THE STATUS OF WOMAN IN INDIA

                                            

Woman…a mother, a sister, a friend, sometimes as a wife, we see many faces of a woman. And she justifies her duties in every role. I feel a woman is a symbol of Sacrifice.., in every relation she sacrifices her will and wishes for the sake of her male counterpart. Since her childhood she learns to scarify her wishes for the son child in home.  As a sister she learns to sacrify her playthings for her brother, she happily gives away every small thing to her brother.  In the teenage when parents thinks of joining both the children into school and later on a girls understands that she has to make way for her brother`s schooling, however her parents gives her the basic education and then the girl silently and happily steps back sacrificing her further education and future for the sake of her brother.  In the young age she marries to a person selected by her parents though she doesn’t like, just to save her parents prestige in the society, because it  is a belief that if a girl doesn’t marry with the will and wish of her parents, the society will laugh on her parents. To keep others silent and keep her parents happy she accepts the truth that she has to live with the person whom she doesn’t know at all. And adjusts herself in her in-laws family where everything is new for her. As a mother she sacrifices every possible thing for her children to feed them, to keep them happy and far from every possible problem. She laughs with her children, she cries for them, she spends sleepless nights when her children are unhealthy. She loves her children more than anyone else…it is said that “god cannot be present everywhere therefore he created mother…” but… do we have given them equal status..? Do we respect woman for which she deserves a lot...?  The answer may be in both positive and negative, but we really have to analyze the true picture of our society and other factors which says that woman has equal rights and privileges with man.

Within the Indian subcontinent, there have been infinite variations of the status of women, differing according to the cultural milieu, family structures, caste, class, property right etc. we have to specify as to whether we are talking about rural women or urban women, about middle class or lower class women, about Brahmin or scheduled caste woman, about women in the Hindu society or in the Muslim community. All these distinctions are significant determinants of variations in her position in different groups. The status of woman is affected by certain macro-forces as religious beliefs, economic development, political participation, and ideological overtones. It is also shaped by the norms and values society has lays down with regard to woman’s behaviour. And whenever the question of status of woman comes Religion always has an upper hand in defining the status of women.  There are numerous prescriptions, sanctions, and constraints which determine the behaviour of a woman. A girl is expected to be docile, shy, non-aggressive, self-effacing. After she reaches puberty she is generally not encouraged to mix with the boys; she should walk slowly, she has to be married early; marriage is obligatory for girls. Famous poet Tulsidas says, “An animal, a rustic, a drum and a woman all require beating”. Sage Manu who had enshrined woman as goddess, says, “pita rekshati kaumarye, bharta rakshati yauvanah ! rakshati sthavare putra na stree swatantrya maharti” it means woman does not deserve freedom; she will have to be protected by father, husband and son in her different stages of life. What does the legend of the seed and the earth/field suggest? The seed symbolizes father’s contribution to reproduction and field represent the child’s identity.  The woman shall not be permitted to live independently; she should not have any distinct identity and should always be dependent on her father, husband and her son in her old age. Thus, though in reality both man and women are equally important in the reproduction process, the myth is created that man who is the more important determinant and women has a lesser place in the social strata. Is it not injustice with the 50% populations of the society/world..?  Though we have answers and comment to say that the status of women is equal with men, the reality is otherwise…whenever we compare the status and gender equality, the so called Attitude comes between man and woman. In the longer term these attitudes are conditioned by social and cultural beliefs, religious and traditional living and the economic pressures. In the Indian context, developmental planning and urbanization did not have a specific focus on the role of women in the change. Whereas Religion and traditional beliefs plays vital role in deciding the status, duties of both the genders. To refer one of the quotes of Sage Manu, he says “navai kanya na yuvatirnalp vidyo na balish | hota syadagnitrasya nartona sanskrutatsatha: || it means “girl child, young girls and little educated people, unhealthy people shall not perform yagnas or performs the ceremonies, if any person who asks them to do so and the person who performs the ceremonies, he will go to hell.” With due respect to the religious text, the above reference shows how our religious texts/codes treat a woman in the social system, where they were not allowed to take education nor perform their own religious practices.

It is not that the social status of a woman was lower all the time, there are references before manusmriti came into existence.  According to Patanjali, in the olden days woman used to be teachers and girls used take education of Vedas, they were nowhere unequal with man. Janak and sulabha, Gargi, Maitrani these are few examples of woman intellectuals in the ancient time.  As per Me, the downfall of woman started after the manusmriti came into existence.  Child marriages Sati system purdah system these were the common evil social practices prevailed during that time.  As a result, development and urbanization led to very uneven results for different categories of women in India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Lord William Bentique and many other social workers and revolutionaries worked hard to eradicate the social inequalities of India.  Lord William Bentique also passed an Act in 1829 to eradicate the system of Sati Practice.

