GENDER TRAINERS MANUAL WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
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- GENDER TRAINERS MANUAL WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
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WOMEN IN DEVELOPMEN I
in
Vf..........
GENDER
TRAINERS
MANUAL
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n—Tr.imninB ■mu wan mi. 111—«wn m____ ___
AKTI
Illis PROJI ( I WAS lUNIHI) in Illi I OR|) lOUNDAIION
Nl W DI I I II
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BINDER III
CONTENTS
1.
PAGE NO.
Women's Studies and Women's Movements in India - An
impressionist overview
1
Vina Mazumdar
2.
The Evolution of WID Programme from the Margin to
the Centre
12
C.P. Sujaya
3.
Patriarchy and Social Conditioning and its Impact on
the position of Women in India
22
N.J. Usha Rao
4.
Impact of Patriarchal Value Systems on Indian Women
40
m . n. v.
5.
Women's Rights
1990s
i n Theory and Tract i.
: Agenda for
50
N . R . Madhova Menon
6.
Demographic Profile of the Indian Woman
57
Sobha Nambccsan
7.
Gender Dimensions of Women's Health
95
Esther Galima Mabry
8.
Women's Access to Education
An Unfulfilled Promise
128
Fatima M.
9.
Gender Violence
144
Vibhuti Patel
10
Technology and Gender Based Division of Labour
158
M.M.A. Basha
11
The Potential Role of Rural Women’s Organisations
in Improved Natural Resource Management
171
Madhu Sarin
12
Gender Based division of labour within the rural
sector
198
Vibhuti Patel
13
A Systemic Approach to Gender Relations
210
Yamuna N.S.
14
Gender Planning: The Need for Alternative
Perspectives
228
Ranjini Krishnamoorthy
15
Gender and Behaviour
241
Sudha Anand
16
Social Conditioning and Gender Behaviour in Indian
Society
248
Umapathy M.S.
17
The Psychology of Gender and Social Conditioning
260
Sujatha Rita
18
Psychosocial Perspective of Women’s Mental Health
267
R.L. Kapur & Anisha Shah
19
Training Methodologies
M.M.A. Basha
285
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MOVEMENT IN INDIA
WOMFN^
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A..' IMPRESSIOMISr. OVERVIEW
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VIMA MAZUMPAR
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CENTRE FOR WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
..7
NEW DELHI
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H
WOMEN'S STUDIES AND WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN INDIA:
AN IMPRESSIONIST OVERVIEW
VINA MAZUMDAR
Prior to the investigation of the Committee on
on the Status of
omen in India, research focused on
on women's
problems
reflected
women'stha?
problems
^ter^igvr7
from the research
has
taken pSe
research that has
taken
often
to
iUSti?v
thG
the P
pre-Independence
re-IndePendence research was
Otten, to
justify
social reform or
to provide
provide a
a
backbone
for
or to
a?dia<-h cuitural pride, which had been battered by colonial • rule
and the onslaught of western culture.
The
focus oft
research, whether
whether the
the period
period was
ancient
or
modern
IndL, was
was ancient
the minority• _ of women
in
upper
classes.
For
a
variety
of reasons
_
-- - i upper classes.
such research declined after Independence.
Y
reasons
The
political
context of
the post-1975
research
was
distinctly different.
The need to justify the culture
—
□
of
the
colonised
in
the
face of colonial
oppression
was
no
longer
The guarantee of women's
present.
The
equality in the Constitution
(a
feature unavailable
unavailable
to this day in
the
far older United
States
constitution))
provided a ct
constitution
ompletely different
set of
standards
to assess women's situation in all"its
aspects
.
The
socinf
owards Equality - presented a
roport ^
Towards
grim picture of
trends of change
t:han9G that sharply
sharpiy
with
down by the Indian
___.i
Constitution,
The
guiding
principles of the Committee are
significant,
they
could
well be read as the manifesto of women's
studies in India.
1.
Equality of women
is necessary as a
L.
basic condition
of
social, economic and political development
: of the nation;
2.
Improvement of employment opportunities
and earning
power
should be given^the highest priority in order
to release
women from their dependent- and unequal status.
3.
Society owes a «special responsibility
to women as mothers;
safe bearing
and
..J rearing of children,
f
’
therefore,
is an
obligation
tha t must be shared by the mother,
father
and
society;
4.
The contribution made
by an
active
the
management of a family should be acceptedhousewife to
as
economical1y
and
socially productive and
as
essential
for national
savings and development;
5.
and
not become
fulfilling their full and
building, in which society
H
2
6.
Disabilities and inequalities, of which women are victims,
cannot be removed for women only : such action must form
part of a total movement for the removal of all inequalities
and oppressive social institutions;
7.
Some special measures will be necessary to move in the
direction of the goals set by the Constitution and
to
transform de jure equality into a _________
de facto one. The
result of the report was to define a new agenda for women’s
studies
in the country,
an agenda which stressor] the
dynamism and pluralism of Indian society in contrast to the
often
monolithic discourse of the nationalist/or
the
development schools. A new programme for Women’s Studies,
initiated by the Indian Council of Social Science Research,
emerged after the report with three distinct objectives:
(a) to identify and work for needed policy changes;
(b) to persuade the social science community to re-examine the
methodology, concepts, theories and analytical apparatus of
social research, which had successfully excluded women’s
role ,
status and situation from the entire arena of social
investigations; and
(c)
to revive the social debate on the women's question,
which
had emerged as a major issue during the freedom struggle,
but had faded in the post-independence period.
While there were other significant reasons for unrest among
women of different classes, it is also clear that women's studies
contributed, among other factors, to the revival of the women’s
movement in this country in the post-1977 period. For the first
time, the movement was armed with a much larger body of
and was
information about women of the non-privileged classes,
thus able to draw in the concerns and priorities of the latter
into the perspectives of the movement.
The earlier women's
movement was handicapped by a very small number of educated
women, who could gather and analyse social data to influence its
own leadership.
This handicap confined the concerns of the
earlier women's movement to a few social problems that affected
women mainly in the urban middle class, and at a later date, some
problems of women workers in organised industry. The extension
of the post-1975 research to peasant women and women in the
informal sector generated new sources of information for the fast
growing w<w'ii ' r. movoinonl .
THE ISSUES
The revival of the women's movement in the late seventies
Issues
brought new dynamism and directions to women’s studies.
of violence - domestic and social, sexual exploitation in old and
new forms, identification of complex structures of domination and
their reassertion in new forms in the ideology of revivalist,
i
3
fundamentalist communal and ethnic movements - are
ar
some of
the
most significant of these new dimensions that the
..e movement
has
brought
into women's studies.
Similarly,
investigations
into
peasant women's roles in the rural economy and their undiscovered
history
has raised
new
questions
.
t
t
a.
— and
--- drawn
—women's studies closer
ra^sed bv ecological. and environmental movements.
Investigations
into women's marginalisation
marginalisation and
and exploitation
exploitation
in
the economy
formal and informal,, in
in the
the educational
educational process,
process, in
communicationi and media and also in the political process
have
turned women's
women s
the
studies into one of the major critics of
pattern of "development
---1----- u ” and the choice of strategies.
its
By ics
very scope (as evidenced
from the
catalogue of
subjects given above)
women
’s studies was part
women's
of a broader
process or critical evaluation of the nature of social
science,
taxing place on a world scale after 1968.
The
formalisation
of
disciplinary
boundaries in social science i.e. the
i.e. the division of
social research into politics, economics, history
had grown
rapidly
in the 20th
century.
The C sociology etc.
development of
capitalism m Europe generated the need for specialised
---- 1 knowledge
thus the expansion of < "
—
specialisation
the 'humanities'
disciplinary boundaries
was not without considerable problems
soon
developed
m isolation from sister discipliEach discipli ne
nes,
generating
its
isoialed theories, research and analytical L___
tools,
complex
jargon
and mystifications.
Social science degenerated
an obsession
with micro studies with pre-designed models for into
enquiry,
rather
than locating analysis in a broader social perspective.
By the late 1960's critical voices, muted earlier beaan
to
become stronger within the various disciplines,
calling for
Cl
the
development- of
of a
a holistic
holistic perspective
perspective and the breaking down
of
disciplinary
boundaries.
In this struggle
to restore
social
investigations
to
their original
original role,
role, or
to their
or examining ?he
process as a complex mozaic in which
several processessocial
are
in Xtricably interconnected,, women
women’
s
studies
was toPplay a
’s
ma
jor
role.
By its very nature women's studies could i ’ ’
not
be
imprisoned
witbin the formal boundaries of the established disciplines*
At
any
rate,
the established disciplines
disciplines
had
distinguished
themselves
by obliterating gender• concerns from
research
agenda.
Women's Studies solved the problem with their
a
critique
of
the
established
r—
disciplines
and
calling
and
calling
for
a
rich
interdisciplinary perspective,
It also questioned the dependence
of most
social
ScxunLibus
scy-n^ists m India
India on
on
theories
and methods
developed
in
the West, applying them
blindly
to
the
Indian
context ■ despite tiie latter's i
■ - difference
-- ---- J marked
from the west in
politica1
economy, history and cultural plurality*
t------------- Lastly,
it
challenged the Western concept of a 1
value-free social science, or
the role of academic neutral1ty,
trans-atlantic in origin —
that
had penetrated Indian academe with considerable
------------ - j success.
H
i
4
Soon after the First National Conference on Women’s
Studies
(Bombay, 1981), a group of women's
studies practitioners in India
defined it as "the pursuit of a more
comprehensive, critical
and
balanced
understanding of
social
reality.
its
essential
Its
components included) women's contribution to the social
process;
(ii)
women's
perception
percoption of their own lives
(iii)
roots and
structures
of
inequality
that
lead
to
marginalisation,
invisibility and exclusion of women from the
scope,
dnd conceptual frameworks of imost intellectual enquiry approaches
and social
Women's studios should,, thus,
action.
Women's
thus, not
not bo
be narrowly
narrowly defined
defined as
studies about women <or information about women, but be viewed
as
a critical instrument -for social
----- - and academic development".
Another area
in which women’s studies
intervened
to
intervened was
was
contest the notion of "development".
Developmentalism was
was
for
many years
Ithe
’
received orthodoxy not only in much of
social
of
Science, but also among policy and planning circles.
During
the
During
1950s and 1960s, US social science put forth a
"modernisation"
theory as
the, solution to the ills^of
the
--_..j Third World
World..
Here
social
analysis was premised on a «simple
‘
dichotomy
:
between
ii
traditional"
and
"non-traditiona1"
societies.
Traditional
societies wore rural
and stratified, while in
non
traditional
societies,
the catalyst being "modernisation",
the modernising
agents were
identified as an educated middle
class,
improved
communication and methods of governance,
The benefits of growth,
it was claimed, would "filter" down to the poorer classes.
This
crude analysis, of course, reflected the goals of western
states
at the time of the Cold War, where "modernisation" was seen a s a n
antidote to social revolution.
Many
:Indian social scientists, especially historians whose
anti-colonial
heritage had made them sensitive to the political
of colonial iinterpretations of
underpinnings
Indian
society,
found little difference between
• t
-. .. this <approach
and those developed
by
the intellectual ideology
_ promoted1by
J the British Raj
l
since
the 19th century.
F*
‘
Firstly, such an approach totally ignored,/
or
deliberately
avoided,
avoided
",, the
the conflicts
conf licts of
of interests
interests
latent within
sy
s l orn .
l:lir
social
sysl.om.
Second 1 y,
if: altognthor
a vo i dod
the
challenges to the system articulated not only
--- 2 during
-------------- the
f reedom
struggle <against
-- • •
the Raj, but through repeated assaults
against
the hardening
hierarchical patriarchal values promoted
by
the
system, throughout India’s history.
Unfortunately dove 1opmnnLal
increasingly
opnmnLa1 ism also
in f octod
the approach
to and methods of
planni.ng
,i n
planning
post-I ndepcndonce
India.
it was assumed
would
assumed,, rather naively, that "development"
"development"
resolve the contradictions of the Indian social order.
Further
order.
the
simplistic, binary oppositions with which
the
the modernisation
theory operated
e.g.
urban versus
rural,
progressive
versus
regressive etc.,
crept into the framework of
Indian
planning,
offering glib, but unrealistic models of growth which
need
not
tamper with the unequal social structures - in which
resources
and
power were unevenly distributed, between
classes,
castes,
u
5
communities
and gender.
The 'modernisation' theory
to strengthen
! *
the view
_ only
helped
--- / of women's status as ;
'
reform'
uniform
ffor_ all sections of society,an issue of
’social
Indian
planners to ignore
enabled
the
the class, caste and and
of economic,
gender dimension
political
and
infrastructural
negative
consequences
growth
and
the
of such strategies demographic
■Indicators like the
visible
in
simple
declining ratio of
in the population and
women to men
—J the economy.
Against the rather simplistic <
’
analysis
of the modernisation
theorists
and the Indian
t
--1
planners,
work
within
showed
that
----- i women *s
"development" is not an innocent
studies
value
laden,
but
rather
analysis of development
quantitative
be
only
i.e. more or less
a
qualitative
but
.
needed
a
Development
equally,
bu t
affect
differs across social classen
.
pedpl
e
groups.. in the case of women in particular
?a8tef5
and
other
development'’ has in
evidenCf? showed that
i n fact marginalised bh
women, in ;rural
ThZ
1
-------- / of
and urban areas.
majority
poor
"developmen
. t£LS_such
but
rather wha t^?” V°?' ther<?for
—
-Such
but
— -* e , 1q not
which
on I•y7 increases ineauaUbv
klnd of
devele
Inequality andi
opment,
one
developmentwhich
is
gender
exploitatl
--.on or
is
sensitive
that
concerns.
to egalitarian
and
gender
We
have
stated
above that
studies
its
is
very
interdisciplinary. by
natore,
discipli nary, women’s
women’s
Apart
from
be i ng
studies
is
also
is
inter
cr i ti ca1
a ——1^21 di sc 1 pli
it raises
ne .
raiscs crucial
sociaI iI henry |lnf. im 1Th
questions about
the
ona11 y pOSGd
by doing no women’st-raditionaily
wa
y
questions of analysing
stud i es makes
and
social science,> allvp
way for a broader and i—
(to the
crucial questions of
receptive
ask
the
practitione rn
the day.
■
of women's
Thun
hi s t o rt c
Why’ did
roles
in
t
‘
the
dirscovery ofstudies
women'n
text!le
agrlculturn,
product ion in India (and
pottery
and
the educated
— - • J the worId) remain
J rcommunity for
hidden
so
for agricuIturaI
from
long and the massive
... 1
research andJ ^Vel?p,nerit failed infrastructure
the! r contemporary
roles
to ^ce
see
even
cvr;,
and problems?
f
the rlamily remained Why has women’g
outside
the
framework
labour
in
production and r
- of rany
analysis
of
pro uction of commodities
the
valuation?
And
and services and their
nexus
failed^to
i
’
,VeSti
^
tion
s
into
communi ty
--->
the
cas te-classover women’s labour freedom and'be^a viour • W1 th
-n
controls
been
crucial in
r;* |helping social science te u Wo"en'g studies
ha s
the ' social',
thus
■.. ; transcending the earlier r°a en th<? notf°n
of
A crucial r
fo^lations.
example in this respect is red!^ !"0"
‘ class’ .
°ns
of
j. . . In the
—orthodox formulation, 'class'11^ °ld<. noti
notions
to divisions
s of gender,
caste and ethnicity.
Jhi^
opposed
c1 ass
soon ar’ ^2 central
nalvsie™
reading
,
a *«aiysio , . j n
organising
principle of
mQito
tcont
contrast
socia
1
■Uftorenee,
o£
,ender,
caste
ethnic!ty,
which were seen
r~
and
at As
best
the onset of "moderni sati
worn
^ran-tory phenomena
~
1
on
".
with
analys1s
As women's studies has shown,
door;
conni dnrablo
th i s
ground.
Thus class is not a
cnee to the
situation
on
the
the
real world, but rather class is1 aWreCl 7? 60
to
a real
historical
product.
u
6
Women's Studies practitioners <argue that disposition of gender is
crucial
to
an
understanding
an
understanding
of
class
differentiation.
Historical,
in <opposition
’ *
to formal class analysis
shows
that
class exists not in opposition to differences of gender,
caste
and ethnicity but in and through them.
The Indian theories
of
purity-pollution,,
or boundary maintenance between dominant
and
suppressed caste and tribal <groups also operate through
greater
controls
on women.
Such controls also prevent women and
their
children from acquiring any identity beyond the pne of
birth
defined by the family, caste/ethnicity and class,.
In the
final
analysis z
women's •
‘
studies
has actually enriched our analysis of
these central
organisingj social principles
of our time
and
society.
M.N.Srinivas,
doyen of
Indian
sociology,
describes
women's
studies as the H only significant development
in
Indian
social
science
in the last two decades",and
,-- 1 as "a thrust
from
below".
From its embryonic origins in the mid-1970s, women's studios
has
now become a
The first
national movement.
National
Conference on Women's Studies was convened in Bombay
in
1981.
The response was overwhelming, and the mandate given by that
Conference
the
Indian Association
led to the establishment of
for Women's
Studies in 1982.
The Association membership
membership now
includes 18 universities, 10 colleges and 15 research institutes,
apart
from more than 650 individuals, many of whom are from the
academic profession.
Since the Association came into existence,
the University Grants Commission has drawn the attention of
the
Universities
to promote an understanding of women's
issues
through
the. teaching of research and
extension
activities of
various
disciplines,
and
nearly
40
universities
have
I_.
.
- ------- --- - . - entered
v- u •
the
field.
The National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986, adopted by
Parliament,
for the first time, prescribed a new 'role' for the
-'
nationaleducationa1 system - of providing 'education
'education for
for women's
women’
cqua1i ty' ,
through the revision of curricula,
reorientation
of
reorion
ta tion
I'.oarhors,
planners;
etc.
dimrt
involvement'.
in
women's
I .
and d
i rnr t:
in
lornpowcrinon U . 11- is
in important to remember that the National Policy
on Education did not design women's st
' '
studies
but ’ only accnpted thA
demand of academic participants in thej women's movement - voiced
through a decade of struggle.
The perspective, the ideology, and
the
strategies adopted by the women' s studies movement was
thus
not evolved by the government or the academic establishment but
by
the movement and its allies,
The primary objectives of
the
movement have remained constant:
a .
to
change social perceptions,
attitudes,
values
and
structures that obstruct or deny gender equality as a v a up .
Some of these are traditional and deep rooted in our past,
But some are very new - ideas, institutions
and movements
that manipulate old practices, norms, (customs and primordial
loyalties, of people to set the clock of
social
-----development
back. Typical illustrations of such new wine
in old
- -----1 bottles
is
the escalation of dowry and dowry related violence,
the
spread
of
female
infanticide and
foeticide,
marketpropaganda
that glamorizes women's
role as
primarily
u
7
consumers,
and communal and ethnic movements
that
project
protection of cultural or religious rights of a group at the
cost of gender equality and women's freedoms;
b.
to promote, activise and‘support processes of reform of
the
education and communication systems, so
that
instead
of
being a
tool in the hands of reactionary movements,
they
play "an active interventionist role" against such attacks.
Women ' s ‘’Judies, as viewed by the Indian women * s movemen I: is
mean t
to be a potent instrument to play a deliberate and
active
role in the battle for people's minds and values now raging all
over the world.
A typical manifestation of this is the growing
cynicism about education, and higher education
in
particular.
The powers that be (the real manipulators are often hidden
under
the cover of international or national development strategies)
would
like
to transform education from its original role as a
value generating process to
’ > one for skill transfer only.
They
would
like
to discourage questioning and dissent or academic
freedom to reanalyse the past and the present from more humanist
perspectives.
The same forces, however, quite often compromise
with and even encourage the use of false history
and
selective
cultura1
symbols by revivalist, fundamentalist,
and
fundamentalist.
chauvinist
movements.
A common element in all these movements
across
the
world and definitely in India, is opposition to gender
equality.
The
time has come
to question
the
rational
boh i nd
such
oppos i Lion.
The
issue appears to me to be primarily
one of
conf1ict
be tween
the [political, cultural or communal identity of a
group
and
human
rights,
the
future of civilisation
and
social
transformation
with
a
humane
face.
Gender
equality
or
elimination of women's
subord ina t i on,
by
its
very
na turn,
threa tons
aI 1
movemen t
for
preservation
of
narrow
g roup
identities, which require control over women's minds and
bodies.
Women play a double role - of transmitting a sense of identity to
future generations and of maintaining the cultural practices
and
values which arc tied up with that sense of a group identity.
Similarly,
forces
that require keeping
the majority of
people
in subordination as a passive group to be exploited
or
manipulated also need to control women and through them the rest.
Unfortunately many scientists have become willing instruments
of
such
manipulation.
Experiments
in genetic engineering
or
reproductive technology, diverting major investments to research
and
development
for destructive weapons
and
encouraging
environmental destruction or mismanagement of natural
resources
are typical examples of the prostitution of scientific knowledge
to serve vested interests.
The
Indian
women's movements
have
laid
a
special
responsibility on women's studies to combat
and counter
such
forces.
’
Acceptance
of this fighting role and the higher
social
responsibility that it entails has to influence women's
studies'
8
approach, methodology, organisation and operational perspectives.
It is not possible for this struggle to be carried on by a
small
group.
The objectives of women's studies cannot be achieved by a
monopolistic attitude or by confining it to a discipline,
a
discipline,
course,
a programme or a degree.
Still less can our objectives
be realised by creating new institutions for this purpose.
There
is a close parallel between women's studies
and
the
women's movement as a whole,
whole.
Autonomy continues to be a
battle
rry of both.
P<ut
Ibit a choioo
ehoir-o has to bo made botwoon
betv/oon
autonomy
for
. i u I oik »iny ' s .. 11. < * , .Uhl
a in I I I11«h • I . 11
i i 1unit
11< »t <•
• • <1
< I Ii I If i <«•'u11 I1 I1 i o
• > |I i< • < >»I 111*
I h<-• < a I a I y j: I
to influence the larger systems and movements,
Separation
can
also lead
to isolation,
marginalisation,
and
even possible
alienation.
Women's studies practitioners, when they confine
their dialogue to only persons in the movement,
do tend to
develop
jargons
and terminologies of their own - which
reduce
their ability
to communicate with others.
Some times
it also
promotes a kind of hierarchy within the women's studies
movement
—
between those who claim longer experience and
greater
theoretical rigour and new entrants who have the concern but not
the experience.
It has also been occasionally noticed that
such
pursuit of
theoretical rigour within an
autonomous
framework
encourages elitism and a drift away from the burning concerns
of
the majority of women,
If this trend succeeds, it would
defea t
the basic objectives of women's studies as the academic
a rm of
the women's movomont.
This
is not to underestimate the dangers of working
wi thin
structures
that have acquired increased rigidity over
the
last
or of
boing co-opted within
the
ar:adom i c
few
doradf'!: ,
establishmen t and losing contact with the women's movement.
Jt
of
is however refreshing to note that while many of the pioneers
such
women's
studies in India expressed acute apprehensions of
when women's studios
centres began
to
possiblej cooperation'
of
the Universities after the
Education
Policy
expand within
the
much of this apprehension disappeared in the face of
1986,
other
enthusiasm
to innovate, experiment and learn
from each
by a large majority of coordinators of the University
displayed
p 1 ann ing
when they gathered together for a review and
Centres,
S tudies
workshop at SNOT University's Research Centre on Women's
in October 1989.
One of the outcomes of this workshop is a massive project on
the Girl Child and the Family, taken up jointly by 24
University
Contres with .inter-disciplinary teams.
The objectives of
this
project are guile' unique In the Indian context.
The studies have
been undertaken not to win academic laurels for the individual or
the
institutions, but to identify areas for intervention by the
Universities, with all the human and infrastructural resources at
their command.
If the gamble succeeds, it will create a
network
of
institutions
directly
involved
in
reducing,
if
not
eliminating, discriminations and deprivations of girl children on
a sustained basis.
Such a role cannot but influence the thinking
and
behaviour of teachers and students in these institutions
in
u
9
the
long
run .
run.
It may also create a network of bases
Tor
progr.nnmor.
for I hr' drvnlnpinnnl- of girl ohildron which
!»»• UM 11.1 I I »I < || » I t -HIM H MM< »< • I fl I <•< I \j 1 I 11 III. 1 :it*. I v»•
MU I I «• I
I I < 'III Ii he
to mount
wi 1 1
noth.-i l
I • »ii.-i I
programmes or campaigns (e.g. family planning, child immunization
etc. )
SOCIO-POLITICAL IMPACT OF WOMEN'S
STUDIES AND THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT
Assessing the socio-political
impact of the twin movements
is not an easy proposition,
Comparing today's situation with the
time when the Report of the Committee on the Status of Women
in
India was released, however, one can get a few pointers.
At that
time there was no women’s movement.
'70s
the
Since the
late
movement has been a growing social reality.
parties,
Political
government agencies , the media, and academic establishments
have
been fforced to accept its existence and the rationality of
some
of its demands,
even if in a limited degree.
The
level of
information and awareness of some of the problems is far higher
today than
in 1975.
Anti-women measures cannot be enacted
or
introduced without inviting protests.
May be that is one of the reasons why some of these measures
are introduced in a surreptitious manner by the government.
It
is regrettable that the Government of India's decision to curtail
the right to maternity leave of its own employees to two children
only was introduced without informing Parliament or any process
of consultation with the general public or women's organisations.
The net result?
Even women officers of the government remain
unaware of this measure, three years after it was introduced,
A
few national women's organisations who learnt about it recently
have already lodged their protest and are waiting for the present
inter-regnum to be over before demanding
its withdrawal,
or
challenging its legal validity.
(hi
the other hand, the story of enactment of
the National
Commission on Women Bill in 1989 may be takeni as
as a
a demonstration
of successful pressure by women's organisations.
The Commission
had been demanded by the organisations persistently since 1975.
The demand was
ignored with egual
persistence by successive
governments.
When the Bill was finally introduced in
Parliament
early in
1989, many advised that it should be passed without
debate
"as something
is
better than nothing",
Women's
organisations
1however .....
thought otherwise, and demanded extensive
consulta tions
before enactment.
Such consultations did take
place and the Act that was finally passed in August 1990 was very
dif ferent i n its st-ructure and form than the original Bill.
Divisions
within
the women's movement
idcologica1
and
otherwise and differences in its intensity and
strength
in
different
of
the country have a f fected
regions
its
socio
I’olilic.il
i mi *. i < • I .
iiiip.u-l.
A
'-./•fond
ro.j.-.rjn
for
| |, j f:
I i ni i I • •< I
i hi | >;w • I
in
I ho
u
10
|ime that the movement has taken to clarify its own perspectives
vis-a-vis the burning issues now convulsing the country, A third
reason that has contributed to this 1 i m i ted i mpact is the media's
1imitod perception of the role of the women's movement. As long
as the movement confines its protests and demands to womenspecific issues,
they are considered legitimate,
When the
movement gives expression to broader political views on issues
like communalism or the general political situation in the
country, these are not taken with the same degree of seriousness
or reported adequately. Such limited perceptions have their
reflections within the movement also.
As
compared to this,
issues relating to
women
and
development, the feminisation of poverty, the need to organise
women at the grassroots and expand their opportunities
opportunities for
participation in the broader decision making process have found
much wider acceptance.
Similarly, the role of women’s studies as
an instrument to revitalise and reform the educational process
appears to have found credibility in the Acharya Ramamurthy
Committee appointed in 1989 with the objective of reviewing and
eliminating some of the anti-democratic elements of the Education
Policy of 1986.
One may also point to the sharper expressions of resistance
to gender equality that are becoming increasingly frequent in
some political movements and various types of establishments as a
reaction to the women's movement. Within academic establishments
such hostility goes hand in hand with increasing interest among
students and a limited section of teachers.
The Programme of Women's Studies of the Indian Council of
Social Science Research was initiated in 1975 with three specific
objectives
(a)
to undertake policy oriented research with a view to bring
about changes in policies that had marginalised women;
(b)
ho promoir' re-examinat ion of social science
herv i or:
concepts
that
had
made women’s
lives,
roles
contributions invisible in social analysis; and
(c)
and
and
to revive the social, debate on the women’s question which
had erupted dur'in<| the freedom struggl
and thon faded
f rorn
the pub 1 i c arona .
A fourth objective, which was not recorded (for
( for obvious
reasons) was to create space and opportunities for people’s
democratic struggles
[or their rights, using research as an
input.
The
programme was planner] within two
weeks
weo^s
after
a fl-or
the
declaration of tlati.onal Emergency in 1975. The decision to use
women focused research as a counter instrument to the suspension
of democracy was taken by the veteran freedom fighter who then
headed the ICSSR, the late Prof.J.P.Maik.
u
I I
When I look back over all that has happened since 1975 I
am
tempted
to say that women's studies has tried to contribute
to
all the
four objectives, though perhaps in differing degrees,
The changes
introduced in collecting
information relating
to
women's work in the Census of 1991 is an acknowledgement of
the
sustained work done by women's studies practitioners during
the
last
fifteen
years.
The current debate on the declining
sex
ratio, identified again by the 1991 Census, however ill-informed,
is a
refreshing contrast to the utter
indifference to this
persistent trend in earlier decades.
Similarly, Lho r (' f o rnncf' Lo
women's
issues in the manifestoes of various political
parties,
however
limited or rhetorical in substance, do
find
space
in
media analysis of these manifestoes - again a refreshing contrast
to earlier years.
The multiplication of women's organisations,the number of
conferences/seminars/workshops and networks that have come
into
existence over the last decade and half may lack cohesion and
clear-cut strategies,
but they do display dynamism and an
activist orientation.
Whether they can sustain
the strength
f
of
the movement and deepen its socio-political impact will depend to
a great extent on their capacity to draw strength and
sustenance
from an expanding base of women at the grassroots.
The concept of empowerment of the most deprived
groups
of
women to enable them to enjoy their constitutional
rights
has
given way to the understanding that the empowerment
is
mutual.
Women at the grassroots, when they are organised, emanate a
kind
of energy and determination for change which galvanizes all those
who work with them.
Today's women's movement is
no
longer a
movement from the top percolating downwards.
The question facing
us today is whether all at the top can effectively participate in
the aspirations and concerns of the majority.
u
£
IKE
EVOLUTION
OF
(HIP
PROGRAMME
FROM THE MARGIN TO THE CENTRE
\
MS.
C.P.SUJAVA,
IAS
HIMACHAL BHAVAN,
NEW VELHI
IJ
12
THE EVOLUTION OF WID PROGRAMME
FROM THE MARGIN TO THE CENTRE
C.P.SUJAYA
The imperative of women's development in
India’s postindependence era is rooted in the Constitution.
Equality of the
sexes before the law was one of the most
important fundamental
rights
(Article 14).
All discriminatory practices on the basis
of sex were to be abjured (Article 15), yet,
in the very same
Article, the Constitution legitimised positive discrimination
in
favour of women and children by
the State (Article 15 (3)).
It
was the basic promise of the framers of the Constitution that
"special provisions" were necessary for the benefit of women to
ensure that they could successfully claim the fundamental
right
to equality.
It is significant, that, along similar linos, while
Article
15(1)
prohibits discrimination on the basis of
caste,
Article
15(4) empowers the State to make special provisions
for
Scheduled Castes. Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally
backward classes.
The evolution of development planning for women,
therefore,
was
strongly
influenced by the concept of women as a distinct
ca tegory,
for whom special and separate programmes were
to bo
formulated.
Social Welfare services were seen as appropriate to
tackle
the endemic problems of women such as
illiteracy,
poor
health
and
malnutrition
(of both
women
and
children),
vulnerai) i 1 i ty
l.o soc i a 1
i 1 Is and gonera 1
I>ack wa rdnoss
and
ignorance .
It is important to note the difference
in concepts
between
"social services
Services
and "Social Welfare Services"
in
the
50's.
Social services,
in
its broadest allocative definition,
included
the
subjects
of education,
health,
housing,
labour
housing,
welfare, rehabilitation of displaced persons, welfare of Backward
Classes and Social Welfare.
Welfare,
Social Welfare Services,
on the
other hand
in
a more limited context, are
services aimed at
vulnerable groups such as women, children, the
f*
handicapped etc..
Duby (1973) divides them into the following categories:-
1.
Socially
underprivileged
widows,
unmarried mothers,
aged and infirm.
2.
Women and children.
3.
Socially
maladjusted
e.g.
beggars,
prostitutes,
delinquents, newly discharged persons from correctional
and
other institutions.
4.
Physically and mentally handicapped persons.
5.
Economica J. 1.y
underprivileged.
the unemployed.
e.g. ,
orphans,
moral
danger,
the
groups
women
in
such
as
destitutes
and
u
13
Tn the first Five Year Plan,, Rs. 340 crores were allocated to
the head
Social Services, out of a total
Plan
allocation of
Rs.2069
crores,
forming 16.4% of the total
Plan
outlay.
The
biggest
chunk of Rs. 152 crores was
earmarked
for t
2
education,
about Rs.100 crores for medical and public health service?
Rs.49
for
for nhousin
housing,
9/ Rs.29 crores for backward classes
(including
(l._
SC/ST)
and nearly Rs.7 crores for labor and labor welfare.
The
first Plan also made a provision of Rs.4 crores for assistance to
voluntary
social welfare organisations, so that "Their work
can
be
expanded
and dovetailed
into
the
national
development
programmes."
There was,
as yet no national administrative
infrastructure to provide the welfare services to women.
During
the first Five Year Plan, school feeding schemes were started
in
order to counter the malnutrition problems of young
yc
children.
Maternity
and Child Health Centres were planned
in response to
.------ -a
the
needs of mothers and children,, in
view of
in view
of the
the high
high maternal
and
infant mortality rates prevalent.
The
health
and
The official
official
education agencies
in the State were expected
achieve wide
expected to
to
coverage of women without any separate machinery being instituted
to focus
on
the special needs and
problems
of malnourished
mothers,
ma Lorna J morbidity, female illiteracy and school
drop
out etc., a position, which, by and large, exists even today,
On
the other hand,
the setting up of
the various [protective,
correctional
and rehabilitative Institutions for those who were
socially handicapped,
or vulnerable, as
required by various
statutes,
was
seen
as stpiarely falling
into
the mandate of
Government agencies, such as the Directorates of Social
Wei faro,
Correctional
Services,
arc
the
Social Defence etc.
Examples
"homes"
ia?d z
institutions under the Suppressioni of
of
Immoral
Traffic Act (1956), the various Children's Acts, the Probation of
Offenders' Act, Beggary Prevention Acts etc.
An
inipoj' tan L con t rad 1 cti on or divergence surfaces at
this
point.
On th£ one hand, the special attention given to the needs
and problems of women to enable
-- them
---- to enjoy and exercise their
Constitutional <equality
’’
of status has strengthened the‘
’'Social”
nature of the Constitution
---- as a document,
containing,
as
it
does,
important policy statements,
The
thrust
for women's
equality
is
a
part of the overall
thrust
contained
in
the
Constitution
towards economic and social justice.
Besides
the
fundamental
rights>
to equality before the
law guaranteed
to
women, and the ban on discrimination in ]respect‘ of employment
on
the grounds
of
sex laid down in Articles
14,15
and
16,
the
Const i t uI ion (• < > nI ainr I»i (»v i s i on s such .'is
;is n(|ual
equal pay ffor
equalI work
or oqua
Ioi
mon and W< MIH ‘II z l”(H«'clien of the ht'.i
health
men
I I h and strength of
and women workers,
just and humane
conditions
and
condi
tions
of work
ma ternity
relief.
On
the other hand, a
review of the wide
v a rioty
of
-■ 11»I n < >. i c h»';
and
i t .11 f'f j j < >'•. ad<
>pl ('
f’d in
he
dedader,
adopt
i n I ho
4
s 11 <•<•(' o < | i ii' I I In
h«'*
. i11
. I1 < >|
> | > I i . >i i “I
lh< <c.‘''U'i
ui■■: l ii Il u iI ii <. •.ii11 ,, li ».
r i II Ii a.ni<;
i hem.
11 •: 1I ..ii lI • •
goa I s
i Hl o Ip<»< > I i < • i < n and | n < >q
g r amnios
ha t_ (he
anmu's. show tthat
I ho central i t y
of
women's
existence in the country's development scenario has
not
so far been recognized.
development" ]policy
__ 7 debate has
"Women in development
undergone a process of organic growth and qualitative"change ,,
as
u
14
evidenced from the purely "welfare" approaches of the early
fifties
giving
way to the questions
about
status
and
opportunities and legal rights raised in the seventies, along
with the new participatory approaches to women's development. In
the early stages of the centralised planning process, women were
treated as recipients of welfare measures and doles. They were
classed as an under privileged group and tagged on with scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes and other "weaker sections" of society.
Women were seen as "consumers" of government doles, hand - outs,
charity and essential services, covering the wide range of
"products" such as education, nutrition, health-care,
skill
health-care,
training and even Institutionalisation.
"Women were viewed as
vulnerable, weak, unskilled and incapable of standing on their
own feet without outside help and intervention. The perception
of women's vulnerability and weakness rose not so much out of the
socio-economic context, in terms of landholding, caste and class,
but more out of a notion that women, especially when they
suffered
from
social
disabilities
such
as
widowhood,
spinsterhood, destitution and abandonment, were lesser beings in
the household". Where women were fortunate enough in having the
support of a male in the household,that is,
the husband,
her
role was seen as a supplemental one, helping the man who was the
bread winner in the family.
It then fell on her to be
responsible for the care of the child, its nutritional needs, its
health etc. Besides,
Besides, she was also responsible for the internal
management of the house.
Her world was circumscribed thus, and
programme interventions
were designed to meet these needs,
Under the Community Development programme,
therefore, we see
women taking up such activities as kitchen gardening, homescience applications in the kitchen, such as preparation of
nutritious food, jams, pickles, jellies etc.
Lessons imparted to
them included basics of hygiene, home-sanitation ,
food-storage
and communications etc.
The removal of normal barriers to women's participation in
political, economic and social activities, through enactment of
progressive legislation by itself did not succeed in bringing
about significant changes in women's participation in
the
development process. The Constituional and legal framework of
equality could not convert women's historically disadvantaged
positions into one of equality or equal participation.
It failed
because adequate attention was not paid to the identification of
^ e.
of inequality and to attacking the
structural
infirmities and defects which led to women being unequal partners
in the development process.
The "welfare" approach being severely limited in its scope
and coverage, other direct interventions in areas like health,
nutrition, education, etc. were introduced. This was based on a
tacit assumption that the "gender neutral" approaches could not
succeed in effectively reaching services to women. Theoretical
equality had to be bolstered with a set of special measures for
women.
The Committee on the Status of Women in India had
observed in 1974 that "though women do not constitute a minority
iI
15
numerically, they are acquiring the features of one, by the
inequality
of class,
status and power- therefore
special
temporary measures may be necessary to transfer dejure into
equality."
defacto equality."
The poverty alleviation programmes of the
seventies saw a great deal of attention focused on interventions
to deal with the problems of poor women.
Women-specific
projects were attempted in such areas as literacy, nutrition,
population control etc. These projects and schemes remained
marginal to mainstream development efforts.
Another approach or strategy much talked about in recent
years is the "integrationist"
"integrationist approach. We talk of integrating
womeni in the development process.
