An article to cater only to the roadblocks in the success stories of this gender of the society and the solutions to them would be our action.
Before answering the question that I’ve just asked, I do have another in line. What was the need to introduce the Women Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha on 12th sept. 1996, stating that 33% seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for women be reserved.
Its proponents say it would better the gender inequality in workplaces: thereby resulting in women empowerment. But give it a thought. Is it not a pity, sympathy for this gender of society? Is it not a hurdle in their progress, just by granting them power and control when they don’t even know how to put a signature? In any case one thing is sure- there’s no upliftment, only what is called in crisp form, spoon-feeding.
When men can carve out their own pathways of success and glory without getting any reservations or grants like this, why women cannot reach to the pinnacle on their own abilities. Probably because they have been held back. They have been trapped into the cobwebs of the society, the customs, the family and the responsibilities; the worst sufferers being the women in the rural areas, where if the present situation continues to prevail it is going to be an impasse in the future. The weeds that are eating up the plant of female progress are numerous, but those causing the great impact are insecurity, education and health concerns; the three utmost areas of concern which if given a proper attention would definitely remove other weeds and foster the growth of that plant.
INSECURITY
According to National Crime Report Bureau, 1.5 lakhs crimes are registered annually out of which 50,000 are of domestic violence.2 out of 100 are convicted.80% try to reconcile the matter with the husband and the family. There is high level of insecurity relating to the women safety especially amongst the working women. There is no actual data available on the number of rapes occurring in the nation, credit to the fact that majority of them get buried unreported pertaining to the family and societal fear. Though many cases have seen quick trials in recent times, a vast majority gets lost in the dusty files.
EDUCATION CONCERNS
Indian constitution guarantees free primary school education for boys and girls upto age 14. But primary education in the country is not universal. Literacy rate for women is 39% vs. 64% for men. This certainly reduces the productivity and potential of a girl child and later a woman. This problem itself produces a series of loopholes. For instance, women play an important role in imparting hygiene behaviours to young children and hence effective use of sanitation facilities will depend on their involvement in choosing technology of such facilities; but ignorance about such knowledge hold them back. Further improper sanitation facilities lead to girls dropping out of schools; producing a vicious circle. Kerala depicts an appropriate example of how education helps a woman to develop a family and to lower birth rates and improve child and maternal health society, where 85% women are literate. Their higher educational levels provide the cutting edge.
HEALTH CONCERNS
According to India Together Group, the probability of an Indian mother dying during childbirth is roughly 10 times that of her Chinese counterpart. Gender disparities in nutrition are evident from infancy to adulthood. Girls are breast-fed less frequently and for shorter durations in infancy; in childhood and adulthood, males are fed first and better. A sound mind lies in a sound body. With such inequality prevailing in feeding practices, there is certainly a setback for them. When there is no food for body, there is no food for thoughts.
This article is written with the view to cater only to the roadblocks in the success stories of this gender of the society and the solutions to them would be our action. What has been happening through the print media, in the name of women empowerment, is just providing the problems at the upper level and their never-being implemented solutions.
The fact that India is a male-dominated society has percolated so deep in our society that even a woman trying to step ahead is held back. So instead of delivering speeches and lectures on women empowerment or going for processions and rallies, we need to come ahead with the actions aiming at eradicating the root problems. Instead of adopting a defensive solution, let us try to fight the problem. Let us remove what is holding back females. A question…. can we do it? Can we shorten the gender inequality gap not by the short cuts, but by helping them build their selves?
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9 comments:
Nice post. The content is straight, to the point and well organised. Even though it was pro-feminine, it didn't sound bigoted. Guess, I need to learn all this. :)
Education, as you outlined, is a must. We need to realise - and hence, inculcate - that difference in gender is no good a reason to grade men over women. The solution lies in reforming the ignorant societal culture which prescribes faith & belief over science & logic. The point is, can we change the thoughts?