India is a society where the male is greatly revered. Therefore women get very little respect and standing in this country.  Few people may say that the above condition is not present in the present time, but except few metropolitan cities of India the status of women is as same as I mentioned above. The women required to prepare the meal for the men. Only after the males have finished eating, females can eat. Typically the leftover food is meagre, considering the families are poor and have little to begin with. This has created a major problem of malnutrition, especially for pregnant or nursing women. In the sub-urban cities and in villages and especially in remote areas very few women seek medical care while pregnant because it is thought of as a temporary condition. This situation shows that the village woman is not aware of the latest technologies. This is one main reason why India’s maternal and infant mortality rates are so high. Starting from birth, girls do not receive as much care and commitment from their parents and society as a boy would. For example a new baby girl would only be breast fed for a short period of time, barely supplying her with the nutrients she needs. This is so that the mother can get pregnant as soon as possible in hopes of a son the next time.

           After the indendepence Indian Constitution gave Liberty, Equality, fraternity and justice to all.  The Constitution of India gave fundamental rights to every citizen under Article 12 to 35 of Part III which include the Equality before Law (Article 14) and Right to Life (Article 21).  After the commencement of Indian Constitution there are several Acts have been passed by the Parliament of India for the upliftment of woman such as Dowry Prohibition Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Factories Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Hindu Successions Act, DWACRA schemes which gives financial loans and business  opportunities to the rural and middle class woman. The above mentioned Acts have done a satisfying job in improving the financial conditions of the middle class families in particular woman, but even after many progressive Acts passed by the government, the poor women in rural India were left far behind development, where she is not aware of the global developments such as Modernisation, Globalization and Privatisation. Again, Muslim women were unable to make as much social progress as did the Christian and Hindu women (however the progress of Christian and Hindu women is also restricted into the metropolitan cities only)

 The reasons are many and one of the most important reasons is lack of education and exposure to the world developments. However, there is still much poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and discrimination when it comes to women, but there is a certain segment of them that is making a mark in the corporate world, in the media, in literature and for many who are unaware they are making a huge impact in the IT sector. Globalization has provided opportunities for the educated, middle class woman to build her own dreams and excel in fields, which were earlier perceived as complete male domains. Though they are not the majority, Indian women professionals are definitely on the rise and are paving the way for future generations. Indian women are becoming increasingly visible and successful in the professional and public sphere. Whether it is Barkha Dutt, who has become a idol for several journalists, Arundhati Roy, a Booker Prize Winner and a social activist, or Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who became the wealthiest Indian woman after the initial public offering of her company, Biocon , they have all heralded the arrival of Indian women professionals. Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Mother Terresa, Sonia Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, Shila Dikshit and many other women have proved that they are no more a weaker sections of the society.  They are equally walking with her male counterpart in all field, it may be politics or business.

  But on the other side,  Because of lack of acceptance of the great provisions of the Constitution from the male dominant society, Indian women suffer immensely. Women are responsible for bearing children.  Most Indian women are uneducated, although the country’s constitution has made compulsory education for children and  women, women are powerless and are mistreated inside and outside the home. Even though the constitution guarantees free primary education to everyone up to 14 years of age, very few females attend school, and the statistics are more surprising when it comes to villages where hardly a girl completes her matriculation.  Only about 39 percent of all women in India actually attend primary schools. There are several reasons why families choose not to send their daughters to school, such as social conditions of the family, the atmosphere of the living place, more importantly the financial conditions of the family, where only head of the family earns and many are depended on him.

I want to mention specifically that though there are many government policies and Acts passed by the Government of India for the upliftment of women, the implementation of those Acts and policies is totally depends on the Administrative Branches of the state.  And we all know that our administrative functionaries have proved to be very weak in implementing the development policies.  As a result we see that though we have a great constitution and many progressive Acts passed by the parliament the larger section of women are still searching their status in the Indian society...

To conclude I would like to say that the status of the woman can be raised if we change our mindset and feeling of superiority, the feeling that she should always bow before and respect him.  If we really want to create an idol society where there will be no inequality either it may be caste, class, religious, race, sex, gender for that matter. If we could able to forget our egos and age old traditional beliefs that women should always remain a household thing, if we could realise that the woman can also run not only home but also the nation if opportunities are given to her then I feel that India will be no more a developing country. If we come out of the traditional beliefs and walk along with her, then I feel the status of woman can be improved far better.  Because the development of any nation depends on the development of each sections of the state. No nation can be developed until it gives full opportunities to the 50% population (females) and keep them active in the mainstream development. Therefore, lets take them along with us and walk together, lets make them feel that we have created the egoless society, lets make them feel that they are living in a free society….