From the moment a female child is “allowed” to be born she is discriminated against in India. Discrimination happens at every socioeconomic level and is widespread throughout India. The birth of a female child brings thoughts of a dowry that will need to be paid and the financial burden it brings. Boys are brought into the world with fanfare and excitement and girls are seen as a financial burden. While the economy is growing rapidly, 79.9 percent still live on less than $2 each day. Although there are many laws that are meant to protect women very few are followed not only because of the rampant corruption in India but because the honor code that is culturally inherent in society. Females are far less likely to be educated, far more likely to be the victim of violence and are far more likely to live in poverty.

In India girls rarely go to school for very long. There are many reasons for this including the economics of educating a female child and cultural barriers. India is so poor women are pulled out of school at a very young age so they can work and bring money to the family. Women’s rights activist Kirti Singh says “there is a marked difference between how many parents treat their daughters and their sons. Girls aren’t given the same kind of food, they’re not educated in the same manner, and they’re only raised to become someone’s wife. From the time they are born — or not born — and continuing till late in life when they become wives or mothers, it’s a vicious cycle of discrimination, and violence keeps on continuing.” Boys are far more likely to continue on with their education. The illiteracy rate for women is much greater than it is for men. The Map on page 7 shows that there are areas in central India where the literacy rate for women is less than 40%. India has an overall literacy rate of 74% although there are some rural areas where it is as low as 60%. Cultural norms require girls to be chaste virgins before marriage. Women are not allowed to be alone with men so no one can question their virginity in the future. Male teachers at schools mean that female children cannot go. In rural populations women are held by such a strict honor code that they may never enter a school or leave their parents side until they are married so nobody can question their virginity.

Women are married young in India. It is not uncommon for a girl as young as 10 in some rural areas. Many families do not believe sending a female child to school is worth it because there going to leave the household in a few years anyway so it is a waste of time. Many laws meant to protect women like the Protect Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Protection of Sexual Harassment at Workplace 2013 and the recent Anti-Rape law of 2013 have helped some attain equal footing to men but until attitudes shift in India women will be left behind their male counterparts.

There are many laws on the books to protect women against violence, but unfortunately most of these are routinely ignored. Woman in every socioeconomic group in India have seen an increase over the years in violence. The biggest obstacle in protecting women is an honor system and a lack of voice. Violence against women is a huge problem in India. When you consider that only 1% of crimes are even reported in the first place because of cultural barriers and a strict honor code the numbers are staggering. The honor code is so strict that if a woman has been raped her family may force her to marry her rapist to save face in the community. Domestic violence is quite common and rarely reported to the authorities. The current justice system is so slow that by the time of domestic violence petition gets to court, literally years would have gone by. If the woman is lucky enough to be granted a divorce, which is incredibly rare, they are often separated from the children because men are believed to be better equipped to raise children. Courts will often allow children to live with their mothers until age five and then they may never see them again once the children go to live with their fathers. For this reason most women do not bother with the divorce because it is a no-win situation.

Girls are seen as a financial liability because of hefty dowries. These dowries can cost a family their entire savings. Although the practice has been banned by the government it is quite common. According to the Times of India “one woman dies every hour due to dowry related reasons”. The article goes on to say “National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures state that 8,233 dowry deaths were reported in 2012”. The Dowry Prohibition Act is meant to protect women but almost no one follows this law.

The amount of poverty in India is unbelievable, 80% of society lives on less than $78 a month. India is a large country and most people live in incredible, deplorable poverty. Women routinely live in worse conditions than men in terms of healthcare and nutrition. Because there’s so little healthcare women have far more children than they can afford which continues the cycle. Some women only see a doctor to get an abortion, although the practice is outlawed “300,000 to 600,000 female fetuses are aborted every year in India because of the preference for boys”, according to a 2011 study by The Lancet. Discrimination that begins while in the womb continues throughout a woman’s life. India is such a patriarchal society that women do not even begin eating until the men are completely finished. Women often eat the scraps leftover from a meal. This inhumane practice is so prevalent that pregnant and nursing women sometimes die of malnutrition.

The Preamble to the Indian Constitution talks about goals of “ achieving social, economic and political justice to everyone and to provide equality of status and of opportunity to all its citizens”. Women have equal right to vote in the Indian political system. “Article 15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex also apart from other grounds such as religion, race, caste or place of birth.” These constitutional safeguards working with the latest Legislation already on the books in India should give women equal status in society, yet it isn’t even close to being enough.

