India cannot develop leaving
women behind. The development of the agency of women as Amartya Sen and Jean
Dreze note is not only a means of development but also the end of development
as what is development with half of our population living a life of inequality
(actually with falling female male ratio, I take pain while referring to women
as half the population).
New intensive production
techniques tended to prioritise men’s labour over women’s have tweaked the division
of labour that existed in the hunter-gatherer societies where men used to hunt
and women used to gather argues Chris Harman in his book ‘A People’s History of
The World’. With India eyeing on higher GDP growth rate and declining female
male ratio can we co-relate Chir Haris view with the societal need of growing economic
productivity in order to make it more “developed”?
Though the Prime Minister of India talked about “sustainability” and “inclusiveness”
as two fundamentals to our growth at the recent Nation Development Council meet,
but if we look into the brisk way in which we want to achieve growth is our
women folk ready to take part in the making of our country?
Men – 82.1 % Women – 65.5% (census
2011). The figures go on declining from primary to secondary and higher
secondary levels of education and the dropout rates go on increasing.
Maternal mortality rate has come
down from 254 in 2004-06 to 212 during 2007-09.
48.8% deliveries were assisted by
doctors, trained ‘dais’, midwives, nurses.
10.4% cases of cruelty by husband
and relatives came for trail and conviction rate was in 8.3%.
India, like other societies, has
always been patriarchal society. But there are several evidences that show that
women enjoyed a respectable status in our society and most of the Hindu
scriptures including Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Vedas have several dialogues
involving women characters. Draupadi for example in Mahabharata, after being
humiliated in front of a congregation of royalty asked whether a man loses
himself first or his wife? Sita decided to go back to mother earth rather than
live a humiliating life in a society that questioned her purity. The “male”
dominant society has to face the fierce questions of these great ladies and
could do nothing but hide its face and say as “Pitamah” answered Darupadi by
saying, ‘dharma sookshma hai’ (or the
question of justice is subtle).
The self made Pitamah’s of today’s
India argue back to the indignant Draupadis of our nation who demand 33%
reservation in legislature with arguments that such a reservation will prove
that men think of women as less competent and will not be an affirmative action
by not addressing the real problem of criminalization of politics. I had to use
the word male in double quotes in the previous paragraph as I was talking about
none other but Bheesh Pitamah, undoubtedly one of the greatest men mentioned in
any scriptures of this land. The present day male in India who leave the women
behind and force them to remain indulged in homely works only do not deserve such
comparison. The constitutional amendment bill on women reservation has been
pending since 2008. Other bills like reservation for oppressed classes in
government jobs get passed without much debate as, as much as they address to a
serious problem, that also entails to more votes in next general elections for
the ruling party. The opposition did not stand up with views of such actions
not being affirmative actions and the fact the oppressed classes could not go
up in governmental jobs after recruitment because of nepotism and red tapism as
they do not want to alienate the people from these groups. Similar the reason
behind no one going for steps like curbing subsidies in agriculture. India can address to many problems if for once
it evolves politically and the legislature starts to see beyond the next
general elections only.
The question of Draupadi and the
choice of Sita remain very pertinent even today. Is ours’ a society where women
can live with dignity and without fear? Is a woman safe in our cities and
villages?
The article is an attempt in
touching various aspects of women empowerment and trying to understand the present
day situation in India.
The Preamble to the Constitution
of India enshrines the ethos of Justice and equality for all.
Talking about women there has
been some positive development in terms of women coming together and actively participating
in national debates on different fora. Organizations such as (All India Democratic
Women’s Association) AIDWA (a women wing of CPI(M)), (Mahila Dakshata Samiti) MDS,
All India Coordination Committee for working women and the Joint Women’s
Programme (JWP). Also two informal fora have emerged – Forum for Women Politics
and Forum for National Women’s Organization. Each of these organizations have
promoted lateral networks, making effort of bring members together through
workshops, regular visits, conventions campaigns. (Ramaswamy 1997).
Since the liberalization on
Indian economy and the abdication of social responsibilities by the state to
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).since 1990s, empowerment has become a prerequisite
for productive investment. Empowerment of women is one of the millennium development
goals. India has been taking several steps in addressing the needs and
aspirations of women.
Some women have grown in
prominence on the political turf. Chief among them are – Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati,
Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee, Sushma Swaraj, Bindra Karat, Mehbooba Mufti,
Meera Kumar. Though these are just few names but one can see the diverse
backgrounds from which these leaders have come. Sonia Gandhi came very late to
politics and she came to politics and received public love and respect with her
husband and former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi’s image very vivid in the minds
of the people, who was assassinated in early 1984. She showed considerable leadership
skills and was offered Prime Ministerial position which she refused to take
amidst growing opposition for her being of foreign origin. Sushma Swaraj on the
other hand is a flamboyant leader of BJP. She comes from Haryana, a state with
lowest female to male ratio, she has 36 years long political career. Mayawati,
the miracle of democracy as former prime minister P.V. Narsimha Rao called her,
is a four times chief minister of the most populous state of India (U.P.). He
comes from a dalit family and is actively
involved in addressing the problems of the oppressed class. One can credit her
for not letting a Naxalbari happen in Uttar Pradesh, a state that is majorly
dependent of agriculture and had feudal landlord structure since pre-colonial
era. Jayalalitha (known as Puratchi Thalaivi
“revolutionary leader”) was a famous movie actress before entering in politics.
