Women and girls represent half of the world’s population — but inspite of the progress that has been made in bettering their lives, the road ahead remains long. As the famous saying goes, “Women’s rights are human rights.” Women are equal members of society and have a right to live free from violence and discrimination, to be educated, own property, vote and fully participate in economic activities. When women have full access to their rights, all of society prospers. Experts claim that female empowerment and gender equality are two of the most effective ways for the global community to achieve every Sustainable Development Goals.
India is facing “very big” challenges in gender justice, a top UN Women official has recently said and also added that the Indian government has “prioritised” women’s issues in its policies and programmes but there is need for greater momentum.Indian women’s labour force participation, at just 27 per cent, is ranked 170 out of the world’s 188 economies.
Not only is Indian women’s labour-force participation among the lowest in the world, research suggests it may be declining.This is despite rising education levels and declining fertility. Women cannot contribute to India’s economic growth if they are not fully participating in the workforce.The reason for low women’s labour force participation is gender inequality in India.
Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles.Cultural institutions in India, particularly those of patrilineality (inheritance through male descendants) and patrilocality (married couples living with or near the husband’s parents), play a crucial role in perpetuating gender inequality.A culturally ingrained parental preference for sons - emanating from their importance as caregivers for parents in old age - is linked to poorer consequences for daughters.The dowry system, involving a cash or in-kind payment from the bride’s family to the groom’s at the time of marriage, is another institution that disempowers women. The incidence of dowry has been steadily rising over time across all region and socioeconomic classes.Patriarchy is a social system of privilege in which men are the primary authority figures, occupying roles of political leadership, moral authority, control of prosperity and authority over women and children.Extreme poverty and lack of education are also some of the reasons for women’s low status in society. Poverty and lack of education derives countless women to work in low paying domestic service, organized prostitution or as migrant laborers.
India is still a lagging when it comes to gender equality, and changing this situation is an urgent task. Need for policy initiatives to empower women as gender disparities in India persist even against the backdrop of economic growth.Improvements in labour market prospects also have the potential to empower women. This will also lead to increase in marriage age and school enrolment of younger girls. Feminism could be a powerful tool that lets children shed stereotypes that they may hold and question those of others. A world free of prejudice and generalisation would be amenable to progress in the truest sense. The need of the hour is to introduce feminism in schools, both in terms of curriculum and practice.Sessions on principles of mutual respect and equality must be made a regular affair in schools. Inculcating gender equality in children could go a long way towards ridding society of regressive mindsets, attitudes, and behaviour. Educating Indian children from an early age about the importance of gender equality could be a meaningful start in that direction.
For India to maintain its position as a global growth leader, more concerted efforts at local and national levels and by the private sector are needed to bring women to parity with men. Increasing the representation of women in the public spheres is important and can potentially be attained through some form of affirmative action, an attitudinal shift is essential for women to be considered as equal within their homes and in broader society. Indian government has “prioritised” women’s issues in its policies and programmes but there is need for greater momentum
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