Women in India have made some strides in recent years. A few women have attained highly visual high powered jobs but more needs to be done to increase the value of women in Indian society. “While our Western sisters burned bras in the 1960s for equality, India’s women are now taking to the streets to demand their right to walk freely without fear from men,” says Shweta Andrews, a researcher based in Delhi said in an article in Al Jazeera. India’s patriarchal society and deep-seated cultural biases have put up barriers to women seeking gender equality. Although women may have a job in a corporation it is nearly unheard of for a woman to be promoted over their male counterparts. According to Hindu law Manu: “Women are supposed to be in the custody of their father when they are children, they must be under the custody of their husband when married and under the custody of her son in old age or as widows. In no circumstances she should be allowed to assert herself independently”.

It would be amazing if the deep cultural traditions of India could be changed. Perhaps the internet and other social media will help Indian women discover that women in other countries live in a very different way and will help women rise above their current status. The impact would be significant. The birth rate would decline because women no longer have to have four or five children in an attempt to have a male child. Deep seated, ancient prejudices persist generation after generation and promote keeping women down. Education about the value of women seems obvious, when you keep fifty percent of your workforce down your country can never improve. There are high profile women involved in politics in India and the court should be working together to increase the standard of living of women in India, but things move too slowly to save some of the women who will fall between the cracks.

 

Maps

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/2012_Fertility_rate_map_of_India,_births_per_woman_by_its_states_and_union_territories.svg/2000px-2012_Fertility_rate_map_of_India,_births_per_woman_by_its_states_and_union_territories.svg.png

Map of India 2016

http://www.mapsofindia.com/census2001/femaleliteracy.jpg

Maps of India 2016

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/2012_Poverty_distribution_map_in_India_by_its_states_and_union_territories.svg/2000px-2012_Poverty_distribution_map_in_India_by_its_states_and_union_territories.svg.png

Maps of India 2015 Poverty rates India

http://www.mindthenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/rape-map-of-india-2011.png

Map Mindthenews.com 2012

Crime rate against women in India - 2012

Map from http://www.cwsnglobal.org/home_page2.html

Works Cited

“Huffington Post 5 Myths about Indian Poverty.” Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

“Huffington Post India.” Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

“India and Poverty.” Poverty around the World. N.p., n.d. Web.

“India: Shock Dowry Deaths Increase Revealed.” Sky News. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“Life for Women in India.” CBS News Presents India Perspectives. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

“Caste System in India.” Caste System in India, Indian Caste System, Caste in India. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

“Caste System in India for Dummies.” Dummies. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

“Caste System in India.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“The Caste System of India.” About. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in India.” DOL India. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“National Geographic Presents the Caste System in India.” National Geographic. N.p., May 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

“One Woman Dies Every Hour In Dowry Death in India.” UK Telegraph World News. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“Poverty and Its Causes in India.” My India. N.p., 09 June 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

“Poverty in India.” , Poverty Rate in India, Population below Poverty Line, Poverty Reduction in India, Urban Poverty In India, Rural Poverty In India, Indian Problems. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

“Poverty in India: Causes, Effects, Injustice & Exclusion.” Poverties.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.

“Poverty in India.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

“Rural Poverty Portal.” Rural Poverty Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

“Untouchables Face Violence and Discrimination.” National Geographic India. N.p., Nov. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

Outline: Gender Inequality in India

  1. Opening thesis and Summary

    1. A From the moment a female child is “allowed” to be born she was discriminated against in India. Discrimination happens at every socioeconomic level and is widespread throughout India. The birth of a female child brings thoughts of a dowry that will need to be paid and the financial burden it brings. Boys are brought into the world with fanfare and excitement and girls are seen as a financial burden. Females are far less likely to be literate, far more likely to be the victim of violence and historically have very little chances of inheriting wealth. While the economy is growing rapidly, 79.9 percent still live on less than $2 each day. Although there are many laws that are meant to protect women very few are followed not only because of the rampant corruption in India but because the honor code that is culturally inherent in society.

  2. Poverty

    1. The vast poverty in India. Some of the poorest areas of India are closest to the largest most wealthy cities. Women do poorly across the board in India but the poorest women fair far worse in terms of propensity to be a victim of violence in rural areas. The amount of poverty in India is staggering. 80% of society lives on less than $78 a month. In families female children are often pulled out of school at a very young age to help bring money to the family while male children are allowed to continue.

    2. Even in the wealthiest families women are often uneducated because they are meant to be nothing more than wives and mothers so why bother? India is a large country and there are large areas where the rural population does very little to increase the standard of living for women.