Mamata Banerjee coming from a lower middle class family, grew to prominence and
is now the Chief Minister of West Bengal. In 2012 Time magazine named as one of
the 100 most influential people in the world. Mehbooba Mufti Saeed is Jammu
Kashmir People’s Democratic Party. She is daughter of former Chief Minister of
J&K.
One can easily see the diverse
background from which these leaders have come from. In a highly unequal society
of present day India, divided on class, creed and caste, one can say that
homogenising the women cause is always fraught with danger of alienation and non-representativeness
of the women movement in India (Anupama Roy).
Missing women” – a concept developed by Amartya Sen (1990, 1992) –
refers to the observation that in parts of the developing world, notably in
India and China, the ratio of women to men is suspiciously low. Sen translated
those skewed sex ratios into absolute numbers by calculating the number of
extra women who would have been alive (say in China or India) if these
countries had the same ratio of women to men as in areas of the world in which
they purportedly receive similar care. Sen estimated that more than 100 million
women were “missing”, presumably from inequality and neglect leading to excess
female mortality.
Sen argues that female infanticide cannot alone be the reason behind
the falling female male ratio. When we talk about the female child deaths in
the age group of 0-5 years, as infanticide occurs just after child birth one
have to look into the cause of deaths that occur after 1 year of age. In our
society, in general, the male child gets better health and nutritional care.
There is a bias in the upbringing of the children and the male child of the
family get preference over the female and
this is the major reason behind the fact that female child either dies before
reaching the age of 5 years or grows up suffering from anaemia many a times.
Taking about the “women agency”, Amartya Sen says that “The agency
role of women had a direct bearing on women’s well-being”. Sen argues that
there is correlation between infant mortality and female empowerment. The more
empowered a woman is the more is the chance of survival of the new born and
proper upbringing of the children. The different aspects (women’s earning
power, economic role outside the family, literacy and education, property
rights and so on) may at first sight appear to be rather diverse and disparate.
Buut what they all have in common is their positive contribution in adding
force to the women’s voice and agency – through independence and empowerment.
The agency role of women is also particularly important for the
reduction of fertility rate. (Amartya Sen). Women agency can help in promoting
child survival and to reduce fertility rates.
There are some impressive steps being taken by the Indian government to
address the problems faced by women. I discuss many of them one by one in
brevity.
Schemes
The Government of India has been implementing various schemes and programmes
for the welfare and empowerment of women in the areas of poverty alleviation,
skill up-gradation, micro credit, development and sustainable income generation,
science and technology, education, health services, awareness generation, legal
literacy and support services.
Indira Mahila Yojana
The scheme was introduced in 1995. The programme seeks to organise the
women’s development at aganwadi lvel
in Indira mahila kendras where their need is identified, prioritised and
evolved into micro plans. These plans are combined at the block level and then
at the district level district plans are formulated. The institutional
mechanism helps improve women participation. The spectrum if services at the
Indira Mahila Kendra are:
·
Easier access to credit available for women in
government schemes
·
Preparation of sub-plan for women
·
Information sharing
·
Awareness and confidence building
·
Creation of opinion groups
·
Raising of resources
The
objectives of the scheme are:- To improve the health and nutrition status of
pregnant, lactating women and infants by:
i. Promoting
appropriate practices, care and service utilisation during pregnancy, safe
delivery and lactation
ii. Encouraging
the women to follow (optimal) IYCF practices including early and exclusive
breast feeding for six months
iii. Contributing
to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health
and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers
STEP (SUPPORT TO TRINING AND EMPLOYMENT
PROGRAMME FOR)
OBJECTIVE OF THE
SCHEME
·
To mobilise women in small viable groups and
make facilities available though and access to credit.
·
To provide training for skill upgradation.
·
To enable groups of women to take up
employment-cum-income generation programs by providing backward and forward
linkages.
·
To provide support services for further
improving training and employment conditions for women.
The Swashakti, Rural Women’s
Development and Empowerment Project
in 57 Districts of 9 States for a period of 5 years. About 17647 SHGs have been
formed under the project so far, enabling about 243,962 women to enhance their
confidence and to increase their control over income through their involvement
in skill development and income generating activities. By March 2004, nearly Rs.3904 million had
been disbursed to about 1.1 million SHGs formed under the Support and Linkage
Programme launched by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD). About 90 per cent of these groups are exclusive women’s groups. Micro-finance institutions have increased
outreach and NGOs have promoted SHGs at the village level.
Swadhar (launched in the year
2001)
It is an innovative approach catering to the requirements of women in
difficult circumstances. It specially focuses on the rehabilitation of sex
workers, women/girls offered to temples, viz., devadasis, basavis, joginis,
women/ girls in social and moral danger, destitute/young/elderly widows, displaced
women, single women, women-headed households, women affected by natural
calamities and other women in distress in diverse situations under difficult
conditions. The scheme provides shelter, counseling and training for those
women in difficult circumstances who do not have any social and economic
support.
