Way forward for India

Rashmi Oberoi

The end of the year marks a threshold and invites a pause for reflection. It's a great time to take stock of the year behind and look ahead. Twelve months have gone by – too slow or too fast? How did it go? No matter what side of the fence we sit on, it is most likely that all will agree that 2018 has been a challenging and tumultuous year. The chaos has naturally been pivotal towards seeking change. This year has called for a lot of bold and inclusive decisions. In fact, we are seeing levels of engagement and activism that we haven’t seen in many years. I have been writing about gender issues all through 2018 and even in the years before… This topic is very close to my heart and I feel our country still has a long way to go before we reach parity with other nations. There is change but it is too slow. The sad part is that mindsets are still stuck - they remain as medieval and parochial as ever.

A recent trip to Vietnam and conversations with the locals there highlighted what the outside world thinks of us and what comes to their mind when we say we are Indians. We spoke about our diverse cultures, our rich history, the warmth we exude and our distinct and unique heritage. But a few things were jarring and that made me realise that we need to take stock of before it gets out of hand.

Even though there were many pre-conceived notions in their minds and beliefs formed that I refuted and set straight, the rest I couldn’t because the ugly truth cannot be hidden or swept under the carpet. In plain speak, the outside world has a strong opinion about the safety of women in India. Women are afraid of coming alone to India and travelling around on their own. Crimes against women stand out like a sore thumb. They asked me about the dowry system and seemed to know a lot on this subject which was surprising. And then about our population that is just growing way beyond control and how the girl-child is unwanted. These are stark realities.

Discrimination against women and girls is a pervasive and long-running phenomenon that characterises Indian society at every level. India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth.

While most of their information on India comes from news and smart phones, I dug in deeper and found out that their telly is full of Indian Bollywood serials that are dubbed in Vietnamese. The serials filter down more baloney than good ideologies. Our loud and crass movies that are quite popular there do more harm than good and a majority of them portray women in the wrong light.

Discrimination against women and girls is a pervasive and longrunning phenomenon that characterises Indian society at every level. India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth.
Crimes against women show an upward trend, in particular brutal crimes such as rapes, dowry deaths, and honour killings. These trends are disturbing as a natural prediction would be that with growth comes education and prosperity, and a possible decline in adherence to traditional institutions and socially prescribed gender roles that hold women back.

Cultural institutions in India, particularly those of inheritance through male descendants and married couples living with or near the husband’s parents, play a central role in perpetuating gender inequality and ideas about gender-appropriate behaviour. A culturally ingrained parental preference for sons - emanating from their importance as caregivers for parents in old age - is linked to poorer consequences for daughters.

The dowry system, involving a cash or in-kind payment from the bride’s family to the groom’s at the time of marriage, is another institution that disempowers women. The incidence of dowry payment, which is often a substantial part of a household’s income, has been steadily rising over time across all regions and socioeconomic classes. This often results in dowry-related violence against women by their husbands and in-laws if the dowry is considered insufficient or as a way to demand more payments.

These practices create incentives for parents not to have girl children or to invest less in girls’ health and education. Such parental preferences are reflected in increasingly masculine sex ratios. This reinforces the inferior status of Indian women and puts them at risk of violence in their marital households. There is clearly a need for policy initiatives to empower women as gender disparities in India persist even against the backdrop of economic growth.

Current literature provides pointers from policy changes that have worked so far. One unique policy experiment in village-level governance that mandated one-third representation for women in positions of local leadership has shown promising results. Evaluations of this affirmative action policy have found that in villages led by women, the preferences of female residents are better represented. Female leaders also serve as role models.

Women’s economic empowerment is central to the national priority. Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. The inclusion of women and girls in the economy and the provision of safe working and public spaces must be accompanied by measures to prevent violence against women and girls, and enable them to participate fully in society and contribute to the health and prosperity of their communities.