This approach
received
attention during the International Women's Decade (1975-1985) and
was much discussed and debated in the United Nations forums,
including the Mexico and Copenhagen World Conference.
Conference,
The
question can be raised as to why women need to be integrated in
the processes of development, when the over-whelming majority of
poor women, who form a large part of our working force, are
already working for survival, and are fully engaged in economic
activities.
Their being asked to take on more burdens is
therefore unthinkable, as their working day consists of as long
as
12-14
hours. The combination of the productive
and
reproductive roles of the woman, leads to her carrying a double
burden.
"Integration" however, makes sense when we consider the
fact that the economic contribution made by the women goes
largely unrecognized as a result of which her needs are rarely
taken into consideration when planning programmes or in project
design.
"Integration"
therefore should lead
to
certain
strategies being followed which take into account the particular
force.
characteristics of women as members of the labour
it is a fact that the "integration" approach has not
However,
sometimes
been correctly followed or interpreted in all sectors,
leading to isolated efforts at involving women in certain
programmes and activities only.
Another pervasive debate on policy options centres round the
treatment of women as a special interest group, as an alternative
of securing for women a fair share of the general programmes,
Many have criticised the lack of understanding, the neglect and
the apathy shown to women's issues in general development
administration.
On the other hand, treatment of women as a
"special" group for the purpose of formulating "women-specific"
programmes, has also come in for a great deal of criticism, on
the ground that these programmes have marginalised women, since
they are ill-equipped.
"general
The
failure
of
many
programmes,
either
increasingly
development",
or
"women specific" has
been
attributed to a lack of attention on the part of the policy
planners to the formation of "receiving mechanisms", as the
emphasis always has been on the shaping of an efficient "delivery
It was felt that policies, converted into programmes,
system".
be
either area-specific or beneficiary-oriented, could not
11
16
implemented on the ground, without the women of the target
group,(the poverty households) being mobilised and made aware of
their own situation and the kind of changes intended to be
brought about by these programme interventions.
There
is
therefore, now a greater stress on providing in the Project
Design itself, an organisational or a group base, which will work
on several levels, for providing cohesion and solidarity on one
level, and for providing a forum for undertaking economic
activities on the other.
The failure to see women's development programmes as part of
mainstream sectoral development strategies and their
being
relegated to marginalised and peripheral activities is nowhere so
well
illustrated as in the case of
agriculture
related
occupations. Women's work in agriculture and the crucial nature
of their contribution to agricultural development is
well
But much of this work remains
acknowledged and accepted.
invisible, both in statistical work profiles, as well as to
policy planners and formulators. The result is that women's
access to new and emergent technologies has been very very
marginal, whether it be the T&V system, general agricultural
co-operativisation
extension,
co
—operativisation
of
programmes,Green
of dairy
dairy
Revolution technologies or anything also. The very large group
of women agricultural labourers, (many of whom have also small
plots of land of their own) remain one of the most, if not the
most elusive, target groups, whether under IRDP, or NREP/RLEGP or
DWCRA or the CSWB socio-economic or other programmes.
The
programmes.
efforts to involve them in economic activities leads to their
being asked to learn skills which are unrelated to their everyday
working environment and which need efficient marketing and other
inputs for ensuring success.
The centrality of women’s role in the economy, is that of a
producer, not a mere consumer or a recipient of governments'
welfare measures.
It is on women as a producer that we have to
focus on, which entails a thorough review of the structural
obstacles that stand in the way of her increased access to
resources such as land, capital, training, skills, credit,
legal
credit.
rights, etc. The several approaches adopted since Independence
towards women's development, have not fully come to grips with
this centrality.
The result is a proliferation of programmes
with no coherent framework to address the multisectoral and
multi-dimensional problems faced by women.
Luthra sees the birth of the Central Social Welfare Board
(1953) as making the first entry of the State in the field of
Social Welfare, *
Up till this event, social welfare services
were delivered to the client groups almost wholly through the
non-government or the voluntary sector. There was no specialised
Luthra, P.N.
“Central Social Welfare Board
Challenges"
in Social Welfare - Legend
S.D.Gokhale ( 1975 ) .
Its
and
role &
-- (ed)
i I
17
agency of any kind at the national or the State level, which coordinated the programmes sectorally or spatially.
With the
coming into existence of the Central Social Welfare Board,
programmes for women, children and the handicapped received a
boost.
The Board was to be given a great deal of autonomy:
indeed,
the very rationale for it -- being set up outside the
Central Secretariat was to enable it to act as a catalyst in
promoting and strengthening voluntary action in the field.
Shortly after the setting up of the Central Board, Boards were
set up in the States and Union Territories as well. The Central
Social Welfare Board has, thus a fairly extensive field net-work
infrastructure.
and infrastructure.
Its importance lay primarily in the fact
when
it
was
set
that
up, there was no Ministry or Department in
the Central Secretariat for Social Welfare.
The Board ■was,
therefore, the first national Machinery set up by the Government
of India for the
advancement
'
-2.-------- of women.
The functions and objectives of the Board were to assess the
needs and requirements of social welfare organisations;
organisations; to
performi the role of co-ordination vis-a-vis- the Central and
State 1Ministries funding social welfare activities; to evaluate
the programmes <and projects of the aided agencies; to promote
social welfare organisations on a voluntary basis in places where
none
exist;
and to render financial
aid
to
deserving
organisations or institutions.
Over the nearly 4 decades of its existence, the Board has
tended to concentrate on the last-named objective/function to the
almost complete exclusion of the others.
In other words, the
Board has developed into a grant giving body;
the catalytic
body;
processes it should have released or generated in order to build
up voluntary effort in women and child development have failed to
take place.
The Board funds a variety of programmes to be
implemented
through voluntary organisations.
These
cover
education for school drop outs, vocational training, child-care
socio-economic programmes, welfare of children of less privileged
groups, nutrition, grant-in-aid for general welfare, family and
child welfare, mahila mandals, awareness generation camps, crimes
against women, counselling etc. These schemes have tended to
become rigidly defined blue prints over the years, with very
little flexibility and capacity to adopt to local needs.
The
needs.
schemes have become an end in themselves and not a means for
achieving well-defined goals such as gender equality, empowerment
of women, building up confidence and awareness etc.
The pre
eminent position that the Board held as the sole national
implementing machinery for women's advancement and development,
no longer exists.
With the coming into being of a Central
Ministry for Social Welfare/Social Security in 1966, even the
functional autonomy of the Board was seriously eroded.
The
Chairman of the Central Social Welfare Board complained of having
to seek permission for matters which were previously considered
to be within the scope of the Board. This departure from the
earlier established convention whereby the Board could, on its
own, develop programmes which were within the limits set out for
18
itself, was resented by the Board. The
Government’s presence
xne government's
dwarfed the personality and the image of the Board and its
schemes. Since new programmes can be launched by the Board only
by following the detailed, time-consuming procedures laid down by
the
—° Government, the tendency has been for it not to take up new
programmes or to go in for modification, re-orientation, overhauling,
changes etc. in the existing programmes in
keeping with grass-root demands, to any appreciable extent. Thus
while approaches to rural development, delivery of services
through extension systems, poverty and gender,
female-headed
households,
asset-creation
for
asset-poor
or
asset-poor
or
asset-less
families, micro-enterprise development for women in the informal
or subsistence sector etc. have undergone evolutionary changes or
have surfaced as new concerns in the seventies and eighties, this
ferment has scarcely touched the form and content of the Central
Social Welfare Board(with one or two exceptions). This has
in the sapping of the initiative of the
local
resulted
organisations to whom local needs provided the main rationale for
programme formulation.
The setting up of the Board in 1953, however, did rrepresent
"an important step in the policy of active participation
. , .
. ,
*•-by the
State in dealing with social
inequalities and promoting social
justice”.* It remains a bold experiment in institution-building
for fostering social development and change.
The yoijuuuniry
Community Development Programme was another national
movement initiated by the Government in 1951. One component of
the CD programme was the Applied Nutrition Programme, consisting
of nutrition education, food production, pre-school clll
children
feeding, mahila mandals, and provision of nutritious feedingI to
pregnant or nursing mothers. There was considerable overlap
between the Central Social Welfare Board and the CD programme in
delivering social welfare services to women and children.
A
limited imeasure of departmental co-ordination was also achieved
between the two systems as well as other Government agencies, the
Panchayati Raj system and even the voluntary agencies,
However,
the participation of women in the CD programme centred around
prevailing middle-class concepts of women's role as a house-wife.
a maintainer of family health, nutrition and welfare,
Women's
productive roles were not perceived,
though
her
capacity
to earn " supplementary" income was recognised in a very
limited
way, as for example,
from kitchen gardens, sewing,
fruitprocessing,
crafts, embroidery etc. ILand-based
’ *
activities such
as crop husbandry, dairying, fisheries,, small
-------anima 1 husbandry
etc. were not seen in the women's context, or the fact that
very
large numbers of women were already working in these
employment
systems.
This led to a stereo-typed approach to the whole
question of vocational and skill training for women,
especially
the illiterate and assetless women, and to the emergence of the
concept of "suitable" trades and vocations for women.
*
Kumud Sharma "Central Social Welfare Board" CWDS (1988).
19
The shift in approach from looking at women as a part of the
"welfare"
constituency to seeing them as actors
in
the
"development" scenario took place in the seventies.
In fact,
there is a widely held perception that the "Women's question" had
been almost forgotten during the first 3 decades of post
independence in India, or at best, it had been subsumed under the
general rubric of social welfare; and that it surfaced for the
first time in the 70's. This coincided with various political and
socio-economic developments which took place in this decade, both
in the country and outside.
"It had become increasingly clear
that the Constitutional promises of equality did not mean much
unless basic assumptions regarding social power and control were
challenged.
During the late sixties and early seventies many
older
women's organizations
which had become
relatively
inactive following the end of the freedom struggle, began a new
phase
of
activity marked by increasing
interaction
and
cooperation with one another. This time, their focus was not
only on mobilising women, but on understanding and attacking the
sources of their oppression.
In addition, newer efforts towards
forming organisations with women as leading protagonists occurred
in
a
large
number of situations.
The
political
and
organisational unrest of the late sixies gave these efforts room
for growth."*
The
publication of the report of the Committee on the
of
Status
Women in India coincided with the beginning of the
International Women's Decade.
There was,
in the Decade, a
growing body of evidence unearthed by grass-roots research on the
situation of Indian Women and the type of changes taking place in
their lives, which showed that the assumption that women had been
left far behind in the "development process" and that therefore,
what was needed was to bring them back into the "mainstream" was
not the whole truth. The reality was that some of the very
processes of development itself has marginalised and adversely
impacted on women.
Women,
in this sense, were not really
excluded from development - they had become the victims of
development.
How could we think of integrating women
in
development" when "development" has been so adverse for women and
their livelihoods? In 1990, a Third World woman activist
leader, who was deeply involved in the International Women's
Decade (1976-1985) and the various international conferences and
meetings, looked back to that period to question the phrase
"integrating women in development" and to substitute it with
"empowering women for social Change." In India, the knowledge of
"the contradictions that appear when policies aimed at achieving
gender equality have to be pushed within social structures which
are based on unequal power and resource base" was present even in
the beginning of the Decade. This dilemma still continues, as a
major contradiction between WID integrationist rhetoric and the
ground reality.
In terms of policy statements, the Sixth Plan chapter on
women constituted a break through. While the earlier Plans had
h
20
emphasised
social disabilities and the need
for
special
programmes, the Sixth Plan emphasised the potential of women to
become agents of development and the need to boost
-- ; her self-image
and self-confidence.
In terms of programming, area development
and spatial schemes in the rural sector were replaced by
individual beneficiary - oriented programmes, The links between
gender and poverty were operationalised through earmarking a
special component for women in the anti-poverty programmes such
as TRYSEM,IRDP etc. The earlier exclusive emphasis on health,
education and social welfare services for women gave way to a
recognition of the centrality of woman as a productive worker.
The emphasis, therefore, shifted to economic opportunities for
women.
The links between survival needs of the household and
women’s work were revealed in a profusion of micro-studies,
The
importance
of subsistence work sectors such as
dairying,
fisheries, sericulture, forestry,handlooms,handicrafts, khadi and
etc.
village industries etc.
for supporting women’s
livelihoods
gradually
came to be appreciated.
Certain new,
hitherto
untouched areas such as women and violence, came to the fore
front, based on a mass of evidence of the growing trend of crimes
women.
against women.
Emphasis was also placed on basic needs and
support services for women such as fuel, fodder,
fodder, water, child
care, transport, housing etc.
The new knowledge, however did not fully translate itself
into the necessary changes to be carried out in programme design.
Much of the dead weight of ideology, attitudes, biases, and ethos
inherited from the past is still being carried round by the
implementing
machinery of the Government and its extension
agencies. While non-government organisations have fully involved
themselves in issues relating to gender equality, the non
government sector is always an
uneasy one, and very susceptible
to disturbances in the external environment. Even as the Seventh
Plan document, for the first time, devotes an entire section to
the involvement of voluntary organisations'
in development,
statutory restrictions. Enquiry Commissions, tax laws, accounting
formalities etc. emanate as visible signs of the State’s power
and dominance.
Evidence of lingering biases and stereo types shows up in
the choice of trades for TRYSEM - by and large, women are still
taught sewing, tailoring, embroidery, knitting, garment-making
etc.
The number of TRYSEM trained women who were able to avail
of bank finance and start their own production units was
abysmally low,
as a consequence of the restricted choice of
skills taught.
Pre-conceived notions about the importance of
family strategies and the house-hold approach impact adversely on
the programmes aimed at poor women within poor households such as
IRDP & DWCRA. Though there has been quantitative improvement in
coverage of women following the 30% reservation in IRDP, the
Ilina Sen "A space within the struggle "Kali for
New Delhi (P:5)
Women"
(1990)
Ii
impact in terms
of incremental
income to the women and i t
sustainability
is
quite
doubtful
.
appreciation of the
In
DWCRA,r
iark
effectiveness
-i-ciCK
q
of
the
a programme
Programme i
strategy
has '
'
collectivit'
J left the groups weak.
Y of women as
note that by
It is importan4>
the
field
machinery responsible
,
J the
Poverty programmes
fo
extension t
co™.unliy--^^"-Udlng the women i*-J is the same cadre! or
workers) inherited
upgradation^I- DeveloPment
from
Their reorientation,
—i etc. have remained
skii:
Eariier biases
and 7large a
neglected subject.
care) being J against support services for
seen as either a ’welfare acti^ity'or
women (such 33 Child
expenditure,
activity
or a ^5
has resulted
(-u .
m child
care7 ata
onsumptior
needs/supports
d care and
stin being seen as
marainsi
other
basic
productive! or income
marginal
to
earning
Programmes/schemls
Z
tO
women
's
in NREP, RLEGP etc.
etc. the Provision for child
demes
.
Z Even
en where,
where' as
exists in t-hn
cne
the
child care
-Seslgn, i„ impJe^taw
* on work
"ork slteB
a rhas
Centralising tendencies it tUrned
develo
contradictorylt>effect£rof “ithin
in directing
' -argi'nJusXg^X^ -trnetnre Mi.'
J effect
- ’--.J
a
oFSn1
rnaeblneries
women
question,
the oDDQ;ZZ*
“
P
tOr
3dVanCe
the cause
special
■result
of treating
of
women- as
if a
women can be
furthered
manager, opinion mould V1SW °f women as
all Ministries and Z fommunity leader producer, reproducer,
etc., is
mandated to include Pments °f the Government ! < developed and
Action."*
include women in their
of India
agencies and plans are
of
impleme^r
be . .'oKX,
UnderSCOre' ±n r
’
not a homofIno^sagrouDunderscore,
conclusion
race or community." PTheir^ifbb^
_ "T are they 3 sPecific that women are
’’class, caste,
economic context L whichl^e Z
on
the; socio
dangers
in
moving
homogenization
""tht?5
to centre-stageOne of the ]possible
position
is
a
reality, be n that <
respected.
that should in
that efforts to "mainstream" ma 1- alreadY' disturb!
ng evidence
l.Mn,la“r:"^h"’311-i"te„tione59w’esSto fo™^ ■ S"Ch as
aS ““asi
moves
to
TrAHU-he oommunity end up in fnr-+-k
personal and
up in further
and rights miJhJ^be^kiland tenur|rand1c?opp!nSing the
1 tenure
,
rights might bo v. • , land --tenure
and r~
*
y
Culturally acceotPd
kinder
ini
P« PP 9 systems
kindertoto women
women
n ththese
women
in
contain more accepted
S!
. m°des of behaviour and
communities.
and interactions
more free and
spaces for the
maintenance,
marriage,
— The risk <
the
-- ng or
could sometimes be a
y y °ups
laws on these
"
calls for a high
high degree
degree of dePcOentini'' process
Pr?cess..
This, communities
in turn,
making, not only
in
tho
^centralisation
only in the
•i and local decisionof vo^,,. s
the total
development , but in
reach
ieacn development" to all.
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PATRIARCHY AND SOCIAL CONDITIONING AND ITS IMPACT
ON THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
ISC
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PR. M.J. USHA RAO
PROFESSOR
I
COUNCIL FOR
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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. 9
HYDERABAD
u
22
PATRIARCHY AND SOCIAL CONDITIONING AND ITS IMPACT
ON THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
N.J. USHA RAO
Global awareness of women's position particularly after
World War II and the subsequent Human Rights Declaration, <gave a
special impetus to the women's movements world over.
A major
thrust to studies with a specific focus on the women's livesJ in
India was undoubtedly given by the International Women's year.
1975.
Even after 25 years of Independence and a progressive
constitution, ensuring equality and gender justice, the status of
women did not show improvement to the extent desired.
'On the
contrary, women's oppression showed an increase in certain areas
of life and their economic position showed further deterioration
(Towards Equality : STATUS Report, 1975)
The primary factor distinguishing the post-1975 women’s
studies from the earlier ones, is the specific focus on
1 gender'
as an analytical category, in addition to, but at the same time
distinct from the more commonly used categories of class,
caste,
race,
religion etc.
Underlying this focus, is also
the
recognition that women are frequently a specially oppressed
group, within each unit of socio-economic stratification, be
class, caste, race or religion.
Feminist scholarship,
for over two decades now, has been
engaged in tracing the origins of women's sub-ordination and
oppression,
trying to locate its basis in biological,
social,
cultural,
economic, political, historical and psycho-analytical
aspects of individuals and groups. Though, they may not have
arrived at a universally accepted theory, this concerted research
has thrown much valuable light on the different forms of
oppression that one half of humanity perpetrates on the other
half, and the various ways and means used by different societies
to perpetuate it.
There
is
also
a
clear
recognition,
that
gender
stratification has to be reckoned as a pre-capitalist and pre
class phenomenon and that its understanding can be obtained by
focusing on sexual relations of production based on kin-group
membership and rights resulting from it.
Recent feminist studies have located the roots of women's
subordination on differentiation based on the sex\gender system
(Rubin, 1978).
It refers to the institutionalized system, which
allots resources, property and privileges to persons according to
culturally defined gender roles. That is, on the basis of sex or
biological differences, a cultural superstructure is constructed
governing the behaviour of sexes.
Thus while
sex(nature)
determines that women should be child-bearers, it is the sex
gender system(culture) which assures that they should be childreares.
u
23
One of the direct outcomes of the sex-gender system is
patriarchy, the most pervasive cultural artifact of women's
oppression.
Under patriarchy, the source of women's social
oppression is located in the family structure and also provides a
framework for analysing how the forces oppressing women have
survived and adapted to societies with different modes of
production.
MEANING OF PATRIARCHY
The term,
patriarchy, thus takes off from the literal
meaning of the rule of the father within the family and is used
to embrace the rule of men over women in society.
Patriarchal
authority is based on male control over the women's productive
capacity and her person.
There is some confusion, however,
regarding the
term
patriarchy.
In its traditional, narrow meaning,
patriarchy
refers to the system, historically derived from Greek and Roman
law,
in which the male head of the household had absolute legal
and economic power over his dependent female and family members.
When it is used in this sense, it has a limited historicity for
it.
Patriarchy began in classical antiquity and ended in the
nineteenth century with the granting of civil rights to women and
married women in particular.
But strictly speaking, patriarchal dominance of male family
'
head over their kin is much older than classical antiquity and it
may be argued that in the nineteenth century, male dominance in
the family simply takes new forms and is not ended.
ended,
Thus
Patriarchy in its wilder definition means the manifestation and
institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in
the family and the extension of male dominance over women in
society in general. It implies that men hold power in all the
important institutions of society and that women are deprived of
access to such power.
It does not imply that women are totally
deprived of rights, influence and resources. (Lerner, 1986).
Patriarchy has been one of the strongest, most resilient of
ideologies, that has survived over centuries, spanning across the
most numerous of existing known societies.
It has been created,
nurtured and preserved by the males in the different societies
over time, giving divine sanctions to enable its survival.
Thus
traditionalist societies may have become modern, feudal to
capitalist or socialist, technology might have introduced several
changes in mastering the forces of nature, but the cultural tool
of patriarchy still remains as forceful as ever.
The
traditionalist
explanation
focuses
on
women’s
reproductive capacity and sees in motherhood woman’s chief goal
in life. Women’s maternal function is seen as imperative to the
survival of society, hence the sexual division of labour based on
biological differences is seen as functional and just.
H
24
Another oft-quoted explanation related to biological factors
affecting the males, is that their greater physical strength and
aggressiveness causes them to become hunters. So they become
providers of food for their tribes and are more highly valued.
The skills derived from hunting enable them to become
warriors.
Man-the-hunter,
superior in strength ability and the experience
derived from using tools and weapons, inaturally
protects and
defends the more vulnerable female (referred to as the weaker
sex) whose biological equipment destines her for motherhood and
nurturance.
Anthropological evidences have refuted these traditionalist
notions of male physical superiority (Mead,
1949) and the
universality of male dominance. The most recent new evidence
being of women divers of Korea (Myong-Jo, 1991) who idive deep
into the sea to gather sea food, while their menfolk stay at home
with the children. Besides, they have found societies in which
sexual asymmetry carries no connotation of dominance or sub
ordination. Rather the tasks performed by both men and women are
regarded as equal in status in most aspects.
In such societies,
the sexes are considered as complementary their roles and status
are different but equal (Rosaldo, 1974).
In many hunting and gathering societies it was found that
the main food supply was provided by gathering activities and
small game hunting, which women and children do. Further, the
essential, cultural innovative contributions that women made to
the <creation of civilization by their invention of basketry and
pottery and their knowledge and development of horticulture,
revealed the significant role played by women in providing and
preserving
food in the hunting\gathering societies.
Many
feminists argue that the limited number of proven biological
differences among the sexes has been vastly exaggerated by
cultural interpretations and value put on sex differences> itself
is a cultural product of mainly androcentric bias.
Another explanation of women's sub-ordination, is based on
Engels theory of the acquisition of private property, which has
received much support from Marxist feminists.
According to
Engels, the development of animal husbandry led to commerce, and
surplus from herding were appropriated by men and became private
property. Once having acquired such private property, men sought
to secure it to themselves and their heirs. They did so by
controlling women's sexuality and instituting the imonogamous
--- --family. Engels stressed the connection between the breakdown of
older kinship relations based on communal property ownership and
the emergence of the individual family as the economic unit,
In
linking sexual relations to changing social relations,
r
Engels
broke with the biological determinism of the traditionalists, In
focusing attention to the sexual conflict built into
the
institution as it emerged within private property relations, he
reinforced the linkage between economic-social change and what we
today would call 'gender' relations.
u
25
Levi-strauss (1969) and Claude Meillassoux (1972), however,
believe that it is the exchange of women that led eventually to
the creation of private property. Levi Strauss reasons that in
the process women are 'reified1: they become dehumanized and are
thought of more as things than humans.
This occurs, according to
him, with the development of agriculture,
In fully developed
plough agriculture, women and children .are indispensable to the
production
process.
Hence, tribes seek to
acquire
the
reproductive potential of women, who are exchanged.
This
practice
becomes
institutionalized in incest
taboos
and
patrilocal
marriage patterns leading to the overthrow
of
matriliny and matrilocality.
In Meillassoux’s scheme,
the
control over reproduction
(women’s sexuality)
precedes the
acquisition of private property.
Aaby (1977), the Danish anthropologist however, cites cases
of societies where control of women existed (Australian hunting
tribes) even in the absence of horticultural activity and
societies like Iroquois, a horticulturist society, where women
are neither reified nor dominated.
Nevertheless it has been
observed
that in the course of
agricultural
revolution,
exploitation of human labour and the sexual exploitation of women
seems to have become inextricably linked.
A refreshingly new insight has been provided by Eisler
(1988)
in her Cultural Transformation theory which re-examines
human society from a gender-holistic perspective,
Weaving
together
evidence from art,
archaeology,
social
science,
history, religion and many other fields of enquiry, she tries to
show how in our distant past, there were periods of peace and
prosperity when social, technological and cultural evolution
moved upward.
Many thousands of years, when all the basic
technologies on which civilization is built, were developed in
societies that were not not make sense to conclude that these
were societies where women were dominant.
She says that it makes eminent sense that the earliest
depiction of divine power in human form should have been female
rather than male.
Our ancestors, noting that life emerges from
the body of a woman, may have imagined the universe as an all
giving Mother from whose womb all life emerges and to which it
returns after death to be reborn.
These societies
which
worshipped the life-generating and nurturing powers of the
universe - in our time symbolized by the ancient chalice or grail
was interrupted by the pre-historic horizon invaders from the
peripheral areas of our globe who ushered in a very different
form of social organisation. These were people who worshipped
the lethal power of the blade, the power to take rather than to
give life, that is, the ultimate power to establish and enforce
domination.
She describes the earlier societies characterized by the
principle of linking as the partnership model and those based on
h
26
the principle of ranking of one half of humanity over the other
as the dominant model which could be patriarchy / matriarchy.
She prefers to call the male-dominated model as andro-centric and
the partnership model as gylany (gy deriving from the Greek word
Gyn - for female - 1 for linking and any - for andro or male).
On the basis of latest archaeological evidences she analyses
how the partnership models based on qualities such as caring.
compassion and nurturing were replaced by dominant models - where
force,
aggression and violence came to be valued.
These
have great relevance to
our
violence-filled
observations
societies and needs careful consideration.
PATRIARCHY : THE INDIAN SITUATION
It is indeed difficult to generalize for a country as huge
and as culturally diversified as India, With the improvement of
communications and media, one is becoming even more aware of the
inter-regional, inter-religious, inter-caste differences, besides
of course, the rural\urban differences, But today, along with
the differences, we are also becoming increasingly aware of
certain common features or culture traits which seem to cut
across regions and religions, and one of the most glaring of
these, is the sub-ordination and oppression of women.
It is interesting to note here that most studies on the
position of
<
women in India, begin with the Vedic period or the
Aryan civilization. Though archaeological evidences (Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro)
and other literary sources have revealed the
existence of an earlier civilization, not much
systematic
attention has been focused on the pre-Aryan or non-Aryan social
life and organization of family structures. Mention is made here
and there about the existence of matriarchal (?) or matri-lineal
and matri-local societies (the most commonly cited is the Nair
'Taravads' or Kerala) and the worship of the Mother Goddess,
which have survived to the present times in various forms in
different parts of the country. Whatever little evidence that we
do come: across, however, indicates that the relations between the
sexer were more egalitarian and social life was less hierarchic
and peaceful, than found in the later Aryan context,
At least
much of the trauma associated with the girl leaving her natal
home seems to be absent. However much more systematic research
into historical records and archaeological evidences is called
for in this area. This neglected aspect of our history, may
provide many clues to the various contradictions that we find,
regarding the position of women in the Vedic period.
As far as the Aryan culture is concerned, there is little
doubt about their adherence to the patriarchal cult, which can be
discerned in the early Vedic period itself and whose fundamental
feature has been hierarchy. With the advent of Aryans,
the
Mother Goddess recedes to the background, while 'Purusa" the
supreme man in the Rigveda, pervades the world with a
, fourth part
of Himself. All beings come out of him and he pervades things,
ii
27
animate as well as inanimate. Thus the conception of one great
Being from whom the Universe is said to have emanated, is
sometimes described as one with the Universe and transcendent,
gradually prepares the way fro the later polytheism of the
Upanishads", (Kapadia, 1955). The four varnas were also created
from the different parts of His Being - in a C
descending order of
hierarchy - Brahmins from His Mouth, Kshatriyas fromi His arms,
Vaishyas from
-- 1 His thighs - and Sudras from His
feet - thus
providing the ’Divine I! basis for the hierarchical divisions in
society.
Recent research throws some light on these early Aryan
people.
Gimbutas
(1982) using radio-carbon dates, postulates
that several migratory waves of stepe pastoralists of Kurgan
people swept across pre-historic Europe.
According to her, in
old Europe*
Ilm physical and cultural
culturn1 disruption of thn
Neolithic
societies that worshipped the Goddess has
been
attributed to the Kurgans, which began in the fifth millenium
B.C. ,
The Kurgans were of what scholars call Indo-European or
Aryan language speaking stock, a type that was in modern times to
be idealized by Nietzche and then Hitler as the only European
race.
They were nomadic patoralists who swarmed down on the
continent from the Asiatic and European North East.
Ruled by
powerful priests and warriors, they brought with them their male
gods of war and thunder and gradually imposed their ideologies
and ways of life on the lands and people they conquered.
Patriliny and patri-local residence then became the norm.
With
the appearance of these invaders on the pre-historic horizon, the
Goddess
-- ; and women were reduced to male consorts or concubines,
Gradually male dominance, warfare and the enslavement of women
and of powerless men became the norm.
Kapadia writes, "the Vedic seers moulded their Gods on their
own models. They lived the life men lived, Hence, their ambition
in life was a full life here on earth to be followed by and
equally happy life in the other world in the company of the Gods,
May we live a hundred years (RV I, 89, 9, VII 66, 16). And this
was natural, as the life offered gold, cattle. sons and grandsons
in plenty.”
The preference for male progeny for its racial
continuity
seems
to
have been
well
established.
Uma
Chakravarti's
(1988)
comments on Altekar’s description of the
early Aryan life are interesting. Altekar
’s pre-occupation with
Altekar's
the propagation of the race often assumes fascist overtones. For
Altekar,
even a comparison with Hitler and Mussolini seems
perfectly in order and he goes on to suggest that like Hitler and
Mussolini, the Vedic chiefs were anxious for "heroes, more
heroes,
and still more heroes". The gospel they preached to the
householder was not that of eight sons of the later days, but of
ten.
The non-Aryans were probably outnumbering the Aryans and
they were anxzious to have as strong and numerous an army as
possible.
On the subject of antiquity of Sati as: a custom, Altekar
(1959) puts forward the view that the custom was pre-historic and
u
28
that it was not revived during the early Vedic period
4-u
Aryan's anxiety in having sonl and heroes
Henc^ ?^ custom
of
Niyoga,
(marrying the younger brother of th^ husband)
was
sanctioned
But perhaps, it may be more true to surmile
that the
whntOd-af Sa^1 began Wlth the Aryans, particularly of those
ho did not accept Niyoga or to prevent the Aryan women women
that sltienwaf n°n~ArYan .^igin.
It must be also mentioned from
here
x
3 Wldely Practiced social custom.
It was
restricted to certain groups or castes in certainreqions and
its
dols notemaketK in^ haS k*®? qUitS negli9ible- This
This however,
aoes not make it in any way a lesser social evil.
There has been much debate on the relative
degree of
equality and freedom that women
---- enjoyed xu
in cn
the family and
the ®arly or later Vedic period -but; most authors
are, however, <agreed on the point that "male--supremacy" was an
established feature
—-□ even in the early Vedic period.
fact one wonders, whether, because of the
egalitarian values in the non-Aryan society, it took prevailing
some time
for thecult of Aryan patriarchy to be l
1
institutionalized
among
the various non-Aryan groups and communities in
—
i
the
different
parts of the country. This unevenness and
variations in its
degree °? t^ie influence can be witnessed
even
today,
though
several intervening factors in later times
may have helped in
accentuating or lessening this process.
But by and large, the establishment of p
ruling ideology seems to have been achieved bypatriarchy as the
J the time of Manu
smriti, when all the loose ends
were
neatly
tied
in the form of
the inow familiar Dharn?h Shastra (A
code of Dharma or Justice),
With its rules of Karma and Dharma, it lays down the prescriptive
and proscriptive behaviour for imen and women belonging
I to the
different varnas, for all times to□ come. This code of Dharma
was
however,
highly
biased
in favour of
the
three
upper
classes,(dvijas) and blatantly prejudiced against the Sudras and
women of all classes.
counterparts elsewhere, in
other
evident in the writings and j
All the legends and laws
to earlier egalitarian or matrilineal societies on which Judaism,
Christianity or Islam were based were being re-written by the
priests to suit the cult of patriarchy. rThus
—•
inspite of attempts
to give an impression of unity, Eisler points out the
many
contradictions and internal inconsistencies in some
of
the
religious scriptures. One well known example she cites
in
i
the
Bible is tte .two different stories of how God created
human
beings,
found in Chap 1 of Genesis. The first tells that
and man were simultaneous divine creations. The second, woman
elaborate one,
one, tells
tells that
that Eve
Eve was created as an after-thought more
out
of Adam's rub (and that too a supernumery one).
u
29
Many of these inconsistencies were obvious clues to the
on9o:j-n9 conflict between the old reality, which lingered in
the people's
:
* the priestly
i_._ culture
’ and the newer
realities
ruling
class was trying to impose. As a result of this, one finds
certain common features in the attitudes towards women and their
sexuality across the major religions of the time, where the cult
of patriarchy was <gradually being imposed, giving rise to certain
common stereotypes,f about the nature of woman's character and
temperament, the need to guard and control her sexuality, her
role to be confined to the home as wife and mother and complete
subservience to the man and the master of the house.
Malladi Subbamma (1985) <also
“
points out to the various
contradictions in the different Vedic"
------texts
---- > and sometimes in the
same text, in different places. These contradictions can be seen
both with regard to the creation of Varnas as well as the
attitude towards the position of women.
For example, giving or
demanding any kind of dowry is nowhere mentioned in any
any ancient
Hindu Shastra. Even the practice of bride-price, which seems to
have existed earlier in some parts of the country is condemned by
Manu.
"No father shall receive even a particle for giving his
daughter
in
marriage
and thus become
seller
of
this
offspring..."(Tiko, 19185). In fact 'kanya dan' was eulogized as
the most supreme of all the 'dans'• However, the later provision
of a share for the daughter in the father's property, as
'Stree
Dhana',
seems to have been converted into
'Vara dakshina'
or
present day dowry with the emergence of capitalist patriarchy.
SOCIAL CONDITIONING AND IMPACT ON THE POSITION OF WOMEN
It is interesting to note that despite these inherent
contradictions in Manu's code, his model of the ideal woman has
reigned jsupreme in the Hindu male psyche for centuries. One of
the important reasons for this is the nexus between
the
intellectuals and the ruling elite and the management of the
information system.
It was these men who later influenced and
guided the British rulers in their attitude towards women's
education etc.
and of course, took their place in the postetc.
Independence era. They have now become the chief instruments in
preserving the patriarchal legacy as it serves their own vested
interests.
It has never occurred to even the most liberal minded
amongst them,
to question the very basis and rationality of a
lop-sided code of conduct.
“
------- . TWhen
voices were raised occasionally,
they have been conveniently ignored or suppressed.
In Manu's Samhita, ideas about womanhood are laid down and
morality is assigned in authoritarian codes which lower women
almost to the level of sub-species. Manu equated women with
slaves and his laws epitomise complete submission of woman to man
and they are still the sanctioned codes of conduct ascribed for
and by and large, accepted by women (Tikoo, 1985). He lays down
that "though destitute of virtue of seeking pleasure (elsewhere)
or devoid of good qualities (yet) a husband must be constantly
u
30
worshipped as God by a faithful wife ....’’.
Thus the
*Patiparameshwar ’ model persists, with the man demanding such worship
and the woman offering it unquestioningly. Manu also lays down
that "where women are worshipped, Gods reside" but he does not
make it clear how women are to be worshipped and by whom
(fathers, husbands, brothers or men in general.)
Writing on the Hindu value system, Suma Chitnis
(1988)
describes how women have been conditioned to revere the father
and to serve the husband as a devotee serves God.
Devotion to
the husband is cultivated among girls of all religions but it was
particularly idealized and firmly institutionalized in the Hindu
concept of ’Pativrata’. The term pativrata(literally translated
as "one who is vowed to the husband") connotes a wife who has
accepted service and devotion to the husband and his family, as
her ultimate religion and duty. The examples of Sita and Sati
Savitri are all quoted repeatedly in their daily lives.
This
ideal of 'pativrata'
'
...is romanticized through legend, folklore and
folksongs and re-affirmed through ceremonies and rituals. As a
result, the values thus conveyed penetrate into the deepest
recesses of the mind, where even in our time, they are guarded as
hallowed and immutable truths.
Zarina Bhatty (1988) states that the Ashraf concept of a
woman is derived entirely from her role as a ’wife and mother’
and is garnished with traditional feminine virtues of pre-marital
i
virginity, modesty,
self-denial, graciousness, sensitivity and
devotion to the family, A girl, right from birth, is moulded for
marriage and motherhood.
If we examine the image of women in Christianity, here again
one finds the same contradictions as in the Hindu scriptures.
While in early Christianity, women took active part in preaching,
teaching and even liturgical services,
later many of these
activities became impossible. The image of woman in Christianity
is far from uniform, it always includes several aspects, possibly
exclusively of each other (Ursula King, 1980).
One feature, however, which is different in Christianity as
compared to the Hindus and Muslims is that, virginity was ranked
higher than married life. Marriage came relatively late in the
early history of Christian thought, to be considered a sacrament.
In the first centuries, marriage was mainly a family and civic
affair, and had the status assigned to her by society. Only the
consecrated virgin could claim equality with men as a member of
an ascetic elite. Though earlier, in Buddhism and Jainism
also
women took to ascetic life, this had much more acceptance in
Christianity than in the former. But in practice even the women
ascetics in Christianity were treated as inferior to the male
ascetics.
Another oft-quoted dictum of Manu is, on woman’s dependence
on her father in childhood, on her husband in youth and when her
lord is dead, on her sons. Applying the same logic, he does not
u
31
recommend, however, the remarriage of child widows. Instead
7
they
are condemned to a life of abject deprivation and become; victims
of male sexuality ending up in prostitution.
(Rao,1983) Leela
(1988) ■describes in detail the mechanisms through which
Dube
women acquire the cultural ideas and values which shape their
images of themselves and form the visions they have of the
future.
Patriarchal values are internalized by a systematic
process of socialization.
To understand this process it is
necessary to keep in mind the implications of the family
structure and its wider context of kinship relations in the caste
in which it is embedded. It may be noted however, that the
superiority of the male members is more or less a common feature
that cuts across caste, class and religion both in rural\urban
areas.
As a result, women have a negative image of themselves.
They regard man's superiority as divinely ordained and take it
for granted, or as given.
In fact, a large number of women are
even unable to identify that they are subjugated and oppressed.
They regard
it as natural
that
_
----- --i men
are their lords and masters as
can be seen by the vernacular terms used to refer to the husband
as yajamana or owner. They have, internalized the idea that the
men have a right to control them as they are his property,
When
wives are battered, even the other women do not think it proper
to interfere because a man has a right to beat his wife.
