The mindset to exploit and abuse women stems from the very core of regressive ways in which males are raised in our society. Brought up with a firm belief that men are superior to women, such men take it upon themselves to dictate terms to women
The recent case of molestation of women in Bangalore on the occasion of New Year’s eve has shamed us yet again; not only as a nation, but also as world citizens. Compounded by the insensitive remarks made by some politicians, the incident has brought to the fore the sorry plight of women of our country. Although it would be unfair to single out India as the only country where groping and molesting women are common practices. But being a fast-growing nation in terms of population, growth and economy, India cannot afford to be one among the many countries where women are denied equal rights and are treated as second class citizens.
Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The day a woman can walk freely on the roads at night, that day we can say that India has achieved independence.” Unfortunately, the day is yet to come. All the economic growth and development seems nullified due to such blatant display of savagery. Gender discrimination seems to be deeply embedded in the DNA and the psyche of Indian men, with the social fabric soaked in prejudices against women as well.
While Governments on their part have tried to bridge the gap between the two genders through various welfare schemes and legislation, the endeavours have largely fallen short of their proposed objective. According to last year’s Economic Survey, of 39,000 dowry deaths cases registered, only 13.6 per cent were tried and only a dismal 4.4 per cent resulted in conviction. Such a low conviction rate is the outcome of laxity in the laws and the failure to protect the rights of women. The lacunae in the legal system are responsible for the failure to implement the laws which were primarily formed to protect women and punish the guilty.
Sadly, this mindset to exploit and abuse women stems from the very core of regressive ways in which males are raised in our society. Brought up with a firm belief that men are superior to women, both physically and economically, such men take it upon themselves to dictate terms to women about what they should wear and how they should behave. These are the same men who decide whether a woman should work and to whom she should get married. Ironically, the same men also decide whether she has the right to be born at all. Her fate is decided in the womb itself through sex determination as to whether she will get a chance to be born to live or become a victim of female foeticide. Such is the plight of women in a country boasting of a rich culture and heritage. Ironical but true!
Even the right to education is grossly denied to the girl child as the man of the house decides about her education and the career choices she would make in life. A large number of girls are still married at an age when they should be studying in school to become financially and economically independent later in life. The women who have managed to break the shackles of gender discrimination have been able to do so only with great effort and determination. Sadly though, this phenomenon of beating the trend has mostly emerged as an exception rather than as a rule.
This has much to do with the education and the economic freedom denied to women. Coupled with gender discrimination and lack of opportunities, it adds to the woes of women. On an average, female workers are paid less wages and are even denied an equal share in inheritance. When it comes to wages, not only are the women paid less for the tangible activities and the activities which are visibly accounted for in the conventional set-up, there is no perceived value associated with the contribution that they make in the larger sense. Activities like primary production, farming, trade, various business activities are taken for granted and are largely performed by the womenfolk.
Also, a majority of other unpaid activities like household maintenance and management, care for children, sick and the elderly and running other household errands largely go unnoticed and unaccounted for.
A survey conducted more than a decade ago revealed the hidden contribution of women to the economy of the country. According to the survey, out of 168 hours in a week, men spend about 42 hours in visibly paid activities as compared to 19 hours by women. On the other hand, women spend 34.6 hours in household related activities which are unpaid as compared to 3.6 hours for males.
A worldwide study has exposed the difference between the wages for men and women in the paid visible activities. The studies have shown that women are paid far less than men in most of the sectors. On an average, there is a five per cent pay difference between men and women. This gap is less when the workers are in their twenties but opens up with age and widens for women after the birth of a child.
One may recall the story of Joeli Brearley, founder of the project called ‘Pregnant Then Screwed’. Joeli has had a successful career in arts and digital technology. She experienced discrimination at the workplace and was sacked by her client when she became pregnant with her first child. Seeing the plight of other working women facing similar constraints, she decided to raise awareness and set up the platform to expose and highlight the problem of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the UK. India also needs similar action and implementation on the ground level to tackle the menace of gender discrimination and crimes against women.
Economically empowering the women and safeguarding their right to education and health are the forward steps in the right direction. In a country like India, where 50 per cent of the total population comprises of women, it is imperative that we overcome gender discrimination in order to achieve the all elusive double-digit growth. It would be unwise and unfair to keep this 50 per cent of the population under constant suppression and domination. Helping women flourish in a fair and free environment is critical to the growth of a country and society at large.
In order to be celebrated as the silver lining in an otherwise gloomy world, India as a nation needs to put to an end to discrimination against women that has been continuing since time immemorial and show the world a newer, unbiased and cultured India; the India that the world envisages and admires. Incidents of molestation and crimes against women that have been coming to light so often in the recent past not only let down our women but also project a poor image of our country to the outside world. Someone once rightly said, “Whenever you think about disrespecting a woman, think about how you were born into this world.”
(The writer is Associate Editor, The Pioneer)