Swayamsidha (launched in
the year 2001)
It is an integrated program for the empowerment of women through the
net work of self help groups of women by ensuring their direct access to and
control over resources. It seeks to
achieve convergence of all women related schemes of Central and State
Governments in about 650 blocks, throughout the country. Another important programme discussed earlier
of the DWCD is the Support to Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP). This
programme provides updated skills and knowledge to poor and asset-less women in
traditional sector, such as dairying, animal husbandry, sericulture, handlooms,
social forestry, etc.
The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) (since its
registration in 1993)
It has established its credentials as the premier micro-credit agency
with its focus on women and their economic empowerment through the provisions
of credit to poor and asset-less women in the informal sector. It has
sanctioned about Rs. 1544 million and disbursed about Rs.1182 million
benefiting about 507,650 women through 1130 NGOs, as on September 2004.
The Swarnajayanti Gram
Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
It aims at bringing beneficiary families above the poverty line by providing
them with income-generating assets through a mix of bank credit and Government
subsidy. Although 40 per cent of the benefits under this scheme have been earmarked
for women, as on 31st March 2005, the percentage share of women benefited under
this scheme reached 48.44. About 2 million SHGs have been formed under this scheme
since 1st April 1999, of
which 1.36 million are exclusively by women. A cumulative sum of Rs.29431.7
million has been disbursed as credit to 220,000 self-help groups for taking up
income generating activities, benefiting 90,000 families. The Sampoorna Grameen
Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) endeavours to create 30 per cent of the employment
opportunities for women. Between 1st April 2001 and 31st March
2005, 2873.4 million mandays have been generated, benefiting 761.1 million
women (26.49 per cent).
The Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
stipulates that houses under the scheme be allotted in the name of the woman or
in the joint names of the spouses.
The National Maternity Benefit
Scheme aims at assisting the expectant mother by providing Rs. 500 each for
the first two live births. This has recently been revamped as the
Janani Suraksha Yojana.
The Rural Sanitation Programme
ensures construction of village sanitary complexes exclusively for women, where
individual latrines are not feasible.
Under the Urban Self-employment
Programme (USEP) of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) assistance
is provided to the urban poor, especially women, living below the urban poverty
line. Efforts taken by the Government have yielded results in reducing poverty
to 26 per cent in 2000 as against 50 per cent in the year 1973. The absolute
number of people living below poverty line has come down to 260 million in 2000.
The Government acknowledges that the ever increasing violence against
women is yet another manifestation of low and unequal status of women. The
Central Government, in its 10th plan has committed to address the
problem of violence against women on top priority basis through a well-planned
Programme of Action with short and long-term measures at the National and State levels. Besides, it
also aims at bringing about necessary amendments in the Indian Penal Code and
other related legislations. Initiating
efforts in close collaboration with the committed NGOs to bring forth societal orientation
is yet another intervention proposed during the 10th plan.
Acts
Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act, 2005, (Come into Force on 26/10/2006)
Protection of Women from
Domestic Violence Act, 2005
The salient features
of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 are as follows:
·
The Act seeks to cover those women who are or have been in a
relationship with the abuser where both parties have lived together in a shared
household and are related by consanguinity, marriage or a relationship in the
nature of marriage, or adoption; in addition relationship with family members
living together as a joint family are also included. Even those women who are
sisters, widows, mothers, single women, or living with the abuser are entitled
to get legal protection under the proposed Act.
·
"Domestic violence" includes actual abuse or the threat of
abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic. Harassment by
way of unlawful dowry demands to the woman or her relatives would also be
covered under this definition.
·
One of the most important features of the Act is the woman’s right to
secure housing. The Act provides for the woman’s right to reside in the
matrimonial or shared household, whether or not she has any title or rights in
the household. This right is secured by a residence order, which is passed by a
court. These residence orders cannot be passed against anyone who is a woman.
·
The other relief envisaged under the Act is that of the power of the
court to pass protection orders that prevent the abuser from aiding or
committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified act, entering a
workplace or any other place frequented by the abused, attempting to
communicate with the abused, isolating any assets used by both the parties and
causing violence to the abused, her relatives and others who provide her
assistance from the domestic violence.
·
The draft Act provides for appointment of Protection Officers and NGOs to provide
assistance to the woman w.r.t medical examination, legal aid, safe shelter,
etc.
·
The Act provides for breach of protection order or interim protection
order by the respondent as a cognizable and non-bailable offence punishable
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which
may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Similarly, non-compliance or
discharge of duties by the Protection Officer is also sought to be made an
offence under the Act with similar punishment.
The Act not only covers physical harassment but
also mental harassment.
Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1961
The payment
of a dowry was prohibited in 1961 under Indian civil law and subsequently by
Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code.
Indecent Representation of
Women
The Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act was passed by Indian parliament in 1986. This
prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisement or in
publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.
The Commision of Sati
(Preventation) Act and rules
National Commission for Women
Act
The Medical Termination Of
Pregnancy Act, 1971:
During the last thirty years many countries have liberalized their
abortion laws. The worldwide process of liberalization continued after 1980.
Today only 8% of the world's population lives in countries where the law
prevents abortion. Although the majority of countries have very restricted
abortion laws, 41% of women live in countries where abortion is available on
request of women. In India, Shantilal Shah Committee (1964) recommended
liberalization of abortion law in 1966 to reduce maternal morbidity and
mortality associated with illegal abortion. On these bases, in 1969 Medical
termination of pregnancy bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha and
passed by Indian Parliament in Aug. 1971. Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act,
1971 (MTP Act) was implemented from Apr.1972. Implemented rules and regulations
were again revised in 1975 to eliminate time consuming procedures for the approval
of the place and to make services more readily available. The MTP Act, 1971
preamble states" an Act to provide for the termination of certain
pregnancies by registered medical practitioners and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto".
