnant mother (part of
immunization programme) and Dais training programme were introduced over the years.
During the Eighth Plan maternal health programmes were integrated with other
rogrammes and became part of the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood (CSSM)
Programme. During the Ninth Plan all interventions under the CSSM Programme have
become part of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme.
Over 100,000 women in the country die annuallyfrom pregnancy and child birth-related
causes, thus accounting for about one quarter of maternal deaths worldwide. The most
recent statistics available indicates an average maternal mortality ratio of 407 per 100,000
live births at the national level. The major causes of these deaths have been identified as
hemorrhage (both ante and post partum), oxaemia Hypertension during
pregnancy),anemia, obstructed labour, puerperal sepsis (infections after delivery) and
unsafe abortion.

Some facts related to rural women:-

Life expectancy: Female as % of males (2003) 102
Adult literacy : females as % of males (2003) 66
Gross enrolment ratios: females as % of males, 84
primary school (1998-2002)
Gross enrolment ratios: females as % of males, 71
secondary school (1998-2002)
Contraceptive prevalence (%) (1995-2003) 47
Antenatal care coverage % (1995-2003) 60
Skilled attendant delivery % (1995-2003) 43
Maternal Mortality ratio (1985-2003) 540
Lifetime risk of maternal death (2000) 1 in 48
Source : UNICEF, India

CONCLUSION

In rural India the illiteracy and low economic status of women underline the need for
their increasing earning power by providing the income generating assets. Provision of
employment opportunities and income to rural women is one way to improve their
nutrition, health, education and social status. The focus has to shift from development to
empowerment. Women empowerment means,” The idea that giving women power over
their economic, social and reproductive choices will raise their status promote
development and reduce population growth”.

Some steps to be taken:

 Direct involvement of women in programming and management
 Effective collaboration with community organizations
 Organizing and strengthening of women SHG’a
 Sensitization and advocacy of gender jut society
 Identifying women’s needs and priorities while generating employment
 Organizing women into different groups to undertake certain productive activities
to earn their livelihood and develop rural community

.National and State initiatives, as well as NGO initiatives have used SHG’s to implement
poverty alleviation programmes through the country. Self Help groups are aimed to
empower poor women and homogenous groups of women are set up to choose and
collectively undertake an economic activity suited to their skills and resources,
supplemented by state matching grants. According to some rough estimates, there are
currently some 260,000 SHG’s in India. Organising themselves into a small but
determined Self Help Group (SHG), the women set about the twin-tasks of getting their
girl children to school in defiance of male opinion, while simultaneously launching an
aggressive anti-liquor campaign. Now, five years down the line, the women are looking
back with satisfaction and ready to reap the benefits of keeping village alcohol-free, with
children of both sexes to be seen tripping cheerfully to school Their interventions
address needs of a wide spectrum of population such as groups of farmers, fishermen,
artisans, healthcare, women, etc. There is potential for women participation not only in
thrift and credit management but also in activities such as natural resource management
and development work, literacy, nutritional security etc. When women can support
themselves, have their entry to all the trades and professions with a house of their own
over their heads and a bank account, they will own their bodies and be dictators in the
social realm.

Website Reference:

1. Census reports <http://www.censusindia.net/ >

2. NSSO, Govt of India < http://mospi.nic.in/>
 3. Coonrod, C.S. , Chronic Hunger and the Status of Women in India, June 1998,
< http://www.thp.org>
4. Ministry of HRD, <www. http://education.nic.in/ >

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