In Comparison with Other Nations:
- Within South Asia, post-conflict 83% of Nepali women work outside the home.
- Also reports good women representation in from local govt to parliament.
- Bangladesh is the only country with women serving longer than men as head of the state.
- Rwanda is one of the few developing countries that has surprisingly closed the gender gaps on several fronts.
- Where women now dominate 2/3rd of parliamentary seats.
Key Findings: Global:-
- Among India’s neighbours, Bangladesh ranked 65, Nepal 106, Pakistan 153, Afghanistan 156, Bhutan 130 and Sri Lanka 116.
- Among regions, South Asia is the second-lowest performer on the index, with 62.3% of its overall gender gap closed.
- In South Asia, only Pakistan and Afghanistan ranked below India.
- For the 12th time, Iceland is the most gender-equal country in the world.
- The top 10 most gender-equal countries include Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Rwanda, Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland.
Challenges in front of Indian women: –
- Indian women’s discrimination starts in the embryo stage with the misuse of technology for sex-selective abortion.
- As per UNFPA data, each year India reports more than 46 million “missing women”.
- The patriarchal mindset of the society creates obstacles for women’s empowerment & growth at every stage of life.
- As per NSSO 2019 time-use survey, Indian women’s daily work is almost 10 times more than men on unpaid chores.
- According to National Family Health Survey 2019-20, even before the pandemic child marriages have marginally increased since the previous survey.
- Though education is inclusive with 3/4th of women literates, only 37% complete 10th class.
- Lack of employment opportunities for women.
- Compounded with the lack of independence, more than 1/4th of married women reported spousal violence.
- According to NCRB, In 2019 alone nearly 88 rapes daily are reported with Dalit women (mainly in Rajasthan & UP) the most vulnerable.
WayForward: –
- India when a new generation of dynamic women taking up leadership & fighting against all forms of discriminations.
- Taking a cue from the East Asian growth miracle associated with large increases in working women, it is high time for govt & Indian society at large that has been sleeping in the patriarchal hangover to take up the responsibility & reform every institution for building a equal society.
Value-addition: –
Constitutional Provisions For Gender Equality– Articles such as Article 14, Article 15 (3), Article 39A, and Article 42 make special provisions for rights of women to ensure gender equality.
Legislative Provisions For Women–
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostics Act (PCPNDT), 1994; Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 2017) aimed at mandating women’s rights.
What is Shadow Pandemic?
- As country after country announced lockdowns in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, the instances of domestic violence increases.
- This alarming increase in domestic violence has even earned a moniker, “the shadow pandemic.”
- The term is given by the UN Women to describe the growing rates of violence against women and girls amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The UN Women, the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and women empowerment, has urged the member states to include prevention of violence against women in their strategy to counter the pandemic.
- Globally, nearly 243 million women and girls between 15 and 49 years were subjected to sexual and/or physical intimate partner violence in the last year (UN Women, 2020).
- A survey of 122 community organisation shows that 85% of them reported a rapid increase in violence against women and girls (VAW/G) between March – September 2020 (UN Trust Fund to End VAW, 2020).
- According to UN Women, globally 243 million women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months.
Question: –
Taking a cue from the East Asian growth miracle associated with large increases in working women, it is high time for govt & Indian society at large that has been sleeping in the patriarchal hangover to take up the responsibility & reform every institution for building a equal society. Critically evaluate.