The preamble is very clear in stating that termination of pregnancy
would be permitted in certain cases. The cases in which the termination is
permitted are elaborated in the Act itself. Moreover, only a registered medical
practitioner who is defined in Sec.2(d) of the Act as "a medical
practitioner who possess any recognize medical qualification as defined in
Cl.(h) of sec.2 of the Indian Medical Register and who has such experience or
training in gynecology and Obstetrics as may be prescribed by rules made under
this Act" is permitted to conduct the termination of pregnancy. Also other
matters connected there with the incidental thereto are incorporated, for
example, the question of consent of termination of pregnancy, the place where
the pregnancy could be terminated, the power to make rules and regulations in
this behalf.
UN Convention:
Convention on the Elimination
of all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW)
The Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN
General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for
women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what
constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national
action to end such discrimination.
The Convention defines discrimination against women
as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex
which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a
basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."
By accepting the Convention, States commit
themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against
women in all forms, including:
- to
incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal
system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones
prohibiting discrimination against women;
- to
establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective
protection of women against discrimination; and
- to
ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons,
organizations or enterprises.
The Convention provides the basis for
realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal access
to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life -- including the
right to vote and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and
employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures,
including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy
all their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Convention is the only human rights treaty
which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and
tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family
relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their
nationality and the nationality of their children. States parties also
agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in women and
exploitation of women.
Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to
put its provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit
national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to
comply with their treaty obligations.
India Report to CEDAW:
The Constitution guarantees equality and prohibits discrimination on
the grounds of sex. In consonance with this policy the Government has enacted
various laws. The discriminatory provisions of law are being progressively
reviewed. The National Commission for Women, the Department of Women and Child
Development and the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women have
reviewed various laws and recommended amendments to many of the laws with the
objective of promoting equality and to amend discriminatory provisions.
(Article 1 Para 36). Legislative reforms
have been identified as one of the thrust areas by the Prime Minister. An Inter-Ministerial Committee including NCW
and NGOs working in this field has been constituted in May 2005 to review
existing laws to address discrimination and ensure equality to women.
India is a secular country, having diverse cultures and religions and
it respects the views of all the different communities based on religion,
language and geographical locations. The Constitution of India (Article 44)
imposes an obligation on the State to secure for its citizens a uniform civil code. The Supreme Court, in
more than one judgement has observed the need for adopting a uniform civil code
so that the discriminatory provisions both for inter-religious and
intra-religious groups could be eliminated. The Central Government is of the
opinion that the country is not ready to adopt a uniform civil code on the
heterogeneous groups. However, the Government is currently attempting to
consider each of the personal laws independently to make these gender
(sensitive) just by repealing the discriminatory provisions. This is a step
forward towards achieving gender equality and a move towards achieving a
uniform civil code. The Government in its National Empowerment Policy for
Women, 2001, has committed to encourage changes in personal laws such as those
related to marriage, divorce, maintenance and guardianship so as to eliminate
discrimination against women, with the initiative of and with the full
participation of all stake holders, including the community and religious
leaders.
Budget allocations of the Dept
of Women and Child Development Annual plan (Rs. in millions)
1997-98 9,000.00
1998-99 12,250.95
1999-00 13,200.00
2000-01 14,600.00
2001-02 16,500.00
2002-03 22,000.00
2003-04 26,000.00
2004-05 24,000.00
2005-06 39,000.00
Registration of births and
marriages and reservation and declarations
As stated in the Initial Report, India has ratified the Convention with
two declaratory statements on Articles 5(a), 16(1) and 16(2) of the Convention.
However these reservations / declarations are being reviewed. The National
Population Policy, 2000 adopted by the Government of India has set the target
of achieving 100 per cent registration of births and deaths by 2010.
Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 provides a comprehensive system of
registration across the country and makes it obligatory on the part of medical
institutions, maternity homes, etc. to report events of births and deaths
occurring therein directly to the concerned Registrar for registration. In case
of events occurring in houses, the head of the household has been made
responsible to report the event. The Act has also made certain persons responsible
for notifying the Registrar with regard to the occurrence of these events. The process of revamping the registration
system in the country by modifying the forms and procedures of registration
with a view to making the registration process simple, initiated in the year
1999 has been completed. This has resulted in simplified procedures and speeding
up of receipts of monthly reports from the State Headquarters. Different State Governments
have framed rules under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, providing
procedures for the registration of births and deaths and many States have simplified
the same.
