Women Empowerment in India
Women Empowerment in India
Women Empowerment in India
The report would not have taken the current form without the
guidance of senior lecturer of communication skill “Mrs.
Monalisa Devgan”, whose teaching methodology helped a
lot in this report. I would like to thank to all my friends who
helped me for completing this report.
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CHAPTER
I................................................................
...6-10
HISTORY
1.1 Context.....................................................................................................6-7
1.2 Aims and objectives ...............................................................................8
1.3 Scope and definitions .............................................................................9
1.4 Research methods ..................................................................................9-10
CHAPTER
II...............................................................
..11-13
CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
2.1 External stimuli for the development of organic agriculture........... 11
2.2Incentives and constraints to’ grow organic’......................................11-14
CHAPTER
III...............................................................
.15-19
3.1 Regional perspectives............................................................................14
3.2 Asia..........................................................................................................14-19
CHAPTER
IV..............................................................
..20-25
4.1 Key themes.............................................................................................20
4.2 Productivity and sustainability ...........................................................20-21
4.3 Organic agriculture and diversity.......................................................21
4.4 Natural methods of enhancing soil fertility........................................22
4.5 Natural regimes of pest and disease control ......................................22-24
4.6 Institutional and political issues...........................................................24-25
CHAPTER
V...............................................................
..26-28
Conclusion and recomdation:
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www.greenpeace.org.uk/trust
HISTORY
There are very few texts specifically dealing with the role of women;
an important exception is the strIdharmapaddhati of
Tryambakayajvan, an official at Thanjavur around c.1730. The text
compiles strictures on womenly behaviour dating back to the
Apastamba sutra (c. 4th c. BCE). The opening verse goes:
Ancient India
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Scholars believe that in ancient India, the women enjoyed equal status
with men in all fields of life. However, some others hold contrasting
views. Works by ancient Indian grammarians such as Patanjali and
Katyayana suggest that women were educated in the early Vedic
period Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature
age and were probably free to select their husband. Scriptures such as
Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers,
notably Gargi and Maitreyi.
Medieval period
Shortly after the Bhakti movement, Guru Nanak, the first Guru of
Sikhs also preached the message of equality between men and
women. He advocated that women be allowed to lead religious
assemblies; to perform and lead congregational hymn singing called
Kirtan or Bhajan; become members of religious management
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Historical practices
Traditions such as sati, jauhar, and devadasi have been banned and are
largely defunct in modern India. However, some cases of these
practices are still found in remote parts of India. The purdah is still
practiced by many Indian women, and child marriage remains
prevalent despite it being an illegal practice, especially under current
Indian laws.
SATI
British rule
European scholars observed in the 19th century Hindu women are
"naturally chaste" and "more virtuous" than other women. During the
British Raj, many reformers such as Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule etc. fought for the upliftment of
women. While this list might suggest that there was no positive
British contribution during the Raj era, that is not entirely so, since
missionaries' wives like Martha Mault née Mead and her daughter
Eliza Caldwell née Mault are rightly remembered for pioneering the
education and training of girls in south India - a practise that initially
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Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, led the Indian Rebellion of
1857 against the British. She is now widely considered as a nationalist
hero. Begum Hazrat Mahal, the co-ruler of Awadh, was another ruler
who led the revolt of 1857. She refused the deals with the British and
later retreated to Nepal. The Begums of Bhopal were also few of the
notable female rulers during this period. They did not observe purdah
and were trained in martial arts.
of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the
governor of a state in India.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE
The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indian
women equality (Article 14), no discrimination by the State (Article
15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16), equal pay for equal work
(Article 39(d)). In addition, it allows special provisions to be made by
the State in favour of women and children (Article 15(3)), renounces
practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)), and
also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing just and
humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
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In 1986, the Supreme Court of India ruled that Shah Bano, an old
divorced Muslim woman was eligible for maintenance money.
However, the decision was vociferously opposed by fundamentalist
Muslim leaders, who alleged that the court was interfering in their
personal law. The Union Government subsequently passed the
Muslim Women's (Protection of Rights Upon Divorce) Act.
Similarly, the Christian women have struggled over years for equal
rights of divorce and succession. In 1994, all the churches, jointly with
women's organisations, drew up a draft law called the Christian
Marriage and Matrimonial Causes Bill. However, the government has
still not amended the relevant laws.
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Sexual harassment
Half of the total number of crimes against women reported in 1990
related to molestation and harassment at the workplace. Eve teasing is
a euphemism used for sexual harassment or molestation of women by
men. Many activists blame the rising incidents of sexual harassment
against women on the influence of "Western culture". In 1987, The
Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act was passed] to
prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements or
in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.
Dowry
In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act,
making the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal.
However, many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides
and murders have been reported. In the 1980s, numerous such cases
were reported.
A 1997 report claimed that at least 5,000 women die each year
because of dowry deaths, and at least a dozen die each day in 'kitchen
fires' thought to be intentional. The term for this is "bride burning"
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and is criticized within India itself. Amongst the urban educated, such
dowry abuse has reduced considerably.
Child marriage
Child marriage has been traditionally prevalent in India and continues
to this day. Historially, young girls would live with their parents till
they reached puberty. In the past, the child widows were condemned
to a life of great agony, shaving heads, living in isolation, and
shunned by the society. Although child marriage was outlawed in
1860, it is still a common practice.
All medical tests that can be used to determine the sex of the child
have been banned in India, due to incidents of these tests being used
to get rid of unwanted female children before birth. Female
infanticide (killing of girl infants) is still prevalent in some rural
areas. The abuse of the dowry tradition has been one of the main
reasons for sex-selective abortions and female infanticides in India.
UPLIFTMENT OF WOMEN
Workforce participation
Contrary to the common perception, a large percent of women in
India work. The National data collection agencies accept the fact that
there is a serious under-estimation of women's contribution as
workers. However, there are far fewer women in the paid workforce
than there are men. In urban India Women have impressive number in
the workforce. As an example at software industry 30% of the
workforce is female. They are at par with their male counter parts in
terms of wages, position at the work place.
One of the most famous female business success stories is the Shri
Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. In 2006, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
who started Biocon - one of India's first biotech companies, was rated
India's richest woman. Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia (both were
the only businesswomen in India who made the list of the Forbes
World's Most Powerful Women), run India's second-largest bank,
ICICI Bank.
approached, and once the men are mobilised, women will merely
endorse their
choice of party and candidate. Male candidates rarely have access to
the female
electorate and there are not enough women involved in political
campaigns to be
able to reach out to a large section of women even in big cities. As a
result, the
exposure of women to political debates and issues has always
remained indirect.
According to women from all parties the political environment was
not conducive to
women’s participation in politics. The analysis made by Kumari and
Kidwai (1996)
stated that political parties have dominated the conservative `cultural’
perspective
and no conscious attempt has been made to increase active
participation of women.
Women in India today are agitating at the doors of Parliament,
demanding
reservation for 33 per cent of the seats. The issue at stake here is more
complex
India Report
than it may seem. It is not only a question of a few more or a few less
women in the
corridors of Parliament and legislatures but also a response to the fact
that a large
section of society has historically been denied its legitimate share in
the exercise of
political power, power that ultimately determines its destiny. In this
demand for
reservation, women are also raising their voice against a system,
which has
consistently denied them space by harnessing the forces of tradition in
order to
marginalise and trivialize their role. Reservation of seats for women
in
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CONCLUSION
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