The recognition of special values accorded to male children
comes early. ’The
_'
joy expressed at the birth of a boy (with the
beating of drums or distribution of sweets) and the absence of it
when a (girl is born cannot escape the attention of even young
boys and girls, So growing up as a boy in an Indian family is to
enjoy various types of social, psychological and material types
of privileges, whatever these latter may be depending on the
economic status of the family. r
‘‘
‘boy
u 1in the labourer's
Even the
hut is relatively better placed than the girl in
i that family.
The negative attitude towards the girls as mentioned earlier
starts from birth itself. Apart from the disappointment and
frowns that greet the girl child on her arrival in this world,
child rearing is marked with indifference and neglect.
The
uselessness implied in rearing a girl child can be seen in idioms
like
'Bringing up a daughter is like pouring water in sand*
or
the Telugu expression which conveys it more effectively 'Bringing
up a daughter is like watering a plant in another's courtyard'
(Dube 1988).
Girls grow up with a notio of their temporary
membership within the natal home.
Writing about the Muslim women of Uttar Pradesh, Bhatty
(1988) states, that the daughter is regarded as a ipotential alien
in her father's house, for she belongs to the patriarchal lineage
of her future husband. She is referred to as
'amaanat* or
'paraya dhan' (another's property). The reason is the same as in
Hindu society, namely that the girl is a liability. Her family
has to spend on her marriage and though she does not really
N
32
belong to her parents, she has to be protected till she is handed
over to her real owners. The Muslims often use the phrase "a
guest of four days" to describe her.
This emphasis on f
*
the
transient aspect of a girl’s life, acts
as an obstacle in building her self-confidence, Her present is
very much overshadowed by the inevitable " uprooting" that she has
to face in the near future. The differential value of sons and
daughters and the unshakable association between imarriage and
departure from the natal home is driven home not only by various
folk songs but sometimes by repeated nagging by the women of the
house.
The
onset
of puberty, is
characterized
by
severe
restrictions on the girl’s movements and her interaction with
males.
One of the direct consequences of these restrictions is
that in rural areas most parents withdraw their girls from school
as soon as they become big. Secondly, despite the legislation
prescribing the age limit for marriage, parents are anxious to
get the girls married as soon as they attain menarche.
Without
adequate protection against male marauders lurking around the
corner,
they cannot afford to take risks. The most important
concern here is the management of the girls sexuality which is
tied to her future as wife
--- and
—1 mother,. Motherhood is the highest
achievement in a woman's life; and marriage is the gateway to
motherhood.
Everything is secondary to these two goals
(Dube,
1988).
A lot of
importance is attached to how a girl carries
herself.
A girl should walk softly, should not run^ hop,
jump,
climb as all these are masculine traits. This is one of the
reasons, why females are not encouraged to take part in sports
and games. The girls if they do go to school must return home
straight, preferably in a group or cluster, so that there is less
fear of being sexually assaulted by boys.
Besides, since marriage and motherhood are still the main
goals for a woman as prescribed in the scriptures, many middle
class families, feel, that it is a waste to send girls for higher
education,
whereas for a boy education is considered
as
investment for the future. Even when the girls are sent for
higher education, the parents ensure that they conform to the
traditional models of submissiveness and maintain a low profile,
for, otherwise the newly acquired knowledge may come in the way
of their marriage, by encouraging independence or assertiveness.
It is difficult to speak of any single pattern of gender
based division of work since it is characterized by considerable
diversity across regions and social groups. Even in agricultural
work,
some
tasks are done exclusively
by
wcmen,
like
transplanting.
But as far as household and child care work is
concerned it may be mentioned that these generally fall in the
feminine sphere in most parts of the country.
The ldistinction
L
between masculine work and feminine work comes early ii childhood
u
33
and becomes sharper as the child grows. Thus, though men may
work as cooks in hotels and as sweepers or attenders in offices,
doing dusting or cleaning, to do such tasks in their own homes,
is certainly not manly. So much so, in rare cases, even if a man
wants to assist his wife in her house-work, he is not only
ridiculed by other men but by most women.
In many middle class
homes, the male members eat their food and leave the plates to be
washed by the girls or women in the house.
Z_
It is considered as a
male privilege which only adds to the woman's work.
A girl is constantly reminded of her sex and the feminine
tasks that go with it. If some girls do not show interest in
domestic chores r they are chided and reprimanded to conform.
Other important values that <are inculcated in the girl is the
notion of service, self denial, and sacrifice,
Girls should
learn to bear pain and deprivation, to eat anything that
is
served and not to complain. This is part of the training for
reality that they are likely to confront in the house of the
mother-in-law.
Quite often women are accused of being their own oppressors
particularly in the role of mothers-in-law. This is because they
have internalized the voices of their men and speak
tr
like
patriarchsin enforcing the patriarchal values (Das, 1985).
The
social self of an Indian woman is the lookinq
looking glass self
constructed by patriarchy.
The notions of tolerance and self-restraint
--- - -------- are also rooted
m a consciously cultivated feminine role which is embedded in
and
legitimized
by cultural ideology, which
ensure
the
reproduction of a social system characterized by the subordination of women. Thus, women do not think it proper that
they should have any needs of their own, <as they are supposed to
sub-ordinate their needs to that of the men in the family. A
woman should efface herself and her identity as defined by that
of her husbands. Women often curse their own fate
-- ; for having
been born^as women and pray that girls are not born as they are
sources of misery, which is one of the —
main
L.i causes of female
infanticide.
They do not think, that it is possible to change
the course of their lives, They feel that they do not have any
options in their being or becoming.
While a great deal has been laid down regarding the: duties
of women, not much is stated for the men.
.It is perhaps; to be
implied, except that "<considering that the highest duty to all
castes, even weak_husbands (must)strive to guard- their
____
wives.."
(Buhler, 1964). Thus, if a man has extra marital affairs,it is
viewed as man's nature to wander. Nobody questions why Rama is
not portayed as a model of •Eka Patnivrata*. The men are quite
used to these double standards. Hpncp
Hence though ___
I_________
legislation
is
there against bigamy, in practice if a man has a second wife,
it
is not viewed very seriously.
I
i
11
34
In the case of the Muslim women, it is even worse. Thej two
practices that have been most detrimental to the status of women
in Islam, are 'talaq', that is, unilateral divorce and seclusion
of women. Legally, a Muslim man can marry up to four wives,
He
can divorce at will, without assigning any reason. He is not
required by law or custom to pay any maintenance to the wife thus
divorced, though he is obliged to pay a compensation of Mehr
(dower) fixed in the marriage contract provided the divorced wife
insists.
The conditions are very stringent to get a divorce.
Incidentally, polygamy is not recognized as a reason for seeking
divorce.
So one can imagine the insecurity that our Muslim
sisters experience in their married lives.
Thus,
we
find that cultural beliefs
and
religious
scriptures, whether Vedas, Manu Smriti, Quran or the Bible were
all used
i
as effective instruments in conditioning the minds of
men and
-- 1 women that, male dominance was natural,
universal and
divinely ordained. This notion still persists in many quarters
among the different societies in varying degree even to thisJ day
and to a large extent in our own society.
The last century has witnessed a new
i
t
*
weapon
in
the armoury
in addition to culture and religion,, in enforcing
of patriarchy
I
subordination
-J- —
and oppression,
namely capitalism,
leading to
economic exploitation of women. With the emergency of capitalist
patriarchy, the commoditization of women has reached new heights,
leading to exaggerated dowry demands, bride burning,
suicides,
burning,
trafficking in women, even sexual exploitation of women workers
etc.
Thus, it can be seen that improvements in education and
employment per se have not been able to fulfill our expectations
of bringing about equal status for women. The stress and strain
in a woman's life only seems to be increasing with no improvement
in her social status.
Even in a state like Kerala, which recently celebrated cent
per cent literacy with much fan fare; one is disgusted to learn
that dowry prices have sky rocketed in the marriage auction
market. And, that too among Syrian Christians, a community with
a high percentage of educated men and women, the rates range
anywhere from two to five lakhs in cash, plus kind which include
Maruti cars, colour TV. etc, depending on the educational
level
of the grom.
So unless education enables critical conscience
raising
and
interventionist
strategies
to
stratecies
change
the
socialization process in order to cultivate egalitarian values or
mutual respect between the sexes, education will have only a
limited impact on social change and will remain largely an
exercise in statistics showing the increase in the number of
schools and colleges for girls/boys.
Even in
employ women
the economic spheres, though some industries do
in large numbers, they do so only for certain
11
35
’ *
specific: tasks, mainly 1to exploit
the cheap labour of women
workers. What is
is.sad
sad to note is that even trade unions, supposed
to be working m
in the interest of wage workers, discriminate
against women.
Most
programmes for
for" rural women,
women.
Most development
development programmes
whether IRDP, DWCRA
DWCRA etc.
etc. end
end up
up in
in expoiting
expoiting the
the women.
Instead
of empowerment,
‘
*
’
1
it has led to their enslavement.
While their
unpaid labour has increased, they have no share in the benefit of
their labour, because the programmes do not provide for their
participation in crucial areas of management and decision making,
in co-operatives and marketing etc. Thus,
in the capitalist
patriarchy, the woman is exploited both in the private/public
spheres of work and has no control over the income-generated by
her.
Most working women even in middle class families have no
control over their economic resources.
In addition, they suffer
from various psychological stresses. They are afraid to
move-up
in their professions, for their status should be lower than
that
of their husbands. Some of them refuse promotions and transfers
because it comes in the way of patriarchal attitudes.
Thus
capitalist patriarchy denotes the
<
system
which
maintains exploitation plus oppression (Mies, 1986).
Capitalism
and
patriarchy mutually reinfoce each other,
The
mutual
dependence of patriarchy and capitalism not only assumes the
malleability of patriarchy to the needs of capital (cheap
of women) but assumes the malleability of capital to the labour
needs
of patriarchy (sexual division of labour).
Here,
I do not wish to go into the details of the various
legislations that have been passed in
post-Independent India
affecting the women like the Hindu Code Bill, Minimum
Anti-dowry, SITA,, Divorce and maintenance etc. for most of wages,
have remained on paper. The government has not shown <these
equal
commitment in implementing them,
Besides, its dual standards
--j was
exposed in its unnecessary intervention in Shah Bano's case r
betraying our Muslim sisters.
Veena Mazumdar (1985) rightly states that
that the
the woman’s
question today is no longer an issue confined to the positioni of
women within the family or 1
’
their
rights to equality with men in
different aspects of social 11
life.
-It is
*
tpart of the far broader
-question ]regarding the direction of change that: our society is
taking...economic,
social, political and
the
intellectual
perception of that process.
Thus, if the position cl
of women has to improve and be
liberated from oppression and exploitation. one has to get to the
root cause namely patriarchy. As Gisler states - our society has
to make a conscious choice between the androcentric or male
dominance model with its values on aggressiveness, force and
violence, perpetuating, more violence and wars, or a gylanic,
partnership' model which is based on mutual respect. peace and
nurturance.
Ii
36
It is said that when male oppression increases in the
family,
it also leads to greater violence in the larger social
system,.which we are witnessing already. Hence, partnership has
to begin in the family and by linking, extend to the larger
society.
NOTES
1.
According to D.N.Mazumdar "the status of women in India can
be more understood in the context of Indian ethnology than
in that of religion or Brahminism...Brahminic influence
appears to have been overestimated, and the rigid mores of
the woman’s conduct have been read in the context of the
doctrines of Karma and Dharma, but if Brahminism had such a
great influence, how is it that the majority of social
groups, castes and tribes escaped it or did not conform to
such a....system?
2.
It is said that in the beginning the word varna was used on
the basis of colour to distinguish the 'fair* Aryans from
the ” dark coloured" Dasyus, and that the Aryans were divided
into three classes, namely Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vis or
Vaishyas
^“3 (dvija) and Dasyus were the Sudras - the nonAryans.
H
37
REFERENCES
Aaby Peter, 1977. 'Engels and Women in
Vol 3, Nos 9-10,PP 39-43
Critique of
Anthropology
Acharya, Sarthi 1979. 'Employment of women and men in
India: A
Historical Review 1901-1951': The Indian Jr. of Labour
Economics, Vol 22, No 3 October.
Altekar, A.S.
1956. Position of Women
Varanasi, Motilal Banarsidas.
in
Hindu
Civilization,
Ambannavar, J.P.1975 . 'Changes in Economic Activity of Males
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2.
and
Bhatty,
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Social
Mobility and Directions of Change' in Alfred De Souze (ed) ,
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Manohar Publications.
Chakravorti, Uma 1988. 'In Search of our Past: A Review of the
Limitations and Possibilities of the Historiography of women
in Early India' EPW, Vol XXIII, No 18, April 30th.
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Suma
1988 .
'Feminism'
Indian Ethos
and
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In Rehana Ghadially (ed) Women in
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Indian
Indian
Das Veena,
1988 . 'Feminity and the Orientation to thdI Body'
in
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Delhi, Nehru Memorial Musium and Library.
Meillassoux, Claude 1972. 'From Reproduction to Production: A
Marxist Approach to Economic Anthropology' in Economy and
society No.1.
Mies, Maria 1980. Indian women and Patriarchy New Delhi:
Publishing Co.
Concept
Millet, Kate 1970. Sexual Politics, N.Y. Doubleday Publications.
Mitra, Ashok 1979. The Status of Women: Literacy and
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Employment
Myong-Jo,
May.
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'Dangerous Livelihood' Times of
Sth
RAO, USHA, N.J.1983. Women in a Developing Society,
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New
Delhi,
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California, Staford Union Press.
and
Society
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38
Rubin, Gayle 1979. 'The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political
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De Beauvoir, Simone 1974. The Second Sex N.Y, Vintage Books
Desai, Neera et al 1983. Country Paper on India, Women's Studies
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UNESCO.
Dube, Leela,
1988.
'On the construction of Gender: Hindu Girls
in Patrilineal India EPW Vol XXIII, No 18, April 30th.
Eisenstein, Z.R (ed) 1979. Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for
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&
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’Patriarchal
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Gimbutas, Marija 1982. Goddesses and Gods
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of
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Oxford
King, Ursula 1980. 'Women and Religion: The Status and Image of
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Manohar Publications. Lerner, Gerda 1986 The Creation of
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Levi-Strauss Claude 1969. The Elementary structures
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of
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Mazumdar, D.N. 1961. Race and Culture of India, New Delhi,
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Asia
H
39
Mazumdar, Veena and Kumud Sharma 1979. Women’s Studies: New
Perceptions and the challenges EPW, Vol 4, No 3. Jan 2 Mead,
Margaret 1935.
Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive
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George Routledge. Mead, Margaret 1949. Male and Female: A
of the Sexes in a changing world. N.Y.Morrow.
study
Saradamoni.K 1983.
’Changing Land Relations and Women: A case
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Women and Rural Transformation: Two Studies t New Delhi,
Concept Publishing co.
Sethi, Raj Mohini 1981. A Study of Agricultural Labour in Punjab,
Unpublished, Punjab Univeristy, Department of Sociology.
Singh, I P 1990. Indian Women: The Captured Beings
Intellectual Publishing House.
New
Delhi,
Subbamma, Malladi 1985. Women: Tradition and Culture
Sterling Publishers
New
Delhi
Tavard, G.H. 1973. Women in Christian Tradition Indian University
of Notre Dame Press.
Tikoo, P.N. 1985. Indian Women: Delhi; B.R. Publications.
-------------------
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H
40
IMPACT OF PATRIARCHAL VALUE SYSTEMS ON INDIAN WOMEN
M.N.V.NAIR
A characteristic feature of the homo sapiens, as distinct
from <other living
species, is their ability to adapt the
onvi ronmen I
tto
o nu iit:t: Uioi r needs. Thin they do by the use of
tools and through organisation, The faculty of reasoning enable
them to use tools to lighten their labour and organisation to
apply it collectively to a given task, History in reality is the
story of this struggle of the human being to develop newer tools
and fashion appropriate organisations to suit them.
Division of labour is a basic condition of Organisation, In
the earliest and most primitive societies, the division was
based on the needs of biological reproduction and by the
differentiation of the species into Male and Female. Though both
had a role in creation, conceiving, delivering and nurturing the
infant child was the responsibility of the female. But both were
involved in
the production of the material requirements of
survival.
The primitiveness of technology
precluded
the
possibility of generating surplus and hence social relations were
forced to be on the basis of equality. And since women performed
the more important function of procreation which was
the
essential condition for the survival of the tribe, she could even
have a more important role. This was possibly a reason for the
emergence of the matriarchal societies.
The
gradual
developments in technology
created
the
conditions for the generation of surplus possible, The division
of labour became more complex and depending not merely on
biological reproduction, but also on physical strength and
stamina. Since the function of biological reproduction,
imposed
certain limitations on the female, Man emerged as the dominant
factor in society.
Though the quantum jump in technology created the conditions
for the generation of surplus, it was still primitive and hence
labour was more important in production. Therefore the control
over the tools and the labour to operate them became essential
The concepts of private
for the expropriation of surplus.
property in the tools of production and family as a unit in the
organisation of production emerged. Since Man was the dominant
factor in such society's, and human labour a major factor in
the ownership of human labour became important.
production,
Since females were the weaker sex, ownership of the women by the
able-bodied men was the earliest known form of property.
Family as an institution can be classified into four:
(1) Matriarchal
(2) Matrilineal
(3) Patrilineal
and
(4) Patriarchal
u
41
Matriarchal family is one where the Mother has the dominant
role in the family and kinship ties are established through her.
Matrilineal family is one where the lineage is traced through the
woman but
1
normally a male member will be the administering head
of the family,,
In such a family, woman will have property rights
and though her role may be subordinate, it may still be better
than that in the Patriarchal and Patrilineal
arrangement,
Patriarchy is one where the Male is dominant and lineage is
through him. Patriarchal families are also Patrilineal families.
The emergence of family and property naturally lead to the
urge for establishing dynasty and passing on the assets of one
generation to the next. Man being dominant wanted to ensure that
the benefits of his assets should be inherited by his own progeny
and hence developed concepts of virginity before marriage, and
loyalty and devotion during marriage.
Patriarchal value systems
therefore emerged in the desire of Men to establish their
dynasties and pass on the benefits of their acquisition to their
progenies.
In pre-industrial societies, the family was the unit of
production. The Industrial revolution wrought a major change in
the
organisation
of production.
To
exploit
fully
the
possibilities
of division of labour and
introduction
of
machinery,
the factory system was created. Family as a unit of
production disappeared and though all members of the family had
to work, they often worked in different locations.
locations, Since hours
of work were long with practically no holidays, it became
increasingly difficult for even members of the family to meet and
have contacts.
The quantum jump in production and surplus, created new
types of stratification. Among the lower classes, women had not
only to attend to domestic chores,
but also participate in
material production.
But among the upper sections, who lived on
the surplus generated by others, women not only did
not
participate in material production, but even domestic chores like
cooking, cleaning and washing were done by hired labour. But in
both cases, women performed a secondary role. While among the
lower classes, they invariably had dual responsibilities, among
the upper classes, the role of women become more ornamental and
ceremonial.
Essentially it is brute force that enables the strong to
dominate the weak.
It has been the case among human beings also.
But in their case, other more subtle forms which are more
effective like economic domination and ideological conditioning
are also used effectively.
The dominant values of any society are the values of the
classes.
dominant classes.
They have the function of legitimising and
perpetuating the domination. Ethical values, social codes, moral
beliefs, behavioural patterns, statutory rights and obligatory
duties will all be designed to subserve this objective. Even the
u
42
laws of biological and social sciences are manipulated subtly to
subserve this end.
Life-styles like eating, dressing
and
speaking also have the same objective.
The tradition of past generations weigh like an incubus on
In most societies, the male has been
the brains of the living.
the dominant factor. The traditions he created to establish and
maintain his dominance have been influencing the thinking of
society.
He formulated the rules and shaped the beliefs.
He
decreed that women is the weaker of the sex and hence relegated
her to a secondary and adjunct role. This was institutionalised
through the patriarchical family system in which property rights
were monopolised by the male and kinship ties established through
him.
The revolutionary was developments in Science and Technology
has for the first time in human history created conditions for
altering the system. Work is becoming more a function of brain power rather than muscle - power. This has become the case even
in that male preserve. War. The development of computers and
modern communication technology has created possibilities for
people to work from their homes. The amount of labour required
to produce sustenance has been drastically reduced and new
organisation of work make it possible to have flexi-timings.
Mechanical devices have made domestic chores like washing,
and cooking less monotonous and time
consuming.
cleaning
Institutional arrangements for the education of children, looking
after the aged and the daily needs of life have all made it
possible to have new systems of human relations where both men
and women are economically independent and self-supporting, and
the need to be dependent is not compulsive.
It is, however, the strength of tradition based on male
domination which prevents the liberation of the majority and the
full exploitation of their inherent potential for the benefits of
society as a whole.
But such liberation can only be achieved if the shackles
Partial attempts at the
enslaving all the oppressed are removed,
solution of these problems, though welcome, will not succeed,
because within the existing value systems, the primary objective
of every individual will ultimately be to conform and get
acceptance.
Therefore the liberation of women is inextricably
tied up with the liberation of all the enslaved.
already indicated, social structure, cultural norms and
systems
are determinant factors in the role and status of
value
women in society, They influence their behaviour as individuals
as well as in their relations to each other.
As
Indian society is a community of different religions.
Practitioners of practically all the major religions
from
Zorostrainism to Judaism live in the country. The majority, more
than 80 per cent are Hindus, Orthodox Hinduism has produced
H
43
strong reactions and resulted in the establishment of new
religions
and sects such as Buddhism,
Jainism,
Sikhism,
Vasihnavism and the nineteenth century reform movements like
Brahma Samaj and Arya Samaj. The other important religions in
India art' .Islam and Cl i r I a I I a n i L y .
All these religions have their own separate systems of
values and beliefs. But there is also a dialectical process of
interaction.
Thus some of the newer religions like Islam and
Christianity had to contend with the traditions established by
the older religions. In turn, these new religions have also
influenced the values, beliefs and practices of the older
Indian Society, can thus be said to be an amalgam of
religions.
the important religions of the World.
Religions play an important role in shaping the attitudes of
people.
This affects the status of their members, particularly
women.
The Family systems of all Indians, except perhaps a few
isolated tribes,
irrespectice of their religious beliefs is
essentially patriarchal. Even
r
where matrilineal systems exist as
in the case of Nairs in Kerala,, its influence is confined to the
establishment of kinship ties and the inheritance of property.
The
Male is the dominant factor,
Therefore
even
where
matrilineal systems exist, the value systems are essentially
patriarchal.
Within this broad pattern, there may be differences in
attitudes between members of the different religions. Islam may
permit polygamy and divorce. But Catholic Christians do not
permit either. Among the Hindus, there are subtle differences in
the attitudes and practices in the different parts of the country
and among the various castes. Women of the Nair Caste in Kerala
and some other castes in South Kanara enjoy property rights equal
to that or even better than that of a Man.
Hence their status in
Society is better.
Hinduism has always given an important role to women, but
only as part of Man and secondary to him.
She is considered to
be fickle - minded, sensual, seducer of men, given to false-hood,
trickery,
fool-hardy, greedy, thoughtless, root of all evil,
inconsistent and cruel. A woman should never be independent and
always kept under control. According to the great Law-giver of
the Hindus, Manu, ’in childhood, a woman must be subject to her
father, in youth to the husband and when her lord is dead to her
sons’.
She is enjoined to be chaste, loyal and devoted to
her
husband and his family. Her duty is to her family and her
salvation is through her dedicated and virtuous life.
Hindu lore is replete with stories of women who have
attained fame, but always in the service of Man.
Such women are
ideolised and shown as examples worthy to be emulated.
Though
emulated.
other religions possibly do not idealise women as possibly the
Hindus do, they too assign important roles to women, but always
inferior and secondary.
J,
H
44
The Movement for Freedom culminating ultimately in the
attainment of independence and the adoption of a new Constitution
inaugurated significant and progressive changes in Society’s
attitude to women. The Indian State, being secular, does not
assign any role to religion in the conduct of its affairs,
But
since, India is a multi-religious society with the minority
C°2S^it^^n? r!early 20 Pey cent of the total population,
-- ------s oe c i a 1
safeguards^had to be provided to assure them that the State shall
not interfere in their private “beliefs, Therefore matters of
religion do find mention in some of the provisions of the
Constitution.
.
The preamble of the .Constitution resolved to
to secure
secure to
to all
social, economic and political, Liberty of
its citizens; Justice, social,
thought, expression, belief,
faith and worship
worship;;
Equality of
belief,
Equality
status and^opportunity; and to promote among them all Fraternity
assuring the dignity
individual and the unity of the
Na tion.
objectives the
To attain those objectives,
the Constitution
Consrirutiio
has provided
for <certain fundamental rights and
freedoms --such1 as freedom of
speech,r movement and organisation, protection
of life
and
liberty,
right to religious beliefs, freedom from exploitation
and the right to judicial remedies in the event of all or any
of
these rights being encroached on by the State,
Practice
of
discrimination on the basis of religion, caste
prohibited. There are also provisions for affirmative or sex is
action to
eliminate social injustices and disabilities which
have
their
roots in history.
The Directive Principles of State Policy,
though nonjusticeable,
but nevertheless fundamental to the governance of
society, enjoins on the State to promote Welfare
of all
citizens and strive for the enactment of a uniform Civil Code. its
Rights and
Freedoms provided in the Constitution are
The xvxyuus
ana rreeaoms
Normative and embody the ideals for the realisation of which
social endeavours are to be directed.
Existentially, tlere is
however, a wide gap between these high ideals and ‘ ground
ealities.
in the past four decades, a number of
No doubt,
progressive legislations affecting the status of women have been
enacted. The STate has also initiated a number of positive steps
to realise the ideals of the Constitution. But
- •
■
p
those steps will be evident from some of the the inadequacy of
instances cited
below :
m
While no <steps have so far been taken to enact a
uniform
r
’ as enjoined by the Constitution,
Code
, there is a move to
Law which puts serious limitations on the
Women to the State of Goa where it_ does not now exist, inspite of
opposition from progressive Muslim Women.
Women.
Among the Bohra
Community,
Women
are
l
_
still
subject
to
practices
like
clitoredectomy to curb their sexual appetite and 'misak’
in which
Civil
H
45
she declares herself t_
to L_
be _a slave of the
Priest) and willing to abide by his> wishes.
Syneda
(the
High
Hindus,. and to some extent, even some other religions in
India practice the Caste system. A Caste is a
'hereditary,
endogamous
usually
localized
group
having
traditional
”lth an occupation and a particular position_ “—
ini the
local hierarchy of castes. Relation between castes
are governed
among other things by concepts of pollution and purity and
generally. maximum commensality occurs within the caste.
Caste
endogamy is a mechanism of recruiting and retaining
control over
the labour and fertility of women. C
The caste system exercises an
enormously powerful influence to givej a subordinate role to women
by prescribing the 'dos' and don'ts.
In India, marriage is almost universal and
residence
invariably patri-local.
The Institution of family is used to
regulate and control women.
A very disturbing trend in the demographic profile of
the
?-h-"hlCh, C’n be ““ibuted to the domination of the
uVa.1Ue system 15 the declining sex ratio of women to
was a!
t9
™ortality and morbidity rates among women.
It
Vo™ As£?k
' who as the Registrar General of Census in the
1970s first drew attention to this phenomenon. He went to
the
extent of declaring women in India as the 'declining sex' and
warned that if this trend is not arrested, it will have
grave
consequences for the country. Given below is a table showing the
ratio of women to men in India since 1901:
TABLE
1
Census Year
Sex Ratio
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
1991
972
954
955
950
945
945
941
930
934
929
The proportion of sexes at birth is universally 104 to 106
to 106
males to 100 females,
Since biologically, the male is the weaker
sex in infancy, in all countries
where women enjoy a good status,
the ratio gets equalised by the time they reach puberty,
Thereafter,
the increased mortality among women due to the
hazards of child-birth is rcompensated by the higher risks to life
for
due to occupational- hazards
__ 2 accidents.
------ > <and
After the age
of 45, when.the
when the hazards of child-bearing are over, expectation of
life is□ higher among women and consequently in all countries
where the status of women is good, the number of women per 1000
population is invariably higher.
u
46
In India,
as shown in the Table (Table 1) the number of
females per 1000 males have been constantly declining, While it
was 972 in the Census of 1901, it has come down to 929 in the
latest. A major cause for this is the larger mortality of women
due to the hazards of child-birth. The following table is an
index of the mortality among women due to causes related to child
birth and pregnancy :
TABLE
2
PERCENTAGE OF DEATH BY CAUSES RELATED TO CHILD
BIRTH AND
PREGNANCY (MATERNAL) 1976 TO 1980 (RURAL)
Specific cause
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
Abortion
Toxaemia
Anaemia
Bleeding: of PREGNANCY
pregnancy and
Puerperium
11.6
10.4
22.1
8.2
11.2
15.9
11.0
21.2
14.6
11.7
16.1
15.0
12.5
12.4
15.8
17.2
20.6
18.2
20.0
15.8
Malposition of
child leading to
death of mother
8.6
9.4
9.3
10.5
13.4
Puerperal sepsis
Not classifiable
13.5
16.6
18.8
15.9
12.1
13.1
11.7
15.0
12.4
17.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
163.0
170.0
137.0
180.0
209.0
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.2
Total
Sample of deaths
Percentage of
total deaths
Source: Survey of Census of Deaths (Rural) 1980 - A Report of
the R.G. of India - Health Statistics of India 1981.
Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi.
When we look at infant mortality, the same phenomena of
higher mortality among female children in relation to male
children is evident :
u
47
TABLE
3
SELECTED INDICATORS OF INFANT MORTALITY F
BY SOCIO-ECONOMIC
LEVELS (1978) - ALL INDIA
Infant Mortality by Sex - Rural\Urban
Area
Rural
Urban
Total
Sex
Male
Female
Persons
130
69
120
142
71
131
136
70
125
Infant-Mortaiity by Religion
Religion
Rural
Urban
136
105
70
79
Hindu
Muslim
iii. Infant Mortality by Educational
Educational Level of Women
Illiterate
Literate but below Primary
Primary and above
Literates
iv.
Infant Morality by Occupation
Occupation
Farmers, fishermen, hunters,
oggers and related workers
Production on related workers,
transport equipment operators
ana labourers
Workers
Non-workers
level of Women
Rural
Urban
132
105
64
90
81
59
49
53
of Women
Rural
Urban
127
119
194
121
130
98
123
63
H
48
v.
Infant Mortality by Mother’s age at Marriage
Below 18 years
18-20 years
21 years and above
141
112
85
78
66
46
Source : Infant & child mortality survey, 1979 conducted by
the Office of the Registrar General of India,
New
Delhi - A Preliminary Report.
It is evident from the above that infant mortality is very
high and that among female children, it is relatively higher, As
the mothers get educated and have better occupation,
infant
mortality also come down.
It is also seen that infant mortality
rates of women who marry at elder ages is also low.
Women in India are a neglected lot does not need any
emphasis. Health care facilities do not take into consideration,
the special problems of women.
Even in regard to family
planning, the tendency is to put the responsibility on women and
most of the methods tried out are on women.
However,
the worst performance of the country is in the
sphere of education given below is the literacy levels of imales
and females in India as revealed by the Census:
TABLE
4
LITERACY RATES
Year
Persons
Males
Females
1951
18.33
27.16
8.86
1961
1971
28.31
34.45
40.40
45.95
15.34
21.99
1981
43.56
(41 .42)
52.11
58.37
(53.45)
63.86
29.75
(28.46)
39.42
1991
Note
1.
Literacy rate for 1951, 1961 and 1971 relate to
population aged 5 and above. The rates for the
year 1981 and 1991 relate to the population aged 7
and above. The literacy rates for the population
aged 5 years and above in 1981 have been shown in
brackets.
u
49
2.
The 1981 rates exclude Assam where the Census could
not be conducted. The 1991 rates exclude Jammu and
Kashmir where the 1991 Census is yet to
be
conducted.
The evidence
(
cited above, though sketchy, is an indication
of the inferior status of women in India under
Patriarchal
system.
Even though normatively, the Constitution has accepted
an equal role for women in society, existentially, it is made
difficult by the dominance of the patriarchal value system.
"........................................................... ■'.................................................. ..................................................................................................... —
■'
-yy?"-
'?A '
' ';yy'.L:y :>-yy..
blONEN’S RIGHTS IN THEORY ANO PRACTICE;
AGENPA FOR J990S.
I
$
VR.H.R.UAVHAVA MENON
DIRECTOR,
NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INVIA UNIVERSITY,
BANGALORE.
u
50
WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE ; AGENDA FOR 1990s
N.R.MADHAVA MENON
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Inequality in status and of opportunity, discrimination on
the basis of sex, immoral traffic in women and enforcement of
disabilities on disadvantaged sections of the people including
women are violative of the basic structure of the Constitution.
There are clear Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution
to effectively remedy such abuses of human dignity and freedom.
The Indian Constitution is the best guarantee for equality and
social justice fto everyone particularly women who,
for long,
suffered injustices5 and discrimination based on a variety of
customs and practices sanctified by law, religion and authority.
The Constitutional strategy for restoring human dignity
gender justice is three-fold. These include:
and
(a)
While guaranteeing equality and equal rights as Fundamental
Rights enforceable against the State through Constitutional
jurisdiction,
the
Indian
Constitution
provides
for
"protective discrimination" in favour of women, under which
the State is enabled to adopt special provisions
(including
reservation)
to
—
^-•
o improve the status and opportunities of
women unequally placed;
(b)
Certain principles of State
state Policy fundamental for the
governance of the country have been laid down by the
Constitution itself under which the State has been directed
to secure equal pay for equal work for both men and women,
provide maternity relief as well as equal justice and free
legal aid;
(c)
Recognizing the fact that gender discrimination is not only
the. result of State action but also that of individual
citizens,
the Constitution of India has stipulated certain
judicially enforceable Fundamental Duties under which every
citizen is obliged to renounce practices derogatory to• the
dignity of women and to develop scientific temper and
humanism in their social relationships.
Under the Indian Constitution therefore, women are entitled
not only to claim equal rights with men but are eligible under
certain situations to enjoy rights and entitlements not available
to men. .Acknowledging the need to raise the status of women, the
Constiution has empowered the State and its agencies to resort
to
affirmative
action in respect of
education,
health,
u
51
employment,
representation in political activities etc. , which
are laudable steps towards gender justice
indeed
and
an
egalitarian social order.
GOVERNMENTS * ACTION TO FULFILL THE CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE
The performance of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
both at the Central and State levels in discharging
the
Constitutional mandate
mandate on
on gender justice is on all accounts
unsatisfactory.
It may be characterised as "little done, vast
undone”.
cOn the legislative side, during the last four decades
the country saw the enactment of: a vast variety of pro-women laws
some of which are the following:
The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; The Medical Terminationi of
Pregnancy Act,
1971; The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; The
Prevention
of
Immoral Traffic Act, 1986;
The
Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act,
1986; The Family
Courts Act,1984; The Muslim Women
(Protection of Rights on
Divorce) _ 7Act,
‘
1986; Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; Hindu Succession
Act, 1956; ’The Commission of Sati (prevention) Act,
1987; The
Maharashtra Regulation of Use of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
Act,1988.
Similarly, there are numerous decisions of the various High
Courts.» and the Supreme
Supremo Court of the
tho country
mnnt-rv which
vrb-ir^h struck down
anti-women provisions of the law and actions of
the go vo r union t
and interpreted relevant provisions to the advantage of equal
justice for women. Among these decisions which have helped to
develop
a new jurisprudence favourable to women are
the
following;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Air India Vs. Nergesh Meerza, AIR 1981 S.C.1829
Ms.C.B.Muthamma Vs. Union of India, AIR 1979 S.C.1868
P.Bannerjee Vs.Sm.Swapna Bannerjee, AIR 1981 Cal.123
P.Sagar & Ors. Vs. State of A.P., AIR 1968 A.P.165
5. Sheela Barse Vs.State of Maharashtra, AIR 1983 S.C.378
6. Soumithri Vishhnu Vs. Union of India AIR 1985 SC 1618
7. Shobha Rani Vs. Madhukar Reddy, AIR 1988 SC 121
8. Prathibha Rani Vs. Suraj Kumar, (1985) 2 S.C.C. 370
9. Mohd.Ahmed Khan Vs. Shah Bano Begum, AIR 1985 S.C.1730
10. Bharat Heavy Plastics and Vessels Ltd. AIR 1985 A.P.207
It is, perhaps, at the implementation level that the gap
between promise and performance is quite pronounced.
The
Executive did show
occasional interest in programmes
and
activities directed towards improving the status and conditions
of women. The National Committee on the Status of Womn (1971
74) identified the causes for backwardness among women and
recommended
several
measures for planned development
of
education,
health and welfare of women.
Through the Central
Social Welfare Board and Mahila Mandals, several maternity and
child welfare services were taken up early during the Second Five
Year Plan. Social defence and social health programmes were also
11
52
organized through
Departments of Social Welfare of
State and
Central Governments, r
Family Planning and health care of
pregnant
women also received attention though not adequate‘ to
the
needs
and requirements.
Several State Governments
and
the Central
Government established Ministries and Departments exclusively
concerned with women’s development.
The usual
committees
and
commissions were set up from time to time to prepare
status
reports
and
to
produce
action
plans
organize
better
implementation
of
the Constitutional goals
in respect
of
development of women and equal justice to them,
Among these
reports,
three are particularly noteworthy though nothing much
was implemented out of their recommendations.
The Report of the National Commission on Self -Employed Women
and Women in the Informal Sector (1987-’88) titled
--- 1
"Shramshakti ”
outlined a inumber of comprehensive proposals to enlarge
J the scope
of
economic
opportunities
for women,
promote
their
occupational health and to ensure social
security and human
dignity to them.
The National Perspective Plan for Women,
19882000 A.D. ]prepared by a core Group set up by the
Department of
Women & Child Development of the Union Government
raised
expectations on many fronts of developmental activity
.
.
,
.
------2
concerning
women.
This document,
inter
document,
inter alia,
alia, identified
identified areas
areas
such
such as
violence against women, <discriminatory
’*
* ’
family relations law
law and
property rights, exploitative employment practices
and lack of
access
to justice and legal aid as key issues deserving
special
attention.
A Uniform Civil Code for all citizens by the year
2000 A.D. was part of its recommendation.
A National
for Women and State Commissions for Women were promised Commission
to be set
up to follow up implementation of laws
for women
and
to co
ordinate efforts in this regard.
Yet another national initiative during this period was
to
was
examine yne
the problems of women in the criminal
correctional
process in
m general and in prisons in particular.
The Expert
Committee on Women
Prisoners
(1986
’87)
gave a a series
HQRfi -'R-n
of
recommendations
to ensure the dignity of women
in
police
processes and
in custodial situations.
Finally,
the National
Expert Committee on Legal Aid (1973) also devoted a full
chapter
of its report in suggesting ways for increasing access
to justice
for women and organizing legal aid for them.
Anyone concerned with the legal status of women would bo
impressed by reading the equality provisions of the
Constitution
and the innumerable laws and programmes directed
towards
the
Protection and welfare of women.
Of course, there is still
scope
for further
legislation
in achieving gender
justice
in all
spheres of life.