Though there is no Central legislation for compulsory registration of
marriages, some States are enforcing compulsory registration either through
State laws or executive orders. As stated in its Initial Report, India has
different personal laws dealing with civil and matrimonial rights and as such
does not have a uniform law regarding registration of marriages. However, some
of the personal laws do provide for registration of marriage. The Special
Marriage Act, 1956 provides for compulsory registration of marriages where irrespective
of religion, marriages have to be registered. The Indian Christian Marriage Act,
1936 requires registration of marriage that is done in the Church. The Parsees Marriage
and Divorce Act, 1936 also provides for registration of marriages. As far as Mohammedans
are concerned the marriage is a contract and is usually reduced into a 'nikhanaama’
(Marriage Contract Deed). The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 also provides for registration
of marriage but the same is not compulsory. In Goa, the family laws provide for
compulsory registration of marriage. It has a provision of penalising the Civil
Registrar if any marriage is registered in contravention of the provisions of
the civil code, thus making the concerned officers more responsible. In
addition, some of the State Governments have enacted laws for registration of
marriages, such as, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Himachal
Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh, in its
Population Policy,
2002 has adopted the policy of compulsory registration of marriages and
has involved the Panchayats to enforce the same.The issue of registration of marriages
has drawn the attention of the Supreme Court in Seema vs Ashwini Kumar (2005
AIR SCW 2939), where the Supreme Court has suggested that the Government can
issue executive instructions to various States and Union Territories to
authorize officials specifically to keep record of marriages till a suitable
legislation is passed. The Government is
in the process of gathering views from various State Governments on the above
suggestion.
The Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women in its 5th Report submitted to the
Parliament on
3rd December 2001
recommended that the Government make registration of marriages compulsory in
order to prevent bigamy. The Government has also accepted this recommendation
to amend the Hindu Marriage Act and make marriage registration compulsory. The
Government in its National Policy on Empowerment of Women, 2001 commits to
making the registration of marriages compulsory with a view to eliminating
child marriages by 2010. The National Commission for Women is in the process of
drafting an Act on compulsory registration of marriages.
However, as regards Article 16 (1), the Government for the present,
states that it is committed to its National Empowerment Policy adopted in 2001.
This policy aims at encouraging changes in personal laws such as whose related
to marriage, divorce, maintenance and guardianship so as to eliminate
discrimination against women. This will be done with the initiative of and full
participation of all stakeholders, including the community and religious
leaders. Therefore, the question of withdrawing the declaration will be
considered in future.
Government to make primary and
secondary education compulsory by introducing and enforcing relevant
regulations (Para 64, 65 of concluding comments)
The recent 86th Constitutional Amendment makes free and
compulsory education a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6
to 14 years. By the year 2010, Sarva Shiksha Abhyan, a scheme formulated to
achieve Universal Primary Education, will provide elementary education to all
children in the 6-14 years age group. To
encourage girl children to go beyond primary schooling, many States have made education
completely free for girls up to higher secondary stage. Due to sustained endeavours,
financial allocation for education in the Tenth Plan (2002-2007) has increased
to Rs.43825 million as against Rs.24908.4 million in the Ninth Plan period.
This amounts to an increase of 72 per cent. The expenditure on education
as a percentage of GDP has risen to 4.27 per cent in 2000-2001. The Government,
in its annual budget for the year 2004-2005 has introduced 2 per cent education
cess to fulfill the commitment of the Government to universalize quality basic
education. The Government is committed to providing 6 per cent of the GDP from
the Government and private sources for education. If the private investments in
this sector are taken into consideration, the total expenditure on education
will, however, be close to the target of 6 per cent of the GDP. Sex
Discrimination Act and application of the standards of the Constitution and the
Convention to the non-state actors. (Para 66, 67 of the concluding comments)
The Government has so far not
enacted a separate Act, i.e., the Anti Discrimination Act. However, many of the
existing laws do ensure prohibition of discrimination. The private sector too
is implementing these laws. The Minimum
Wages Act, 1926, ensures minimum rates of wages to the unskilled and semi
skilled workers and
other categories of employees employed in scheduled employment including
the construction workers, workers engaged in laying of electricity lines,
cables and water supply and sewerage pipelines, etc. The Equal Remuneration
Act, 1976, ensures equal wages for equal work including women. Besides, the
various labour laws, like the Factories Act, 1948, the Plantation Labour Act,
1951, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, Maternity
Benefit Act, 1964, Beedi and Cigar Workers (Condition of Employment) Act, 1966
providing special measures for women workers are also applicable to the private
sector. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, which is
applicable to the private sector provides that sexual harassment at work place
constitutes a misconduct for which the worker is liable for disciplinary
action.
The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 providing for health and welfare
of employees drawing wages less than certain fixed ceiling limits and Employees
Provident Funds Act, 1952 extends to the private sector also.
13. Unorganized sector workers, constituting 93 per cent of the country’s
total work force, do not get welfare benefits like their counterparts in the
organized sector. It is estimated that out of the female labour force in India,
more than 90 per cent are in the unorganized sector. In order to address this
issue, the Government has recently introduced the “Unorganized Sector Workers’
Social Security Scheme” which covers workers in the unorganized sector drawing
less than Rs.6500 per month. The Employees Provident Fund Organization manages
this fully Government funded scheme that provides triple benefit of pension,
personal accident insurance and medical insurance.
The implementation of many welfare
labour laws in home based/non-formal sector becomes difficult, as it is
difficult to recognize the employer-employee relationship. The Central
Government is proposing to introduce the “Unorganized Sector Workers’ Bill”,
which proposes to regulate the employment and conditions of services and
provide for their safety, social security, health and welfare. It also has many
special measures like maternity leave, crèche and equal remuneration for women.
