ROLE AND STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA

Through “Dignity and Equality of the Human Person” and “Rights and Responsibilities” CST Lens

Historic Status of Women Ancient India “golden age” for women

Encouraged to receive educationMade decisions in marriages, rather than arranged

Females goddesses referred in Hinduism Status of women transitioned when Islam

became present in India Cultural change

Status of Women Today Numerous violent acts against women

Domestic violence is accepted- recent UN study states 6 out of 10 men abuse their wives

Rape casesAbductions of young girls

○ Sex slave trade (CRS article)

Infanticide and gender-selective abortionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ_xpyCpEsc

Women in the News Aligarh Muslim University: female students are not

allowed in the main library. The Vice Presidents states that women in the library will cause 4x more boys to flock there, and it is a space issue. Women's groups both on and off campus are protesting gender discrimination. 

  National commission on women's proposal for

legalization of sex trade lacks support. Arguments: better safety and conditions vs. making a commodity of women's bodies. This seems to be a deeply divided issue in both women's groups and the Supreme Court. 

What’s the Issue? Equality in government Domestic violence Providing a safe education Drastically different environments between

the country and the city

Dangers of Sex-Trafficking India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

estimated that 44,000 children go missing in the country . It is estimated that more than 40% of those trafficked into sexual exploitation in the country are children

More than 3 in 10 trafficked children in India suffer from HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other gynecological problems.

Stigma- The majority of girls rescued from sex work are never accepted by their families and communities.

Often the only option for sex workers is to return to their traffickers. Nearly 8 out of 10 victims are forced back on to the streets and into brothels after being rehabilitated, according to Andhra Pradesh police.

Safety of Women Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll

2012, India was the fourth most dangerous country for women

UNICEF found half of adolescent males in areas of Southwest Asia believe that domestic violence is justified under certain circumstances. more than half of women within a household agree

Action Taking Place The Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination

against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child India has a number of progressive laws that support gender equality and ending discrimination and violence against womenthe Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 expands the

scope of sexual and gender based crimes against women. India is expected to achieve the MDG target on

gender parity in education by 2015Still struggling with female presence in parliament

Teaching skills helps women get out of violent circumstancesFacilitates independence

Focus While We’re in India Observe differences between males and

females in the classroom Observe household interactions with

host families Ask females about role models See how the brothers receive a group of

7 women and 1 man