P
‘
Nevertheless in
the’last forty years and
more
the record of the State in
— this
--- > regard appears on the face of
it
to be impressive.
But,
what is
the ground reality7
It
is one of
non
implementation, indifferent implementation
and implementation in
parts and pieces.
The system and its
personnel
have
somehow
MH' /OO
0S57S
v<_
o’
___
./J
i I
53
maintained
the
dualism between theory and
practicp
•
Sites 1SandU|lmUar”othn' ^i“ren' Scheduled^CasSsS ScSlIl
including
judiciary
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND POLITTCS
In
this regard it is interesting to note what
the
manifestoes
of different political parties
(Tenth
General
Election, 1991)
have to offer for women in the 1990s.
The
Congress promises to check the dowry menace
menace,,
suppress immoral
traffic, reserve 30 per cent seats in local bodies and implement
with
vigour the National Perspective Plan and the
Equal
Remuneration Act.
The.National Front will grant women
rightsj in
____
parental property, review all discriminatory
——- — •
laws, provide social
security to destitute women and implement 30
3
per
cent reservation
for women in local bodies, The Bharatiya
Janata
Party offers
women equal share in
■
husband’s wealth,
employment as School
teachers, more
hostels
and iikjnitrd
homes , S
- _
--------------»
smokeless chuJas, more family
courts <and a commission to look into
•
-]
n
.
,
,
”
—
their problems.
Communist
Party
Stern
—i measures against atrocities and crimes on
women, end discrimination m recruitment
and pay, improve working
-———
an|
conditions,, grant equal property rights and implement social
security
/°
r women
”omei? workers in the unorganized sector,
for
From the statements made, it appears that all political parties
are concerned
concerned with
with the non-implementation
of C
Constitutional
-- ---i of
__
promises concerning women and
r
1’
they
are prepared to implement^them
on a priority basis.
hi
AGENDA FOR ACTION IN THE 1990s
Given the findings of the Committees and
Commissions on
Women and the experiences of the past,
one may
r.a
suggest the
following approaches for better implementation of
the equality
guarantee of the Constitution:
(a)
The Uniform Civil Code for all citizens Lpromised by
Article
44 of the Constitution and proposed under the
Perspective
Plan be taken up as a priority item in the
legislative
agenda of the Tenth Lok Sabha.
It is universally admitted that all religion or custom-based
personal
laws
and
family
relationships
have
been
discriminatory
to women in varying
degrees.
Social
attitudes have been structured in such a family setting and
rationalised on the basis of a pre-conceived role of
in family and in society. The Indian Constitution women
i has
suddenly turned many aspects of the religion-based
personal
laws
, relating to marriage, separation, maintenance,
custody
and guardianship of children, succession, inheritance etc. ,
u
54
which
« ’
substantially
determined
status
of
women,
discriminatory to women. Ordinarily, these laws would have
boon radically changed to suit the Constitutional
norms
immediately after the commencement of the Constitution,
This did not happen partly because of the lack of organized
pressure from women groups and partly as a result of a wrong
impression on the nature and scope of religious freedom
under the Constitution.
Though a Uniform Civil Code may not make women equal in
society, yet its absence can certainly perpetuate the
existing discriminatory practices and provide legitimacy to
dangerous
'
customs^and superstitious beliefs prejudicial
to
women’s dignity and rights. The distribution
of
property
rights
can
make
a great
difference
in
man-woman
relationships within the family as well as outside.
The
concept of matrimonial property and its disposition demand
careful attention in the proposedI code.
(b)
Closely related to the Uniform Civil Code idea is
the
strengthening of the institution of Family Court
and
streamlining its procedures and reliefs
to
deliver
gender
justice in all^aspects of family relationships,
be they
civil or criminal matters.
Family Courts <evolved out of constant demand from
women
groups in the country.
'
*
werj"
t"
f
he
t'
”
P
^
ace3
“
hete
the
'
’
a
”
d
estSbllshed.
and
even in the few places where
to function in ^rlSh
t-ho usual H^te^ 1^"^
District were
Cocctr^sU^^l^
helps to deliver equal justice to women.
Let the
7
entire
legal
framework including procedures and reliefs
tel
now
available in the Family Court be looked afresh -.1
in the
light
o
the Uniform Civil Code and be made an integral part of
that Code.
If the system requires radical surgery in its
it should not be disposed of with minor
process,
cosmetic
treatments.
(c)
Violence <and cruelty against women have, of
ot late,
assumed
late,
alarming proportions.
rRape
L
law ; has been repeatedly amended
by Parliament- enhancing punishment,, and creating the offence
()f ’ <’ii.'j L c >d i 1 rapp't Domestic
Domestic viol
violence and cruelty arising
out of demands for dowry or otherwise continue despite the
creation of the
under section
= a offence
• ■
------ 498-A of the Indian
Penal Codeand
’
raising presumption of abetment of suicide
under Section 1!3A of the Evidence Act. The Prevention of
Immoral
Traffic Act was strengthened and
The
Dowry
Prohibition Act streamlined in the hope that women in
distress
would
receive better treatment from
their
from
oppressors and from legal institutions.
Despite all these
legislative measures, criminal statistics reveal
increasing
crimes against women fincluding young girls.
Even the State
•designed to give protection
---- 1 to women is
behaving ini a manner which aggravates the malady. reportedly
u
55
The Expert Committee on Women Prisoners felt the need
need for
clear statement of the criminal justice policy by
the
u the State
followed by. a comprehensive Criminal Code on the law and
procedure vis-a-vis women. Perhaps
Perhaps like
like the
the Prevention
Prevention of
Attrocities (Against Scheduled CastesJ and
Scheduled
and Scheduled Tribes)
Act of 1990,
there is need for an extreme legislative
measure to protect the dignity of women against criminal
exploitation.
In any case, the procedural laws concerning
police,
prosecution, courts,
legal aid,
prisons
and
correctional institutions need a fresh look in
their
dealings with women if gender justice in the criminal
process were to become closer to reality in the near future.
(d)
Another issue of great significance for women's development
is in respect of employment and social security for women in
the unorganized and rural sectors. The available
__
statutory
provisions in this regard are feeble and :*inadequate.
The
Shramshakti Report and the Perspective Plani contain many
ideas which are awaiting legislative recognition,
It
requires major policy shifts in a number of areas and
administrative and financial support commensurate to the
tasks involved.
It is not for the Government alone to
the
policy.
implement
The private sector has a great role
to play.
(e)
Finally,
the most decisive factor in the delivery of equal
justice
for
lies in
women,
fair
and
expeditious
implementation of the rights
___
riqhts and entitlements
already
guaranteed by the laws and the Constitution.
Implementation
is all the more difficult when attitudes are not supportive,
resources are extremely limited, and the machinery is non
cooperative
if not positively inimical to the
tasks
assigned.
In such a situation how does one go about in a
democratic set-up for seeking justice using the resource of
law?
Legal Aid Committees have recommended a multi-dimensional
approach to <get' the
‘ *
administrative system to function in the
desired direction.
Firstly, with
with the
the support
--‘-i-Firstly,
of voluntary
agencies
and
the
media, an
awareness
of
rights
and
responsibilities will have to be generated on the personnel of
the system as well as on the consumers of justice,
Secondly,
an
independent agency must co-ordinate, oversee and intervene in the
administrative process to ensure effective implementation of the
laws.
In this regard the Commission of Women now set
set up
up in
Kerala demands attention. Thirldy, personal and institutional
accountability , should be fixed in the
-- implementation
—-x.------------ of specified
laws concerning women. Fourthly, judicial reforms should be
introduced to provide free legal aid, to promote social action
litigation and to dispense meaningful remedies as dispensed by
writ courts.. Courts should perform an educational role as well
with increased public participation and with enhanced flexibility
in procedures and reliefs.
56
Law does not operate in vacuum.
The social processes
interact with legal processes and limit its reach
and efficacv
Law cannot lag much behind public opinion; nor can law be far
can law
ahead of the mores and practices of a given nor
society.
The gap
between policy and performance can possibly be reduced by a
responsible media, an educated citizenry, an active reduced
judiciary and
a dynamic professional organization, The challenge before us is
to mobilise as many of these forces on as many fronts as possible
in a dynamic socio-legal action programme.
Rule of law and const!tutional
government are valuable
acquisitions in a democracy.
They have to be necessarily
preserved while agitating for fundamental
and social
justice. Law is a great resource of the weakfreedoms
in this democratic
struggle. People nave
have to De
be endowed with the capabilities to
use
resource
:
K this
thirr^rd^^tie
9
::^
7
r
d
dec
t
SiVely
SOcL1
-^i-tion
u -. Social
Anir-iiia regard
re9ard is
1S the
the task
task of social action groups and publicin the community. Restructuring of
on egalitarian principles is managed by
and behaviour
subjects of change through
—d delay are inevitable,
^peri^nt lies 1..
in letting the processC"ontln„eth^the"gre«ex
vigour and determination.
h
I .
t
-
■:
■
■
■’
•
• .
■
..
5
' • .r
F
VEU0GRAPH1C PROFILE OF THE INDIAN WOMAN
’'4
• t
.-y
•: • ■ 'I'
MS. SOBHA NAMBISAN,
IAS
DIRECTOR,
DIRECTORATE OF CENSUS OPERATIONS,
KARNATAKA
-
■
■
u
57
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE INDIAN WOMAN
SOBIIA NAMBISAN
The subject of women's problems and the status accorded to
them in our society has been the focus of
unprecedented
publicity in recent years. Never has there has been so much
spoken and written on this subject or so much concern expressed
in workshops, seminars, programmes on TV and radio as well as in
books and periodicals on the low status of most Indian women and
the disadvantages they suffer from birth to death as a result of
unequal treatment meted to males and females, whether it is in
the intake of food and nourishment, in health care, opportunities
for development or payment for work done. The newspapers every
day drive home the point that crimes against women are on the
increase and that these crimes are perpetrated because they are
women and arise from their low status and helpless position.
At the same time, our Constitution places emphasis on the
equality of the sexes and our laws are fairly liberal. A large
number of women hold top managerial and executive positions and
one of them had been Prime Minister for 16 years. The point. of
course, is that these women are exceptions and do not reflect the
position of the majority of Indian women. On the other side of
the coin the horrendous incidents related in the daily newspapers
also show things at their worst.
How then can an objective assessment or
of me
the status of women
be made ?
The best way appears to be to select certain
indicators which can be quantified. Since we are discussing the
status of women as compared with that of men, most of these
indicators will be relevant only when the comparative positions
of men and women are studied; a few, however, like the maternal
mortality rate will.apply only to women. Sri Ashok Mitra in his
paper
"Participation of Women in socio economic development
indicators as tools for development planning" has listed what he
I
feels are the
important indicators for assessing women’s status.
The list is appended to this paper. Of course this list is not
necessarily exhaustive and is only appended for the purpose of
illustration.
- • - to have indicators in
It is, however, essential
order to aoaeo&
wunien s status.
suacus. Most States
states have now separate
assess women's
Directorates
for
Women's Welfare and some
have
Women's
Development
socio
Corporations
which
implement
economic
programmes for women's welfare and development,
development. The indicators
that are selected for assessing the status of women would also
serve to monitor the improvement made in the condition of women
on account of
<
these programmes and thereby determine their
effectiveness.
It is now being realised that national progress is not
possible as long as almost one half of the population is
condemned to illiteracy by reason of their sex alone
—..
and from
earliest youth to nothing but child bearing, child rearing and
11
58
unremitting drudgery. r
’
Education,
training in skilled jobs and
proper reward for their work will lead to women participating
more fully in the economic life of the country and thus increase
national productivity.
It is also realised now that there is no
short cut to slowing down the growth of population except
by
improving the status of women through education and change of
attitude.
But these are not the main reasons for ensuring a
better deal for women. The most important reason is the
simple
claim of justice ; every individual, iwhether
*
male or female, has
a right to be treated as an individual,
- to
; realise his
“, rencouraged
full potential and be justly rewarded for work done.
As John
Stuart Mill wrote in "The Subjection of Women ” in 1869,
the
subordination of one sex to another is "wrong
r
in itself and is
now one
the chief hindrances to human improvement"•
Reverting to the subject of indicators, it is necessary,
before thinking of measures required to improve the
status of
women,
to first assess that status
-- and
-- this can only be done by
applying the yardstick of the indicators.
It will be noticed
that <almost all the indicators given in Ashok Mitrai' s
paper can
be quantified and that in orderr to do so accurate data has to be
collected.
In this paper I shall be speaking of only the
demographic indicators and of these, l
prominence will be given to
those
through
...for which data is collected
---- -----Z7-1 the population census,
which is the largest data collecting exercise. These
These indicators
literacy
ci
-I the
Sex sex
ratioratio
(2) (2)
literacy
(3) (3)
educational
levels
educational
attained
((4) age at‘ marriage (5) fertility and (6))
. .) employment.
In addition,/ we shall also discuss the death rate, maternal
mortality rate, and life expectancy.
For all these indicators r
with the exception of age at marriage, fertility and
maternal
mortality rate,
it will be possible to compare the relevant
figures for males and females. Since the 1991 census was
over
just two months <ago, provisional figures for only the sex
ratio
and literacy are available.
For all the other indicators we
shall have to fall back on the figures of the 1981 census,
However, since no dramatic change in these figures is expected to
have occurred during the last decade, the figures for the
last
census should serve to draw a fairly realistic profile of women
in India.
SEX RATIO
The sex ratio is defined as the number of women for every
thousand men.
In normal conditions nature maintains a balance of
men and women and
-- the
-- two sexes should be approximately equal in
number.
Jn developed countries women have a slight edge i n
numbers over men, partly because they are the biologically
tougher sex and partly because the men may have more unhealthy
life styles and be subjected to more stress.
However,
However, the
d i fforonco in I ho number of mon and wornon in those
these countries is
ma r<j i n< i I .
only marginal.
Civen below is the sex ratio in some of
o£ the
developed countries :
ii
59
TABLE
1
Country
Census Year
Sex Ratio
1. Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
1979
1145
2. United States of America
1980
1059
3 . Japan
1980
1033
4. Federal Republic of Germany
1970
1101
5. United Kingdom
1981
1060
6. France
1982
N.A.
7 . Canada
1981
1017
8. German Democratic Republic
1981
1128
1981
1006
9. Australia
On the other hand,
countries is as follows:
the
TABLE
Country
sex
ratio
in
some
developing
2
Census Year
Sex Rati o
1. Pakistan
1981
905
2 . Sri Lanka
1981
962
3. Egypt
1976
964
The
sex ratio in India from 1901 - 1991 i.e., from the
first to the last census of this country is given below :
i 1
60
TABLE
Census year
3
Sex Ratio
1901
972
1911
964
1921
955
1931
950
1941
945
1951
945
] 961
94]
1971
930
1981
934
1991
929
It will be seen that in India the sex ratio has
unfavourable to women in all the 10 decades of this century. been
In
fact, cexcept* for
"
the very slight improvement in
l.i 19
1951
51 and 1981,
there is a steady
<
decline in the sex ratio and the provisional
figures for the
1991
-- -- census are the lowest of the century.
This xmi^xance
imbalance in the numbers of the two sexes can be
explained by one of two factors
: (1) the out-migration of one
sex, thus leading to a larger number
'
of members of the other sex
and (2) higher mortality. rate ---for' one sox .
Ihe first reason is patently absurd, there being hardly any
case of more women than men outmigrating from any part of the
country and certainly not from the country as a whole,
The
second reason will,
therefore,
have to be accepted as the
explanation - that the discrimination against females and the
neglect of their health and welfare from birth onwards has
resulted.in greater morbidity and mortality of females, resulting
m the imbalance.m the sex ratio. Studies have indicated that
Zrna°fhebaby glrls are weaned earlier than boys, that even as
ln PO°r families receive less food than the
attZnt^n
Y
Sickness in the case of boys and men receive
attention early, m case of girls and women it is often only when
H
61
the situation becomes critical.
It has commonly been observed in
the anganwadis of the I.C.D.S. Scheme that there are far more
girls than boys in the stages of Grade III and Grade TV
malnutrition.
The average age of marriage for girls in rural
areas is even now around 16 which means they enter wedded life
and bear children at a time when their own growth is incomplete.
The strain of numerous pregnancies, lack of proper food and
hygiene and sheer overwork -studies have indicated that in rural
areas the women on an average have a working day atleast 1.1/2
times as long as that of the men — lead to weakened health and
higher mortality rates for women, particularly
in the child
bearing years.
One would like to think that female infanticide is now rare
but periodic reports show that this is still practiced in some
parts of the country.
However, the latest strategy for avoiding
undesired female children is
course that
__ of
------------- of the selective
killing of the female foetus through abortions and aminocentesis
- a practice
]
'
which only shows how terribly dangerous it is to
allow the
11.u use of 20th centurv
century technoloav
technology bv
by npnnlp
people wi+-h
with medieval
minds.
Th<' <‘xp I ana L i on that the* advenie sox ratio is ;i Connor juencc
of the discrimination against women is much more than an educated
guess.
It is also borne out by the fact that the sex ratio is
lowest in those States in the country which are economically and
socially most backward, where the status of women is lowest and
female illiteracy is highest. r
Conversely, the only State in the
country with a positive sex ratio in all the
..j censuses of this
century is Kerala where the status of women i_
__ it—~
is comparatively
high
and literacy, including female literacy, is highest,
The Table
given below illustrates this fully : The figures are from the
Provisional Tables of the 1991 Census.
'r
H
62
TABLE
4
'*
State
Sex Ratio
INDIA
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
929
972
861
925
912
969
936
874
996
960
1,040
932
936
961
947
924
890
972
888
913
880
972
946
882
917
Percentage of literates
to estimated population
aged 7 and above
Persons
Males
F emales
52.11
45.11
41.22
53.42
38.54
76.96
60.91
55.33
63.54
55.98
90.59
43.45
63.05
60.96
48.26
81.23
61.30
48.55
57.14
38.81
56.58
63.72
60.39
41.71
57.72
63.86
56.24
51.10
62.34
52.63
85.48
72.54
67.85
74.57
67.25
94.45
57.43
74.84
72.89
51.57
84.06
66.09
62.37
6 3.68
55.07
64.34
74.88
70.08
55.35
67.24
39.42
33.42
29.37
43.70
23.10
68.20
48.50
40.94
52.46
44.34
86.93
28.39
50.51
48.64
44.78
78.09
55.72
34.40
49.72
20.84
47.23
52.29
50.01
26.02
47.15
What is of special concern is that inspite of the
advances
of modern medicine, improvement in.. rural
‘“
—iwater
supply and general
economic development,, the gap in the numbers of
-men and women has
only widened, thus indicating further deterioration
-1 in the status
of women vis-a-vis- that of men.
MORTALITY RATES
From
ithe
’
sex ratio it is logical to go on to the
rates for men and women in different age groups.
mortality
-f
i1
63
TABLE
Age-group
0
5
10
4
9
14
Year
5
COMBINED
Male
Female
Both Sexes
52.4
55.0
41.8
41.2
4.8
3.6
1975
1980
1984
■ 40.1
39.5
57.7
43.5
43.0
1975
1980
1984
4.4
3.3
3.6
5.2
4.0
4.6
1975
1980
1984
2.0
1.7
1.6
2.2
1.7
2.0
1.8
4.1
2.1
1.7
15
19
1975
1980
1984
2.1
2.0
2.0
3.8
2.9
2.8
2.9
2.5
2.3
20
24
1975
1980
1984
2.6
2.3
2.8
4.7
3.8
3.9
3.5
3.0
3.3
25
29
1975
1980
1984
3.1
2.2
2.8
4.4
4.0
3.8
3.8
3.1
3.3
30
34
1975
1980
1984
4.1
3.4
3.2
5.3
3.6
3.5
4.7
3.5
3.3
39
1975
1980
1984
6.8
4.7
4.4
6.2
4.6
4.2
6.5
4.7
4.3
35
■!
Contd...
H
64
TABLE
5
Age-group
Year
COMBINED
Male
Female
Both Sexes
40
44
1975
1980
1984
8.2
7.2
6.6
6.8
5.5
5.4
7.5
6.4
6.0
45
49
1975
1980
1984
13.2
9.6
10.0
9.6
7.3
6.5
11.5
8.5
8.3
50
54
1975
1980
1984
15.0
14.6
15.6
14.6
10.4
10.9
14.9
12.6
13.4
55
59
1975
1980
1984
28.7
21.5
21.0
23.6
16.7
15.5
26.3
19.2
18.3
1975
1980
1984
39.6
35.0
36.1
33.3
27.3
30.4
38.5
31.2
33.3
1975
1980
1984
59.0
59.0
50.6
53.7
41.2
41.9
56.3
50.0
46.2
1975
1980
1984
120.3
98.5
110.8
106.4
85.3
103.4
113.2
91.6
107.1
60
65
64
69
70 & above
The figures speak for themselves and corroborate
been said regarding the reasons for the adverse female what has
Females have a higher mortality rate than males in all sex ratio,
age groups
from 0
14 and of these, the highest differential
is in the group 0-4. This certainly indicates mortality rate
infants are discriminated against to such an extent tha t female
as to
lead
to the death
—. of_ many more baby girls than boys,
i °rtali
■ -• ty rate decreases by
^hfi/|difference
all:reren5e in the m
the children reach the
---••10 -14 but increases the time
age
group
again as
soon as the girls reach'the child 1
J
bearing
age
of
15+.
--In the
child bearing age group the peak in differential
-----mortality
rate
is reached in the group 20
30 which also corresponds to the age
group wherein women bear most
of their children.
Although
mortality rate of women
as
compared
to men continues to be higher
in the r~~
age group 30 - 34, it has declined appreciably from that
in the lower
- r age groups.
From age 35 onwards, the mortality rate
u
65
is in fact favourable to women as compared to men, the difference
increasing with age,
demonstrating thereby that women
are
naturally the stronger sex once they have overcome the trauma of
unfavourable circumstances in the more vulnerable age groups of
early childhood and youth.
LITERACY
In to-day’s world, ’
*
the
first step towards independence and
self development is undoubtedly literacy and an illiterate‘ person
is a severely handicapped person. Literacy and education is the
basic and essential requirement for the economic
economic and
and social
development of a country.
It is for this reason that the goal of
free and compulsory free education till the age
age of
of 14 is
enshrined in the Directive Principles of the Constitution.
Each succeeding census has recorded the progress achieved
towards^ full literacy.
Literacy,
in terms of the
census
definition, is the ability to read and write with understanding
and may or may not include formal schooling. While calculating
the literacy rate, i.e., the percentage of literate population to
the total population,
children below the age of 5 have been
excluded till the 1981 census, since children below that age are
considered illiterate whether or not they are going to school.
For the 1991 census children below the age of 7 i.e., from 0 - 6
y^ars have been excluded while calculating the literacy rate.
While there has been a considerable improvement in the
literacy rates from census to census, the number of illiterate
persons has also increased and until the 1981 census, continued
to be in excess of the number of literate persons.
In the 1991
census, for the first time, the literate population has exceeded
the illiterate population. But there are two riders to this
(1) these figures are <obtained
’ '
after excluding children below 7,
many of whom will grow up illiterate and (2)) the female literacy
rate is still extremely low and the number of female illiterates
exceeds the number of literates. The table below makes this
clear :
H
66
TABLE
Literates/
Illiterates
6
Persons
Males
Females
(in 000's)
Literates
1981
233,947
156,953
76,994
1991
352,082
224,288
127,794
Increase in
1991 over 1981
118,135
67,335
50,800
1981
301,933
120,902
181,031
1991
324,030
126,694
197,336
Increase in
1991 over 1981
22,097
5,792
16,305
Illiterates
■
The increase in
the number of illiterate persons in
country after the 1981 census is 22.10 million, 5.7 million the
of
whom are males and 16.31 females.
Female literacy is, in fact, increasing
increasing at
at a more rapid rate
than that of the male but because the number of
female
illiterates is
is so
so large,
large, the
the gap between the number of literate
males and females has remained as wide as it was 40
years ago.
TABLE
7
LITERACY RATE
Year
Persons
Males
Females
1951
18.33
27.16
8.86
1961
28.31
40.40
15.34
1971
34.45
45.95
21.97
1981
43.56
(41.42)
56.37
(53.45)
29.75
(28.46)
1991
52.11
63.86
39.42
u
67
NOTES :
1.
Literacy rates for 1951, 1961 and 1971 relatei to
population aged five years and above. The rates for
the years 1981 and 1991 relate to the population aged
seven years and above. The Literacy rates for the
population aged five years and above in 1981 have been
shown in brackets
2.
The 1981 rates exclude Assam where the 1981
Census
could not be conducted. The 1991 Census rates exclude
Jammu & Kashmir where the 1991 Census is yet
to be
conducted.
than 50% of the
India
beginning of the last
of
century. Moreover, there is wide discrepancy from State to State,
from urban to rural- areas
and1 among the different communities.
---- -The Table ?,1Ve2.below shows the literacy rates for males and
females for the States of the Indiani Union.
u
68
TABLE - 8
Persons
State/Union
.Rank Territory
1• Kerala
2. Mizoram
3. Lakshadweep
4.'Chandigarh
5. Goa
6. Delhi
7. Pondicherry
Males
Literacy
rate
90.59
81.23
79.23
78.73
76.96
76.09
74.91
8. A & N Islands 73.74
9. Daman & Diu
73.58
10. Tamil Nadu
63. 72
11• H Pradesh
12. Maharashtra
13. Nagaland
14. Manipur
15. Gujarat
16. Tripura
17. West Bengal
x8. Punjab
9. Sikkim
20. Karnataka
63.54
63.05
61.30
60.96
60.91
60.39
57.72
57.14
56.53
55.98
/
Females
State/Union
Territory
State/Union
Territory
Literacy
rate
94.45
Kerala
86.93
I-nkshadwee p
87.06
Mlzoram
78.09
Daman & Diu
85.67
Chandigarh
73.61
85.48
Lakshadeep
70.88
84.06
Goa
68.20
Pondicherry
83.91
Delhi
68.01
Chandigarh
82.67
A & N Island
66.22
82.63
Pondicherry
65.79
Daman & Diu
61.38
74. #8
Nagaland
55.72
74.84
H Pradesh
52.46
74.57
Tamil Nadu
52.29
Man 1par
72.98
Maharashtra
50.51
Gujarat
72.54
Tripura
50.01
Tripura
70.08
Punjab
49.72
Haryana
67.85
Manipur
48.64
Karnataka
67.85
Gujarat
48.50
West Bengal
67.24
Sikkim
47.23
Nagaland
66.09
West Bengal
47.15
Sikkim
64.34
Meghalaya
44.78
INDIA
61.86
Kerala
Goa
Mizoram
Delhi
A & N Islands 79.68
Tamil Nadu
Maharashtra
H Pradesh
t
I
u
6
1ABLE — 8 (Contd.)
Persons
Sta te/Union
Rank Territory
21. Haryana
22. Assam
Males
Literacy
rate
55.33
53.42
INDIA
52.11
23. Orissa
48.55
24. Meghalaya
48.26
25. Andra Pradesh 45.11
26. M Pradesh
43.45
27. Ottar Pradesh 41.71
28. A Pradesh
29. D & N Haveil
30. Rajasthan
31. Bihar
41.22
39.45
38.81
38.54
Females
S tate/Unlon
Territory
Literacy
rate
State/Uniou
Territory
Literacy
rate
Punjab
63.68
Karnataka
44.34
Orissa
62.37
Assam
43.70
Assam
62.34
Haryana
40.94
INDIA
39.42
Orissa
34.40
Madhya Pradesh 57.43
Andhra Pradesh 56.24
Andhra Pradesh33.71
Ottar Pradesh
55.35
A Pradesh
Rajasthan
55.07
Madhya Pradesh28.39
Bi har
52.63
D A N Have11
0 & N Haveil
52.07
Uttar Pradesh 26.02
Mngha1 a ya
51.57
Bl ha r
23.10
A Pradesh
51.10
Ra Jan than
20.84
29.37
26.10
A
Excludes Jammu and Kashmir where the
1991 Census is yet to be held.
A. Pradesh = Arunachal Pradesh;
H.
Pradesh = Himachal Pradech;
D & N Haveil
Dadra and Nagar Haveil
Rajasthan
that
80
situation
has a lernaie literacy
rate of only 20.84 percent which means
per cent of the women In Rajasthan
a re still 11111ora te.
The
Is
not much better in the other large States of
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Uttar
Pradesh,
H
70
TABLE
Sex
Persons
Males
Females
Cohort
(ago in 1961)
9
Cohort literacy rates in
1961
1971
1981
5
10
15
9
14
19
19.6
42.2
38.4
23.2
49.8
51.4
30.6
56.6
55.4
5
10
15
9
14
19
24.8
54.4
52.0
27.3
60.1
63.5
35.1
66.9
66.1
5
10
15
9
14
19
14.2
28.3
23.7
18.9
38.2
37.7
25.8
44.8
43.3
It will be <~seenfrom
*"
the above that <although
*
the literacy
rate for boys aged 5-9 years is only about
10 points higher
than that of girls of the same age qroun.
group, in the space of 10
years, when the children enter the
□
age-group
15 - 19, t"
the gap has
more than doubled. This only
4-u n'!ans that not only do fewer girls
than boys join school ]H,,*.
but the drop out rate is much higher for
girls than for boys. The chances'of a girl
r
as compared to a boy i3 much less in the emaining in school
higher age-groups,
leading to increases in the male-female difference
in-i literacy
rate with age and time.
conn°ction we will now examine how many decades
will taKe tor males and females <—
•
separately
to achieve 85
cent literacy and 100 per cent literacy
in the .age group 5
These are of course projected figures :
it
per
14.
u
71
TABLE
India/States
INDIA*
10
85% projection
based on total
Population
100% projection
based on population
aged 5-14
P
M
F
P
M
F
7.2
5.2
9.8
7.5
6.2
9.0
1.
Andhra Pradesh
10.3
7.5
13.9
6.8
5.2
9.1
2.
Bihar
9.4
6.3
14.6
7.5
5.9
9.5
3.
Gujarat
5.2
3.7
7.0
3.9
3.4
4.4
4.
Haryana
5.3
3.4
8.5
4.9
3.9
6.0
5.
Karnataka
6.7
5.0
8.5
7.2
6.6
7.8
6.
Kerala
1.5
1.1
1.7
1.9
2.1
1.8
7.
Madhya Piradcnh
LO . 0
G.7
15.1
10.7
8.4
13.6
8.
Maharashtra
4.7
3.4
6.0
4.0
3.6
4.3
9.
Orissa
6.3
4.3
8.9
6.6
5.3
7.8
10. Punjab
6.1
5.6
6.6
4.0
3.8
4.1
11. Rajasthan
11.4
6.4
24.9
14.4
8.9
25.1
12. Tamil Nadu
5.2
4.1
6.2
5.9
6.1
5.8
13. Uttar Pradesh
10.6
6.4
20.3
11.7
8.3
17.6
14. West Bengal
5.7
4.4
7.0
9.1
9.0
9.0
* Excl udon Assam.
Kerala has in fact done better than f
*
these
projected figures
and in the space of just one decade has achieved
--- - - J a literacy
rate
of 90.59 per cent (94.45 for males and 86.91 for females).
However t the future for all the other States is bleak.
It is a sobering thought that the country on an average
requires more than 10 decades to achieve full literacy.
Women
lag behind men in this respect
by about 50
.
_ J years.
At the present
rate of progress, Rajasthan will achieve full female literacy
after more than 250 years i
i1
72
Literacy, the basic knowledge <of~ reading and writing, is the
skill without which, in to-day's
__
world,, no meaningful development
is possible, either for society or for the individual. Twice as
many women as men are severely crippled through fignorance
of
this
basic skill.
»_ a. v x uy , inuume,
Their productivity.
•’
income
, poten
potentiality for
development and independence is thereby automatically curtailed.
It is commonplace to say that female literacy is even more
important than male literacy in its repercussions on social and
economic development.
However, the urqent
urgent need
need to improve
literacy,
particularly female literacy,
is
not
reflected
adequately in Government plans and programmes.
In the meantime
socio economic ffactors continue to'place the girl child
child at
a
disadvantag
orue! disadvantage as compared to her brother/
brother, in the matter of
schooling and education.
EDUCATION
Literacy :is the basic skill; education is the
skill to gain knowledge
knowledge..
Some amount
education that
Some
amount of
of formal
formal
is
to . obtain
job
organised sector
one's'"™ tO
°btain a3 j
°b in the ^ganised
sector •or to set up
one s own business and generally speaking, the
the higher one's
educational qualification, the
the better
better the
the job
job one
is iZkelv to
one is
WeChav; justUseei°?ha? ^refcre
- ---- » necessary for self-advancement.
F!
3 t seen that less than half as many girls as boys learn
o read and write. We shall now turn to the minority
of women
who are literates and see where they stand, as
compared
with
men,
m the field of education.
~ ~ —— “ ”
TABLE
" ■
Aa
Ci S
11
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF LITERATES F
” HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL
BY
LEVEL COMPLETED FOR MALES----1971 - 1981
Highest educational level completed
Year
Total
litera tcs
Less
Primary
than
primary
Middle
Matri
culation
or higher
secondary
Graduate
& above
INDIA
1991
100.0
31.2
34.6
18.7
13.1
2.4
1981
100.0
29.4
30.3
18.0
17.9
4.4
>
73
TABLE
12
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF LITERATES BY HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL
LEVEL COMPLETED FOR FEMALES 1971-1981
Highest educational level completed
Year
Total
lite
rates
Less
Primary
than
primary
Middle
Matri
culation
or higher
Secondary
Graduate
& above
INDIA
1971
100.0
36.6
38.2
15.6
8.2
1.4
1981
.100.0
3 3.4
34.0
16.8
12.8
3.0
It will be seen that among literate males, 59.7 per cent are
at me
the primary or below primary level, 18 per cent at the middle
school level 17.9 per cent are matriculates and 4.4 per cent
are
graduates and above,
In the case of literate women, C"
67.4‘ percent
are at the primary or below primary stage, 16.8 percent
: are at
the middle school level,
--- -1.
12.8 percent are matriculates and 3
percent are graduates and above.
In other words,
words
even among
women, the percentage who have matriculated or gone on
literate women,
to higher stages of education is much less than the percentage of
literate males who have completed matriculation and
above.
In
absolute terms, since the literacy rate of males is double that
of females, the discrepancy in attainment of educational
levels
among males and ------females __
is of course much greater.
TABLE
13
Males
Females
Total Population
343,930,424
321,357,426
Illiterate
182,644,826
241,611,118
Literate (without educational level) :
Non-formal
3,346,732
1,367,567
Formal
46,297,728
26,395,569
i1
74
Educational Level :
Primary
46,770,288
26,077,286
28,860,862
13,340,557
Matriculation/Secondary
20,385,735
7,510,275
Higher Secondary/Intermediate/
Pre-University
7,425,067
2,395,980
Non-Technical Diploma or
Certificate
--------- not
—■— equal to Degree
108,961
67,196
Technical Diploma or
Certificate not equal to Degree
1,052,565
273,951
7,037,660
2,317,891
Middle
Graduate and above
Education is not, of course,
merely a matter of different
levels of schooling,
It is the opening of doors
which were
closed before, The uneducated man
is
imprisons#
in
his
place and
time, iwhereas
*
the whole universe,
both past and
present,
lies
present,
unfolded before the educated man.
more but 1to use the money better, It not only helps himi to
to earn
creates self awareness,
increases his
-s self-respect, imakes him sceptical
of accepted mores
and enables him to think for
himself. A
of
woman who is deprived
sex is therefore depri^d
reaSOn o£
senses than
-I in more
.
Improvement in
m female literacy and < '
education
has very
visible' and indeed dramatic <demographic
impact
’
’
.
Thus,
although
are c
laws
restm
aWS on
°n the minimum
marrCfe,' child
marriages
c
o
mm
on
and
the
—
gJrl is on?r?6
aV6rage
°f marrLge foJ
the Indian
only 16. However, the r~
literacy and with educational
JeveFas^hr^able
below
increases with
----- level
shows :
u
75
TABLE
14
RURAL
Mean
URBAN
Median
Mean
Median
Educational
Level
1971
1981
1971
1981
1971
1981
1971
1981
All Educational
15.4
16.5
15.3
16.0
16.8
17.6
16.5
17.4
15.2
16.3
15.1
15.8
16.2
16.7
15.9
16.4
levels
Illiterate
Literate but below
Middle
17.1
16.5 {
Middle but below
Matric
Matric but
below Graduate
16.9
16.2 {
17.8
17.4
17.2 {
17.6
17.2
16.8 {
18.1
17.9
19.3
19.3
19.4
19.2
19.8
19.8
19.8
19.7
Graduate & above 21.2
21.6
21.1
21.9
21.9
21.9
21.6
22.1
Thus in a society with high female literacy rate, the women
will marry at a higher age, probably after completing their
education. This would naturally mean a decrease in the number of
children born.
In addition, educated women know how to
to look
after their children and this leads to lowering of the
infant
mortality rate,
Improved chances of child survival also leads to
fewer children being born, The consequent improvement in the
health of the women as well as the benefits of the higher status
they enjoy in a society with a high female literacy rate results
in lower mortality rate and higher life expectancy for women,
thus bringing about a imore ’balanced
’
- and- favourable
sex ratio.
i1
76
The development co relates of female literacy are given
the table below :
TABLE
India/States
Literacy
rate
among
females
aged 15+
1981
Infant
Mortality
rate
in
15
Sex ratio
(females/
males)
Mean
age at
Marriage
Total
Ferti-
rate
1981
1981
1981
1981
INDIA
1.
Andhra
Pradesh
25.7
100
934
18.7
4.5
Bihar
20.0
86
975
17.6
4.0
Gujarat
13.2
118
946
17.1
5.7
Haryana
33.2
116
942
19.6
4.3
Karnataka
28.2
69
963
18.2
5.0
Kerala
70.8
37
1032
21.9
2.8
Madhya
Pradesh
15.9
142
941
17.2
5.2
Maharashtra 34.6
79
937
18.9
3.6
Orissa
21.2
135
981
19.1
4.3
10. Punjab
32.4
81
879
21.1
4.0
11. Rajasthan
12.0
108
919
17.0
5.2
12. Tamil Nadu
34.7
91
977
20.2
3.4
13. Uttar
Pradesh
13.9
150
885
18.3
5.8
14 . West Bengal 33.3
91
911
19.4
4.2
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
It will be seen that states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which are socially and <
backward, have low female literacy rates, high infanteconomically
mortality
rates, low sex ratio, low age at marriage for
women
and high
fertility rate. Kerala, at the other end of the
spectrum z
has
1 i
77
all these indicators in the reverse order.
The
between female literacy and education and other
indicators is quite clear.
co-relation
development
FERTILITY
There was a 1time
*
when the chief function of women was
considered to be that of procreation and that too,
of males.
traditional blessing at a marriage was " may you be the mother The
of
a 100 sons.
1
However, at the present rate of population growth,
if a women bore 5 sons, leave along a 100,
it would spell
disaster.
In the first decade of this century,
although most
women bore 10 or more children as a matter of course, epidemics
and famines contrived to contain the population growth,
the
middle of the century, however, the great strides made By
in the
controlof
oi epidemics had made this, by and large, a tthing of the
past. :Improvements in agriculture similarly banished
of famine.