Implementation of the standard of the CEDAW Convention at the domestic/private sphere
is still a challenge to be addressed. Violence against women (Para 68, 69, 70
of the concluding comments)
Statistics on the incidence of total crimes committed against women to
the total crimes in India has shown that the incidence of crimes against women
has increased from 135,771 in 1999 to 140601 in 2003. However the proportion to the total crimes
has marginally declined from 2.76 per cent in 1999 to 2.56 per cent in
2003. The increase in the number of
cases of crime reported is due to the fact that increasing legal awareness has
enabled people to access the redressal system. Four pronged strategies have
been adopted to address violence, i.e., (a) legislative action, (b) training
and awareness, (c) support service, through crisis intervention and
rehabilitation center, crimes against women cells, strict enforcement of
poverty alleviation programmes, enhanced opportunities for education of girls,
proactive measures by enforcement machinery with participation of NGOs and (d)
action at social level such as encouraging NGOs to generate public opinion on
law enforcement agencies, self help groups of women, organizing gender
awareness week, etc. All women police stations have been set up in 14 States to
facilitate in the reporting of crimes against women. Help line cells in police stations
have been set up to address calls regarding incidence of violence against
women.
Voluntary Action Bureaus and Family Counseling Centers have been set up
in police stations to provide counseling and rehabilitative services to women
and children who are victims of family maladjustment. Special Courts, viz.,
Family Courts and Fast Track Courts have been set up and some courts are
exclusively meant to address crimes against women. Gender sensitization of
enforcement agencies especially the police and the judiciary is being imparted
periodically.
The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001 commits to address
all forms of violence against women, physical and mental, at domestic and
societal levels, including those arising from customs, traditions or accepted
practices, with a view to eliminating its incidence. It further commits to
create and strengthen the existing institutions and mechanisms for prevention
of such violence including sexual harassment at the work place, customs like
dowry, rehabilitation of the victims of violence and for effective action
against the perpetrators of such violence and special measures to tackle trafficking
in women and girls.
Armed Forces (Special Provisions)
Act (Para 71, 72 of the concluding comments)
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 was enacted when India was
faced with an acute law and order situation on account of activities of
insurgents in the border areas in the eastern frontiers of India. The
territorial application of this legislation is limited to certain border States
and territories on the eastern frontier. The Act provides that its provisions
will only come into effect in such areas, which are declared as
"disturbed areas" by the Governor who is the highest civil
authority and the constitutional head of the concerned Indian State. This
provides a significant safeguard against any possible misuse of authority in
invoking the powers under the Act by vesting the competence to declare an area
as a "disturbed area" in the highest authority of the State. The
propriety of and the bona fides of the exercise of power in this regard is
always subject to judicial review. The
special powers under this legislation can be exercised only in situations,
namely, dispersal of unlawful assembly, preventing persons from carrying
weapons, destruction of arms dumps, search and seizure, and effecting of arrest
of persons suspected of commission of a cognizable offence. The Act, moreover, specifically
provides that once a member of the armed forces has arrested any person and taken
him into custody, the person must be handed over to the nearest police station,
to ensure that the normal rights of an arrested person are made available to
him in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Criminal
Procedure Code.
Thus the special powers conferred on the Army officers are limited to the
stage of making the arrest. Certain immunities have been accorded in order to
avoid the possibility of harassment and vexatious civil or criminal proceedings
which could hamper due discharge of the duties of these officers. All civil
offences committed by the Army personnel while operating in counter insurgency
areas are promptly dealt with under the Army Act and culprits are brought to
justice. The Army has issued exhaustive ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ for Army personnel
operating in such areas, and these have been approved by the Supreme Court in
the case of Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights –vs- Union of India (1998
SCC 109). In fact, the Central Government accords sanction for prosecution in
all cases where it is satisfied that the grievance is justified. In cases of violence and harassment, if any,
reported to the Army, appropriate disciplinary actions
are taken against such persons within the department.
Gender sensitization and human rights programmes for police, security
forces and medical professionals.
Gender sensitization training of personnel of executive, legislative and
judicial wings of the State, with a special focus on policy and programme
framers, implementation and development agencies, law enforcement machinery and
the judiciary are in progress. Gender sensitization forms part of the training
given to judges by the National Judicial Academy. Most of the State level
training institutions have included a
gender sensitization module for the orientation of officials. National
Research Training Center at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration for the training of administrators imparts training in gender concerns,
and gender budget analysis is a part of the syllabus.
Medical officers who are responsible for implementing the Pre-Conception
and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PNDT) Act are sensitized
through regional seminars with collaboration of UNFPA, Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare and State Governments. Gender sensitization is also included in
the training module of health functionaries under phase II of the Reproductive
Child Health (RCH) Programme. The Department of Women and Child Development has
undertaken several training and orientation programmes in this regard. The Department has enlisted significant
support of various civil society organisations. The civil society itself is
very active in gender sensitisation and is playing a very effective role in promoting
gender awareness.
