WOMENS RIGHTS IN INDIA
India is developing rapidly as an EDC however, in the WEF Global Gender Gap Index it is 114 th/142 countries.
GENDER INEQUALITY ISSUES
Violence against women
52% of women think its justifiable for a man to beat his wife – patriarchal society
Domestic violence is tolerated – deep rooted social norms
Rape is the most common crime against women in India
o Jyoti Singh gang rape
Traditional practises
Dowry deaths
o A woman’s family has to pay a dowry to the husband’s family in order for her to marry
o Women are murdered (by burning) if they cannot meet the demands for the dowry
o 1 woman is killed every hour
o Illegal since 1961 massive underreporting
Sati
o Widow burning - illegal
Honour killing
o Murdered by family for not agreeing to an arranged marriage or not conforming to social norms
Child marriage
Modern slavery
14.3 million women in enslaved in India
This includes sex trafficking, early forced marriage and forced labour
Preferential treatment of boys
500,000 girls/year are selectively aborted – female foeticide
Child sex ration is decreasing rapidly – 914 girls for every 1000 boys
25 million women are currently missing in India
Employment opportunity
Female participation rates = 27% (one of the lowest)
Women are expected to stay in home due to traditional gender roles social norms continue
Majority of women work in informal sector and work is not documented
Considerable variations between urban and rural (urban is increasing, rural is decreasing)
Women that do work are discriminated against
o Maternity benefits are denied by most employers
o Only 25% return to work after having a baby social norm is to stay at home and look after baby
Political participation
Gender inequality is perpetuated by lack of women in government
10% of India’s parliament are female
Access to education
60% of girls drop out of school in adolescence eg due to stigma around menstruation
Access to health care
Boys are more likely to receive vaccinations than girls
Underreporting of female illness due to cultural norms and gender expectations within the household
India is developing rapidly as an EDC however, in the WEF Global Gender Gap Index it is 114 th/142 countries.
GENDER INEQUALITY ISSUES
Violence against women
52% of women think its justifiable for a man to beat his wife – patriarchal society
Domestic violence is tolerated – deep rooted social norms
Rape is the most common crime against women in India
o Jyoti Singh gang rape
Traditional practises
Dowry deaths
o A woman’s family has to pay a dowry to the husband’s family in order for her to marry
o Women are murdered (by burning) if they cannot meet the demands for the dowry
o 1 woman is killed every hour
o Illegal since 1961 massive underreporting
Sati
o Widow burning - illegal
Honour killing
o Murdered by family for not agreeing to an arranged marriage or not conforming to social norms
Child marriage
Modern slavery
14.3 million women in enslaved in India
This includes sex trafficking, early forced marriage and forced labour
Preferential treatment of boys
500,000 girls/year are selectively aborted – female foeticide
Child sex ration is decreasing rapidly – 914 girls for every 1000 boys
25 million women are currently missing in India
Employment opportunity
Female participation rates = 27% (one of the lowest)
Women are expected to stay in home due to traditional gender roles social norms continue
Majority of women work in informal sector and work is not documented
Considerable variations between urban and rural (urban is increasing, rural is decreasing)
Women that do work are discriminated against
o Maternity benefits are denied by most employers
o Only 25% return to work after having a baby social norm is to stay at home and look after baby
Political participation
Gender inequality is perpetuated by lack of women in government
10% of India’s parliament are female
Access to education
60% of girls drop out of school in adolescence eg due to stigma around menstruation
Access to health care
Boys are more likely to receive vaccinations than girls
Underreporting of female illness due to cultural norms and gender expectations within the household