'The result has been a dramatic• fall in the specter
mortality
rates and improvement in life expectancy leading to an explosive
growth
of population after the 1950s.
The
table
below
illustrates this :
TABLE
Year
16
Decadal Growth
Per cent
Progressive
growth rate
over 3901
(Per cont)
Population
Absolute
1901
238,396,327
1911
252,093,390
+ 13,697,063
+ 5.75
+
5.75
1921
251,321,213
772,177
0.31
+
5.42
1931
278,977,238
+ 27,656,025
+11.00
+ 17.02
19 41
318,660,580
f
39,683,342
114.22
I
1951
361,088,090
+ 42,420,485
+13.31
+ 51.47
1961
439,234,771
+
77,682,873
+21.51
+ 84.25
1971
548,159,652
+108,924,881
+24.80
+129.94
1981
683,329,097
+135,169,446
+24.66
+186.64
1991
843,930,861
+160,601,764
+23.50
+254.00
3 3.67
11
78
The irapid growth of population over the last
four decades
has neutralised
--- J all development efforts
and we are rapidly
approaching a stage of
crisis.
Hence the
heavily
funded
programmes
for family planning which has in recent times
stolen
the lime! ight ,from all- other
p----■ ■
n
programmes
of the
Government
Health
Department.
The message
message is
is loud
loud and
and clear
clear :: It is no
lonqer
It- is
no
a
matter of good fortune to have
1
----’
•. u a large number of children,onger
It
is
much more desirable to have one or two healthy children.
However, just as, while wishing women
a 100 sons , the effect
of
bearing a
large
number of children on
their
health and
happiness was
ignored,
so too,
Government
family
planning
programmes, with their emphasis on
operations and contraceptives,
have not taken into sufficient
-------- ; account the
themselves.
It
is,
however,
now Ibeing realised that a women
woman
’
ss
fertility
woman
’
is
influenced immensely
J by various factors such
as
literacy
and
levels of education, age at marriage, employment and income.
she is
If
educated, marries after the age of 19, is
/.,
.
-- } a9e
19, is
employed and
enjoys
good health, (thereby
.increasing the chances
of
healthy children)
bearing
it
is likely
2
111
13
likel
y
that
she
will
have
children.
few
On
the
other hand,/ if
if she
she is
is
illiterate,
stricken,
poverty
with no control over her body or life and no
ma king powe rs, there is strong likelihood that
decision
she will., like her
mother,
bear a large number of children, • •
some of whom may not
survive.
Given below r__
arc various tables which •show
’
the links
these various factors and women’s fertility
:
between
TABLE - 17(a)
Level of education
Per
centage
Illiterate
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
Total
Fertility
Rate (TFR)
Litera te
but
below
primary
Primary
but
below
Matricu
lation
Matricul
ation
and above
All
level
104.9
270.4
251.1
183.9
113.6
58.1
45.1
72.1
257.7
233.6
145.5
75.2
35.5
25.9
31.2
212.2
213.0
106.6
48.1
20.9
22.6
16.1
132.9
184.2
99.2
36.1
13.6
7.1
73.7
248.2
238.4
165.7
99.7
51.9
41.0
5.1
4.2
3.3
2.4
4.5
11
79
TABLE - 17(b)
Annual Income (Rs.)
Percent
age
5,000 and
below
5,001
10,000
10,001 and
above
Total
15-19
76.2
73.3
71.9
73.7
20-24
242.5
253.1
284.3
248.2
25-29
227.3
253.5
233.5
238.4
30-34
166.1
177.3
150.4
165.7
35-39
98.6
111.2
85.2
99.7
40-44
48.5
61.2
43.3
51.9
45-49
36.6
47.1
38.6
41.0
Total Fertility
Ratio (TFR)
4.5
4.9
4.4
4.5
TABLE - 17(c)
Per capita expenditure on food items (Rs.)
Percent age
80 and
below
81-100
101 and
above
Total
15-19
81.4
63.2
47.7
73.7
20-24
265.5
228.4
190.6
248.2
25-29
256.8
210.0
182.2
238.4
30-34
186.0
136.5
97.0
165.7
35-39
118.0
73.4
41.0
99.7
40-44
63.5
35.7
16.5
51.9
45-49
49.8
27.5
17.7
41.0
Total Fertility
Ratio (TFR)
5.1
3.9
3.0
4.5
i1
80
TABLE - 17(d)
Age at effective marriage (yrs)
Percent
age
Below 18
18-20
15-19
290.4
127.5
20-24
394.2
313.8
260.2
25-29
211.0
274.7
303.0
289.0
257.4
30-34
148.3
187.1
211.2
226.9
175.3
35-39
76.6
118.4
137.4
160.3
107.0
40-44
42.4
62.0
88.5
107.6
58.4
45-49
38.0
49.7
49.7
85.4
49.1
6.1
5.7
5.2
5.0
5.9
Total
Marital
Fertility
Ratio (TFR)
21-23
24 & above All ages
215.4
311.6
It may be
the single most important
factor for
annual
income
is the level of education
woman.
Control of the growth of population is thus directly linked
‘is thus directly
to
the status of women. , Population control
control will
i i be
i— possible not
through
ffamily planning camps and targets given
to Government
functionaries but when importance is given
to
women
's education
and they are considered as individuals
whose
welfare
and
happiness are as important as that of men.
Decreased
fertility
will, at the, same time, improve the health of women,
women,
release
them from the burdens
< ~ L bearing and child rearing
-- j of child
earlier
and give them more time and energy for productive activity.
EMPLOYMENT
As mentioned above, reducing women’s
biological role of
human reproduction will improve their
economically
productive
role.
This :*in turn will improve their status in
society
and
their own self image.
The population census enumerates the number
of male and
female
workers
and the census questionnaire
also
seeks
information (on the kind of work they
are doing. This data, when
presented in the form of2 tables, p*
the employment scenario
in the form of 9 broad industrial presents
classifications.
We shall now
-examine what proportion of women are workers and
the kind of work
they are doing.
H
81
Work,
as defined by the census, is economically
economically
productive
activity.
Thus the work of cleaning the
house,
‘
---looking
after the
children,
bringing fuel and water and
and cooking,
cooking, all
all of
of which is
customarily done by women, is not considered as work although
it
is no doubt indirectly economically
' productive, since it releases
the remaining people in the household
--------- 1 for economically productive
activities.
But since these activities are not
income earning
and are difficult
to quantify,
they are omitted
from the
reckoning of work,
All these, of course, comprises the duties of
women as housewives.
Data collection is a tricky business since the accuracy
’
of
the data collected will depend on many factors :
the way
the
questions are framed, the manner in which the enumerator or
data
collector understands them and his ability in communicating
what
information Ihe requires to the respondent.
There can
be
slips
all along the
2i_’Way and the four economic questions asked
In addition "to ^the formal
census are the most difficult.
In addition to
difficulties of
understanding and communication
communication,,
preconceived
ideas regarding women
create insuperable difficulties
while
enumerating
the number of women who arc workers.
the
There
is
commonly held belief that all
women,
who
..
.
except
for
the
very
few
work
the organised sector,
sector ■ are
the
are housewives,
housewives, with
with
the
result
that they are automatically classified
as
non-workers
..
.
---'
as
non-workers.
In
1971 census, "trie first• of the economic questions related to the"
main activity
whereby most women were immediately classified as
housewives
and no further questions were asked of them
.,
,
the '"iQB/ce7
Thi
? drawback was noticed and remedied during
This
the 1981 census
with aa
CthT,R by replacing
^Placing the
the first
first question
question with
question
regarding the work which women did on the land which was, as is
normally the case,
held
hel<? in
in the
the name
nanie of
of a
a male
male member of the
family.
This
his had been discounted, although it was
economically
productive.
Similarly, post-harvest operations, which
normally
fall
to
women's
lot,
househnia a, 4-' ^ere Often considered as part of the women's
< nd were therefore not considered as work at
a?? hSld duties
d t?;es /
work
all.
Women, who play a subsidiary but essential role in
pottery
making,
etc., were also not considered as
blacksmithy etc.
workers.
undernf
dif f ic?lties' there is the general tendency
to
underplay women s economic role and since it is usually the
ma ] e
head of the household who answers the onunie rn tor ' s qiiost.ions
in
respeel <>f wonu'n <>f I he house, there is every pos.u ib i 1 L Ly of
the
questions regarding women's work not being answered properly.
In rural areas, almost all women work in the fields,
take part m all agricultural activities except ploughing They
and
normally we see more women than men at work in the
field,
Yet
the figures for women workers for both the 1971 and 1981 censuses
studied1^0111011317
•°W’
ThS tablS bG1°W should
therefore be
studied keeping m view the observations made above.
u
82
TABLE
INDIA/STATES
Persons
Males
Females
18
Percentage of main
workers to total population
1971
1981
INDIA
P
M
F
33.06
52.61
12.06
33.45
51.62
13.99
1. Andhra Pradesh
P
M
F
41.39
58.22
24.16
42.26
57.12
27.02
2. Bihar
P
M
F
31.03
52.24
8.88
29.68
52.19
9.06
i
3. Gujarat
P
M
F
31.45
51.24
8.88
32.22
52.19
9.06
4. Harayana
P
M
F
26.44
47.27
2.41
28.35
48.94
4.69
5. Himachal Pradesh
P
M
F
36.95
52.43
20.79
34.37
49.59
18.71
6. Jammu & Kashmir
P
M
F
29.76
52.50
3.86
30.37
52.20
5.91
7 . Karnataka
P
M
F
34.74
54.40
14.20
36.76
53.90
18.95
8. Kerala
P
M
F
29.12
45.00
13.49
26.68
41.04
12.77
9. Madhya Pradesh
P
M
F
36.72
53.74
18.65
38.41
53.52
22.35
u
83
TABLE
18
INDIA/STATES
Persons
Males
Females
Percentage of main
workers to total population
1971
1981
10. Maharashtra
P
M
F
36.48
53.74
19.70
38.71
53.52
23.98
11. Orissa
P
M
F
31.22
55.32
6.81
32.75
54.38
10.70
12. Punjab
P
M
F
28.87
52.82
1.18
29.35
53.14
2.27
16. Rajasthan
P
M
F
31.24
52.09
15.09
30.48
49.92
2 2.36
17. Tamil Nadu
P
M
F
35.78
56.02
15.09
39.90
55.85
22.36
18. Uttar Pradesh
P
M
F
30.94
52.24
29.22
50.31
5.39
P
M
F
27.91
48.83
19. West Bengal
6.71
4.43
28.26
48.71
5.81
One reason given for the low work participati on of women is
that women in the child bearing age are too engrossed in
household activities to find time for economically productive
work.
That this is not true is shown by the table below which
denotes work participation of women in different age groups :
u
TABLE 19
Indla/States
To ta I
Rut a I
Urban
INDIA
5. Hlmalachal Pradesh
6. Karnataka
18.46
22.74
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
9.70
4.17
3.52
0.9 1
7.2 1
8.79
1.79
1.56
1.71
16. Rajasthan
17. Tamil Nadu
18. Uttar Pradesh
19. West Brnq.i 1
25-29
40-49
50-59
25. 99
28.92
21.53
10. 15
22.6 1
23.90
12.40
40.27
45.38
19.22
15.20
11.27
5.63
19.75
22. 16
9.39
7.26
7 .54
26.07
11.71
4 1.94
11.03
13.46
5 . 49
4.69
4.89
3. 99
18.7 1
19.38
9 . 59
18.95
22 .28
10.53
12.77
13.47
9.67
0.45
2.22
2.95
0.41
6.21
36.71
47. 12
9.64
12.34
13.84
0.63
4.87
6.02
2.89
16.98
22.76
4.53
7.24
8.61
2.52
28. 14
29.9 1
5 .20
26 . 12
33 . 20
4.50
6.38
7.30
3.^8
7.08
17.70
2 1.83
8.86
3 1.47
33.46
11.46
26. 36
35. 17
1.79
10.69
14. 29
1.89
0. 77
12.18
13.44
17.83
1. 12
6.75
19.46
10.93
1.08
1 . 29
0.20
4 .25
4 . 49
2.51
2 .11
2.30
11.72
12.07
7.90
8.25
6.75
30. 16
24.5 9
26. 13
27.76
14.45
45.08
52.60
19.80
16.21
29.37
15.52
45.44
15.70
7.34
17.29
17.55
2 1.99
9 .09
8.85
9 .02
8.34
31.87
33. 17
10.55
32.96
33.68
24.70
34 . 11
39.38
21.11
21.85
23.41
25.98
27.27
15.48
20.91
38.73
44 .46
22. 35
5.27
3 1.20
32.75
35.52
6.30
0.92
r
38.54
6.57
39.52
10.00
4 1.88
13.04
22.35
5.27
31.20
32.75
R
35.52
31.39
6.86
44.45
15.39
46 . 34
52.60
20.6 1
17.26
52.39
18.35
9.37
19.53
23.04
12.04
18.76
9.98
15.87
18.86
21.66
12.24
14.56
16.52
9.59
5.01
5.12
4.59
25.50
22.55
17.8 1
8.6 1
16.03
7.23
16.95
18.65
20.58
27.78
21.79
'19.61
14.73
6.96
7 . 44
36.29
40.09
17.30
20 . 38
8. 77
36.29
44 . 78
18.56
18.64
15.73
16.03
16. 12
6 . 94
7.22
1.26
1.07
16.06
38.73
40.29
42 .05
51.69
55.43
57.08
56.29
15.48
16.85
17.44
18.09
18.80
19.49
19.29
20. 24
19.47
20. 12
20 .87
20.44
12. 72
4 . 74
13.69
15.25
5.82
5 . 30
17.0 1
3.89
15 . 14
3.29
2.49
3.31
4.06
3.55
2.83
2. 14
6.82
11.07
14.83
15.55
7 .65
2.27
1.21
0.2 7
9.86
I. 72
0.31
7.65
1.92
1. 94
16.32
21.63 f
26.63 ’
28.58
29. 77
23.4 1
26.32
12.19
26.7 1
30.47
42.05
14 . 88
15.84
49.90
16.47
15.23
21.83
18.42
34.27
38.82
46.93
20.13
2.45
2 . 60
15-59
7.60
7.62
7.52
29.96
30.80
40.29
0.76
60»
9.10
8.78
10.12
3 1. 74
32.51
22 .04
34.98
40.20
4 5.92
18.38
49.50
12.34
9.11
10. 70
8.32
18.82
22.51
10.95
9.47
9 . 14
18.42
30.99
37.02
17.75
25.78
8.31
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
T
R
U
35-39
22.5 9
R
U
r
30-34
26.20
12.26
4 1.72
50.44
16.27
14.66
T
U
11. Punjab
20.3 9
24.36
9.32
38.90
48.62
12.51
13.38
14.55
5.07
17.59
23. 10
6 .82
8.27
8.94
6.30
2.95
R
U
10. Orissa
20-24
13.99
T
9. Maharashtra
15-19
16.00
7.28
27.02
3 1.94
10.49
9.06
7. Kerala
8. Madhya Pradesh
0-14
a qr 5
T
2. Bihar
4. Haryana
AII
R
U
T
R
U
T
1. Andhra Pradrsh
3. Gujarat
Age Group
2 .76
5. 17
11.51
12.98
4.88
18. 56
7 . 19
7 .22
31.39
15.23
30.52
36.23
21.89
15. 13
36. 49
42.42
15.13
36.49
51.30
14 . 80
17.30
17 . 90
12.52
3 . 74
3.71
0. 18
1.87
5.06
7.84
10.23
9.61
6.71
9.32
4.62
1.91
15.38
18.93
3.74
15.33
10.58
4.45
2.73
3.27
0.52
2.78
6. 14
16.30
17.97
16.63
18.28
10.21
15.9 1
17.31
10.07
12. 14
18. 18
6.05
15.82
18.00
8. 22
22.36
4 . 52
4.80
5.07
3.59
15.40
17.51
7.60
28.05
29 . 77
32.29
36.33
38.86
38.80
27.85
5.76
32.45
16.47
33.57
36.92
39.04
40.87
46.58
11.01
46.45
39. 36
1 . 94
20. 70
11.65
4 1.88
13.73
16.52
44.29
20.04
21.50
5.39
20.67
0.91
15.88
7.09
6.68
16.68
8.59
9.6 1
10.38
1.04
10.69
9.57
7.90
7.50
8.42
5.63
8.95
9.38
10.36
11.18
11.39
10.12
5.98
9.81
5.21
10.23
11.45
7 . 14
6.08
11.44
6.99
11.20
11.90
6. 42
8. 31
3.4 6
3.48
5 . 04
10.04
12.31
6.51
11.82
12.47
10. 18
9.32
8. 72
7 . 3?
3.65
3.00
10 . 70
9.31
5.90
r
2 . 9?
5.n1
0.27
0.n1
R
U
6.69
4.66
0.91
7.26
8.65
10. 34
0.86
3.51
12.07
2. 12
3.79
8 . 79
9.82
13.09
7.95
8.28
H
8^
it
will be seen that the
majority of women
workers
are
in
the a ge-g roup 1 5
34 when they hi ay also bo
expoctod to
have the care of nma 1 I
chi I di ph.
The
table
below gives the
percentage
distribution of
male and female
workers by industrial
classlflcat1on as well
as
occupational classification.
All workers are
classified
as coming under
nine broad
industrial
classifications.
Within
that classification.
the description of
the actual
work
that the person is
doing is termed as the
occupational
classification.
u
85
TABLE
INDUSTRIAL
20
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL WORKERS
BY MAIN ACTIVITY
CLASSIFICATION
1971
1981
MALES
FEMALES
MALES
FEMALES
Cuitiva tors
45.90
29.84
4 3.70
3 3.20
Agricultural labourers
21.54
50.86
19.56,
46.17
Division-0 Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing
hunting,
f
2.24
1.91
2.37
1.84
Division-1 mining and quarrying
0.54
0.40
0.63
0.35
Division-2 & 3 Manufacturing
and Repair
10.13
7.01
12.09
8.19
Divis ion-4 Electricity, gas
and water
0.35
0.03
0.54
0.05
Division-5 Construction
1.36
0.65
1.88
0.87
Division-6 Wholesale and retail
trade and restaurants and hotels
5.57
1.67
6 .46
1.80
Division-7 Transport,
and communications
2.86
0.47
3.36
0.37
Division-8 Financing, insurance.
real estate and business services
0.80
0.11
0.95
0.24
Division-9 Community, social
and personal services
8.71
7.05
8.46
6.92
s torage
u
86
TABLE
OCCUPATIONAL
CLASSIFICATION
21
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL WORKERS
BY MAIN ACTIVITY
1971
1981
MALES
FEMALES
MALES
FEMALES
Cultivators
45.90
29.84
43.70
33.20
Agricultural Labourers
21.54
50.86
19.56
46.17
Division 0-1 Professional,
Technical & related workers
2.71
2.84
3.16
3.21
1.12
0.07
1.30
0.12
Division-3 Clerical &
related workers
3.40
0.68
3.86
1.05
Division-4 Sales workers
4.74
1.46
5.36
1.51
Division—5 Sorvico workers
3.36
3.13
3.12
2.69
Di vision-6 Fa L iners ,
Fishermen, hunters loggers
and related workers
2.35
1.97
2.24
1.81
14.40
8.94
16.56
9.58
0.48
0.21
1.14
0.65
Division-2 Administrative,
executive and managerial
workers
Division-7-8-9 Production
and related workers,
transport equipment
operators & labourers
Division-X Workers not
classified by occupation
Though detailed analysis is not possible, what strikes the
eye immediately is that almost
-- — - half the women workers, according
to the 1981 census, and more than half, according to the 1971
census, are agricultural labourers. As against this, only about
20 percent of the men are agricultural
i
‘ -labourers and almost half
of them are cultivators. Therefore,
Therefore, in
in the
the field
field of
of agriculture
alone, where 70 percent of
of the workers
workers of both
both sexes are
concentrated,
the division of labour is clear : the women are
u
87
relegated
to the lowest paid jobs, and hire out their labour
in
others’ fields while the ma jority
'
of the male agriculturists
a
re
shown as cultivating their own lands (some of
them may also be
doing
agricultural
labour but this
is
as
a
subsidiary
occupation).
Even while doing similar work, women are paid much less
than
men.
Except for a few jobs in the organised sector, this is
the
universal practice and women constitute a subservient
pool
of
labour which is handy for all employers, who by using women,
cut
down on labour costs
costs..
do
the bulk of very low
TWomen
’
'
' paid
low
skilled, arduous and often noxious manual jobs.
Since women's iwork
* is
’
" '
unduly
undervalued, special
measures
^re necessary to estimate it accurately,.
This will
create the
consciousness that women are economically productive.
Waae
Wage
laws
must be implemented strictly and emphasis should be given to
the
training and improvement of the skills of women workers so
that
they are not relegated to low paid and unskilled work,
Jobs in a
given sector are commonly sex stereotyped and it is
ua
taken
for
granted
that certain jobs (usually the better paid jobs)
)
cannot
7 WOmen’
Training
Training will overcome these
obstacles
and
improve the earning capability of: women.
All
the demographic indicators discussed in this
paper point
of
.
---- Of
tneir status vis-a-vis that of men
has not
improved and, m some respects,
If
respects, has
has deteriorated.
deteriorated.
If we
we are
are
to
exist as a just society, and progress
progress as
as a
a modern
modern nation,
nation, it
it has
to be ensured that such discrimination
and measures
------------ is stopped
are taken at all levels,
demographic,
social,
economic and
social,
political, to give women a fair deal.
H
SB
ASHOK MI.-TRA’S 1NIHCAT0RS
Annex A :
Dernographlc Indicators
Indicator
1.
(a )
Priority
Perinatal mortality per 1,000
PurpoHe
Low
Planning and
Low
Planning and monitoring
High
Planning and monitoring for
and Inniinlsation and
nutritional needs.
High
Planning and monitoring
health and nutritional
needs. Also to monitor
extent of family care.
monitoring
Females live born
Perinatal mortality per 1,000
males live born
(b)
Postneanatai mortality pGr 1 000
females llve born
Postneauatai mort 11
tality per 1,000
males live born
(c)
Infant mortality per 1,000
females live born
males live born
2.
Mortality p-*
rate of female
children 1- 4 years old
Mortality r
rate
of male
chlldren 1-4’ years old
3.
01 ff('rent la 1 mor tnH t y of
the .sexes at s U;nlf leant
young ages •
Morin 1 11 y rates fnr
females aged (5-16)( 15-2/0(25-36)
Mortality rates for males
aged (5-14)(15-26)(25-J6 )
4.
5.
Age-specific fertility ratesages 15-19,20-26,25-29,30-36 *
Age-speclflc maternal mortalily rates: nges 15-19,20-24
25-29,30-36 or for 15-34
i
High
Planning, monitoring and
e valuators
(15-34)
Planning, monitoring and
High 5evaluators
years age
groups for
fine grained
analysis
H
89
6.
Differential mortality by
sex in older ages
(a)
Mortality rates for females
50*-
Low
Planning
Mortality rates for males 501
(b)
7.
Mortality p-*
rates 5for females
Fairly high
Fairly
high Planning for social
aged 50+ who die in In
-■activity (Direct dates
security, pension
difficult;
schemes.
Mortality rates for males
aged 50+ who die
—! In
estimations
inactivity
possible)
Net years of active life
High
(15-59) for females
Planning
Net years of active Hie
(15-59) for males.
8.
Proportion of feinale teachers
to male teachers In each of the
five main levels
------- ; of eduatlon.
9.
Ratio of female to male boarders
by each of the five main sectors. in school and college hostels
It
seems important to obtain data
on school at tendance of
girl s
graduated physical distance
I tom school or
suPply of transport and also
by duration and functioning of
school hours and vacations.
u
90
ANNEXE :
I
HEALTH AND NUTRITION INDICATORS
A.
FEMALE CHILDREN'S HEALTH :
1.
Number <of pediatricians per 100,000 children aged
(male and female proportions separately)
2.
Number of children aged 0-4 attended by pediatricians
in a <calendar ■ year as proportion of total number of
children
aged
0-4
(male
and
female
proportions separately).
B.
ADULT FEMALE'S NON-REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH :
3.
Proportion
attendance
Hospita1s.
4.
Percentage < " female
~
bed days occupied in a calendar
year to male bed days occupied ini PHCs and Hospitals
per annum.
5.
Proportion of women treated suffering from (i) diseases
of manutrition, (ii) diseases of the digestive system,
(iii) diseases of the respiratory tracts and
(iv)
diseases <of*" the
'
circulatory system to men treated for
these groups of diseases.
6.
Consumption of carbohydrates and proteins by females a s
a proportion of consumption by males.
C.
ADULT FEMALE'S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH :
7.
Percentage of pregnant women who have been visited in
their homos by peripatetic midwives, doctors and other
medical personnel.
This is to check performance of
mobile public health and medical units.
8.
Percentage of pregnant women who have visited primary
health centres
(PHC), Rural Health Centres
(RHC),
Maternal/Child Health Centres (MCH) or Community Health
Centres (CHC), or Dispensaries and Hospitals.
9.
Percentage of pregnancies delivered in hospitals.
10.
Proportion of all pregnancies and hospital confinements
who had to travel ((a)
a ) less than 5 kilometres, (b) 5 to
10 kilometres, ((c)
c) 10-20 kilometres (d) more than 20
Kilometres, to obtain services.
0-4
of female annual attendance to male annual
at
PHC, RHC, CHC,
Dispensaries
and
u
91
cases
" sell
11.
Percentage of pregnancy and confinement
satisfied” with services obtained.
12.
Pr
J'r <)[>or
()[>or t i on of prc'gnant women administered an L i - I. etanus
before confinement per 1,000 women confined.
13.
Number of women per 1,000 of women in the age group 15
34 visited by family planning counselors in a year.
14.
Number of married women per 1,000 of married women in
the age group 15-34 who have undergone tubectomy
classified by number of existing children further
classified whether (a) employed or (b) unemployed.
15.
Distribution of (a) medical termination of pregnancy
cases and (b) tubectomy by educational status of woman.
16.
Number of recognised training centres for different
(c)
(a)
nurses; (b) female heath visitors;
courses
para
family planning counsellors; (d) other female
medical staff and the number of candidates who qualify
in successive years.
17.
Mean daily attendance of infants and babies at day-care
creches
to
total
number
of
women
attending
establishments.
D.
GENERAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION INDICATORS :
18.
Percentage
of
population enjoying
protected
centrally filtered water for drinking purposes.
19 .
Percentage of population using septic tank latrines> or
enjoying facilities for disposal of n:ightsoil safe from
contamination.
20.
Information on height by weight by age for infants
children upto 5 years.
21.
Information
on
vitamins
and
other.
protective
supplements to pregnant women in their third trimesters
and to infants and children upto age 2.
22 .
Proportion of infants administered DPT, (BCG, mumps and
measles where administered) to total number of infants
in the population before they attain 1 year of age.
or
and
H
92
ANNEXE C
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
INDICATORS OF LITERACY AND EDUCATION
of
the
1.
Ratio of female to male students enrolled in each
first five or six grades of primary education.
2.
Ratio of females dropping out in mid-term to male dropouts
in each of the first six successive grades of primary
education; or alternatively.
3.
Ratio of female to male students successively promoted to
the next higher grade in the first six grades of primary
education.
4.
Ratio of female to male students in single-teacher schools,
two-teacher,
and multi-teacher primary schools,
Also the
proportion of female students to male students in schools
having nil,1,2 or more female teachers.
5.
Ratio of female to male students in classes arranged
teacher-student ratios in each of the first six classes
elementary schools.
6.
(a)
by
of
Outlay and actual expenditure (including instruction,
equipment, building and accessories) on primary school
education per student enrolled..
Similarly
7.
on
scconda ry
(b)
Outlay
and actual expenditure
education per student enrolled.
(c)
Outlay
and
actual expenditure
education per student enrolled.
on
undergraduate
(d)
Outlay
and
actual expenditure
education per student enrolled.
on
post-graduate
(e)
Outlay
and actual expenditure on vocational
and
technical education per student enrolled :
ratio of
female to male students in each type of vocational and
technical education to be shown in each curriculum.
Teacher-student ratios
(i) primary education;
(ii) secondary education;
( i i i ) undorgraduato education;
(Lv) posl-graduato education;
(v) vocational and technical education.
school
H
93
8.
Age at marriage by age groups
15 - 19, 20-24, etc.
9.
Probability of widowhood at
stated age groups
10.
Median age at maternity by
birth order from age 15
atleast to age 34 and the
number of children lost by
death of each party
High
Planning, health,
education and occupa
tional needs, maternal
and child health and
creche requirements
Low
Planning for training
and jobs for women
Input for planning
High
models
rural
areas but
may be
difficult
to obtain
LONG-TERM ECONOMIC INDICATORS
ANNEXE D :
and
in
1.
Proportion of women to men employed in agriculture
non-agricultural occupations.
2.
Proportion of women to men employed in the age-groups
and 25 and over.
3.
Proportion of women to men unemployed who
second-level of education or above.
have
completed
4.
Proportion of female to male workers working
employee
; employed in family enterprise or
self-employed or on own account.
as
employer;
business
5.
Proportion of female to male workers in
(1)
public sector and
(2)
private sector undertakings classified by
minor divisions and groups of industries.
6.
Number and sex ratio of workers classified
industrial divisions, and 5-year age groups.
7.
Number
and
sex
ratio of child workers
by
15-24
and
major
major
by
main
activity
classified by major and minor divisions of industry.
to
main
broad
age
Average daily employment by sex in mines and quarries,
in plantations.
and
according
8.
Number
and sex ratio of workers
activity and educational level.
9.
employment by sex classified
Average daily
g rou| m i 11 f ael or i <'S. and or. t a I > 1 i r.hnio!) I r, aolr,.
10.
by
94
11.
Number of employees by sex in the organised sector.
12.
Number of employees by sex in all government
establishments classified by
13.
offices
and
(a)
each recognised type of services, cross classified by
(b)
type of work, executive, professional,
scientific and
(c )
grade or salary scale.
technical
Holders of technical, professional and scientific
and/or degrees classified by sex for
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
level of education,
monthly earnings,
employed
by
type
employment, and
subject fields.
of
organisation
or
diplomas
of
present
trainees
under
14.
Number of sex ratio of apprentices
different training programmes.
15.
Number <and sex ratio of applicants on the live register of
employment exchanges,
according to educational level and
age-groups.
16 .
Number
and sex ratio of
applicants,
classified
educational levels,
for whom placements were made
employment exchanges in different sectors of industry.
17.
Number of applicants and employees by sex in selected
"women-prone" occupations, classified by applications in the
private and public sectors.
18.
Index or real earnings of employees by sex.
Also• average
daily earnings of males and females and average idaily or
monthly earnings by occupations and operations.
19.
Working, days lost per employee by sex on account of
industrial accidents, industrial dispute and absenteeism,
establishments being classified by proportion of male/female
workers.
•
20.
Total imale
'
"
and' female
workers classified by those
and are not members of trade unions.
21.
Number and sex ratio of male and female economically
population covered by social security schemes.
22.
Proportion of women to men employees
employments of different income grades.
and
and
who
by
by
are
active
dropouts
in
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DIRECTOR,
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RICHUR
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11
95
GENDER DIMENSIONS OF WOMEN'S HEALTH
ESTHER GALIMA MABRY
To be asked to prepare this paper on Gender Dimensions of
Women's Health has been a challenge. It is a challenge in that
as. a medical person I have boon schooled in the ideology of the
dominant health care system. Even so there have been nagging
questions in my mind which I have not explored in its depth in
the past, Preparing this paper has given me an opportunity to
challenge ingrained values .
;■
perhaps
Some people use gender and sex interchangeably,
because gender may be a milder form for those who want to avoid
using the word "sex" . Gender is the cultural definition of
behaviour defined as appropriate to the sexes in a given society
It is a
at a given time.
time, Gender is a set of cultural roles.
costume, a mask, a straight jacket in whichi men and women dance
their unequal dance. "
Sex is the male or ffemale sex and defines
our biological differences, This paper will deal with the health
status of women and its gender dimensions leading to
an
exploration of directions of action.
The first part of the paper will review the health ca m
system. The second part will deal mainly with the health status
of women and its gender dimensions. My intention is not really
to be exhaustive but mainly to highlight gender biases so as to
make us stop and consider whether the steps we take as policy
makers and administrators support the status quo or further
women's development. What we do depends on people's gender
awa ronons.
I
The development of the health care system evolved from a
health care system which was developed in the West which is not
particularly suited to the conditions in India,
It gradually
replaced the existing traditional medicines which developed in
the Indian cultural milieu.
In the historical development of the
medical and nursing professions and the health delivery system,
there already developed sexual division of functions,
The
hospital functioned like a patriarchal family with the doctors a s
fathers, nurses as mothers,
and the patients as
children
dependent and waiting only to be cared for. The realization of
this situation in the inherited system led government leaders to
accept the responsibility of evolving a health care system for
Independent India and to recommend ways for improvement,
The
healthy self criticism embodied in the Statement on National
Health Policy of 1982 in its analysis of the situation was a
welcome sign that our planners are seriously concerned about the
inequalities the system has produced.
I quote in part the
Statement:
u
96
The existing situation has been largely engendered by
the
almost wholesale adoption of health
manpower
development policies and establishment of
curative
centres
based
are
on the Western model,
which
inappropriate and irrelevant to the rural needs of our
people and the socio-economic conditions obtaining in
the country.
The hospital-based, disease and cure
oriented approach towards the establishment of medical
services has provided benefits to the upper crusts of
soci ely,
especially those residing in the urban areas,
Furthermore, the continued high emphasis on the curative
approach has led to the neglect of the preventive,
promotive,
public health and rehabilitative aspects of
health care.
The existing approach,
instead
of
improving awareness and building up self reliance,
has
tended to enhance dependency and weaken the community's
capacity to cope with its problems.
The prevailing
policy in regard to the education and training of
medical and health personnel,
at various levels, has
resulted in the development of a cultural gap between
the people and the personnel providing care.
The
various health programmes have, by and large. failed to
involve individuals and families in establishingj a self
reliant community. Also, over the years, the planning
process has become largely oblivious of the fact that
the ultimate goals of achieving a satisfactory health
status for all our people cannot be secured without
involving the community in the identification of their
health
in
the
needs and priorities as well as
implementa tion and management of the various health and
related programmes.
The statement fully realizes the inappropriateness and
irrelevance of a curative oriented health care system to the vast
needs of the rural areas. The vast concentration of health care
services in the urban areas which comprises only 20% of the
country has deprived the other 80?; in the country side.
This
inequality of distribution of resources
reso
greatly d i s c r i rn i n a t o
against a certain
=
—: _j—33.
section of society
The maldistribution of
resources is also linked with inequality to make use of health
services usually located at a distance and incase of emergency
they travel great distances before help is available.
Unequal
accessibility is not only in terms of unavailability of services
but. also in terms of the cost of services. Cost in a distant
facility also includes cost of travel, food, and loss of wages
which people often can hardly afford. These inequalities are also
linked to inequality in participation in the people’s own health
care and subsequent inequality in the resultant health status.
The present health care system greatly favours people in the
urban areas, those who can afford the cost of medical care,
and
for whom distance and cost are no barriers to accessibility, and
those who are healthy enough to ward off infections which easily
affect the poor and malnourished. People in the rural areas are
■i 1
97
left to continue to practice their own traditional health care
practices, without denying the fact that western medicine
still
me
is the best for
D. Banerji
-- : any of their major medical problems.
and others in their study of various Primary Health Centres (PHC)
in the country reveal that the major constraints of using medical
services^ are unavailability of health services where the people
are and inability of patients to meet the cost of care.
The plan allocation for health during the past Five Year
Plans belie such good intentions of providing health services at
the cost people can afford and at a distance near them,
The
allocation,
decreasing allocation,
seen below just shows the low priority
health gets.
TABLE
1
PLAN ALLOCATION FOR HEALTH 5
Plan Period
% Share of Health Budget
1st Five Year Plan
3.30
2nd Five Year Plan
3.00
3rd Five Year Plan
2.60
4th Five Year Plan
2.10
5th Five Year Plan
1.90
6th Five Year Plan
1.86
Source : India, 1986 , Ministry of I.B., Government of India
The conference on Primary Health Care at Alma-Ata in
September, 1978 was followed by the National Policy Statement by
the government. 7A proposed alternative strategy for Health for
all by 2000 A.D. by a study.group set up jointly by the Indian
Council of Social Science Research and the Indian Council og
Medical Research was in response to the government proposal.
The major
i
recommendations include the necessity of the people’s
participation
.
i in the implementation of health care services in
the
community
through
a
restructured
community
based,
decentralized,
and democratically planned
and
implemented
services.
Table 2 «
’
shows
the goals set by the government in 1982.
What effects has the health systemi on women through the years and
the inherent biases meted out to them?
They are the major
targets of the health and family welfare programmes,
but who
really are the beneficiaries?
i1
98
Table 2
Goals for health and family welfare
programmes
1.
Indicator
Estimates in 1992
Jo.
Goals
2UUO
1990
1. Infant mortality rate
Rural 136 (1978)
Urban 70 (1978)
Total
125 (1978)
87
Perinatal mortality
below 60
67 (1976)
2. Crude death rate
30-35
Around 14
3. Pre-school child
1U.4
9.0
(1-5 years) mortality
24 (1976-77)
4. Maternal mortality rate
15.20
10
^-5
(1976)
5. Life expectancy at birth (year)
2-3
below 2
Male 52.6 (1976-81)
57.6
64
Female
51.6 (1976-81)
57.1
64
Babies with birth weight
below 2500 gms (percentage)
30
7. Crude birth rate
18
10
Around
35
L Effective couple protection
27.0
21.0
(percentage)
23.6 (March, 1982) 42.0
9. Net Reproduction Rate (NRJl)
60.0
1*49 (1981)
).
1.17
Growth rate (annual)
1.00
2.24 (1971-81)
L. Family size
1.66
1.20
4.4 (1975)
12.
Pregnant mothers receiving
2.3
ante-natal care (percentage
60-50
I.
Deliveries by Trained Birth
60-75
100
attendant (percentage)
i /.
30-35
80
Immunization status (Z coverage)
100
20
100
TT (for pregnant women)
100
TT (for school children)
10 years
100
100
16 years
20
100
DPT (children boJuw 3 years)
100
25
85
85
Polio (Infants)
5
70
BCG (infants)
85
65
80
DT (new school ( nt rants) (5-6 years)
85
20
85
85
Typhoid (new school1 entrants 5-6 years)
2
85
1 .
85
Leprosy-percentage
disease
~ of -----1 arrested
cases out of those detected
20
60
16. TB-percentage of disease arrested
80
case
out of those detected
50
75
1
90
Blindness-Incidence of (percentage)
1.4
0. 7
0.3
S rce: Statement on f’ '
National Health Policy, Government of
India, Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi (1982).
From National Perspective Plan for Women
1988-2000 A.D.
Report ooff the Core Group set up by ’
tiie
Department of Women Child
Development, Ministry of Human Resource
Development,
Government of India ,
1988.
11
99
II
The International Women’ s Year
__ 1 in 1975 and the International
Women's Decade (1975-1985) ushered in”impetus; to research on the
status of women, :including
’
the important work of the Committee on
the Status of Women in India (CSWI). T
‘___ report highlighted the
The
fact
*
f act fthat
social changes and development in the context of the
changing social and economic conditions of the country
createg new imbalances and disparities among a large section has
of
women.