Caste based discrimination,
including violence, suffered by women of dalit community (Para 74, 75 of the
concluding comments)
The Government recognizing the historical disadvantage and vulnerability
of the dalit women has adopted several measures to address their concerns and
the same has been highlighted in Article 4 in paragraphs 97 to 100. The
Government has passed two legislations namely the Protection of Civil Rights
Act (PCRA), 1955 and the Prevention of
Atrocities against Scheduled Caste/Tribe Act, 1989 to enable the dalits to
enjoy human
rights on par with other sections of Indian society and empower them in
their struggle for their rights, but crimes against dalits continue to
exist. The number of cases registered with
the police nationwide as crimes and atrocities against Scheduled Castes is
26,252 cases in 2003. Percentage share of crimes committed against SC and ST to
total crimes is about 0.73 per cent and 0.58 per cent respectively in 2003.
Trafficking (Para 76, 77 of the
concluding comments)
The Government has adopted several strategies to address the problem of trafficking.
It consists of law enforcement measures, income generation schemes, educational
opportunities, rescue and rehabilitation, special schemes such as Swadhar, etc. A National Plan of Action has been drawn up to combat trafficking in girl
children. (More details given in Article 6.)
Holistic health policy for women,
maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, sex ratio, sex selective
abortion and family planning targeted at women (Para 78, 79)
National Population Policy, 2000 has brought in an inter-sectoral agenda
for holistic, integrated reproductive health care to address the concerns of
maternal mortality and infant mortality. The Government has adopted a life
cycle approach to women’s health in its RCH programme. The Government aims to
provide health services that address women’s health across their life cycle
from birth through child hood and adolescence to adulthood. The programme aims
to engender the reproductive process so as to make men visible in the process
of reproductive decision-making and contraceptive use. Efforts are being made
for establishing male reproductive health centers in the Tenth Five-Year Plan
to motivate men to come forward and to accept family planning. No Scalpel
Vasectomy Project was launched in January 1998 to promote male participation
in the family welfare programmes; the male sterilization gradually
increased from 1.8 per cent in 1997 to 2.46 per cent in 2002. The project has
been implemented in 20 States so far. The Pre-conception and Prenatal
Diagnostic Technique (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994 was amended in
2003 to make it more stringent. Some projects have been approved for raising
awareness about the provisions of PNDT Act. Adding more teeth to the PNDT Act,
the Government has roped in former police chiefs to form a Special Cell to
fight female foeticide. The Cell will
act as a watchdog in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh
and Delhi. The members will not only go on
undercover operations but have prosecution powers too. The Health Ministry will form the cell, which
will be headed by a retired Director General of Police, and the State
branch will be led by a former officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector
General or Inspector General. National
and State level Monitoring Committees have been set up to keep constant vigil
on States and Union Territories for implementation of the PNDT Act.
Low participation of women in
administration and judiciary (Para 80, 81 of the concluding comments)
Although the number of women in administration has been low, their
numbers are improving. There are 645
women in IAS/IPS service as on 2000, which is about 7.65 per cent as compared
to 5.4 per cent in the year 1987. The number of women in Foreign Service is
also low at 78 in the year 2002. There
is a woman judge in the Supreme Court out of 25 judges, and 25 women judges in
the High Courts across the country out of a
total of 514 judges as on 31st May 2005.
Sex disaggregated data (Para 81 of
the concluding comments)
The Government has initiated
measures to generate gender specific information on various socio-economic
indicators. The first step was to engender the National Census of 2001. Some of
the data available has been stated in the relevant Articles. Indicators like
population in the age group 0-6 years, literacy and work participation rates,
etc. have been identified and sex-disaggregated data is being collected at the
National, State and District levels on these indicators. The office of the
Registrar General and Census Commissioner has been actively supporting gender
sensitisation and human rights issues by bringing out relevant data. The Census Division has come up with data and
maps on declining sex ratios which enables identification of the areas that
require intervention. Data on sex ratio at birth is recommended to be collected
and monitored
through Civil Registration System on a monthly basis by States for
suitable and timely interventions. The
Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) brings out regularly a publication
“Women and Men in India” which gives improved data base on gender issues and
has also prepared a National Plan of Action, that bridges the gaps in
statistics on gender issues, following which statistics are now available on a
number of new indicators
of concern. The Central Government, with a view to analysing the
contribution of the women and men in the national economy through unpaid
household work and to study the gender dimensions in the personal activities,
has conducted a pilot time use survey, during 1998-1999, in about 18600
households spread over 6 States, namely, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya and has published the report in 2000. It has
also under taken some exercises for ‘Valuation of Unpaid Household Work and
Community Services” and ‘Estimation of Work Force’.
Recognising the need for engendering statistical activities through a
paradigm shift, the CSO is creating awareness about the same through workshops.
Concerted efforts will be carried out through Gender Resource Center (GRC) for
collection/collation of gender disaggregated data and creation of a
comprehensive database on women related policies/issues in agriculture. Gender Resource Center will also assess the
gender impact of various ongoing programmes of Government of India on
agriculture to ensure that 30 per cent of benefits of all programmes flow to
women farmers.
Disparity in economic activity rate
and inheritance rights (Para 82 of concluding comments)
Work participation rates of women have been increasing over a period of
time. According to the 2001 census, 25.6 per cent of women in the labour force
were working as compared to 22.3 per cent in the year 1991 and 19.7 per cent in
1981. However, the disparity between men
and women continues to exist and women are found concentrated in the informal
and marginalised sectors.
