I-Day: let's resolve to value women's dignity

Social democracy precedes economic development and political freedom without which progress in human development is not possible. When we are celebrating 68th anniversary of our Independence Day it is time to reaffirm our faith on social democracy which has been the dream of makers of modern India.

Social democracy is a way of life that recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity, as principles of life. It is possible when all sections of society are provided facilities and opportunities to participate in public life. It is not only the State who has to ensure this but also all citizens have to accept this as their primary duty towards nation building. 

Article 51(A) of Constitution says it is the duty of every citizen of India to promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, regional and sectional diversities to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. It also says that citizens have to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

In this contest of social democracy, the situation of women in Odisha and specially the situation of tribal women is a matter of great concern. They are in the lowest ladder of our socio-eco structure and have been facing the triple discrimination of class, caste/ethnicity and gender.It is expected that our public institutions run by State should carry such value and practices in ensuring social democracy. 

It has been observed that many of our social practices in the name of religion, gender, caste, ethnicity and tradition are anti –human and derogatory to human values, civil rights and human rights standards accepted globally. In spite of constitutional provision of equality and anti-discriminatory laws, gender and caste-based discrimination and atrocities have not been minimized to desired extent.  

In Odisha many of the developmental issues of the State have been directly linked to the socio-cultural practices of the people. If the State will not bring desirable change in the socio-cultural sphere, it will not pave the way for the economic development and political governance because non economic factors are equally responsible for overall economic development of the State. 

In that context, there has been a need for bringing socio-cultural change among the people by promoting social democracy through equal opportunities for the most marginalized sections specially women who are prone to all kinds of subjugation and suffering because the women in our society are still struggling to come out in public life in spite of few favorable laws. 

The women of the marginalized sections are suffering in middle age barbarism by the act of fellow community members.  There have been reports of female foeticide, witchcraft, sacrifice, dowry, and caste Panchayats that prevent women to take independent decision about their life. The women of marginalized sections are being subjugated and exploited in many ways by the dominant people of the society. The social barriers in villages should be changed in a way that encourages women participation in public sphere.

The National Crime Record Bureau reports 160 cases of murders linked to witchcraft in year 2013. There are hundreds of women being brutally killed by mob, paraded naked, their hair cut, and forced to eat human excreta and face physical torture in the districts of Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sundergada, Cuttack and Ganjam though there is Odisha Prevention of Witch-hunting Act 2013, which came into existence by a High Court order to deal with such cases in line with similar Acts existing in States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.  

The Act says whoever forces any women, branding her a witch, to drink or eat inedible substances or any other obnoxious substance or parade her with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to the dignity or displace from her house, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but may be extended to five years and with fine. But the implementation of the Act needs public awareness among the illiterate people engaged in such practice in the name of customs and traditions.

There are also media reports about people who made human sacrifice to become rich and harvest more crops. There are cunning individuals exploiting the religious sentiments of the people for their petty personal interest.It is being told that illiteracy and lack of healthcare facilities are the major reasons of such inhuman act against women. 

The most recent incident happed in Joda of Keonjhar district where Gura Munda and five of his family members were brutally killed by a mob with the reason that the children in local villages were not keeping well. Though Joda is a mines area but the education and health problems of tribal communities have not been addressed by the local miners or the Government. 

The tribal women in the State lag behind in every aspect of human development. The overall child sex ratio between zero to six years was 934 in the State in 2011 census. The districts such as Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Angul and Ganjam were below 900. This has been a matter of concern that the female sex ratio has been decreasing in the State. 

In order to ensure social democracy, the Government should ensure basic facilities such as education, health and livelihood of people so that they can have the scope of exposure to the enlightened societies that respect the dignity of each and every human being and treat them equally in all respect irrespective of their sex and social identity.

“Only making laws is not enough to empower women without changing the socio-cultural barriers that contradicts women participation, decision making process in family and society, and freedom to move in public. The Government should introduce human rights education, civic sense and promote scientific human values and logical bent of mind among students in schools and encourage them to question such anti-human practices that exist in our social life. 

So that our next generation of society will have progressive mindset and cultural practices that put human dignity in centre irrespective of identities. 

It is very much relevant to States like Odisha having a large number of marginal majorities who are being deprived of basic human facilities to grow in a dignified way. 

The Government of India has been signatory to a number of international human rights covenants such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention against elimination of all forms of discrimination against women but this has not been translated to laws and programmes in many States for its effective implementation by the administration. 

Article 16 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights says men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race and nationality or religion have the right to marry and found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and its dissolution. But still our social system does not permit eligible male and female to go for a dignified married life of their choice in the absence of fully State protection in enjoying the basic human rights. 

It has been observed that many of our constitutional commitment and international human rights laws are not taken to people for its practice in building social democracy that respect all human being irrespective of their social identity.The public institutions and law making bodies need to bring in such legalization in facilitating democratic participation of women of the marginalized groups.

(The writer is a researcher and rights activist, who can be mailed at manasbbsr15@gmail.com Mob -9437060797)