Let us examine salient indicators
---- which
---- 1 need to be
looked into to get at the root causes of the prevailing
health
conditions of women.
Karkal in her study of women and population says this
about
women and their health: "It is now accepted that to understand
the health status of women, health and 1health
’ ' care system must be
seen from beyond the medical framework".''
Whether this is
---accepted by the health professionals or women or government
policy makers, Karkal did not say. The wider the
however, the better for women and their health and the acceptance
country as
and
Whether health professionals, health
health administrators,
and policy makers accept this <concept
-or not it is for those
development
devel°Pment work
w°rk to become more sensitive to women's
issues in any programme or project. 'Women need to participate in
The aw1 .making as well as monitoring progress of programmes
The attainment of
of better
better health
health for
for women
women is
is an
an important
stepping stone to their development and empowerment.
For the
discriminating
health
worker,
realizing
that
the
health
,
health worker, realizing that the
the health care
system is but a microcosm of the wider society in
in its power
relations helps in developing working
The health
workina strategies.
strateainQ
care system has been perpetuated by the same social values which
perpetuate social control on people. The health status of women
conditions.bS
bey°nd infection' hygiene,
and unsanitary
INFANT MORTALITY RATES
It is said that infant mortality rate is a good indicator of
the social status of women.
Infant mortality
mortality is
is
usually
influenced by factors before and during pregnancy, delivery,
/ and
during the child's first year of life. These factors
include
nutritional practices, child care practices, and the
status of
women and girls.
Beyond food and child care are the issues of
the status of women and children.
The
_rnortality rate has come down from 240/1000 live
births in 1921-23 ,, 146
? * " during
'
1951-61, 132 in 190-72 to 110 in
1981. While these data do i L
not show gender bias, it is necessary
to look into age specific and
-..J sex specific rates. Many studies
have shown that there is excess
<
in female mortality. U'11'in
Clark’s
ex
c?
ss
female
mortality
in* India?
4-u
x. •
c;------- -1
—-u^, she asked what
ought to be the
ratio of mortalityj rates
rates in
in infancy
infancy if
if there
there is
1/
100
no excess female mortality. She claims that what really matters
is whether this excess sex effect on child mortality differs
significantly with the expected normal ratio. Normally there
.
is
an <excess of infant male mortality during the first year of life.
However,
a conservative standard can be taken as 1.057 beyond
which there is an excessive level of mortality for the interval
between one month and five years of age. Using the data from
Padmanabha in 1982, Clark shows that it is abundantly clear that
there is excess female
f
mortality from 1-4 years of life, the
ratio being 1.262 against the standard 1.057.. The figures below
show this.
AGE SPECIFIC FEMALE/MALE MORTALITY RATE
less than 29 days
0.863
29 days - 1 year
1.202
1-4 years
1.303
0
1 year
29 days - 4 years
0.977
1.262
The excess female mortality can be seen in the next
two
tables
in a more detailed manner.
Table 3
shows
the
preponderance of mortality of male newborns (below 29 days) which
is a normal phenomenon, but after that female children show
higher mortality rates.
Female infanticide is
i s one of the reasons c^von for the
excess female infant mortality. Barbara
Miller
categorizes
infanticide into active killing and child abuse and neglect.
Infanticide has been documented in North India and North west
India which was first reported in 1789.
Subsequent to its
banning by the British in 1789, neglect of children became more
prominent.
There are strong socio-cultural reasons for son
preference.
Sons are economic assets while the female drains
family wealth with dowry and flow of gifts after marriage;
sons
play important roles in local power struggles over right inputs
to land and water. Sons take care of older parents while the
daughters marry out and do not contribute to the natal family
maintenance.
Among Hindus sons perform death rites for the
father which daughters cannot perform. Miller also refers to
class/caste variations in juvenile sex ratios. There is a great
disparity between survival rates of male and female children and
their nutritional status, more so among the upper class and
landed families. While the lower class landless families also
mirror this disparity, it is less so. There are four points she
emphasized regarding female infanticide in India.
(1) Although
it is common in the North, the South is not completely free
of
this practice;
u
101
TABLE
3
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS IN AGE GROUP 0-4 YEARS
TO TOTAL DEATHS (1977)
Rural Urban
Age Group
Male
Female
Person
Rural
Below 29 days
29 days to 1 year
Below 1 year
1-4 years
20.32
9.90
30.22
16.65
17.59
12.09
29.68
20.58
18.94
11.00
29.94
18.64
Urban
Below 29 days
29 days to 1 year
Below 1 year
1-4 years
14.03
10.01
24.05
10.27
11.25
10.66
21.91
15.74
12.70
10.32
23.02
12.90
Total
Below 29 days
29 days to 1 year
Below 1 year
1-4 years
lp .50
16.83
11.91
28.74
20.61
18.16
10.92
29.08
17.92
9.91
29.41
15.82
Based op results of Sample Registration System
TABLE
4
INFANT MORTALITY BY SEX
Rural
Urban
Total
Year
Male
Female
Person
Rural
1972
1973
1976
1977
1978
141
141
133
136
130
161
144
146
146
142
150
143
139
140
136
Urban
1972
1973
1976
1977
1978
85
88
78
80
69
85
90
82
82
71
85
89
80
81
70
Total
1972
1973
1976
1 977
1978
132
132
124
126
120
148
135
135
1 35
131
139
134
129
1 30
125
Source - Sample Registration System
< OA
UH -100
03578
v'
I < oO(
^0
J
zJ
11
102
(2)
Unbalanced sex ratios as a result of infanticide are not
only associated with poverty; (3) Most information indicates a
worsening situation;
(4) Payment of large dowries is often
associated with female infanticides. However, she cautions about
this generalization because there are also cases where there is
no female infanticide even when large dowries are the norm.
There are two components of infant mortality (mortality up
to one year): neonatal mortality, which is death below 29 days,
and post-natal mortality, which is death from 30 days up to a
year.
Neonatal death is usually influenced by
endogenous
factors, like
prematurity, congenital malformations,
etc.;
whereas, post-natal mortality is caused by exogenous factors like
infections, malnutrition,
environmental conditions,
injuries, environmental
etc.
which can be controlled by medical intervention.
It is
also generally known that female babies are more resistant to
infections.
Table 4 indicates that male children, in urban as
well as in rural areas, have higher mortality than female
newborns.
However,
inspite of the greater resistance of the
female child from one month of age onwards, there is higher
mortality.
Tabjg 5 shows the major three causes of death at
different ages .
Tetanus in the newborn is a number one cause
in rural areas and a second cause in urban areas, This is due to
unhygienic conditions during delivery.
There is a
higher
percentage of male newborns dying of prematurity.
After these
two causes, the other causes of death are infections which are
preventable.
In these cases there is generally a higher degree
of mortality among female children.
Studies on sex differentials
in mortality give us a few clues on the reasons. As Miller has
mentioned infanticide was suspect in the higher female infant
mortality in some areas.
Where it is not practiced some
researchers
claim
that there is
female
child
neglect.
Malnutrition is one of the ways which give us some clue to child
neglect.
MALNUTRITION IN CHILDREN
Malyjjtj^tjgn.^mong girl children is well documented in many
T/
%-L
1
studies.
'
'
f’
Karkal
quotes several studies where even
breast f^gding of female children is differentiated from male
children.
The feeding of the male child "on demand" and of
girls at "the mothers' finding time" from their duties result in
discrimination in the nutritional needs of children and lays the
foundation of "gastropolitical socialization of^nChildren into
roles of demand (boys) and deference (girls)".
Mothers are
encouraged to take time to feed their sons, while there is excuse
to postpone feeding of female infants.
H
103
Table 5
Per cent
child deaths by major
three causes for deaths by
age and sex, 1978
Rural
Urban
Per cent
Cause of Death
M
F
Per cent
Cause of death
P
M
F
P
13.4
8.7
11.1
8.5
4.6
6.6
4.3
6.6
5.4
15.4
15. 1
15.1
8.8
8.6
8.7
8.7
6.0
7.1
5.9
13.4
10.6
15.0
9.4
12.4
7.8
7.4
22.4
16.5
7.4
16.9
13.2
11.5
7.5
9.1
Below 1 year
Tetanus
14.7
Prematurity
15.6
8.8
Pneumonia
5.3
15.2
7.0
8.3
Prematurity
7.9
Tetanus
6.8
Dysentery
One year
Pneumonia
Typhoid
Dysentery
10. 1
3.1
8.5
11.4
14.3
9.1
10.9
Pneumonia
9.9
Typhoid
8.8
influenza
Iwo year
Dysentery
Typhoid
Diarrhoea
8.6
10.9
6.5
12.4
11.0
10. 1
10.3
11.5
9.5
Pneumonia
Diarrhoea
Dysentery
Three year
Typhoid
Influenza
Pneumonia
10.3
10.5
7.2
10.2
9.5
11.4
10.3
10.0
9.5
Pneumonia
Influenz
Typhoid
H
104
This ideology of son preference leads women to breast
longer a male child, but stop feeding a girl child sooner.
feed
Studies of hospital attendance of children have also shown a
preponderance of malnourished female children than those of
males. Tables 6, 7, & 8 show this inequality. Malnutrition in
shows
different parts of the country as shown in Tables 7 & 8
this same trend. Whether in I degree malnutrition or II degree
or III
Ill degree malnutrition, the female is at a disadvantage.
Studies in Punjab which has one of the highest per2gapita income
shows
this
in the country (third to Delhi and Goa in 1986-87)
sex differential, The relative neglect of the girl child from
infancy imparts insults to her which eventually affect her life
as a woman and future generations as well. We are familiar with
the practice of men eating before women and often women are
food for
blamed for perpetuating the same even as she allocates tood
That
is
blaming
her
for
thoroughly
internalizing
the
her family.
culture of deference to the male species in all aspects of life,
including preferential food allocations, especially of prestige
and 'good food'.
u
105
TABLE
6
NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL
DEGREE OF MALNUTRITION
NEW DELHI
Normal
1st
2nd
3rd
M
F
38.10
39.01
34.21
35.31
20.12
19.29
9.1
9.5
804
644
M
F
26.12
23.29
37.81
30.12
23.38
20.19
12.69
26.40
3 years
629
439
M
F
30.05
20.50
31.81
32.80
25.76
25.05
12.62
21.64
3-4 years
317
220
M
F
31.55
29.09
36.91
32.73
18.93
23.64
12.62
14.55
4-5 years
334
194
M
F
34.43
32.28
38.92
51.02
16.17
15.46
10.48
15.46
Male %
Female
Age group
No.
0-1 year
3910
3627
1-2 years
2
Severe Malnutrition
Lnlants
Toddlers
Pre-schoolers
2 . .3 5
7.98
4.26
I K . 3’>
14.71
6.71
Moderate malnutrition
Infants
Toddlers
Pre-schoolers
15.33
21.00
21.57
30.38
25.29
38.16
Mild Malnutrition
Infants
Toddlers
Pre-schoolers
25.64
34.42
39.48
30.47
35.67
37.20
Normal
Infants
Toddlers
Pre-schoolers
56.67
36.62
34.68
20.81
14.33
27.93
Source :
Malini Karkal and Divya Pandely,
and Population : A Critique,
Publishing House, 1989),
1989 ) , p.39.
Studies on Women
(Bombay:
Himalaya
u
lob
Tab 1e
7
MaInu trit Ion on th. Gom.i'. sc,j,
Ie
and Female Infants
Ma le
Centre
Ferna le
Retardation grade
Retardation grade
Exce Norma 1
llent
Bombay
Caleu t ta
Madras
12.5
5.4
10.2
2 1.9
14.2
19.9
1
'I? .5
42. 7
4 1.7
II
in. .i
25.0
23.0
III
?. n
8.2
3. 1
NR
N
Exce Norma I
llent
?.o
950
8.2
4.5
667
2. I
846
1
II
III
NR
N
17.4
43.2
2 5.4
4.5
1.3
862
5.5
14.8
36. 9
27.5
10.6
4.7
710
5.6
14.8
43.8
28.3
5.7
1.8
89
Notes :
N 5 Total number of samples
NR = No response
Source :
C. Gopalan, "The Mother and Child
In India. Economic and Political Weekly
Vol. XX, 4, January 26. 1985, P- 162.
----------- -
•!
u
107
TABLE
8
MALNUTRITION IN CHILDREN IN PUNJAB
Male
Percentage
Severe
Malnutrition
Moderate
Malnutrition
Mild
Malnutrition
Normal
Source : Shanti
Female
Percentage
Infants
2.35
18.35
Toddlers
7.98
14.71
Pre-schoolers
4.26
6.71
Infants
15.33
30.38
Toddlers
21.00
25.29
Pre-schoolers
21.57
38.16
Infants
25.64
30.47
Toddlers
34.42
35.67
Pre-schoolers
39.48
37.20
Infants
56.67
20.81
Toddlers
36.62
14.33
Pre-schoolers
34.68
27.93
n
Ghosh,
’’Discrimination Begins at
Pror.nn tod in I.ho Confcncc on the cjirl ch i 1d , Birth”,
UNFCEE,
1985 .
From National Perspective Plan for Women,
1988-2000
A-D. Report of the core group set up
u
by
the
Department of Women and Child Development: Ministry
?QQQUman Resources Development, Government of India^
1700 .
'
U
108
THE GIRL CHILD
The ideology of son preference is so deep rooted in the
culture that it has religious as well as social sanctions leading
to the neglect of half of the population. The life of the girl
has-been
child has
been highlighted during the past year being the SAARC
i
Year of the Girl Child.
I have already mentioned the mortality
and nutritional status of the girl child. Found below are summary
statements from a pamphlet on^the girl child brought out for the
SAARC Year of the Girl Child.
1. Data show that girls in India do not achieve their full
height and weight on account of dietary insufficiencies.
2. Several micro-studies have found that a girl’s diet is
inferior both in quality and quantity to a boy’s diet, and
that a higher number of girls and women suffer from
malnutrition as compared to men and boys in the same age
groups.
most
3. According to the well known Morinda study, the
significant determinant of nutritional status is sex, that
is, a child’s sex per se more consistently accounts for
nutritional status than any other independent variable.
4. Discriminatory feeding practices start early in life, Girls
are breast fed for shorter periods (often this is prompted
by the anxiety to conceive and give birth to a son soon
after a daughter’s birth) and receive less supplementary
in
the
than boys.
Sons are shown preference
foods
distribution of more nutritious foods such as milk, butter
and eggs.
5. Clinical data indicate a preponderance of protein energy
malnutrition among boys, however, field studies and home
visits show a much higher prevalence (4-5 times in one
instance) of the disease among girls.
6. Research studies consistently show that diarrhoea which is a
major cause of malnutrition, morbidity and death,
is more
widespread among females.
7. Fewer girls than boys receive timely and/or adequate! health
care; if they are treated, it is usually by a traditional
healer; boys are likely to be taken to a more qualified
doctor.
8. Hospital records show that more boys are brought in for
treatment than girls, who are usually admitted only when the
illness has become critical.
u
109
9. The care of the sick girl is inversely related to her birth
order; higher birth order girls (e.g. those born third or
fourth) tend to receive less treatment than first or second
born daughters.
10. Access to essential medical care becomes a pattern for life
and is reflected in attendance and admission figures at
hospitals which are significantly lower for women than for
men.
That such neglect of the girl child
indictment of the cultural norms which
treatment in the name of sex.
is possible is an
perpetuate
inhuman
THE INDIAN SEX RATIO
The declining s
ratio in India which is at present 935
males 4'1 is a much studied subject,
females to 1000 males
It is said
that
it
can take place because of four
reasons:
"(I)
differentials in enumeration of the two sexes or undercounting or
omission of population of one sex compared to the other;
(2)
differentials in births of males and females or sex ratio at
birth;
(3) differentials in migration of population of the two
sexes; 2|nd
differentials in mortality or deaths of the two
sexes.”
I do not intend to repeat the various arguments for
its production here; however, it is obvious that the excess
female mortality that we have been talking about is responsible
for the adverse ratio. There are socio-economic reasons for
this.
The inferior status of women, their role and work
opportunities have influence on this. The adverse family food
allocations for the women, the delay of treatment for illnesses
suffered by women, the injury imposed on the women for multiple
pregnancies so that Rhe doeR not fully recover from the rtraina
and stress of successive pregnancies, the double work that she
does without complaining surely contribute to the insults to her
body accumulated throughout her life - discrimination as a child,
early marriage and child rearing, malnutrition, and recurrent
infections
aggravated by other accumulated insults all
contribute to her early demise.
It is very clear that the sex
The
ratio at birth does not give rise to this differential.
major force is mortality differentials in the various stages of
her life.
The census of India, 1991 preliminary findings of a decline
in sex ratio from 935 to 929/1000 males has brought much concern
and a flurry of newspaper articles trying to speculate on the
causes of the phenomenon. There is a general acceptance of the
biological advantages of women over men in terms of longevity,
but the sex differentials favouring men is appalling.
The
pervasive discrimination of females and son preference ideology,
less access to health care services seem to be the common
explanations for the higher mortality of female over male in both
urban and rural areas.
Table 9 shows the preliminary data on
the sex ratio and literacy in the country.
u
no
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES
The emphasis of the maternal and child health services is
the promotion of health in the mother and child. The care of the
woman is concentrated during her reproductive period in order
that she is enabled to have a healthy pregnancy and give birth to
a healthy child. Having said that, it appears that the woman is
taken care of just like a machine so that it works perfectly.
She is handled mechanically to the
TABLE
9
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION r SEX RATIO AND RATE OF LITERACY
Sex ratio
India/States
Literacy rate
Population
1981
1991
1981
1991
India States
84,39,30,861
934
929
43.56
52.11
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Gujarat
Haryana
Jammu and
Kashirir
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
6,63,04,854
2,22,94,562
8,63,38,853
4,11,74,060
1,63,1/;715
77,18,700
975
910
946
942
870
892
972
925
912
936
874
923
35.66
45.11
53.42
38.54
60.91
55.33
4,48,17,398
2,90,11,237
6,61,35,862
7,87,06,719
3,15,12,070
2,01,90,795
4,38,80,640
5,56,38,318
13,87,60,417
6,79,82,732
963
1,032
941
937
981
879
919
977
885
911
960
1,040
932
936
972
888
913
972
882
917
46.20
81.56
34.22
55.83
40.96
48.12
30.09
54.38
33.33
48.64
32.03
52.21
43.85
32.68
55.98
90.59
43.45
63.05
48.55
57.14
38.81
63.72
41.71
57.72
Note: 1) The figures for Jammu & Kashmir are only estimates
2) The literacy rate for all persons refer to the
population above seven yce-rs of age.
Source : ’’CENSUS OF INDIA - 1991”, Economic Times,
(Midweek Review) 18-4-91
neglect of her other needs and j f she does not fol Jo the
doctor's orders,
she is called names, like neg':gent mother,
lazy, ignorant, etc. She is given tablets to take for her anemia,
H
111
told to eat properly, and make herself clean. She is even asked
to take rest if she has time. Before and after her pregnancy t
nothing is done for her until she gets her next pregnancy,
The
same treatment is directed to the child. She is a mere appendage
of the mother. She is weighed, height measured, immunized, and
sometimes given supplementary food, until she is five or six
years old.. Until the conditions making women and children
unhealthy in the home environment and in society in general are
changed, maternal and child health services are mostly palliative
and not directed at the root cause of their ill health.
Nutrition programmes are more to our psycholcgical well being.
Women and children must be freed from the shackles of societal
conditions that keep them unhealthy.
A study of the goals of the health and welfare programme
would reveal the target orientation of the programme.
What
ideology guide these goals? Are women involved in setting the
goals for the maternal and child health services? Women health
workers implement most of its programme, but do these women have
a voice in the target setting or in strategizing to fulfill the
targets?
In previous sections I have already dealt with infant
and child mortality and malnutrition, so let me turn to life
expectancy of women.
The life expectancy at birth of men and women in most of the
countries of the world is always favourable to women, except in
India and a few South Asian countries. The life expectancy of
men in.1981 was 52.92^ears and 54.0 years for women. It is the
first time since 1921
that females have higher life expectancy.
However, Karkal states that the figure is a little deceiving,
Review of age group mortality shows that the apparent gain is due
to lower mortality above the age group 55 years and above,
The
actual situation is that many more women continue to die at a
higher rate than males at the lower age groups.
This is
precisely the age group which is the concern of the maternal and
child health services.
Medical professionals like to pinpoint the medical causes of
these mortality. So let us look at these medical causes.
Table
10 indicates that the most common causes of death among women is
during child birth and pregnancy.
Anemia which is easily
preventable remains a major cause of death in addition to
bleeding
during pregnancy and after delivery,
Anemia
is
associated with other nutritional deficiencies,
These
two
conditions are also the leading cause of prematurity, Anemia and
bleeding during pregnancy and puerperium plus [puerperal sepsis
(severe
infection after childbirth) accounts for 54.3% of all
causes of death among pregnant women in 1983.
u
//£
Table 10
Vereentags
of deaths by causes related to child birth and pregnancy
external 1976 to 1983)
Specific causes
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
Abortion
11.6
8.2
11.0
11.7
12.5
13.7
10.7
10.7
Toxemia
10.4
11.2
21.2
16.1
12.4
8.0
. 12.5
Anaemia
12.1
9
22.1
.15.9
14.6
15.0
15.8
17.7
24.4
18.9
Bleeding of pregnancy
and puerperium
17.2
20.6
18.2
20.0
15.8
23.4
26.2
23.8
Malposition of child
leading to death of mother
8.6
9.4
9.5
10.5
13.4
9.2
7.2
8.3
Puerperal sepsis
13.5
18.8
12.4
11.7
12.4
13.|
8.3
11.6
16.6
15.9
13.1
15.0
17.7
14.9
11.3
14.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Sample no. of deaths
163
170
137
180
209
175
168
206
Not classifiable
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.0
1.0
1.2
and
and
Child
Not classifiable
Total
Source :
Survey of causes of Deaths (Rural) 1980, 1983
- A Report R.G. India.
From National Perspective Plan for Women’* 1988-2000 A.D.
Report of the Core group act up by the Department of Women
IndiaUP'1988 ’
Ni"1Stry
°f
llunan Resource Development,
Government
of
u
113
untraiiedlviila|:Stradit
fi^a profess
i°nals,, most
at 1;lntr
untrained
pxufessionals
most often
attend almost three quarters of
---^11 “birthrin^Hb
J-rth attendant,' COntinue
continue to
areas and 29%
do Unotn aZf33’ £Thi- nleanS that more than 60%'rural
of
pregnant
women
cause of9 their lea?S
^estlng^or^^ •
•
J most frequent
X“ee’ti“esd°:5
’ntenatal
-Abou“61%one routine
ofwomen
instrument Is necessary tAc^Ane^™ tO
to be anemic. u
No
If only someone in the
taught to do a self
prevent
her
own morbidity or
mortality.
It is known that t ’
untrained
village
-- ---- J do
do not
see the women they deliver until they are called midwives
the
“xzti^eAe^r:^0"13 be
Mate™?' ^AVill29e n'id"i£e “Uld blso be a potential
I ‘
100 non1 death need not be at the level it is
J
at
500
deaths
100,000 live births.
The nutritional l
status of woman,
compactions Pf°dUCe 3 healthy baby and for^
—‘ to survive
mpiications
of pregnancy
go
unnoticed
wi+-h
Pre9?a?
2^
90 of
unnoticed.'the
With r-no
no proper
proper data
assess
the nutritional
Jt».
data to
•~l on matepna!
maternal and
infant
provide enough evidence of the incidence
-"p" 5B°e among women in the reproductive
of children also reflects
the
status.
A study in New Delhi from 1969
wei9ht increases the incidence of
infant mortalit
mortalitv 35 1OW birth weight
iuu'i. bail uy.
TABLE
Sector
Rural
Urban
Total
11
Institutional
Attended by
training
professional
Attended by
untrained
professional
12.6
16.3
71.1
45.4
25.4
29.2
19.2
18.1
62.7
Source : Sample Registration Bulletin
From National Perspective Plan for Women,
1988-200 A.D
Report of the Core Group set up by the Department of
Women and Child Development, Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Government of India, 1988
Ii
114
It is not very difficult to find the causes of womenL 1 S ill
\ childhood‘ womanl faces
f--- the risks of
health. In infancy and early
malnutrition <and death; in early adolescent she continues to be
exposed to the same risks plus an additional greater risk of
death resulting from early marriage and pregnancy. During her
reproductive life, with the; accumulation of insults to her body
from chronic malnutrition and request pregnancies, she faces a
much greater risk of dying of childbirth or even from abortion.
‘Having said the above in terms of medical conditions used as
indicators of health status, it is equally valid to say that the
causes of these conditions ana
and tneir
their management are rignr
right m
in the
confines of the household and the family. No doubt the maternal
and child health services need to be accessible and available to
those who need it most, but the use of these accessible and
available services depends on the power dynamics in the household
and family.
The Committee on the Status of Women in India in its
states :
report
The cultural norms that particularly affect women's
health are the attitudes to marriage, age of
marriage,
the value attached to fertility and sex
of the child, the patterns of family organization
and the ideal role demanded of the women by social
conventions. They determine her place within the
family, the degree of her access to medical care,
of
education, nutrition and other accessories
health ... Cultural insistence of the marriage of
women in the early phase of their child bearing
period,
leads to high fertility rate and each
additional child is a burden on the
mother,
affecting her physical and mental health
Furthermore woman's nutritional requirements are
often sacrificed to provide a little more nutrition
to others in the family. This is true not only32
among adult women, but also includes female infants
It is very clear that women’s health is not really
hands of the health care system.
in
the
The perspective from the Women’s Movement to the National
Perspective Plan for Women (1988-2000) criticizes the draft plan
when it states: "any serious attempt to improve the health of
women must deal firstly with the biased social customs and
cultural tradition."
The report states that the draft statement
above "seeks to negate the impact of a grisly inadequate health
care delivery system on women's health."
While I agree that
the health care delivery system is grossly inadequate, we can
legitimately ask why is it grossly inadequate.
Unless social
customs and cultural traditions, to which I would add patriarchy,
the caste/class ideologies that tend to pervade our decision
making and life styles, I doubt if a restructured health care
H
115
system would suddenly begin to respond to gender issues in
women's health status.
No amount of greater allocation for
health can really out balance the negative effect of biases
because of sex and genderization of women's illness.
Poitevin in his paper "primary Health Care as a Gender
T
Issue"
studied in rural Maharashtra how female
healthy
animators (HAO, who are peasant women themselves) could relate
their understanding of the village system of health relations in
their work as health workers. He wanted to find out how these
voluntary female HA of modern health education scheme relate
these traditional beliefs and practices in their work and deal
with them.
them, There is a clash between modern practices and these
traditional practices and so what is the status of traditional
There is a
treatments in relation to the more modern ones?
widespread gender differentiation which makes woman assume a
It is expected that she assumes the
crucial role in health care,
responsibility of caring for the sick whether she knows what to
do or not.
It is her responsibility to ask her neighbour or go
If she does not, her
to the traditional healers for help.
husband or in-laws would remind her it is her duty. Why was she
brought into the family if she does not do her duty, and who
would take care of her when she herself gets sick? The awareness
of this duty creates a lot of stress, lest she be left alone.
When she falls ill, she is still expected to get up to take care
This
of her family without expecting her husband to help,
symbolic
explains some of the ritualistic
and
certainly
These
she performs to arrest illness in her family,
practices,
puja,
singing psalms, doing
include fasting, making vows,
undergoing physical penance, and many various oth r practices to
Further,
arrest the evil eye, especially as regards children.
Poitevin states that there is definite gender differentiation in
the ritualistic/symbolic field and in the non-ritualistic field
of medicine.
Women's roles are confined to listening and being
taught,
servicing
and
material
attendance
performing the ritualistic counter procedures meant
to
ward
off the aggression
against
family
prosperity, and administering modern medicines to
the sick at home. Dependency and instrumentality
seem the main characteristics of the women's status
in
the
system of the social
relations
of
health. Conversely men in both the modern and
traditional therapies are teaching and revealing
the
secret
reasons
of
diseases,
with
an
unparalleled authority, prescribing the remedial
measures out of a knowledge of their own, ordering
and managing, paying and controlling.
The use of modern medicine may not alter the social
relations.
When the woman or girl falls sick, the husband or
father is not asked immediately to go to the dispensary, The man
on his own will eventually make the decision to do something. It
u
116
is also said that when a woman falls ill, it is generally assumed
that she is putting on an act and is blamed for not wanting
to
work.
When she becomes seriously ill, only then, might she be
brought ■to
uo a healer and only when that fails is she brought to
modern doctor. Poitevin advises that women need not discard • a
pivotal role they enjoy in the traditional social relations the
of
health.
Modern medicine however, should not replace
the
traditional ways.
Modern knowledge should be able to provide
them more confidence in what they
J can do. This would eventually
help them to counteract several of the health hardships they have
been oppressed with. Modern knowledge will give them enough
control of their own sphere of responsibility which hopefully
will eventually upset the patriarchal health relations.
Meera Chatterjee speaks along the same lines in ii Competence
and Car
Women: Health Policy Perspectives in the Household
context’’
r.i
health
Women
are. the
main
providers in
the
household,
However, power relations within the
household
determine
the distribution of health goods among its members.
Since the household is the main environment for distribution
-.1 of
resources
- food, water, shelter, clothing,
etc??
clothing.
health
knowledge, the main socializing unit and reproductive unit, many
health
related decisions are made therein. The education of
women on many aspects of health promotion, disease prevention,
and curative care will go a long way. The use of the community
health guide in a household approach will have great influencej on
the main actors and decision makers in relation to health.
FAMILY WELFARE PLANNING
Preponderance of female related family planning methods is
no happenstance. Women have long been an object of research
on
how to control her fertility and how to control her power
potential.
Women,
however, have no choice in the matter of
method nor the timing of her acceptance of a method.
That the
family planning programme has not succeeded in reducing the birth
rate
is
its target orientation
leading
to
ineffective
motivational work as well as improper selection of targets and
methods used. Sterilization is practically forced on
< cwomen with
female sterilization being 90% of all sterilizations36.
Anuradh K. Jain in ’’Revising the Rple of Responsibility of
the Family Welfare Programme in India’”5' claims that the Indian
delegation to the World Population conference at Bucharest in
1974 was instrumental in coining the slogan "development is the
best contraceptive”/,
but development programmes continue to
adversely affect women. He suggests that the family welfare
programme should take the role of making available quality
services and information.
rThe
~‘
objective of reducing fertility
could not be done by the programme itself but it must-be done
— — -- —j in
conjunction
- .
. 1 with the other sectors of development. He sug
suggests
identifying and optimizing the fertility effects of policiesJ and
programmes in the health and
---- education
---------- sectors.
ii
117
Reduction of. the level of infant mortality should take
priority if fertility reduction is found to be a worthwhile
objective. The effect of infant and child mortality on fertility
are both biological and behavioural. When breast feeding, which
is considered effective in reducing fertility, is stopped after
an infant s death, the interval between births is shortened thus
increasing fertility. On the other hand, couples faced with high
infant and child mortality are eager to replace the dead child by
having another birth sooner.
In this case, the health care
services
for children must improve its
effectiveness
in
curtailing infant and child mortality.
There are many ways in which the education of the woman
could reduce fertility.
The linkage between education and
mortality is not well known but it is shown that the
education
of. mothers has^g role in determining the level of infant and
child mortality.
Tables 12 and 13 shows decrease of mortality
rate with the increase of mother’s education. Primary education
and aboveg show a greater decline in the mortality of their
childrep.
Age of marriage also contributes to the reduction of
fertility, Educated girls tend to marry at a later age and some
of them marry late enough to have fewer"
--- children
-------- .- Sadly enough,
inspite of the age of marriage being increased legally to 18
years for girls and 21 years for boys, young people continue to
be marri|$
i
at a young age.
In a study of Maharashtra by Karkal
and Rajan
"---“i
women were asked at what age they were married.
The
older women in general married at an earlier age, between 11-14
years.
Women who are presently below the age of 24 years had a
mean age of marriage at 15.2 years and 15.9 years,
years.
This just
shows that marriage continues to be at much lower age than is
legally prescribed.
These
These, adolescent girls and even
pre
adolescent girls will continue to be married young as long as
women are considered sex objects, Not only are they allowed to
develop sexually and personally, they still lack the decision
making capabilities needed in married life.
11
118
Table
12
i
Infant mortality rates by education attainment of mothers, 1978
Illiterate
States
All India
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Gujarath
Haryana
Himchal Pradesh
Jammu and Kaslimir
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
North Eastern
Region
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Literate
Below Primary
Primary & above
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
145
128
126
104
138
122
134
81
90
55
145
89
88
70
124
58
89
79
61
33
90
29
107
73
90
75
116
65
101
94
23
41
73
37
140
73
50
46
75
20
81
42
73
23
28
25
71
40
101
75
149
71
112
96
47
76
77
44
89
81
57
28
105
71
84
41
101
32
47
59
41
30
79
102
141
128
142
128
188
84
99
99
95
71
85
125
84
56
107
61
84
76
132
76
31
49
45
51
44
86
67
61
124
87
98
89
141
68
India,
"Survey on Infant and Child Mortality,
Source: Office of the Registrar,
1979”, New Delhi, 1983.
77
51
38
.51
• 93
40
62
55
26
63
29
117
54
64
21
38
21
76
33
66
60
63
73
53
105
69
50
56
48
59
50
115
89
21
35
40
35
37
72
47
From Leela Visarla,
Infant Mortality in India:
Determinants Economic Political Weekly, Vol.XX, 32,
p. 1449.
r
Level,
August
Trend &
24, 1985
I
?■
iI
■119
i
Table 13
Infant
morta Hty rates by (A)
India
Character st 1c
of Mother
Rura 1
(A) Educat Iona 1
at ta 1 nemen t
1•1eterate
145
LI ter ate
Work ers
Agr Icultura1
Blue co 1 lar
No te t
Urban
Rura 1
101
57
71.
Urban
Kerala
Rura 1
occupational
Uttar Pradesh
Urban
Rura 1
Urban
*
138
50
101
Primary and above
Gujarat
88
90
Below Primary
(8) Work status/
Occupation
Non-worker s
educational attainment and (B) work
status/
group of mothers, 1973
112
47
51
89
81
84
79
55
29
188
125
37
25
132
86
44
40
141
105
29
21
115
72
i
r
134
142
143
150
64
98
148
106
83
102
145
129
* Product Ion and re 1 a ted workers,
Source: Office of the Registrar,
New Delhi, 1983. pp 30,
, 125
203
143
transport equipment
India,
189, 382,
-Survey on Infant
703.
34
31
175
107
151
133
89
150
155
50
2 36
164
74
operators and labourers
■ nd Child Horta 11ty.
I
Infant Morta Hty In India:
Level, Trend 8
Determinants Economic
- Political Weekly,
Vol.XX,
32,
August
p. 1449 .
1979-,
From Lee la Vlsarta,
24.
1985
i
u
120
Jain and Nag strongly advocate the change in educational
policy to advance female education, because of its important link
to reduction in fertility. Table 14 and the chart next to it
sadly shows that education of the female child is much less than
the male child.
Kerala of all the States has very high
enrollment (83.97%) between ages 10 - 14 years and the rest of
India is below 50% except in Punjab and Maharashtra.
In a
publication by UNICEF (see chart next to Table 14),there is
almost 70% of non-attendance in ages 6-11 years and 11 - 14
years
in rural areas.
Urban attendance is much
better.
Furthermore, Jain and Nag recommend that the educational policy
should give priority to female primary education and in the
reduction of repetitions and drop out rates from primary schools.
It is believed that primary education ’’enhances women's status
within and outside her family and increases their exposure to
information and ideas disseminated through printed materials.
This brings changes in their general behaviour involving breast
feeding, use of contraceptives and fertility.
In addition
staying longer in school increases their age at marriage".
The injectable contraceptives which are being <experimented
on third world women including here in India cannot be taken out
of the context of the family/household ideology. Women who are
motivated insufficiently
become guinea pigs for those who
continue to see women as sex objects and worthy targets only, not
as human beings with full rights of choice on what to do with
their own bodies.
Sex determination procedures are also within the ambit of
the family/household ideology,
ideology.
A modern procedure to help
identify congenital
abnormalities in the foetus in order to
strengthen couple consol 1 Ing
1 ng has now become also a procedure to
identify the sex of the foetus as a preliminary step for aborting
a female foetus. Has the female foetus come to be equated to a
congenital anomaly? The way the procedure is being popularized
is bringing the female foetus to the level of an anomaly and as
such can be gotten rid of.
u
121
TABLE
14
PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN ATTENDING SCHOOLS IN
MAJOR STATES 1981
Age-group (in year)
5-9
India/State
Total
India
Andhra Pradesh
Bihar
Gujarath
Haryana
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
38.45
40.51
25.88
44.89
39.14
43.25
75.10
29.99
52.46
41.01
52.00
26.97
59.35
23.35
36.85
Boys
44.33
47.04
32.96
49.97
46.57
48.71
75.14
37.78
57.60
48.54
54.36
36.84
63.93
32.08
40.77
10-14
Girls
32.21
33.88
18.37
39.41
30.70
37.78
75.06
21.90
47.12
33.58
49.33
16.28
54.61
17.41
32.83
Total
50.45
41.12
41.44
60.63
54.89
48.07
85.96
41.25
62.59
43.46
62.85
39.99
55.47
43.60
52.86
Boys
62.07
51.64
55.41
70.35
71.12
53.14
87.90
55.38
73.07
56.18
69.20
58.34
65.93
58.46
60.18
Girls
37.47
29.73
24.70
49.66
36.23
37.80
83.97
25.34
51.23
30.42
55.53
18.68
44.62
25.05
45.11
Excludes Assam
Source: Census of India 1981, Series 1,
India Paper 2. 1983
11
122
WOMEN Ill THE RURAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
Amar Jesani in her study of ANMs4 in PHCs in Maharashtra
clearly shows the gender division of health work as exemplified
in the work of the ANMs and yet they are alienated from the
__j women
whom they should be reaching out to as women relating to women,
Just before Independence there were only 5000 ANMs and by 1987
there were 1,08,511. From the beginning ANMs were all females.
Job functions wore that of the care of women and
children.
However, when the multipurpose health workers came into being
from the 'unipurpose' workers from the malaria control programme,
the ANMs came to be called female health workers (HW)
and the
male workers from the unipurpose pool of workers were now called
male HW.
In 1987 there were 88,308 male HWs in the country. The
creation of the multipurpose workers unfortunately brought about
genderization of the health delivery system with the
further
social status of the male HWs increasing and the women as usual
having a lower status. The male HWs acquired the image of
’doctors’ with the accompanying advantages of slightly higher
socio-economic
background, political connections, and
they
unofficially expanded their scope of
treatment
activities
commensurate to their image as '’doctors
doctors'.
'. With the accompanying
advantages
of
slightly higher
socio-economic
background,
political connections, and they unofficially expanded their scope
of treatment activities commensurate to their image as
'doctors'
or
'malatia doctor.'
The ANM remained the service provider
commensurate to her gender role. Jesani claims that in the
community the classical nurse-patient relationship is absent and
the female HW is looked upon less as a health worker, nurse, or
midwife.
