GENDER ISSUES IN INDIA

A strong preference for sons over daughters in Indian families has been documented over centuries. A
major consequence of such ‘son preference’ is selective neglect or discrimination against daughters in
nutrition, health care and education.

Even today, the discrimination from birth leads to significantly poorer life chances for female children.
Previous research shows that girls often receive less nutritious food or fewer calories than boys and
are far less likely to receive medical care when they are sick.

i) Negative sex ratio:

The sex ratio is a clear indicator of the discrimination that women faces in any society. It in fact is the
manifestation of an increasing gender bias in India. Already in the patriarchal set up of Indian society,
the preference for male progeny (male child) is well established. Latest technologies of sex
determination also were in usage since the 70s in India. This went very well with the culture of ‘son
preference’. This led to increased elimination of female fetuses in India. Further the fact that the
Indian succession Act was continued as a slight improvement over the traditional system which
recognised males only as heirs in the line of succession. This further led to sex selective abortion
which led to a dip in the sex ratio. This is the enigma of the ‘missing women’ about which Prof.
Amartya Sen wrote in British Medical Journal in as early as 1992.
ii) Gender bias embedded in Indian culture: The culture of ‘Son Preference’
Amartya Sen also spoke about the comparative neglect of health and nutrition of girls especially but
not exclusively in the childhood. Families are known to take health issues as also giving less food and
other things to their girls in comparison to their boys. This was because spending on sons was like
investing in their future - when the son will take care of them in their old age. As for girls, it was
considered useless and bad investment spending on them. They were considered in fact a liability on
the family because they will be married off and going to their husband’s home. In Hindu tradition too
it was held that one of the main duties of marriage is to bear sons because the son has to give the
‘mukhaagni’ (fire to the dead body of parents) and only then the parents are able to get to heaven or
have a good after life.
iii) Education:
The research on education shows that girls are at a considerable disadvantage compared to boys.
Girls are much less likely to go to school than boys. In the event that they do go to school, girls are
much more likely to be withdrawn from school at an earlier age because they have to help out at
home or because of financial difficulties. As a result of the low priority placed on women’s education
within families, India has one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. In addition, a large gender
gap persists between the literacy rates for males and females. While substantial gains have been
made in education in the last few decades, the 2001 census recorded 75.3 percent literate men as
compared to 53.7 percent literate women. While this phenomenon can be observed in each state of
India, about 17% districts of India recorded a gender gap of 30 percent. For many families, education
is a way to increase their daughter’s marriage prospects. While higher education for women is often
considered unnecessary and suspect, many believe that some education is better for women because
it makes them better housekeepers, allows them to maintain better accounts and helps them bring up
children better by being able to supervise their education. In rural areas, boys want educated wives
because they are more socially adept and no longer rustic. However, a little education (most often
upto primary school) is often considered sufficient for these purposes. Girls are most often taken out
of school to help with family responsibilities, or after they after they reach puberty as a way of
protecting their honor.
iv. Women in Indian law:
In the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress in 1931, a resolution was adopted on
fundamental rights which incorporated the concept of equality of sexes. Thus emancipation of
women was viewed by the leaders of the freedom movement as a part of the greater movement for
social and political liberation. With this historical background, the founding fathers of our Constitution
did a magnificient job in ensuring gender justice in the supreme law of the country, the Constitution.
The preamble to the Constitution, inter alia, assures justice, social, economic and political, equality of
status and opportunity and dignity of the individual. The fundamental rights guarantee women’s
equality under law. Article 14 and 15 pronounce the right of men and women to equality before law
and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex by the state. Article 16 provides to both men and
women equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment under the state. Collectively these
provisions spell out the basic right to equality of women in India as individuals. However despite all
these constitutional legal provisions it was acknowledged beginning in the 1970s that the Indian State
had failed in in its obligation of not discriminating on the grounds of gender. So as a result there was
decreasing work participation especially in the formal sectors, increasing poverty and social and
economic insecurity for women. This was a clear indication of overriding gender bias. Higher
investment in education, health and public employment had benefited only a small minority as India
is a class ridden society too. And it was seen that even these privileged minority of women suffered
due to reemergence of regressive social practices such as dowry, continued inequality in personal
laws, non-enforcement of protective laws for women such as labour laws, criminal laws and the
invisibility of women’s needs, concerns, perspectives and interests in the planning process in India.