The Government has taken note that denial of inheritance of rights in
land in the patriarchal system has contributed to the subordinate status of
women. It has committed to making special efforts to consider/encourage
necessary amendments in legislations relating to ownership of property and
inheritance by evolving consensus on the subject and making them gender
just. Some of the States like Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have amended the provisions in the Hindu
Succession Act, regarding coparcenary property (ancestral immovable joint
family properties) to enable the daughter also to inherit ancestral properties.
The Central Government has proposed to amend the Hindu Succession Act
conferring co-parcenary rights for women.
Bonded labour (Para 83 of the
concluding comments)
The Bonded Labour System has been abolished by law under the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) At, 1976, which penalizes engaging bonded labourers.
A separate Development Planning Cell under the Ministry of Labour, has been set
up since 1981 to co-ordinate the policy, planning and monitoring of
implementation of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. Under the Centrally
Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers , assistance of Rs.
20,000/- is provided to each bonded labourer. As on March 2005, as many as 266,283 have been
rehabilitated. The issue of bonded labour had engaged the attention of Supreme
Court in PUCL -vs- State of Tamil Naidu (AIR 2004 SCW 3771). The Supreme Court has given directions to
identify, release and provide appropriate rehabilitation for the bonded
labourers. In accordance with the Court directions the NHRC has taken over the monitoring of the
implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court as well as the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act. The NHRC is holding sensitization workshop in
collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment in order to sensitize the functionaries
dealing with the issue of bonded labour in the States. A special group under
the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment has been
constituted to monitor the implementation of the Bonded Labour Act and focused
attention is paid on the effective implementation of the Act and efforts taken
to eradicate the bonded labour system wherever it exists.
Rural women's access to land and
credit (Para 83 of the concluding comments)
The Government has adopted land reforms and ceiling laws on agricultural
lands. The surplus lands that vest with the Government has been redistributed
to the landless. While granting lands to the landless, the Government has been
issuing Joint Pattas (title deeds) in the names
of both the husband and wife, thereby making women joint-owners of the
land. Efforts are being made on a pilot basis to improve women’s access to land
by providing community wasteland, fallow land, surplus land for ‘collective
action’ to women’s Self Help Groups on long-term lease basis and to promote
joint pattas. These efforts have been
initiated under GOI-UNDP Food Security Programme which is being implemented in
Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
Under these, 4200 acres of surplus/fallow land have been provided to
2206 women groups. In Orissa, 355 acres
of land allotted to 903 women members have been registered under joint patta. Similarly,
approximately 1000 acres of land mortgaged to money-lenders by women members
have been released through project
interventions. Some States like Tamil
Nadu are implementing schemes such as the Comprehensive Wasteland Programme,
wherein waste lands are leased to self help groups with priority being given to
women self help groups. This scheme linked with the Agriculture Department
gives them loans for tube wells and provides other help. DWCD has drawn
attention to other State Governments to initiate
similar schemes that ensure self-sustenance and empowerment of women.
Various schemes have been undertaken by the Government to provide alternative
systems of credit to women through micro credit, self-help schemes and
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh.(RMK)
National Commission for Women (Para
84, 85 of the concluding comments)
The National Commission for Women (NCW), a statutory body, established in
1992, has the mandate to safeguard the rights and interests of women by
ensuring Constitutional guarantees of equal status to women, review the
existing legislations and monitor their effects on women, recommend suitable
amendments and provide a forum for women for redressal of their grievances.
Similarly, many States have enacted the State Commission for Women Act. State Commissions for Women have been constituted
in 20 out of 28 States and 7 Union territories. The Government has been persuading
the other States and Union Territories to constitute their respective State Commissions. Although the NCW is not an apex body for the
State Commissions for Women and they function independently, they work in
collaboration in their endeavours
to maintain networking with the State Commissions. The Parliamentary
Committee on the Empowerment of Women, reviewing the powers of NCW in February
2003, has recommended amendments to the National Commission of Women Act, to
confer more powers while investigating cases of violations of constitutional
right on par with the powers enjoyed by the National Human Rights Commission,
including powers for penal
action and appointment of a Commissioner of Women’s Rights for conducting
investigations and tackling specific complaints of atrocities against women.
The recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on the Empowerment of Women
on the powers of the NCW and also the CEDAW Committee in the Concluding Comments are receiving active consideration of
the Government.
Violence against human rights
defenders (Para 86, 87 of the concluding comments)
Government has been actively involving the NGOs and women’s groups in a number
of its activities, i.e., law reforms; planning, implementing and monitoring
many of its schemes and programmes.
Thereby it has developed a strong partnership with these groups.
Unfortunately, few incidents of violence against human rights and women activists
have occurred and Government proposes to check and prevent them in its endeavour to prevent violence and crimes
against women in accordance with the commitment in the National Empowerment
Policy, 2001 Challenges Ahead
Despite the constitutional mandate of equal legal status for men and
women, the same is yet to be realized. The dejure laws have not been translated
into defacto situation for various reasons such as illiteracy, social
practices, prejudices, cultural norms based on patriarchal values, poor
representation of women in policy-making, poverty, regional disparity in
development, lack of access and opportunity to information and resources, etc.
The Government in many of its initiatives through the National Empowerment
Policy of Women, 2001, gender budget, Women Component Plan and various schemes
has attempted to bridge the gap between the promise in the Constitution and the
Convention and the defacto situation.