The community look at her more as a woman, trying to
fulfill her targets for the health care system. There is no way
in which she can assert herself as a nurse as in the hospital
organization,
neither has she the socio-economic background nor
the political connections which have enhanced the status of her
male counterpart. Jesani according to her study states that the
ANM has in finding for herself an occupation and economic
advantage to her family, further lowered her social standing as a
family welfare worker.
She walks around the village doing her
work, which is contrary to the image of a good woman,
She talks
about
reproduction,
contraceptive methods
and
constantly
motivates people to accept them. Such work is perceived as
degrading as "only the prostitutg2can talk about sex so freely
with so much knowledge about it."
p-i-i- the lowest rung of
Being in
the hierarchy of functionaries, she is at the mercy of her
superiors and male colleagues and treated not as a colleague but
a woman. No wonder she does not have any credible standing in
the community as well as among women themselves leading to a very
poor image of herself.
11
123
WOMEN AND EMPOWERMENT
Jesani in another article43 « ‘ •
states that two thirds of
Of the
working time of PHCs
--- j are directed towards the iprogramme
----of family
welfare,
immunization,
and maternal and child
--]
health care.
However,
this has not drastically changed the 1
health status of
women and children, neither improved their bargain!
,,
.
u--ng power nor
their
pacity to control their
own
body.
i
n
their
own
body.
i
n
other words
emphasis c~
on maternal and child health has not empowered women to
improve their own health status .
She claims that women are
subordinated to targetsJ and not to improve
their health status.
By <emphasizing
•
family welfare
machine and her care is the care of programmes, woman is a mere
care of the reproductive machine a reproductive machine. This
is subject to patriarchal
values.
She should i * ’
not have too many children and with the
advent of sex determination
- ---- 1 technology, she must produce male
children.
Her female foetus must
be aborted. The
male contraceptives in itself is —
<a patriarchal ploy to absence of
subjugate
woman. She must bear the brunt of <
controlling
her
fertility
with
male made technologies. Health education and
t
-—
J
immunization
of
children are meant
___ ___
to control her fertility.
fertility. Even
her education
Even
her
is being encouragedI inot 2__
for herself but for the sake of changing
her fertility
]
behaviour. Children
------ 1 are bracketed with the women,
but where are the fathers?
what
are his
What
responsibilities
towards the health
.. of
—: women and children?
Jesani pleads for delinking women's care and health rare
general away from targets, and that health care is ?or thl • in
emerqedliiden1SH
communityEmpowerment of women icare
must
even in the
Y nOt subordinated to patriarchal domination
have contlol nfahnmeh\Of her Positive health status, She
must
life.
tro1 of her body as
as over forces infl„
influencing her
The mam arena or
however, must be
of cnange,
change, however,
within the
inmiie/heam£Old ?here the ideol
°gy
ideology which perpetuates inequality
f
■ i /v, 1 h system as well as inequality
inequality in
in health
health status
mmTle^rnUthh°ld 13 the main soci
alization
unit
where women The
--------- 1 unit where
and
men learn their sex roles and the sexual division
of
labour
that
pervades the whole society. Readjustment in the
power relations
the household must extend to the larger society.
For women to
fa i/h ln ®oclety' she needs to learn how to cope first in the
staity/A°f
?
environnent- she need not remain silent,
start a family_restructuring of relations within and find but
her
power to do so in solidarity with other women.
Inwom! he*lth system there is a need to examine the ways in
which women have been considered as a sex object,
object of
targets of programmes instead of being treated as a human being,
Programmes .directed to improve her health and her children must
be
ooked into m the context of the household/family ideology,
so that
™ .Sltuatlons that make women and children
unhealthy
ould be incorporated m the planning process.
Women
Ii
124
as primary health
care providers for her family, should be
trained,
not just told what to do, in order for her to make
decisions and carry them out. She must also be brought into the
decision making process at the local level of implementing
programmes.
She must be taken out of a dependency state and
trained to become self reliant and strong in decision making,
especially in matters affecting her life and affecting her body.
Administrators and policy makers must always take gender
issues more critically so that in operationalising goals and
objectives traditional values which have limited ones outlook can
be overcome.
No amount of modification of goals, restructuring of the
system,
increase allocations for health and other development
areas of without a serious questioning of the power relations in
the family as well as in society will yield satisfactory results.
Empowerment of women cannot be legislated; it can only grow when
oppressive structures are changed allowing not only women but
also men to see how they oppress each other
other,, knowingly ' and
unknowingly, in their own socialization.
Ii
125
END NOTES
1. Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy
University Press) 1986, p. 238.
(Oxford:
Oxford
Its
2. Dababar
Banerji,
"National . Health
Policy
and
Implementation", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XVIII,
3, January 23, 1983, p.105.
An
Qadeer,
"Health Services System in India:
3. Imran
S
o
c
i
al
Action
,
Expression of Socio-economic Inequalities"
Vol. 35,3, July-September, 1985, pp. 204-209.
"Rural Transformation and Changes in Health
4 . D.
Banerji,
Economic and Political Weekly, vol. XXIV, 2,
Behaviour", ___
July 1, 1989, p. 14*76.
5. Draft National Perspective Plan for Women, 1988-2000: A
Perspective from the Women's Movement, A Report of a Debate,
22-23, August, 1988, New Delhi, p; 130.
6. Health for all; An Alternative Strategy: A Report of a_
Study Group, Indian Council of Social Science Research and
Indian Council of Medical Research (Pune : Indian Institute
of Education, 1981).
Report
_________
-7. National
Perspective Plan for
Women,r 1988-2000 A.D. ,
of the Core Group set by the Department of Women and Child
Development ,
Resource
Ministry of Human
Development,
Government of India, 1988, p.129.
on Women and
8. Malini Karkal and Divya Pandey, Studies
___________
Population: A Critique, (Bombay: Himalaya Publishing House,
1989) p.34.
9. Ibid. P- (XIII).
10. Alice Clark, "Social Demography of Excess Female Mortality
in India: New Directions", Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. XXII, 17; Review of Women's Studies, April 25, 1987, WS
12-21.
11. Malini Karkal, "Differentials in Mortality by Sex" Economic
and Political Weekly, August 8, 1987, pp. 1343-1347.
12. P. Padmanabha, "Mortality in India: A Note on Trends and
Implications", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XVII, 32,
August 7, 1982.
13. Ibid.rp. 1287-88.
u
126
14. Barbara Millers, "Female Infanticide" Seminar,
1987, pp. 18-21.
331,
March
15. Op. cit., Padmanabha, P- 1289 .
"Malnutrition of Rural
16. Amartya Sen and Sunil Sengupta,
Children and the Sex Bias" , Economic and Political Weekly,
Annual Number, May,
1983, pp. 855-864.
17. Lincoln C. Chen, Embedal Huq, and Stan D'Souza, H Sex Bias in
the Family Allocation of Food and Health Care in Rural
Bangaladesh", Population and Development Review, Vol. VII,
1, March, 1981, pp. 55-70.
18. Lincoln C. Chen,
Chen, "Where Have the Women Gone? Insights from
Population" ,
Bangaladesh on Low Sex Ratio of India's
Economic and Political Weekly, March 6, 1982.
Economic
19. C. Gopalan,
Gopalan, "The Mother and Child in India",
Political Weekly, Vol. XX, 4, January 26, 1985.
and
20. Karkal, Studies on Women, Op. cit. pp. 36-37.
21. Quoted by Karkal from Appadurai (1981) " Gastropolitics in
Hindu South Asia", American Ethnologist, Vol. VIII, No. 3.
22. Statistical
Outline of India,
1989-90,
Services, Dept. of Economics and Statistics
Services Limited, 1989).
23. SAARC
Limited
Tata
(Bombay: Tata
Year of the Girl Child, 1990, A booklet, No Date.
24. B.K. Das, Census of India 1981, Series 9, Karnataka, Paper 1
of 1981, p. 61.
25. Karkal, Op. cit. P- 15 .
26. N. Chandra Mohan, "Census of India, 1991 "Economic Times
India (Midweek Review), April 4, 1991, I.
of
27. Ibid., p. I.
28. Karkal, Op. cit. P- 18.
29. Rekha Dayal, Women in Health and Development in South
Asia, (New Delhi: WHO, SEARO, 1985) p. 15.
30 . Ibid., P- 14 .
31. Ibid.
32. Quoted by Karkal, op. cit. P- 64.
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11
128
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO EDUCATION
AN UNFULFILLED PROMISE
M.FATIMA
Of late critical issues relating to the status of women has
attracted the attention of many social scientists who find many
a
areas
still
unexplored.
Many attempts are made
but
satisfactory picture is yet to be seen.
In general women are burdened with inequalities as a result
of socio-cultural and economic discriminatory practices which r
until recently, had been taken for granted as though they were
It
part of the immutable scheme of things established by nature,
is seen that women have been denied equal opportunities all over
the world for personal growth and social development.
In India,
it is still worse because of sex discrimination, conditions of
poverty and the traditional value system even though women
constitute 50 percent of the population. The status of women in
India is quite low.
This is reflected in the status and
standards of their participation in the numerous dimension of
life including education.
It is a well known fact that the
development of women's education is integrally linked with the
perception of roles within Indian Society.
Education, as we
shall see has had minimal impact on the liberation of women from
age-old prejudices and beliefs. The situation is comparatively
better today but still woefully inadequate.
By and large,
opportunities
increase of educational facilities and
without
social taboo has made it possible for some women to gain entry
to particular branches and levels of education and thereby has
emancipated them.
This move was promoted by all champions of
women's emancipation. But how far this effort by champions has
uplifted the status of women is a question to be pondered over.
The formal system of school came with colonial rule.
Prior
to this Patashalas and madarasas were the place of learning basic
literacy skills. Very few had this privilege as there were many
problems which besot women in their full effective participation
in education. The problems even to this day do not surface in
isolation and cannot be tackled with problem specific solutions.
They are intricately woven into the whole fabric of social
existence.
Thus they warrant a thorough overhauling of the
entire social system.
The notion that education can be harmful for girls is widely
prevalent even today, The historical roots of prejudice against
later against its expansion in non
women's education, and
in
a basic conviction that there was
traditional areas lay
something special about women's nature which would be destroyed
by excessive education, However, middle class educated women,
’j in large urban agglomerations who are working and
particularly
freely
generate an impression that Indian women's status
moving
substantially
improved.
Moreover, there is evidence of
has
efficient
powerful
women
at times with political clout,
capable
which reinforces the impression.
11
129
But in small towns or rural areas or in city slums t women
still suffer social and economic oppression.
The
growing
instances of suffering socially and economically by women of
scheduled
castes
and scheduled tribes
generate
despair r
frustration and
expose
the- inter-twining
ofC-Ldiotj,
caste class, inspite
-----------------v- »»
of 1the constitutional guarantee and many fundamental laws which
came
into
force as major instruments to
remove
social
disabilities.
Undoubtedly, one of the striking achievements during the
last forty years has been the acceptance of the need, and spread
of women s education. Many girls are getting opportunities of
entering portals of higher education. On the other hand,
the
hand,
colonial heritage of poverty, unemployment, deprivation of basic
needs such as adequate nutrition, health services, sanitation,
etc., have been accentuated.
The increasing feminisation of poverty is a matter of grave
The
jreality of the subordinate position of
concern.
women is
indicated through adverse sex ratio of girls, the growing
violence,
domestic violence,
increasing number of dowry death and
and rape
cases.
The relative ease with which Indian women secured
judicial equality, entered professions and occupied positions of
power has led to the myth that Indian women enjoy a very high
status in society; they are able to balance their two roles
efficiently and that they wield power naturally. This myth has
been eroded during the last ten to
-- fifteen
--- --- 1 years.
years . The problems
of
educated
urban women become more serious
since
the
discrimination and disabilities operate in more subtle and covert
ways.
Thus the dual existence of women holding high positions
and yet undergoing various types of suffering continues.
With all the deep rooted problems relating to women's
education few girls who realised the importance of education
ventured into formal education and higher education and trained
themselves
as teachers, doctors, engineers etc.
as
these
professions were largely regarded as noble professions.
There are several indicators which reflect the nature and
quantum of participation of women in education. ILiteracy rates,
enrolment at.different levels of education, employment position
are illustrations of such indicators,
There has been a growth of
a mon g wom^n in India from 7.93 percent i n 1951 to 24
literacy among
I r < ’on I In I (‘)H
Hl I , . i n< I thin < j i < >w I h han boon a I o. h I y ;
(6 [ ' r f • < * 111
() f
on
an average for the three decadal periods) keeping
growth rate
in view the increase in population,
However, the position has
been far from satisfactory as compared to the literacy position
of males, in India as well as in other developing countries in
Asia and Latin America, not to speak of the developed world. New
education policy noted that only 5.46 percent of the females in
Rajasthan were literate. States other than Rajasthan such as
Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh have
remained quite backward in female literacy situation.
In terms
H
130
of growth of female literacy Indian performance has
disappointing while in terms of regional parity it has
skewed.
been
been
There is a wide disparity between the education of men and
that of women, Although there has been a progress. but it is far
from adequate.
The constitution of India promised in 1950
universalisation of primary education by 1960.
1960~. This goal has
remained a distant dream. Again states like Bihar, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have performed very badly.
For
instance in 1975-76, 66.1 percent of girls in the age-group of 611 years were enrolled in primary classes, mainly in class-I..
If
we look <at‘ the 1980-81 figures namely at the time when these
girls should have been going to Class-VI,, their enrolment figure
in Class VI had fallen to 29.1 percent,
In other words,
before
primary schooling is over, well over 50 percent of those
initially enrolled leave the system i.e., they drop-out.
Enrolment is only one dimension.
There is the tragic
phenomenon of dropping out from school which is more pronounced
among girls than boys, Around 2 out of every 3 girls enrolled at
the primary level and 4 out of 5 girls at the middle level school
at various stages before the completion of the term.
The drop
out rates are higher in lower primary education at the I and II
standard stages.
High enrolment and low drop-out rates among girls have been
recorded, as compared to all India average, both at the primary
and middle levels of education in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab and Tamilnadu. Low enrolment and high drop-out rates have
been recorded in Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya
Pradesh, Andra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana.
On the whole, girls, constitute only a third of total
enrolment at every level of schooling and their drop-out rate is
higher than that of boys. The overall enrolments have been
steadily rising with each census recording, but there remain
substantial differences in male-female rates of participation.
While girls overall school enrolment increased from 64 lakhs
in 1951 to nearly 400 lakhs in 1981, this still accounted for
only 12 percent of the relevant age-groups at all levels as
against:, a figure
It
figuro of 20 percent
norcont for boys.
bovs.
Tl- is now more or loss
accepted that an obstacle impeding universalisation of primary
education is the non-participation of girls,
Further
the
likelihood of the rural girls being out of school is much higher
than that of the urban girl. At the secondary level while only
13 percent of girls in the relevant age-group are in school, a
meagre 17 percent of these are from the villages (R.K.
Bhandari,
’’Educational Development of Women in India”, New Delhi, Ministry
of education and Culture, 1982, P-36). There are a number of
reasons which keep girls away from school.
Important among these
are (i) the high cost of education because of earnings forgone in
poor families (ii) Social factors such as early marriage and a
u
131
widespread belief in female seclusion, increasing the demand for
girls schools and women teachers and (iii)
discriminatory
processes at work within the school system itself.
There has been a sluggish growth of female enrolment at
higher levels of education also though it had been suggested that
a higher participation of women in the teaching profession would
attract higher enrolment,
still it is observed that women
teaching force has grown from a little over 15 percent in 1951,
at primary, middle and high/higher secondary levels to 25.51,
31.19, and 29.18 percent respectively in 1982-83.
Despite regional variations, going to college is by and
large an urban middle-class phenomenon which is more marked in
the case of girls, As such the enrolment of women in higher
education has been steadily growing.
It increased from 2.55
lakhs in 1966-67 to 8.17 lakhs in 1981-82. Thus the proportion
of women enrolled in higher education has gone-up from 21.5
percent to only 27.7 percent.
A great majority of women in higher education pursue arts
courses.
A declining enrolment in art courses is observed,
It
has steadily declined from 64.66 percent in 1971-72 to 55.71% in
1981-82.
Around 1 out of every 5 women pursue science courses
There is a steadily increasing
and this trend has not varied,
From an enrolment
participation of women in commerce faculty.
it
has
gone upto 12.85
proportion of 2.23 percent in 1971-72,
percent by 1981-82.
Only 20 out of every 1000 engineering
students were women in 1971-72. Thus , women are grossly under
Participation of women
represented in the professional courses.
in Engineering was totally non-existent in 1960-61 in Assam,
Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and several other
Bihar,
Union Territories.
It was quite low in Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,Punjab,Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. This
status continues till 1982-83 in a few states and several Union
Territories.
The situation is similar in regard to Medical courses in the
Union Territories and some of the new States.
To promote
literacy,
adult education centres were started especially for
girls of SC’s and ST's as heavy drop-out among them was reported.
Vocationalisation of education was also recommended by the
Education Commission in 1966 and it was implemented in several
states in 1977.
In general, it can be inferred that the participation rates
of women in education in India is abysmally low.
It is true of
all levels and forms of education such as the primary, middle,
high/higher secondary, higher and especially, professional levels
as well as in non-formal adult and vocational education.
There are regional variations in participation rates, While
some states like Kerala, Punjab and Tamilnadu are relatively
higher performing States, there are states like Bihar, Rajasthan,
u
132
Uttara Pradesh, I'
”
Madhya
Pradesh (whole of Hindi belt) and Jammu
and Kashmir which require
? a heavy dose or fillip. According to
the 1975 Report on the Status of Women in India, we are told that
one out of every three girls dropped out before she reached class
V. And only one out of five girls reached class VIII.
Even though female literacy rate has increased from 10 - 24
percent between 1971 - 81, one cannot ignore the fact that the
total number of illiterate women has actually increased from 215
million to 241 million.
One wonders why the participation rate of women in education
as in other areas of life is so appalling. What are the problems
which women have in full and effective participation?
Who is
responsible for this situation ?
To my knowledge,
the problems that can be
generally
identified are defective socialisation, male-domination,
caste
class, background, economic bondage and special problems like
purdah.
if 1.
the same trend is allowed to continue my fear is there
will not be any progress and women's participation in
education
will be limited to a cross section of one fourth of the total
women in India. To promote education among women, an organised
and peaceful social and cultural revolution is called for. A
strong and dedicated wide network of community effort and
voluntary action can do the needful. We need to educate society
i.e., education of young and re-education of the old through
formal and non—formal way.
It is the duty of an organised
rational
scientific civilised and human society to
fight
discrimination and work for a full and effective participation"of
women in Indian society, s-o that authentic equality among the
sexes prevails.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF WOMEN
1.
Though compulsory Education Act has been inforce,
its
implementation is poor,
Attractive incentives to the female
children right from the first year itself may be given,
Since economic factor is the main constraint, if need be, we
should provide even cash allowances to such women.
2.
Since girls generally drop-out for want of separate school,
inadequate number of women teachers and
neighbourhood
schools, it is necessary to bridge the gaps, even though it
i.nvolver, add H ional coni:.
3.
If children from poor environmental conditions attend school
at the primary level,
special care like scholarships,
« ' *
clothes, books and special coaching should be arranged for
their retention in school.
u
133
4.
Constant effort through social service to convince parents
about the need to educate their female children should be
undertaken.
5.
Family can be taken as a unit for purposes of identification
of beneficiaries below the poverty line for any programme
and the activities must be educational in nature.
6.
The matter of growing inequality of access to education
cannot be resolved by the expansion of today’s formal
education system. Most poor women live and work beyond the
orbit of this system. The experience of the past two
decades shows that formal education has been of little use
Only
a more comprehensive system of
to such women.
informal education appropriately suited to the real needs of
the vast majority of poor women would perhaps be a more
effective way of tackling this problem.
REFERENCES
1.
Towards Equality : Report of the Committee on the Status of
Women
in India,
1974, Department of Social
Welfare,
Government of India.
2.
Neera Desai and Maithrey Krishnaraj, Women and
India, Ajanta Publications, New Delhi- 1987.
3.
Srinivas,
M.N.
Srinivas,
"The Changing position of
Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1978.
4.
Sen
Gupta
Padmini,
’Women in
India’,
Ministry
Information, Government of India, New Delhi, 1964 .
Society
Indian
in
Women”
of
i1
134
TABLE
1
LITERACY RATE BY SEX FROM 1901-1981 (PERCENTAGE)
YEAR
PERSON
MALES
FEMALES
1901
5.35
9.83
0.60
1911
5.92
10.56
1.05
1921
7.16
12.21
1.81
1931
9.50
15.59
2.93
1941
16.10
24.90
7.30
1951
16.67
24.95
7.93
1961
24.02
34.44
12.95
1971
29.45
39.45
18.69
1981
36.17
46.74
24.88
SOURCE : Census of India 1981.
Series
I, India paper I of 1981 P-43.
u
135
2
TABLE
PROGRESS OF FEMALE LITERACY 1901 - 1981
NUMBER OF LITERATE
FEMALES
LITERATE MA1ES
PER 100 LITERA
TE FEMALES
YEAR
MALES
1901
1,18,70,758
8,09,580
1466
1911
1,35,52,737
12,98,484
1043
1921
1,56,90,428
22,21,499
1208
1931
2,22,74,035
39,77,034
560
1941
NA
NA
NA
1951
4,62,72,335
1,39,16,683
332
1961
7,79,06,038
2,75,69,602
283
1971
11,20,12,994
4,94,23,270
227
1981
15,88,37,215
7,91,54,717**
201
•!
**
Excludes Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
NA stands for not available.
Source : Conr.nr. of India
Series I India, Paper
1 981
1 of 1981, P-49.
u
136
TABLE
3
ENROLMENT IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION BY AGE AND SEX
(MILLION PERSONS)
PRIMARY LEVEL CLASS I-V
AGE 6-11 YEARS
MIDDLE LEVEL CLASS VI-VIII
AGE 11-14 YEARS
YEAR
BOYS
GIRLS
TOTAL
BOYS
GIRLS
TOTAL
1950-51
13.8
5.4
19.2
2.6
0.5
3.1
55-56
17.5
7.7
25.2
3.4
0.9
4.3
60-61
23.6
11.4
35.0
5.1
1.6
6.7
65-66
32.2
18.3
50.5
9.7
2.8
12.5
70-71
35.7
21.3
57.0
9.4
3.9
13.3
75-76
40.7
25.0
65.7
11.0
5.0
16.0
76-77
42.7
26.4
69.1
11.4
5.3
16.7
77-78
43.2
26.9
70.1
12.0
5.7
17.7
78-79
44.0
28.2
72.2
12.1
6.0
18.1
79—80(p) 43.8
27.2
71.0
13.0
6.5
19.5
80-81
28.1
72.7
13.3
6.6
19.9
84-85
48.5
34.2
(6th Plan target)
82.7
16.6
9.2
25.8
44.6
ENROLMENT AS PERCENTAGE OF THE CORRESPONDING AGE GROUP
1950-51
60.6
24.8
43.1
20.6
4.6
12.9
60-61
82.6
41.4
62.4
33.2
11.3
22.5
70-71
92.6
59.1
76.4
46.5
20.8
34.2
75-76
95.7
62.0
79.3
47.0
23.3
35.6
78-79
100.2
67.8
84.5
49.4
26.0
38.0
79-80
100.2
65.9
83.6
52.0
27.7
40.2
80-81(p) 99.0
66.2
83.1
52.1
27.2
40.0
84-85
81.5
95.2
63.1
36.8
50.3
108.1
SOURCE : Ministry of Education and Draft Sixth Five Year
Plan 1980-85.
Planning Commission. P = Provisional
u
137
TABLE
4
TABLE SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONS ATTENDING
SCHOOL/COLLEGE BY AGE AND SEX - 1981
TOTAL
RURAL
URBAN
AGE
GROUP
MALES
FEMALES
MALES
FEMALES
MALES
FEMALES
5-9
44.33
32.21
39.63
25.83
61.65
55.55
10-14
62.07
37.47
57.75
29.18
77.00
65.60
15-19
36.03
15.51
30.92
8.88
50.24
34.47
20-24
11.27
2.95
8.17
1.32
18.52
7.49
25-34
1 .67
0.48
1.25
0.27
2.74
1.12
35 +
0.48
0.18
0.35
0.12
0.82
0.40
10 +
17.69
8.98
16.04
6.45
22.53
17.25
5+
21.95
12.75
19.99
9.66
27.93
23.00
1981,
Series-I,
SOURCE : Census of India,
India Part-II
Special Report and Tables based on 5 percent sample !
Data, P-82.
Ii
138
TABLE
5
WOMEN ENROLMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1966-67 TO 1981-82
(in 000's)
YEAR
TOTAL
WOMEN
1966-67
1190.7
255.5
21.5
1967-68
1370.3
300.8
21.9
1968-69
1566.1
374.6
22.1
1969-70
1792.8
394.6
22.0
1970-71
1953.7
431.5
22.0
1971-72
2065.0
468.7
22.7
1972-73
2168.1
495.0
22.8
1973-74
2227.0
520.8
23.4
1976-77
2431.6
627.3
25.8
1979-80
2648.6
689.0
26.6
1980-81
2752.4
748.5
27.2
1981-82
2952.0
816.7
27.7
% OF THE TOTAL
SOURCE : 1. Thix'd All India Survey in Higher
Education,
UGC, Now Delhi, 1977 .
2. U.G.C. Reports.
u
139
TABLE
6
FACULTYWISE DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN ENROLMENT
1971-72 TO 1981-92
YEAR
ARTS
SCIENCE
COMMERCE
ENGG.
MEDICAL
1971-72
64.66
21.60
2.23
0.20
4.25
1973-74
65.52
19.44
3.09
0.20
4.09
1974-75
65.64
10.20
4.00
0.24
3.80
1975-76
65.98
18.77
4.62
0.34
3.23
1979-80
57.75
20.33
9.88
0.64
3.54
1980-81
56.15
20.55
11.04
0.66
3.60
1981-82
55.71
20.88
12.85
0.72
3.65
SOURCE : U.G.C. Annual Reports.
H
140
TABLE
7
ENROLMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION BY LEVEL AND SEX
BOYS
GIRLS
TOTAL
% OF THE
GIRLS TO
TL.
18,774
6,643
25,447
26.1
M.A.
1,08,711
66,300
1,75,011
37.8
M.Sc.
52,545
24,308
76853
31.6
M. Com
36,464
3,013
39,477
7.6
BA/BA (Hons)
5,72,220
318,811
8,91,031
35.8
B.Sc./B/Sc.(Hons.)
3,76,536
138,419
5,14,955
26.8
B.Ed.B.T.
40,360
27,890
68,250
40.9
M.B.B.S.
51,360
16,462
67,822
24.3
B.Com/B.Com (Hons.) 4,13,081
67,361
4,80,442
14.0
B.E./B.Sc./Engg
B.Arch/B.Tech.
99,510
3,685
1,03,195
3.5
11,62,054
308,951
14,71,005
21.0
Predegree/Pre-Univ. 1,46,280
94,326
2,40,606
39.2
Higher Secondary
9,83,628
321,877
13,05,505
24.7
Teacher Training
School
54,101
51,487
1,05,558
48.8
2,93,098
69,206
3,62,304
19.1
Ph.D./D.Sc./D/Phil
Intermediate/
Jr. college
Technical &
Industrial Trg.
School
SOURCE : Selected Educational
Statistics 1980-81
Studies in Educational Statistics, 1982
Ministry of Education, GOI, Delhi, 1982.
H
14:
TABLE - 8
ENROLMENT IN MEDICAL AND ENGINEERING COLLEGES
SI.
No *
STATE/UNION
TERRITORY
1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Assam
3. Bihar
4. Gujarat
5. Harayana
6. Jammu and Kashmir
7. Himachal Pradesh
8. Karanataka
9. Kerala
10. Madhya Pradesh
11. Maharastra
12. Nanlpura
13. Meghalaya
14. Nagaland
15. Orissa
16. Punjab
17. Rajasthan
18. Sikkim
19. Tamilnadu
20. Tripura
21. Uttar Pradesh
22. We.st Bunga 1
23. A.N. IsI ands
24. Arunachal Pradesh
25. Chandigar
26. Dadar and Nagarhavrli
27. Delhi
28. Goa, Daman and Diu
29. Lt k shad weep
30. Mizoram
31. Pondicherry
INDIA
M. B. B. S .
B.E/B.Sc./ENGG./ARCH
BOYS
60-61 82-83
GIRLS
60-61 82-83
BOYS
60-61 82-83
GIRLS
60-61 82-83
3559
706
1917
1979
1046
67
341
481
3511 12785
508 2089
4005 5764
3516 9300
1564
1412
7
1
24
349
74
*49
500
14
47
4813 27120
2138 5445
2928
686
2700 8600
12
65
9
8600
849
1203
15
600
131
2120
1249
1559
4058
1364
3399
3500
521
6 99
262
4552
2464
3304
6400
283
51
400
424
431
6400
1556
397
793
700
208
24 7
78
1329
1759
1074
2700
91
_r
484
17 70
1287
1557
1608
2 368
178
4 34
207
283
632
1091
451
1677
1551
3303
4524
1024
2782
5170
3263
354 0
49‘)2
4 2 88
4 66
651
1496
6 92
2134
1705
4038
6308
390
3385 1J993
5060 6890
1
0
20
31
47
12
32
419
13
388
155
1379
1005
1630
164
680
900
112
166
345
45
101
32164 52282
8238 19021
1085
2240
4 53
8
190
14
42034 112295
333
5113
SOURCE : 190-61, Education in India, 1960-61 Ministry of Education.
Selected Educational Statistics,
Education and Culture. New Delhi.
136
1982-82, Mlnsitry of
r
i1
142
TABLE
9
LITERACY RATES AMONG SCHEDULE CASTS/SCHEDULED
TRIBES AND THE REST OF THE POPULATION PERCENTAGES
YEAR
REST OF THE
POPULATION
SCHEDULED
CAST
SCHEDULED
TRIBES
1961
27.86
10.27
8.53
(16.59)
(3.29)
(3.16)
33.80
14.67
11.30
(17.11)
(6.44)
(4.85)
41.22
21.38
16.35
(29.51)
(10.93)
(8.04)
1971
1981
(Figures in brackets represent female literacy percentages)
SOURCE : Seventh Five Year plan - 1985-90
Vol. II
Govt, of India : Planning Commission P-330.
IJ
' • I
TABLE - 10
1991 CENSUS (PROVISIONAL FIGURES)
LIIERACV
51.
S tate Di str ict
To ta1 Pop ulat Ion 1991
Ho.
Person
KARNATAKA
1. Bangalore
2. Bangalore Rura 1
3. Be Igaum
4 . Be 1 lary
5. B I dar
7. Chikmagalur
8. CM tradurga
9. Dakshln Kannad
10. Dharwad
II. GuI barga
12. Hassan
13. Kodagu
, 14. Kolar
15. Mandya
16. Mysore
17. Ra Ichur
18. ShImoga
19. Tumukur
20. Uttar Kannad
Note
1991
Ma les
Fema les
Persons
Ha les
F emales
22,86 1 , 409
21,9 55,98 9
2 1,074 , 1 17
12,868, 146
8,205,971
4,823,95 I
2,535.433
2,888,5 18
3, 194 , 07 9
1,827,570
1,366,509
1,665,46 8
854,223
8 11.24 5
712,001
445,458
2 66,54 3
1,796,735
1.72 3,6 7 1
1.552,848
99 3, 129
559,719
967,2 15
925,500
700.818
458. 180
242.638
640,454
610,606
456,335
304.8 10
151.525
148,069
1.431,598
1,3 29, 194
847,873
481 .321
1,016,839
514.250
502.589
53 1.929
310.893
221 ,036
2,177,638
1, 119,950
1.057,688
1,010,747
626.804
383. 94 3
1,304.817
1,387,264
1,763,262
942,963
820,299
I,799.009
1.6 99. 725
1.707,299
1,069,44 6
637,853
1,311.664
1.262,236
798 . 163
543,890
2 54,27 3
1,566,4 1 2
783, 189
783,223
7 44 . 1 57
449.3 1 0
294.84 7
485,229
24 3.977
2* 1,252
283,92 I
596,772
350,409
2.2II.3C4
I, 124,852
1,086.45 2
947 . 18 1
596,772
350,409
1,643,626
837.529
806,097
675.862
422,065
253.797
3.155.995
1.6 15.626
1.540,369
1,258. 15 2
764 . 1 1 9
4 94,0 33
2,307,04?
1, 166,200
1. 140,849
663,780
460,323
203.457
1,8 00.429
969.232
931,197
987,739
583,392
404,347
2,30 1,448
1, 174,610
1. 126,838
1.069,000
665,660
403,340
1,218,36 7
6 19. 29 5
599.072
687.650
398,603
289,047
44,817,398
3,520,406
1,892,7 15
1,251,060
6- Bljapur
LI terate PopulatIon
2,914.667
2,692,061
3.498.8 14
2.573,900
* I Itcratrs r.xrlmb’ rlilldren
the 1991 Census.
In fhr aqr qrcup 0-6 who are treated as
Illi ter ate s
In
t
fl M«»WS
ill®®
■■ ■
■■ r
•
stSSsW
■
‘r:- '■
\x
3-'
‘
;
..
\
-
■
\
'
•'
-
GENVER VIOLENCE
i
I
!r .
-7 V-
PR.
. -r
I
VlBHUTl PATEL
SNPT WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY;
BOMBAY
!
’
''
-
’
’
i1
144
GENDER VIOLENCE
VIBHUTI PATEL
Gondc'r violence is the most re
non-rocognized Human Rights
issue in the v_
world inspite of beingj the most
widespread and
insidious problem,
It
cuts
across
class,
caste.
religion, ethnic
and national boundaries,
The manifestation of gender violence
may differ in different
socio-cultural settings but its impact,
intensity and consequences on
Gender
violence helps to perpetuate women remain the same.
^situation that keeps masses of
women in a state of despair and
dehumanisation?
/
indignity and
intimidation,
terrorisation and humiliation.
Gender violence
makes a mockery of the fundamental
----- - rights of women to a life of
dignity and freedom
granted
to all citizens by the
of India.
Constitution
In . a lifecycle of a woman, gender
violence in different
forms like foeticide,
infanticide,
homicide,
< * *"
sati r
chiId-marriage ,
rape and sexual assault,, eve-teasing, domestic
forced
violence,
prostitution,
]pornography,
-abduction
and
confinement,
communal\caste
____ r forced pregnancy or forced
-- J riots,
sterilisation
forced
all
11
h?n9s on her head like the sword of OamoclesT
In
.lfe situations
situations,,
women are more
vulnerable than men to
discriminatory treatment,
treatment,
criminal i
negligence and violence in
public and private life,
Due to the efforts
--- j of women's1 movement
in the last one and a half decades, (~
, Gender Violence has received
administration^ 0" from the criminal 1*9*1
system, media and
forms of gender violence
(a )
foeticide : The use <Of" advanced scientific technology like
amniocentesis, chorion—vi11ai biopsy, r*
sonography, foetoscopy
sex of
foeticide™106 sZ?"
Z- foetus
J-oecus has
nas come in handy for female
roeticide.
of female
Selective abortion of
foetus
has
, attered the myth that Science
Science and
and technology always
bring
bliss for humankind,
Technodocs and medical mafia
it as a solution to the
advocate
'Dowry' problem,
They
advertise
"Better Rs.500 now than Rs.5
Population
control advocates visualise it lakhs later."
as
a
solution
to
repeated
pregnancy in the hope of a son.
Economists
apply
the"
)
'law
of demand and supply* • to this
omplacently that if the supply of phenomena and tell us
complacently
women reduces,
their
status
will enhance,
Since 1901, there
__ _
has been
a
continuous decline <°f" • the . f ernale population ,
z
as
per
the
1991
census, the rsex-ratio (i.e. number of
females per 1000
males) is 929. Has it enhanced
women's
status?
is a
need for an affirmative
-action to stop the abuse There
of advanced
scientific Itechnology for femicide
<
else we will have to
declare Indian women as an 'endangered
species'.
- ; This form
of Gender Violence is prevalent in all
sections
of the
population
in Maharastra, Goa, Madhya
Pradesh
,
Uttar
Pradesh,
Punjab,
Haryana, Rajasthan, Orissa,
Gujarat.
A
iI
145
Bill has been introduced in the Parliament for regulation of
sex-determination tests strictly for identification
of
genetic disorders.
(b)
INFANTICIDE : The culture of son-preference and aversion to
daughters manifests itself in the practice of
female
infanticide.
It is not a matter concerning the past.
The
Reform Movement of the 19th Century brought this issue on
the political agenda of the country and demanded legal
prohibition
on this evil practice.
_We have
a
law
prohibiting infanticide but we lack a 'political
to
'political will'
implement the law. Now also, in various parts of Tamilnadu,
Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, M.P., and Gujarat, the custom of
female infanticide is practiced not only by so-called
'illiterate'
and
'ignorant'
'ignorant’ people but by the
the~ elites as
well.
The
son
is
seen
as
a
'support
in
the
old
The son is seen as a 'support in the old age',
age'.
For
religious rituals and funeral rites, the son has a high
premium.
The subordinate status of a girl and a woman in
socio-cultural
‘, religious and economic life accentuates this
process. We need to generate an alternate image of women by
creating the role-models for women, by promoting socioeconomic self-sufficiency among girls and women and
by
fighting against patriarchal powers that see girls as a
’burden', or as 'worthless' creatures. We need to emphasise
that if we don't stop this practice there will be a social
disaster.
No society can progress if they eliminate women
instead of liminating i rmqiia 1 i ty , injur.Mrn and inhumanity
against women .
(c)
CHILD-MARRIAGE : The forcible marriage of the girl-child
takes place all over India. One
C
'
of' the
reasons for the high
drop-out rates of girls from the schools is their.* marriage.
The mean age of marriage of women is highest in Nagaland
(Rural)
- 20.4 years, and Mizoram (Urban) - 20.5 years and
the lowest in rural Madhya Pradesh - (15.3 years) and urban
Bihar (16.1 years).
In Rajasthan also the custom of child
marriage is found in all income-groups .
in the same states,
female literacy rates are the lowest,
15.3% in Madhya
Pradesh and 16.1% in Bihar. Child-marriage involves gender
violence
as
the child-bride is
forced
to
cohabit
prematurely.
She becomes a mother at an early age when
incidences of still-births, maternal mortality and maternal
morbidity are the highest, Health status of child-brides is
the lowest. Saddled with familial responsibilities,
forced
motherhood and forced sex, she has to perform adult roles in
her most creative, formative years of life,
By the time she
enters youth,
she becomes haggard, famished and diseaseprone.
Several studies on the girl-child have shown that
the practice of child-marriage is not limited to only rural
or
'backward' areas but it is an urban problem too.
Many
school-going girls have approached women's groups for help
when they were forced to marry. As they are 'minor'
and
under
'custody'
of their parents, women's groups find it
very difficult to intervene.
u
146
(d)
SATI : Even after an enactment of law against Sati in the
pre-independence period, nearly 438 cases of sati have been
committed in the post-independence period. The Deorala Sati
episode created a great sensation as it happened in ?he Mfe
of a convent educated urban woman with a middle-class
background
'Sati' has become a big business that fetches
millions of rupees to sati temples and to the families of
the burnt widows. This lucrative trade has created several
vested interests which glorify voluntary sati.
in response
to a national level agitation and mobilisations of women's
groups, the Government of India came up with some amendments
in the earlier law but it punishes the victim for her
crime
of suicide.