Another policy change aimed at equalising land inheritance rights between sons and daughters has been good. Improvements in labour market prospects also have the recruiter visits to villages to provide information to young women led to positive effects on their labour market participation and enrolment in professional training. This also led to an increase in age at marriage and childbearing, a drop in desired number of children, and an increase in school enrolment of younger girls not exposed to the programme.

For India to maintain its position as a global growth leader, more concerted efforts at local and national levels, and by the private sector are needed to bring women to parity with men. While increasing representation of women in the public spheres is important and can potentially be attained through some form of affirmative action, an attitudinal shift is essential for women to be considered as equal within their homes and in broader society. Educating Indian children from an early age about the importance of gender equality could be a meaningful start in that direction.

Without improving access to employment, education, health, infrastructure development, urban development etc. change will not happen. A central driver of economic growth is the increased role of women. This comes in many forms: increased female labour force participation, reduced discrimination and wage differentials that encourage greater effort, and improved advancement practices that promote talented women into leadership and managerial roles. Indeed, empowering half of the potential workforce will have significant economic benefits that goes beyond promoting just gender equality.

We also need to ensure that millions of underprivileged women get basic human rights so that they can lead healthy and normal lives. Women’s economic empowerment is central to the national priority. Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. The inclusion of women and girls in the economy and the provision of safe working and public spaces must be accompanied by measures to prevent violence against women and girls, and enable them to participate fully in society and contribute to the health and prosperity of their communities.

The priority areas are education, skill development and employment, entrepreneurship, health and healthy lifestyle, sports, promotion of social values, community engagement, participation in politics and governance, youth engagement, inclusion and social justice.

Let’s now look ahead to 2019 and all that it will bring – hoping for a successful and exciting year in empowering women in all areas !



