Gender Inequality

AMR-APARD, Hyderabad

Gender inequality is not one affliction.Prominent faces of gender injustice can

vary.The effects of gender inequality can

impoverish the lives of men as well as women.

Gender inequality hurts the interests not only of girls and grown-up women, but also of boys and men.

Kinds of Gender inequality

Mortality inequalityNatality inequalityBasic facility inequalitySpecial opportunity inequalityProfessional inequalityOwnership inequalityHousehold inequality

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

Discrimination of women based on their gender occurs throughout their lifecycle

Survival itself is the first challenge

SEX RATIO: India is one of the few countries worldwide with

an adverse child sex ratio in favor of boys. Nationwide, 7000 fewer girls than expected are

born each day largely due to sex determination.

In 80% of districts in India the situation is getting worse. For example, in 14 districts of Haryana and Punjab, there are even fewer than 800 girls per 1000 boys.

While the PNDT (Pre-Natal Diagnostic Testing) Act is passed in India in 1994, enforcement has been lagging with only one conviction to date.

Gender discrimination across the life cycle INFANT MORTALITY

- Gender differentials in infant mortality. After birth, son-preference continues to persist leading to the neglect of girls and their lack of access to nutrition, health and maternal care in theses critical early year.

MATERNAL MORTALITY

- In the year 2000, India alone accounted for one quarter of material deaths worldwide.

- Today, one women dies every seven minutes from a pregnancy related cause.

- High rates of anaemia amongst pregnant women and low proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel. For example. In AP, 56.4% of pregnant women aged 15-49 are anaemic but 74.2% of births are attended by skilled health personnel

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

EARLY MARRIAGE :- Globally, 36% women aged 20-24 were

married or in union before they reached their 18th birthday.

- An estimated 14 million adolescents between 15 and 19 give birth each year. Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and child birth than women in their twenties.

If a mother is under 18, her baby’s chance of dying in the first year of life is 60 per cent greater than that of a baby born to a mother older than 19.

Even if the child survives, he or she is more likely to suffer from low birth weight, under nutrition and late physical and cognitive development.

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

EARLY MARRIAGE •Early age of marriage is also a contributing factor to maternal mortality, as it results in early pregnancy with girls giving birth before their bodies are sufficiently mature.•In India, 45%bof women are still being forced into marriage before the age of 18 in violation of the law.•In Andhra Pradesh the average age a marriage for women is 17.5 years

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

EDUCATION:

•If a household has only one girl child the likelihood of her being sent to school is 56%. The bigger the family, and the more boys in it, the less likely the girls are to go school.•Female secondary schooling delays the age of marriage and provides women with the knowledge to secure their children's well being in the form of improved childcare.

-For example, In India, for those who are illiterate, the average age of marriage is 17.6 years. For graduates and the above the average age is 22.6 years.

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

EDUCATION:

• over the past 15-20 years their has been a rapid increase in the rates of enrollment in and completion of girls in primary schools, clearly indicating a demand.

- however the transition to post primary education is poor.

- if there are no toilets and there is ten mile walk that is insecure, the likelihood of parents allowing their adolescent daughters to continue their schooling is low.

- The lack of female teachers also serves as a major disincentive, given that parents are often more comfortable sending girls to their classroom with a female teacher.

Gender discrimination across the life cycle

EDUCATION:

In the Indian context, gender disadvantage intensifies with other forms of social inequality, and education provides an important reminder for the stark reality.

In scheduled Tribe communities only 54% of females go to school, whereas 77% percent of boys from the general population go to school.

Another striking comparison is the rate of primary school completion, which is 68% for boys from the general population, as compared to 48% for an ST girl

Equality in the household decision - making

A growing body of evidence indicates that household decisions are often made through a bargaining process that is more likely to favor men than women.

In families in which women are key decision makers, the proportion of resources devoted to children far greater than in those in which women have a less decisive role.

According to a study conducted by the IFPRI, if men and women had equal influence in decision-making, the incidence of under weight children less than 3years old in South Asia would fall by upto 13 percentage points, results in 13.4 million fewer undernourished children in the region.

Equality in the household decision - making

In India, family and other social structures place significant responsibilities on women to care for their families without the rights of decision-making within the home.

- often decision to go to the healthcare center is often not a woman’s own decision, but is taken by her husband or mother-in-law.

- In the case of women who have pregnancy-related complications, their lack of decision-making power can cost them their lives.

Equality in the household decision - making

Economic security is also a critical factor that can contribute women’s greater status within the forms and community.

- In India micro-credit initiatives offer women an important window for collective action and economic empowerment. The help women

- Get Income

- Build Assets

- Financial Security

- Enhancing Position

- Gaining respect and voice

- Andhra Pradesh leads the county in SHG movement through half a million SHG groups formed.

Equality in employment

Women in India are primarily responsible for child care and household responsibilities

In rural India, agricultural work performed by women is often unpaid.

Opportunities for non-agricultural employment remain very low. 86% non-agricultural women workers are in the in formal sector, which involves difficult working conditions, long hours, lack of benefits and no job security.

Furthermore, there is a severe gap in wages between men and women who do the same work, making women economically undervalued.

Equality in Politics and governance

Women's involvement in politics-whether local or national-can help advance legislation that is more focused on women, children and families. When women lack a voice in politics, children remain unheard.

In India, 33% of Panchayats leadership positions are reserved for women.- Villages led by women in West Bengal

achieved twice the investment in drinking water, increased visits by health workers, and a 13% decreased in gender gap in school attendance as compared to other villages.

Equality in Politics and governance

Building the capacity of women Panchayat leaders and SHG members is key strategy, as most women leaders are entering public spaces in a position of authority for the first time.

Nation wide, there is a movement favoring the same 33% percent quota for women in the national parliament . At the present time, only 8.3% of parliament members in the lower house are women.

What should be the immediate action?

Address gender inequalities and the vulnerability of women in different sectors

Enable their greater and more active participation in local governance.

Promote women’s ownership and control of economic resources.

Enhance their role as agents of social change.

Strengthen the capacity of government and its partner institutions to mainstream gender concerns to enhance the capacity of UN

Create awareness among the policy makers and civil society organizations of the need to ensure women’s rights in rural development and governance.

StrategiesGender strategic studies and policy

analysisIncreasing development

effectiveness through gender mainstreaming and gender analysis.

Building partnerships, advocacy and networking

Gender sensitization and interventions for women’s empowerment in rural/tribal/urban societies

Attention to promoting women's capabilities legal and social measures for women’s rights to productive resources

Eliminating violence against women in the family, work place and social sphere