    3. Women are far less likely to receive healthcare and nutrition. Looking at the maps you can see that the more children women have the more likely they are to be extremely poor. Because there is so little healthcare women rarely are able to regulate the amount of children that they have. The only time some woman sees a doctor is to get an abortion to get rid of a female child in some places.

  3. Education

    1. Women and female children are the last in a family. Female children and women literally receive the scraps after the men are done eating. In this patriarchal society, women fair less than dogs. Women are far more likely to be illiterate, and live in poverty.

    2. Less than half are women because so many female fetuses are aborted. The stakeholders of course want equal footing with men in society but there were deep held we the just and cultural problems that hold them back. There are many laws that attempt to help women but women across the entire caste system face incredible gender inequality.

    3. Women are not allowed to be alone with men for example and because all of the teachers in India are generally men just sending a girl to school is enough reason for her virginity to be questioned so in rural populations people keep their female children home so no one can question their virginity

  4. Caste system

    1. The women from the lowest castes have the most difficult time in India because they are women. The most obvious problem with the caste system was that under its rigidity, the lower castes were prevented from aspiring to climb higher, and, therefore, economic progress is restricted, especially for women.

    2. There are many reasons for this including cultural history and the caste system. Women are held by a strict honor code.. Forced marriages also hold women back from an education. The caste system makes increasing the income of a household even more difficult.

  5. Violence

    1. Despite laws on the books to protect women the honor system and a lack of voice have caused women to accept abuse and even rape without saying a word. Women from the lowest caste has seen the greatest incidences of abuse although women from every socioeconomic group in India have seen increases over the years and violence.

    2. Women in India seek gender equality including equal wages, the right to health care, education and where political rights in general. Indian women are faced with even more problems because of the historical patriarchal society.

    3. The arcane inheritance laws and violence against women have gained notoriety recently but in rural India women simply do not use their voices

    4. Gandhi started a women’s movement in 1915. More recently laws have been changed focusing on the fair treatment of women in the workplace and at home.

    5. For instance, as per ancient Hindu law giver Manu: “Women are supposed to be in the custody of their father when they are children, they must be under the custody of their husband when married and under the custody of her son in old age or as widows. In no circumstances she should be allowed to assert herself independently”.

    6. If you were to believe them then things must be getting better, but not for women. Women still hold the lowest place in society. Women’s place is to take care of the home if they are wealthy and are often married young inside of the marriage that the parents have arranged and must follows cultural norms where males are always in charge. Women are not even really in charge of their home.

    7. Women who do get divorced, which is incredibly rare, are often separated from their children because men are believed to be able to raise children better than women. Courts often allow children to live with women until they are about five and then they go live with their fathers.

    8. Violence against women especially domestic life was his quite common. Domestic violence is rarely reported to authorities because the justice system simply does not work in women’s favor. The current justice system works so slowly that by the time it gets to court literally years have gone by. And those are just the cases that actually make it to court those cases don’t make it to court because women choose not to press charges in the first place. But even if you follow the numbers you will see that violence against women is a huge problem in India. When you consider that about 1% of crimes or even reported in the first place violence against women is a catastrophic problem in India.

  6. Killing baby girls

    1. Even though the practice is outlawed, 300,000 to 600,000 female fetuses are aborted every year in India because of the preference for boys, according to a 2011 study by The Lancet. And the discrimination that begins while in the womb continues throughout a girl’s life.

    2. Women’s rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Kirti Singh says there is a marked difference between how many parents treat their daughters and their sons. She says girls aren’t given the same kind of food, they’re not educated in the same manner, and they’re only raised to become someone’s wife. From the time they are born — or not born — and continuing till late in life when they become wives or mothers, it’s a vicious cycle . of discrimination, and violence keeps on continuing.

    3. Dowry often required to take hefty dowries along with them which sometimes can cost a family’s entire savings. The practice is banned by the government, but it’s still as common as ever.

    4. One woman dies every hour due to dowry related reasons on an average in the country, which has seen a steady rise in such cases between 2007 and 2011, according to official data“National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures state that 8,233 dowry deaths were reported in 2012 from various states. The statistics work out to one death per hour.” National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures state that 8,233 dowry deaths were reported in 2012 from various states.

  7. Lastly

    1. More laws are changed and women have more rights. The gross domestic product of India goes up because so many more women have jobs. When you do not utilize the work of 50% of the population your GDP will never be high.

    2. Women make great strides in every aspect of their lives take control and become on equal footing with men in all areas Erie it women are educated at a higher rate and achieve great things

    3. Find something happy to finish up with maybe some political strides or something