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT SIGNALS FROM UP SATRAPS IN SOUTH POLL BUGLE REALPOLITIK FRANKLY SPEAKING REFUGEES IN INDIA NEW RESERVATION AGRARIAN DISTRESS RURAL VISION HIMACHAL SCENE GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANNIVERSARY ESSAY ANI INTERVIEW RANDOM THOUGHTS HITS & MISSES GLOBAL AFFAIRS BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES GENDER EQUALITY A PAGE FROM HISTORY A SUCCESS STORY FASHION CREDO DELHI GANDHI ART OF LIVING Issue:January' 2018 Subscribe Now	GENDER EQUALITY Way forward for India Rashmi Oberoi The end of the year marks a threshold and invites a pause for reflection. It's a great time to take stock of the year behind and look ahead. Twelve months have gone by – too slow or too fast? How did it go? No matter what side of the fence we sit on, it is most likely that all will agree that 2018 has been a challenging and tumultuous year. The chaos has naturally been pivotal towards seeking change. This year has called for a lot of bold and inclusive decisions. In fact, we are seeing levels of engagement and activism that we haven’t seen in many years. I have been writing about gender issues all through 2018 and even in the years before… This topic is very close to my heart and I feel our country still has a long way to go before we reach parity with other nations. There is change but it is too slow. The sad part is that mindsets are still stuck - they remain as medieval and parochial as ever. A recent trip to Vietnam and conversations with the locals there highlighted what the outside world thinks of us and what comes to their mind when we say we are Indians. We spoke about our diverse cultures, our rich history, the warmth we exude and our distinct and unique heritage. But a few things were jarring and that made me realise that we need to take stock of before it gets out of hand. Even though there were many pre-conceived notions in their minds and beliefs formed that I refuted and set straight, the rest I couldn’t because the ugly truth cannot be hidden or swept under the carpet. In plain speak, the outside world has a strong opinion about the safety of women in India. Women are afraid of coming alone to India and travelling around on their own. Crimes against women stand out like a sore thumb. They asked me about the dowry system and seemed to know a lot on this subject which was surprising. And then about our population that is just growing way beyond control and how the girl-child is unwanted. These are stark realities. Discrimination against women and girls is a pervasive and long-running phenomenon that characterises Indian society at every level. India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth. While most of their information on India comes from news and smart phones, I dug in deeper and found out that their telly is full of Indian Bollywood serials that are dubbed in Vietnamese. The serials filter down more baloney than good ideologies. Our loud and crass movies that are quite popular there do more harm than good and a majority of them portray women in the wrong light. Discrimination against women and girls is a pervasive and longrunning phenomenon that characterises Indian society at every level. India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth. Crimes against women show an upward trend, in particular brutal crimes such as rapes, dowry deaths, and honour killings. These trends are disturbing as a natural prediction would be that with growth comes education and prosperity, and a possible decline in adherence to traditional institutions and socially prescribed gender roles that hold women back. Cultural institutions in India, particularly those of inheritance through male descendants and married couples living with or near the husband’s parents, play a central role in perpetuating gender inequality and ideas about gender-appropriate behaviour. A culturally ingrained parental preference for sons - emanating from their importance as caregivers for parents in old age - is linked to poorer consequences for daughters. The dowry system, involving a cash or in-kind payment from the bride’s family to the groom’s at the time of marriage, is another institution that disempowers women. The incidence of dowry payment, which is often a substantial part of a household’s income, has been steadily rising over time across all regions and socioeconomic classes. This often results in dowry-related violence against women by their husbands and in-laws if the dowry is considered insufficient or as a way to demand more payments. These practices create incentives for parents not to have girl children or to invest less in girls’ health and education. Such parental preferences are reflected in increasingly masculine sex ratios. This reinforces the inferior status of Indian women and puts them at risk of violence in their marital households. There is clearly a need for policy initiatives to empower women as gender disparities in India persist even against the backdrop of economic growth. Current literature provides pointers from policy changes that have worked so far. One unique policy experiment in village-level governance that mandated one-third representation for women in positions of local leadership has shown promising results. Evaluations of this affirmative action policy have found that in villages led by women, the preferences of female residents are better represented. Female leaders also serve as role models. Women’s economic empowerment is central to the national priority. Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. The inclusion of women and girls in the economy and the provision of safe working and public spaces must be accompanied by measures to prevent violence against women and girls, and enable them to participate fully in society and contribute to the health and prosperity of their communities. Another policy change aimed at equalising land inheritance rights between sons and daughters has been good. Improvements in labour market prospects also have the recruiter visits to villages to provide information to young women led to positive effects on their labour market participation and enrolment in professional training. This also led to an increase in age at marriage and childbearing, a drop in desired number of children, and an increase in school enrolment of younger girls not exposed to the programme. For India to maintain its position as a global growth leader, more concerted efforts at local and national levels, and by the private sector are needed to bring women to parity with men. While increasing representation of women in the public spheres is important and can potentially be attained through some form of affirmative action, an attitudinal shift is essential for women to be considered as equal within their homes and in broader society. Educating Indian children from an early age about the importance of gender equality could be a meaningful start in that direction. Without improving access to employment, education, health, infrastructure development, urban development etc. change will not happen. A central driver of economic growth is the increased role of women. This comes in many forms: increased female labour force participation, reduced discrimination and wage differentials that encourage greater effort, and improved advancement practices that promote talented women into leadership and managerial roles. Indeed, empowering half of the potential workforce will have significant economic benefits that goes beyond promoting just gender equality. We also need to ensure that millions of underprivileged women get basic human rights so that they can lead healthy and normal lives. Women’s economic empowerment is central to the national priority. Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. The inclusion of women and girls in the economy and the provision of safe working and public spaces must be accompanied by measures to prevent violence against women and girls, and enable them to participate fully in society and contribute to the health and prosperity of their communities. The priority areas are education, skill development and employment, entrepreneurship, health and healthy lifestyle, sports, promotion of social values, community engagement, participation in politics and governance, youth engagement, inclusion and social justice. Let’s now look ahead to 2019 and all that it will bring – hoping for a successful and exciting year in empowering women in all areas !