Human rights Casestudy: Women's rights India Flashcards
List the gender inequality issues apparent in India
- Violence against women
- Modern slavery
- Property ownership
- Employment opportunity
- Workplace discrimination
- Political participation
- Healthcare access
- Access to education
How is violence against women a gender inequality issue in India?
- Overall, 29% of Indian women experience gender violence in their lifetime.
- Violence against women is deeply entrenched in patriarchal and customary practice.
- In 2017, the most prevalent crimes against women were (in order): domestic violence, assault on women, kidnapping and abduction.
- Rape made up 10% of all crimes in India, with an average reported of over 90 per day.
How is modern slavery a gender equality issue in India?
- The Global Slavery Index in 2017 estimated 8 million victims, who were mostly women and girls.
- Slavery includes trafficking for forced labor including sexual exploitation.
- Bonded labor is prevalent, for example, with daughters being sent to spinning mills of Tamil Nadu promising a lump sum after 3 years to contribute to dowry costs.
Why is property ownership / inheritance a gender equality issue in India?
- In practice, despite steps to empowerment, women’s rights for ownership of land and property are very limited.
- Inheritance is still invariably patriarchal, especially in rural communities.
Why is employment opportunity a gender equality issue in India?
- India has a large gender inequality in the labor market.
- Engrained in cultural tradition, many women are expected to adopt a domestic role which limits access to employment opportunities.
- This is the case even with women receiving further educations, up to tertiary, due to conforming to social norms of marriage and immediate motherhood.
Why is workplace discrimination a gender equality issue in India?
- Lack of maternity benefits is the main workplace discrimination from employers, meaning that many women do not return to work after childbirth.
- In Delhi, only 25% of married women return to work following childbirth, even including ones who could afford childcare.
- There are few employment promotions available to women, so very few women occupy senior or managerial roles: only 14% of board members of listed companies are women.
Why is political participation a gender equality issue in India?
- There is a lack of women in the Indian government on all scales: national, provincial and local.
- There is poor representation in India’s parliament with only 11.5% seats held in the upper house compared to 88.6% male politicians.
Why is access to healthcare a gender equality issue in India?
- Even surpassing 2020, access to healthcare has received extreme gender discrimination in India.
- Access varies for women due to factors such as: reproductive age, poverty, number of professionals available, facilities available and government spending for rural areas.
Why is access to education a gender equality issue in India?
- Transition to, or completion of, secondary education is affected by restrictive factors, especially found in poor and rural communities.
- Some restrictive factors include: girls contributing to housework and agricultural (subsistence) work, provision of secure learning environments and child marriage.
Name some consequences of gender inequality on Indian society
- Femicide as women are subject to murder and disfigurement, mostly by burning, when family cannot meet dowry demands.
- Honor killings carried out by families for non-conformation.
- Domestic violence
- High maternal mortality and morbidity.
- High infant mortality rate
- Sex-selective abortion
What is the Indian state with the highest dowry-related deaths?
Uttar Pradesh at around 2.5 per 100k women.
What is the infant mortality rate in India, and what is it the consequence of?
- 39 under age one per 1000 live births
- Limited education and poverty that has adverse effects on maternal and child nutrition.
What is occurring to change gender inequality in India?
- Slowly, a change in gender-based norms is occurring as a result of intervention through: strengthening the rule of law, increasing numbers of laws and treaties, and the work of NGOs in communities.
What has the state of India done to contribute to gender equality?
- Ratified a number of human rights treaties.
- This means that the government is working to incorporate the principles and international laws bound by these treaties into Indian national laws, and to implement them.
Give examples of treaties India has ratified
- The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights
- The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural rights.
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
What UN treaty has India joined that is more specific to gender equality?
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
What acts of parliament have India passed to address women’s rights?
- Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006.
- Dowry Prohibition Act 2008.
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act and Rules
- Child Labor Amendment Act
What does the ‘Ministry of Home Affairs anti-trafficking cell (Women Safety Division) do to implement gender equality laws?
- The ministry has worked to strengthen law enforcement
- Strengthening law enforcement involves expansion and training of anti-trafficking police units, more accurate reporting of crime and co-operation with other organizations alongside neighboring countries.
What are large companies doing as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility in India, helping women’s rights?
- Some large companies are now beginning to provide child-care facilities and organizing ‘flexi-work options’ to women employees.
- This is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.
What does NGO intervention do to help women’s rights in India?
- NGOs implement gender-approached development projects.
- For example, the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) operates in Delhi neighborhoods.
- The ICRW has established a ‘Safe Cities’ project, working in partnership with UN Women, the Indian gov and a New Delhi based organization ‘Jagori’.
- As a result, women are gaining confidence to report more crimes and speak up for women’s rights in their communities.
What has Delhi police force done to help women’s rights in India?
- Delhi police force has increased it’s overall force and, in particular, numbers of women police in outer-districts of the city where female-based crime records are high.
- This is in response to unregulated urbanization in urban-rural fringe areas.