I think the author is completely off the mark when she protests against 33% reservation. I think....tat was the smartest move eva tat an indian government has...made...Varna classes wud ave been so borin'...and barren wid out....all those gals..
Anyway...jokes apart.....I think it takes guts and conviction on part of a gal...to question somethin'...in her favor.The conviction also might be motivated by the fact that she had never needed and would not need tat xtra hand to succeed in life. But tat doesn't need to be true wid...with evryone. Irrespective of whether the 33% reservation was crafted out of sympathy r wateva....there is no doubt that it has given an impetus for thousands of parents to send their gal childrens for higher education.
Hey Abhijeet..Thanks for the comment…agreeing to the fact it all might sound too much of preaching n reforming..but every action leads to a reaction..n every thought is propagated by a conception..so if we may bring in changes in the conception, we would certainly change the thoughts…!
Hey Arief..Thanks for tht comment…but somehow I feel defensive solutions serve the purpose only in short-term..bringing in protective shields for fairer gender might have shooted up the participation level in various fields, but these ways do not really let the real potential to be unleashed...and moreover,also increase the dependency factor…and probably not foster the symbiosis in the society in toto…to the level the impetus has been stimulated, there always has to be looking ahead and innovating the conventionalism…
On a lighter note,I do agree with ur first comment...classes wud ve been really boring for ‘Most’ of the ppl without ‘them’…after all they form the SEZ in the classes..the Special and Extra-attention Zone..:)
I think its not the reservation which should be debated on.. bt its the ppl whom these reservations are meant for. The upper class DOES NOT need these reservations, be it caste or gender or any other basis. Its the economically backward class who need them. N sadly enough they are the ones who actually do not get any benefit of these. Its true that providing 33% reservation to the girls has increased the number of females in all fields. Bt this should not become an aid for those undeserving females who attend the same school, read the same books and have same facilities as their male counterparts, and despite being unfit for the seat, get through, depriving a more deserving (male) candidate.
I never said, it was preaching or likes. :) It was a rhetorical question that whether we can improve - not just change - the thoughts. Software is easy to change. But if the thinking is hard wired, it's little time consuming to change it. And, painstaking too. :)
I do agree that it may look like a case of pity shown towards women, but one must understand that we are talking about the Indian society, which is deeply patriarchial in nature (hence male dominated as the concept of power starts from the home).
The actual solution, as you mentioned, is valid and correct - no one can deny that. But in a deeply corrupt and male-oriencted society like India, it becomes important to understand that reservations provide an oppurtunity to look ahead to a future. And I strongly disagree that it is a short-term solution (as you mentioned in your comments). Look at thet role that reservations for the SCs and STs have played out - they might not have eradicated the caste system altogether, but has given many many people the opportunuty to work hard and succeed.
But ya, each system can be misused too, the same way that the caste and gender reservations have been misused too (as mentioned by Ms. Anushree in the comments). But one must see even the positive aspects and not just the faults. We all strive for efficiency and this solutions seems to be the most efficient.
One day, I was seeing a show on NDTV regarding the gender imbalance in India. Some of the thoughts are here as such:
http://varunslife.blogspot.com/2008/04/rural-women-and-management.html
The reasons told my Ms. Renuka, ackowledge that the root problems are existing in the society, but reservations are the only way to help - first reserve and then develop forcefully. And in a society like India, incentives work miracles (Sania was one such incentive for many girls to take up tennis, more so her being from the tradionally "assumed radical" Muslim background was even more appealing)
And you may feel that this is a "pity showing" because the bill was introduced by a man... But remember one thing too: Rural India rules the roost esp. w.r.t. the population. And to include them too, reservation is necessary. The so-called "held-back" comes because of the fact that women are the only people who can raise children and when they don't do that well, pressures mount in households to stop work and start the family-work. But that's just one side of the story.
Nice article btw... Valid and just points...
There is an alternative solution that I saw while surfing on this topic. It sounds good and valid, although it may also face objections...
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Gender/2003/reservation-bill.htm
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