Women's groups have taken serious
objection to this method of victimising the victim.
The
Deorala episode has shown us that the state enforcement
machinery is totally ineffective when the woman is
killed,
burnt alive, murdered in the name of religion and
in the midst of hundreds of thousands of jeering culture,
people.
Inspite of the enactment of the law against glorification
____
i of
sati,
several communal organisations
organise
public
functions, build sati temples and some political
leaders
openly support
'voluntary' sati; in the name of
cultural
legacies and religious ethos of India.
(e)
RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT i; ’in the
‘
post — emergency
---- the incidences of rape\gangj rrape and serious sexual period,
assaults
by the custodians of 'law of order' came into limelight
d ue
to the efforts of human rights organisations// women's
groups
and media reportage
reportage..
More and more women are reporting this
crime and seeking justice.
in the Budget session
--- 1 .1990 of
'
<
^
ucstion
No.
2366
it
198^
NO'
reported that in 1987 ,
'vqcc'
1989 ' 1990 there were respectively 7787 , 8706 ,
8207 ,
rape reported in the police stations’
During
the same period the cases of molestation reported
in the
were
police-records
16292, 17836,
18437
and
16683
respectively.
Behind one reported case of rape there are
10
to 12 unreported cases. Women victims of rape,
rape, molestation
and sexual assault have to face an extreme form of apathy,
inertia,
indifference,
hostility and biases from
the
criminal legal system, Routine responses of the police
: and
defense counsel in such cases are "There can't be
smoke
without fire".
"r*
Why was she dressed like that?" "She asked
for it." "Who asked
-J you to go alone?"
When 'gamekeepers
’
turn poachers' how can women trust the law
enforcement machinery? There is a need for serious
public
education to shatter several myths associated
with this
heinous crime against women's
-- 3 bodily integrity.
(f)
'EVE-TEASING 1
: Lewd remarks, pawing and pinching of
on the roads, in the buses and trains, in the colleges women
and
neighbourhood,
nuisance calls on phones have become a
routine affair of urban life. This offense curtails
the
H
147
mobility of girls and women. Around certain festivals like
holi eve-teasing takes a most aggressive shape where not
only harmful
chcmi.cn 1 -based colours, but rotten fruits,
In response
tomatoes,
eggs, cow-dung are thrown at women.
to the active mobilisation of women's groups, the government
has now enacted a law against it. As per section 509 of the
Indian Penal Code, punishment for eve-teasing or sexual
molestation is 1-year imprisonment or fine or both.
More
and more girls and women are coming forward to register
complaints against eve-teasing the number of which was 7270
in 1987, 10,109 in 1988, 9,478 in 1989 and 9,625 in 1990.
Glorification of eve-teasing in commercial Hindi films
provides role-models to the teaser.
Every
’eve-teaser’
thinks that he is a super-star and making verbal or physical
sexual advances is a male prerogative. There is a need to
have a dialogue with the media barons on this issue.
Public
debates
in
youth-forums,
colleges
and
community
organisations on this can also help to ensure seriousness on
this issue, Most of the people either treat eve-teasing as
a big joke and advise women to be indifferent to it.
"Ignore it" is the standard advice given to women by their
relatives.
(g)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE : Violence in the family in the form of
mental and physical cruelty exists in our society both in
the natal as well as in the matrimonial home. Official data
on unnatural death reveal that unmarried girls and women
They are the
also die in their homes in large numbers.
victims of violence perpetuated on them by their own
parents, brothers etc. But girls generally don’t speak
In the last 15 years violence
against their own parents.
against married women by their husbands and in-laws have
acquired major attention due to the efforts of new women’s
Initially they had to face lots of
rights movements.
difficulties as the state as well as our society's response
In
was "Do not intervene in the sanctity of the family".
several parts of India, women's groups have evolved support
structures for women in social distress, so aggrieved women
also come forward to fight against domestic violence.
Instead of finding fault with a woman for her so-called
”p<H)i
pfi ( <u
<)i in.»ue<'
iii.iiw*' .i':
.i". v/
v; ’
i f
.uni ni'>l h<
.iii'l
Ikm
’r"" ,
It h<*y • -hij >' >VJf' r WtHIK'D
I o
take legal action by making use of section 498 A oi ll‘C that
considers,
"Whoever,
"Whoever, being the husband or the relative of
the husband of a woman, subjects such women to cruelty shall
be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
” Harassment
three years and shall also be liable to fine,
Media and
for dowry" is also covered by this section.
the
cases of
Police authorities try to project most of
domestic violence as ’Dowry harassments’ or ’Dowry-murders’.
(h)
FORCED
PROSTITUTION :
The statement of the 64th Law
Commission on prostitution provides an excellent example of
the double standard of sexual morality prevalent in our
u
148
society
as
"acbmery..
well
as
in
the
functioning
of
the
state
"Prostitution
should be
be regula?ed- not banned
"Prostitution should
so
that it may be.kept
be kept within its legitimate bounds without
unduly encroaching upon the institution of marriage and
family."
This attitude
attitude divides
divides women
women into
into two
two c^egories
This
One constitutes 'chaste',
-chaste', 'pure'
-pure' and 'lawfully
'lawfully wedded*
wedded'women
7
are mothers,
mothers sisters,
sisters, wives
wives and
the
second
who are
and the second category is
of
whores ','
, sluts
sluts'
and
who can
can
be traded
whores
and
'vamps'
—'
’'vamps'
vamps' who
rutalised and punished bv
by
the
and police,
legal
and
by fhp
the pimps
pimps
3t We^1 as
aS societ
Y in general. As
per
the
studv
society
As
of
the lata Institute
Social Sciences,
Sciences, Bombay,
Bombay, there are 817
__ of Social
red light areas and 2 million women in this trade
60% oJ
nrC?cloW 18 ■ They are brought to br^theJs by
pimps and an agents' network spread all over the q
country
7
in themeahihue fnd cry
Cr7,' some
S°me minor
minor changes
have
taken
pla^e
changes have taken
in the earlier law-Suppression
Traffic Act.
Act
Onlv
Suppression of
of Immoral
Immoral Traffic
the^nomenclature has changed. The r~•
•
ly
x -r
The new law is the Prevontinn
of Immoral Traffic Act. SITA
and
PITA
both
criminalise
the
SITA and PITA both criminalise
Ip?! itUte® but PimPs' owners of brothels and customers are
ioPt free to continue their
Routine raids on brnihoic
their jobs.
jobs.
policemen?3 of
°f prostitutes
proStitutes ensure regular bribes to the
( 1)
POKNOGKAPIIY : H I iif' f i I ms , j
io I iLora I uro-books and
magazLnos~‘have flourished pornograph
all over India.
Video parlours
and cinema halls showing such films
have
mushroomed
all
over. Obscene literature in different
regional
languages
is
sold openly at railway stations, markets and
other
public
places.
Occasional raids are organised by
Literature or films are taken away by them. < the police.
their bribes,
they allow this business to iOnce they get
When
women's groups raise their voice against go on.
a
particular
pornographic film or advertisement X1IC,
or magazine
arrests either theJ manager of the cinema hall c the police
or a vendor.
Later on they are released on
-- bail,
---- - And this is repeated
over and over.
The Indecent Representation of Women in
Films and Advertisement rAct is full
~
of loopholes,
It leaves
a lot of scope for the government
bureaucrats to decide
whether a particular journal or rum or
film or hoarding
is
' indecent'
or
'informative ’.
'informative'.
The Women and Media Group,
Bombay filed a case in the High Court against
the Marathi
booklet 'How rape is committed.
pEven after three years of
--------- ’'
cou r t proceedings nothing is decided
yet about a book tha t
gives gory details of perverse practices of sexual
violence
against women.
( j)
ADDUCTION,
FORCED CONFINEMENT : Abduction and
confinement of women during normal periods and during forced
socio
cultural tensions create havoc for girls
and
women,
Cases
of kidnapping of young girls from rural
and
urban
areas
by
the pimps and mafia gang to induct them
into
prostitution
have not been dealt with. Women abducted
and confined
during caste jriots and communal riots (Bhiwandi
riots
1984 , Delhi riots
-J - 1984, etc.) have been disowned by their
u
149
family members as they are seen as
'defiled'.
When two
rival groups in the community are at war with each other,
they resort to kidnapping and abducting of women from the
rival group. By this act, they try to break the 'morale' of
the rival group. Criminalisation of urban life also results
in the escalation of abduction,
to induct girls into
beggary,
prostitution and drug-trafficking.
This form of
Gender Violence doos not got the attention of the social
groups unless relatives of the victim are politically
powerful.
Women are forcibly confined even by their own parents when
they refuse to get married or if they have an affair with
reliaions.
men from different castes or religions.
In the
'inlaws'
home, forced confinement of daughter-in-law for not bringing
an 'adequate' amount of dowry or for 'answering back' or for
being 'too outgoing' has been noticed by women's groups
involved in support-work for women in distress,
distress.
When a
confined woman manages to contact neighbours or relatives or
friends, legal action to release her has been taken up. But
in most of the cases, she is unable to do so.
(k)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING RIOTS AND____
WAR :
Since the
70s, India has been witnessing a spate of caste and communal
riots that take a heavy toll of human lives as well as
material things.
The number and intensity of riots have
increased. Caste-conflicts in the rural areas and communal
riots in small town and big cities result in heinous forms
of torture, sexual assaults and mass rape of women from the
subordinate groups like Dalits and minorities by the men of
dominant groups,. Reports of investigation teams instituted
by democratic rights groups and women's organisations have
proved that women are the worst victims of communal riots.
Gender Violence during riots leaves a permanent scar in the
psyche of the victim and her relatives.
Testimonies of
women victims of riots in Delhi (1984),
Bhivandi
(1984),
Hyderabad (1989), Ahmedabad
(1983), Chandrapur
(1987),
Bhagalpur (1988) bear witness to this agonising phenomena.
The most neglected area of the plight of women in war
situations is very controversial too. Men of two warring
countries not only loot, ransack or burn the property of the
'enemy'
country but they also rape the women of their
'enemy' country. Only cross-country solidarity of women is
the answer to deal with this form of Gender Violence.
In
private discussion
discussion,, democratic rights groups acknowledge
this problem but in public not much is done due to fear of
being dubbed as an 'anti-national*.
'anti-national*. Men of our own country
are supposed to be chivalrous and 'gentlemen'.
(1 )
TAKC.r.TT I NG WOMEN EOR rOPUEATION CONTROL :
Many
mw' I l» i r’n 1
practices are actively propcigated in the name of 'population
control1.
Experiences of Emergency rule proved that
’ male
sterilisation' can be politically counter-productive.
Hence
H
150
In the post-emergency period, poor■ and
the shift in policy,
women have been the major targets for
for the
working class
hormone-based
population control policy. Many harmful and vaccines and
long-acting contraceptive pills, injections,
without any
subdermal implants are used on women's bodies
Side-effects of these contraceptives are seenl as
follow-up.
Women-victim of these devices suffer from
’imaginary’.
irregular
bleeding, headache, abnormal weightheavy and -.
Most of
gain, temporary loss of eyesight, giddiness etc.
in •our
the contraceptive [pills and
.
.injections being used
Si ‘* J 1st world which
created a
,
country are already banned m the —— ---■
•’ j
help
and got these drugs banned with the
great hue and cry <
due
to
the
movement.
In our country, d_
of a strong consumer ;i maintained by media and the medical
conspiracy of silence
are not
contraindications of such contraceptives
mafia,
of
sex-determination
Use
of
sex--known to the public at large.
control,
lull, also for population
---- ytests and targets for abortion
of population control
reveals to what extent the sycophants
?
-i or
_»
insertion
of coppert-T
methods like
can go. The use of
'
for an employment in. public
l
sterilisation as a precondition
nothing but
DPAP
etc.
are
works programmes like egs,irdp,
violation of human rights and women’s dignity.
MYTHS about gender VIOLENCE ;
"SHE DESERVED IT".
(A) "SHE ASKED FOR IT",
hurtful
ina ,
finding faults with women
women and
'-"'T
Victim-baiting
in response to Gender Violence are handy to
statements
inaction of the official agencies and society in
ra t iona1isc Media will trivialisc Gender Violence by
general.
captLn of cartoon and by describing the event
misleading
i i aomnrnlise
Police will
demoralise a
a woman by talKing
a jocular tone .
The
making
her feel guilty.
i
to her in a cynical tone andhostile
wi.l
1
that
she
to women
atmosphere in courts is so
from
"Women
and err in her statements, in public
lose her confidence
c
don ’’ t talk of such things
from
good families don
message
woman gets this
directly or indirectly a whom she approaches; for help.
everywhere? and everyone dowry-harassment, wife-battering,
Whether it
1 is a case of
(as in the^casej of the nuns
rape or molestation, murder
Bombay in 1991) the
murdered at
All efforts are made to
’sexuality’
ue’, ’slut’, ’whore’,
her
tactics of questioning
lay' .
becomes an t--'morality',
Some
Gender
Rani
to
--r
Suman
landmark judgments on the Mathura Rape case.
this
witness
to
Rape Case r Maya Tyagi Rape case bear reports,
punchnama
Manipulation of post-mortem
attitude.
has
and
FIR to question womeni’’ss sexual morality
(inquest)
Violence.
in several cases of
cf Gender
-been :identified
----
h
151
(B)
’’WOMEN ENJOY RAPE" r "SHE IS OF AN EASY VIRTUE".
The worst treatment that any victim of gender violence gets
is the victim of rape.
Family
members ask her to 'hush
]
up' .
The. community isolates her.
Friends
her.
excommunicate her.
Police
jeers at her.
rThe
"’
’
legal
system mocks at her.
The
Media sensationalises the
issue.
—----- The past sexual history of
the victim is hotly debated and discussed.
11.
------- 1The 111.,
Hindi film
solution for the rape-victim is to commit 'suicide'
' or die
in the process of taking revenge.
The standard statement
concerning rape is ’’There can’t be
smoke without
fire."
Rape of women at the time of investigation or after the
arrest by
'the protectors of law and order'
provoked a
nationwide anti-rape movement in 1980.
Mathura,
a teenage
tribal girl was raped by two police constables in the police
^atM°1in 1972 •
SuPreme Court
Court of India's judgement on
The Supreme
the Mathura Rape case that she
was of
virtue' and
---- was
of 'easy
'easy virtue'
and the
two policemen were innocent made women's groups
react
Because °f their pressure
pressure,, the government had to
I lf
rape
law ln which the
'burden
'burden of proof
has
shifted on the men in cases
cases of
of custodial
custodial rape.
But
’
things
have not changed much.
The ideology
ideology of
of victimisinq
The
[ the
victim has not been dealt with
While campaiqnina
..—.i seriously.
against rape the focus should not be on the 'v?c"m' but on
--on the
as a l-vf6!' ,Unl?ss omen's image! as an
not
an individual,
individual,
concTri sex ob3ect,
is established,
we
cannot
ensure
any
we
cannot
consideration
for bodily integrity
women.
Myths
integrity of
of
concerning rape
such as "she was raped
because
she was
dressed [provocatively"
or Freudian
analysis f..
that
"women
hallucinate
—> rape should be shattered with factual analysis,
How does <one explain rape of a 2 year old girl child or a
or
sixty year old woman?
(C)
"IT IS WOMEN'S CHOICE"
While dealing with issues like ffemale infanticide and female
foeticide we encounter the argument that
j women are the worst
enemies
of women.
Women despise girl-child.
Mother
discriminates against her own daughter.
She only kills the
female
infant.
Woman seeks
jsex-determination
__
tests and
aborts a foetus if it happens to be female.
What can we do
about
it?
Doctors,
1-1
political
leaders,
law and
order
machinery wash their hands; off.
Why should not we ask;
Are
these 'choices' determined in social
- vacuum? Which
are
Which
the
forces that make women think like that?
Why
does
society
put a
high premium on boys? 1Why
“
1_
is the birth
of
a girl
mourned?
Why is a mother of only girl-children
threatened
with desertion by her husband?
Subordinate status of women in our society is
strengthened
and perpetuated by
) religious
preaching,
social
customs r
family socialisation
and evil practices of dowry.
As
a
resu1t
' daught ors'
re soon
ar, a
burdon.
Tn
th i s
u
152
atmosphere, women themselves internalise the societal value.
Her
inability to produce a 'male child' can make her the
target of taunting and ill-treatment by her inlaws.
If she
gives birth to a girl-child, she is seen as a
'guiltyparty'.
She is expected to do the job of killing the baby.
Between 1986-88,
6000 female babies were killed by their
mothers, only in Tamilnadu. Thus women’s 'choices’ are not
real choices but they arc social compulsions.
(D)
"WE SHOULD SUPPORT VOLUNTARY SATI"
When the Doorala Sati Episode took place a major controversy
took place amongst opinion-makers of the society namely
politicians °f different hues, intellectuals and ______
___
religious
leaders. Many statements were made in support of ’voluntary
sati'.
If a woman decides to give away her life after her
husband's death, could we support or condemn this action?
Women's groups who opposed 'voluntary sati* were alleged as
a westernised lot, not rooted in Indian reality.
Women's
rights organisations retorted back by sayingI that there is
nothing like 'voluntary' sati.
If in her socialisation
process, an Indian girl is forced to think that she has no
identity of her own, she is merely a shadow of her husband,
her only mission in life is marriage;
an average
Indian
woman is bound to think that there is nothing left in her
life after her husband's..death. Moreover,
status widows
of
ouquus ui
Both, inlaws as well as her
in our society is very bad.
natal family treats her as a burden, 1her status and autonomy
m social life is not recognised, r
’_ does not ‘have ]property
she
rights in the genuine sense of the term
(though <our law
provides her with a share in her husband's property
),
she
becomes a target of sexual advances of men.
For upper-caste
and upper class, widow-remarriage is not
encouraged for
:In this situation, it is dangerous
economic reasons.
to
support voluntary sati instead of empowering Indian widows
to lead fuller life and fight for a dignified life.
(E)
"IT IS AN 'ACCIDENTAL DEATH' OR 'SUICIDE
When a woman dies in her own home, before or after marriage
the police records classify these cases as
'accidental
deaths'
or
'suicides ’ .
Statements of
relatives
and
neighbours are not taken seriously unless they also connect
these deaths to dowry-harassment,
--All murders are not dowry
murders.
Demands for dowry can be one of the reasons for
the unnatural death of women. Many times, caste panchayats
or community leaders also persuade the parents or brothers
of a dead-woman to declare the incidence as an 'accident' or
’suicide’ so that 'community's prestige is not tarnished.
It is important to deal with these popular beliefs because
they come in the way of rehabilitating or supporting women,
ensuring community's backing, preparing authentic police
records and granting gender justice in the court
law.
0657E
7
A/
u
153
Moreover,
intervention after the crime takes
---place is
important.
But the more important aspect is to stop such
crimes. That can be done only after societal values change,
It can provide long-term solution by creating a realistic
understanding
concerning
Gender ------Violence.
Li the help of
...
* With
concrete illustrations, supporting evidences, authentic data
base
and rti 1 turn 1
alternatives we can sensitize
our
population on these issues. This aspect is
much more
difficult as compared to immediate intervention.
Use of
communication
media, educational system
and
training
programmes for public education must be emphasized as Gender
Violence brutalises
-----------men too.
LEGAL SYSTEM AND GENDER VIOLENCE
far as the laws on Gender Violence are concerned we have
not gained much. The laws against domestic
v-u^c
violence
(498 A) ,
rape
(section 376), eve-teasing (section 509)
--- - etc.
--- - are full of
loopholes,j
so at a conceptual level there are gender biases.
Moreover, at an operational level thingss are even worse,
To get
a First Investigation Report (FIR)
registered at a police
station, medical examination done, ]
panchnama prepared the victims
have to face a lot of harassment,
corruption
,
corruption and
and criminal
negligence.
By the time the case
the courtu. KJX.
of XC1W
law ,
---- reaches
------ - 95%
of the damage is already done. 1Finally only 2-4% of the culprits
are punished.
The whole legal process is extremely slow.
'
Justice delayed is justice denied’,
This statement is most
appropriate for the victims of Gender Violence. The legal system
applies the double standard of sexual morality by treating men as
’poor-him’ and woman victim as 'deviant*.
Mysogynist culture and
male-dominated values are seen , experienced by women in day-today court-proceedings as well as their judgements.
Hostility
toward women in the family courts have
forced aggrieved women to
--- --------stage dharna, hunger fast and demonstrations in front of family
courts in Karnataka, Madras and Bombay.
Without first hand
experience,
it is difficult to believe what type of verbal
violence and assaults women victims of violence face in the
courts.
STATE MACHINERY VIS-A-VIS GENDER VIOLENCE
IGP of Orissa, Mr.S.K.Ghosh in his
h i s book,
Women
and
Po1 i cing" admit led to m<' I
I a I i on of women By police.
Hr a 1 f>o
admitted to inhuman behaviour of the police with women detenue,
prisoners, witnesses <and complainants.
*
This type of official
recognition of police-involvement in Gender Violence is important
as
The maintenance, of -police morale depends
on
x
- - not
---- white-wash
but on„ a satisfying
conception of the police-men’s place in
society says Mr.Ghosh. When an individual woman accompanied by
her relatives or neighbour approaches police she is not attended
to or has to face rude behaviour from the police officials
Gender Violence is a ’minor offense
’Major
offense'’ for the police.
Crimes’
are drug-trafticking, gang-war
etc.
A
statement
by a
gang—war
■Retired IGP in 1981 clearlv
convive;
+•
h
o
i
4
towards
clearly conveys the police attitude
u
154
women complainants, ,,rThose
~’
belonging to respectable families do
not lodge complaints”., r
Hence any woman approaching the police,
be she a victim of molestation,z rape, beatings, eve-teasing ,
theft,
blackmail and threat, becomes a woman of
1 licentious
behaviour'. Response of the police to Gender Violence is marked
by refusal to file FIR and other evidences for
'Panchanama',
ensure timely and proper medical examination; tampering with
crucial documents like FIR, inquest, forensic report,
viscera
report.
Collusion of police with the local vested interests,
bowing down to political pressures and open alliances with the
criminals have been evident while examining many cases of gender
<
violence. Class, caste
and communal biases get-added to genderbiases in cases of gender violence.
MEDICO-LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF GENDER VIOLENCE
While dealing with the issue of Gender-Violence, medical
dimensions
remain the most neglected area.
Irresponsible
behaviour of forensic experts, medical examiners and the hospital
staff towards women victims creates major bottleneck in pursuing
the matter in court. There are comprehensive guidelines on the
procedure for conducting the post-mortemi ireports as per forensic
science.
The doctor is required to carefully
through the
content of the written order from the police go
or magistrate,
mention identification marks on the body, note details
on the
condition of the body,
In cases of rape and sexual molestation
internal
examination should be done with great care
and
sensitivity for the victim.
7 cases of beatings, all details of
In
injuries must be recorded properly, The Nuns murder case has
exposed the sham nature of medical examination conducted by
prestigious doctors. Government of India has recently” set up a
fresh committee to lay out a code of conduct for the medical
reports in Medico Legal Cases.
Delays in giving medical reports
also hamper the process of quick legal redress.
Preventive and
Social Medicine as a discipline is treated by the medical
profession as 'Low-prestige*, 'Low Status'
discipline.
Hence,
the medical professionals and medical students don't take medicolegal issues seriously. Technicalities of medical issues should
be explained to lay people through training programmes,
Medico
legal issues need to bo demystified.
REHABILITATION CENTRES FOR VICTIMS OF GENDER VIOLENCE
Gender. Violence keeps women in a continuous state of fear.
Hence safety and support that helps them to get out of feeling of
isolation, dependence and self-hatred acquire great significance
for their empowerment. Most of the rehabilitation centres run by
private trusts provide physical needs to the victims of Gender
Violence but their insensitive remarks, patronising attitude and
inhuman behaviour make the victims feel that battered women are
stupid, worthless and incapable. They are treated as
'perpetual
minors’
by the management of the rehabilitation centres who are
doing their ’upliftment’.
Government sponsored and conrolled
rehabilitation
centres are full of corruption, malpractice and
u
155
callous behaviour.
Hence, women inmates don't get adequate food
are caged in the premises and quite often used as prostitutes due
to pressure of the local vested interests.
Women's groups
in
Bombay have filed a public interest litigation in the hiqhcourt
to stop mismanagement in such institutions in response to several
inmates
running away from such
centres
and compllLts
?o
complaints
collective '’’mon6^ °f WOln®n's Shoups.
Now
there is
demand
for
Now there
is aa demand
locfiye monitoring of the refuge centres by the women’s
centres by the
organisations.
We need to inculcate a
new
ethos of
'self-help'
for empowerment of the victims of Gender Violence
staying
in
£he mea^T reSlde^S of the refu9e home should have control such
the meals,
overall management, children's care.
They must over
be
made to feel that they are not responsible for the violence
done
to them.
'' Mutual
- counselling
__
method", "Group Counselling
method
instead of traditional 'Social Work' approach should be
promoted
in such centres.
MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF GENDER VIOLENCE
Media
«sensationalises Gender Violence
like
like dowry-murders,
rape and sexual assaults.- 7In the Nun’s murder case media behaved
in an extremely irresponsible manner
by publishing a cock & bull
story of the nun's 'sexual activity',
Due to commendable work of
(
the nuns of
Bombay along with secular
groups, the Press
Council
of India has forced Times of India, Indian Express,
Free Press
Journal and regional language press to publish an
apology.
In
z-x «-•
XT
#
the
issues
of
Gender Violence,/ media,
media,
focuses
focuses on women, that
too
in a
humorous',
trivial
vain.
By
and
large,
and
large,
collective
struggles of women against violence are ridiculed by the media
or
it chooses
to under-report the event.
Visibility of
violence
against women in the print as we]] as audio-visual media
had done
a major function of bringing the issue of violence
viol oner in the public
sphere.
A I I ern.i f c' liv'd i a cp'iu'ra t <»d Dy sonr» i t i vr»
women and nmn
creative a r t i s L s and women's groupSj have played
an
educative
role.
Saga ri
Chabra's
film 'Brides are not
for
Burning * ,
'Mediastorm’s
film on Sati
and Muslim Personal
Law,
M.K.
Shankar's
film
'Samadhan'
on sex-determination
tests,
Gulan
Kriplani's
film on Domestic Violence.
Dewan's
Violence, Meera
film on
sexual
harassment
are some of the examples in
this
direction
.
Media can really do a lot in promoting ethos of
Gender justice by
conveying
that
cruelty and domination are not
not signs
signs
of
’manhood’.
Media can <also highlight survival strategies
evolved
by v/omen to got out of the impact of
Gender-violence.
Training
programmes of journalists of Gender Issues can aid this process.
WOMEN'S MOVEMENT AND GENDER VIOLENCE
Action against violence ayamsc
against women nas
has been one of the
prime
concerns
of
the women's
women’s
movement,
since the
early
seventies .
Duo tn
to the collective efforts of women's groups more
’humane'
and
realistic understanding on Gender Violence has
emerged.
Violence against women is; no
no more
more a
a 'personal'
‘personal1 issue of
the recipient (of" violent
' "
attacks but it is an issue demanding
public concern and intervention.
Women's movement is involved in
u
156
support to individual women, getting legal amendments
providing
sensitizing
the administration,
awareness generation
passed,
exhibitions,
slogans,
programmes on gender violence through
creative expressions, training programmes for volunteers
songs,
enforcement machinery.
Resource kits,booklets,
street
and
theatre in different regional languages are evolved by the
They arc trying to project: gender violence
is
women's groups.
If we
not only harmful to the victim but it also brutalises men.
want to build a healthy
society that promotes
'mutuality',
’respect'
and
'dignity' in a man-woman
relationship,
we must
expose gender violence.
Women's
is trying
to change
Women's movement in
societal response to Gender Violence that says "There
" There is
nothing
it.
wrong
in it.
It has been going on for ages".
It is trying
to
convince the criminal justice system that Gender-Violence is not
’a Law and Order problem' but it is a weapon to keep women in
a
subordinate status and prevent them asserting their
rights,
personhood and individuality.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Active
intervention
to prevent the
'crime'
'
crime'
or to get
culprits
punished
is
one aspect of dealing with
the gender
violence.
The long
term approach should be to question
the
ideology,
ethos and
practices that generate
generate,,
perpetuate and
rationalise gender-violence.
Only acceptance of gender
violence
in our society
is not enough but our active
involvement in
preventing
it at micro-level
is very
important.
Moreover,
sensitization of media and mainstream thinking
process,
State
enforcement machinery and political parties, education system and
policy-makers must be done on a priority-basis.
The focus of our
priori, ty -ba sis .
efforts should be:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Legal
reforms
in
the existing
provisions
on
gender
violence that covertly or overtly
resort to
'victimbaiting'.
Sensitize
the
enforcement
machinery-police,
doctors z
lawyers and judges on gender violence.
Orient
media
to generate realistic
understanding
of
violence against women and to stop
sensationalising
the
issue.
Educate public not
to remain
passive
spectators
when
faced with violence against women
in
the domestic and
public sphere.
Promote collective action to stop violence against women
in
every walk of life.
Create cultural alternatives to combat ideology of
gender
violence.
Empower women to question violence in their personal
life
and also question customs and traditions,
proverbs and
sayings that promote violence against women.
u
157
LIST OF REFERENCES
1)
Desai, Neera and Krishnaraj Maithreyi: Women and Society
India, Ajantha Publications, Delhi, 1987.
2)
Ghadiali, Rehana(Ed):
Rehana(Ed): Women in Indian Society,
Sage Publications, N.Delhi, 1988.
3)
Krishnaraj, Maithreyi(cD): Violence Against Women, sponsored
by UNESCO and published by Research Centre for women's
studies, SNDT Women's University, Bombay, 1991.
4)
Patel, Vibhuti: "Towards a Feminist critique of Theories
Violence" Paper presented at III National Conference
women's Studies, Chandigarh, 1986 .
5)
Poonacha, Veena (Ed):
'Understanding Violence" Research
Centre for Women's Studies, SNDT Women's University, Juhu
Road, Bombay, 1991.
6)
Sinha Niroj (Ed): Women and Violence Vikas Publications, New
Delhi, 1989.
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RETV. PRINCIPAL,
HAL STAFF TRAINING COLLEGE,
BANGALORE.
’.
u
158
TECHNOLOGY AND GENDER BASED DIVISION OF LABOUR
Col.M.M.A.BASHA
MANAGEMENT OF WID & TECHNOLOGY
In their struggle for improving
the physical condition and
social
status of women, NGOs have changed over from a welfare
approach to a radical \ militant stance covering not only welfare
but much broader and more basic issues concerning the role and
status of women in society.
There is increasing articulation of
the rights
of women and related issues one of which
is the
decreasing
employment
opportunities
for women
and
their
displacement
in all
sectors of the economy.
Many of
these
adverse developments
(’
have been brought about by introductioni of
the so called
(
’newer technologies' and
insensitivity of
the
planners
in the arbitrary transfer of
technologies,
speci
specially
inappropriate to
to the
the developing
developing countries
countries and
and
their callous
application in many sectors without realising their consequences
on the lot of women, especially rural poor.
The deterioration in the employment opportunities of
women
and their reducing contribution as commodity producers has
given
rise to questions as to whether the skewed development has
been
the outcome of random factors, or whether there are unseen forces
emanating
from a
series of assumptions
and cultural
factors
behind
this
pattern of development.
As a result,
the women’s
movement which had already assumed a militant hue,. is now calling
for
major
transformations
(structural,
i deolog ica1
and
operational)
in
the policies
of
the
coun try.
Women's
organisations
have become political and are calling
for new
constructive
strategies,
innovative approaches
and
networks
involving
social
organisations
so that women’s
concerns
and
issues can be debated and solutions found on the political plane.
The trend in development, with particular reference to WID,
has been to seek a national audience in the resolution of WID
issues,
clarifying perspectives,
establishing priorities
and
seeking solutions to arrest the deteriorating economic and social
status of women brought about by the processes of development.
The increasing demands by the women’s movements for broader
involvement of women in planning and decision making have made
ID issues more visible and
the options
more transparent.
Nowhere are the issues more clearly
<
J defined or the solutions more
obvious than in the sphere of technologies adopted in the process
of development.
Women’s issues cannot be discussed as a jseparate discipline,
which
it is not.
Nor is it a transient focus because of the
deteriorating
lot of women.
It
incorporates
ideologies and
perspectives, debate on which has been lacking.
Bereft of
these
ideologies and perspectives, blind and random approaches
have
H
159
been adopted with disastrous effects. These
negative outcomes
are nowhere more glaring than in the <
application of
new
technologies affecting the majority of the women
in the basic,
--- _.i
informal and organised1 sectors.
Development is a normative concept.
it
It is more than
eradication of poverty or increase in welfare measures or
reducing unemployment.
Development will have to incorporate
ideologies and perspectives which will eventually lead to equity,
equality of opportunities (skill development and employment), job
satisfaction and self-respect.
These are probably the main
ingredients of the term 'social status’
THE INEQUITY OF OLD TECHNOLOGIES
This caption covers the various issues in the
traditional
gender based division of labour and the status of
women
under
the system.
Technology is a term denoting the gamut of skills and
processes involving equipment and material employed to produce
goods and services at home and in industry for the community.
Since both the producers and consumers are part of society, there
is an important
'social context'.
There is also a
’social
content1
in the processes of production depending upon
(
i
) who
(class, social status, sex) is employed to produce,
(ii)
whether
the end product is produced at home for
in factories for public consumption, domestic consumption or
If there is a bias in
employment based on class, status or sex, there is inequity
and
conflict.
The traditional arrangement is for men to work for wages and
women to do unpaid work at home. The men's earnings are highly
visible whereas the women's work at home is invisibilised in
in the
absence of visible earnings.
The fact that the women do
productive work,(in addition to reproductive and maintenance
tasks) has not been monetised by society.
This arrangement has
been sanctified with the saying that the woman's place is at
n°me.
The question of accounting/valuation of the women’s work
is therefore taboo.
This gender division of labour has
has been
been accepted
accepted by
by men
men and
women over the ages as it helped to keep the? households
households going
without changing gender relations. The survival and prosperity of
a family depends on the combined activities of its members and
their contribution to the perpetuation of family interests, Man
considered the gender division of labour as ordained by society
or a higher being, to be equitable and suited to their ego and
physical ability. . Women, without any other options accepted the
arrangement as being ordained by fate. The visible earnings of
men helped them to have access to and control of resources, the
allmark of patriarchical society. Women were subordinated and
they sacrificed their equality, rights and status for the sake of
the family.
u
160
That the a i i a ngriiuui I was 1 noqu I tai»I e was hardly dohaled till
recently.
Men assumed a dominant role in society and women’s
<7 r on ps w^i <'
i 1 1 <n
i !U'<I t’ o r a i f i o this I nnim .
Tn many
poor
societies, the women, in addition to their reproductive function
and other household tasks had to work for wages to augment the
family income.
These women’s earnings were promptly appropriated
by men in their role as heads of families.
However there was a
silver lining.
When a family did not have a male head, the women
were enabled to subsist on the wages earned from outdoor work as
also have control over their earnings which was not the case with
women entirely dependent on male dispensation.
A large number
(estimated to be 30%) now has women-headed households who have to
bear a triple burden.
THE INEQUITY OF NEW TECHNOLOGY
In their quest for equity in the realm of employment,
selfrcliancT' and
r.lalnr.,
women’s rnovenionl
i r. warj j ng
highly
articulated
struggle
to show
that
introduction
of
new
technologies have consumed jobs and earnings of women.
The most
telling evidence of this has been provided by Ester Boserup.
(i)
This 1
accepted by all shades of public opinioni as
proof
of
the highly skewed fallouts from the
introduction of
new
technologies which have been specially disastrous in the field of
agriculture
and rural
services
in
the African and
Asian
societies .
Acharya
(
(2)
and Agarwal (3) have quoted Indian cases
where
cases
introduction of new technologies in India have displaced millions
of women workers. Acharya, in his analysis shows that during 1926
1951,
the total employment increased
by
88%,
but women’s
employment rose by only 55%.
For every job created
for one
woman, there were 12 available for men.
In agriculture, the introduction of new technologies in
the
'60s has been estimated to displace 10 million women,
Rice mills
(which now number one lakh), each displaces about 1,500 women's
jobs and creates 45 jobs for men. The number of women displaced
in rice mills and cereal processing activities works out
to 15
crores.
In Andhra Pradesh over 1.5 lakh workers are engaged in
the
tobacco mouscry
industry or
of wnom
whom yu%
90% are women,
women.
The India Tobacco Co.
employing about 20,000 workers, introduced
a threshing
plant
which displaced 6,000 workers, mostly women,
Threshing plants to
be
introduced by other
companies
will
affect the
jobs of
thousands of women workers.
In
the textile industry, cotton and jute textiles
employed
20%
and 15% women workers respectively before 1925.
In
the
50
years
of
industrialization this
fell
to
2.5%
and
2.0%
respectively,
displacing lakhs of women workers,
Technological
changes were the main factors for loss of jobs of women workers.
u
161
Modernisation of traditional handloom industry in Kashmir under a
assisted project displaced about 3,000 women workers from
UNDP
an original total workforce of 27,000.
There are similar studies in the dairy, fishing and
and other
traditional industries where introduction of new technologies has
been extremely detrimental to the economic and social status of
women.
Studies
have
shown that the reason for
the
large
displacement of rural women labour is that their work is simple
and repetitive,
for which machines can be easily designed.
Given that innovations have to be made, why can't the machines
which displace women labour,
be operated by women? The answer
is that the machines are designed for use by men only
(design
bias)
and women do not have the same access to education and
training that men have (education bias),
This suggests that
patriarchy still persists strongly in a new 'avatar'.
ANALYSIS OF GENDER BASED DIVISION OF LABOUR
Traditional Gender Based Division of Labour has contributed
to the inferior economic status of women, both inside and outside
the household.
Introduction of new technology has iaccentuated
L
the economic, intellectual and social differentials
between
------- — —.. ~. i man
and woman.
Introduction of new technoloqies
technologies are invariably
accompanied by a small increase in jobs for■ men at the cost of a
disproportionately large number of jobs for women.
Unlike
other divisions of people
(classes,
regions,
religions etc.,) the gender division is ubiquitous.
This has
exercised the minds of_ various
The traditional
------ ; researchers.
division of labour had much to commend itself given the low
mobility of women in outside work and absence of opportunities
for higher education and skill trainingJ for women. A measure of
co-operation within the household was necessary to ensure maximum
household, Hence the tacit acceptance of their
returns for the household.
roles by ---women.
The
introduction
of new technologies
has
disturbed
traditional gender division of labour.
Firstly, there is a
conflict at home between men and women since women would like to
work for wages whenever they can to supplement the family income.
The traditional cooperation has broken down. Tradition, culture
and social norms militate against any change in the arrangement
even though this results in sub-maximal returns. Secondly,
the
current environment is creating disparities and conflicts not
only in the labour market (men competing against women) but also
in the household where the wife wants to work which in men's
view, may affect her household work.
It is to be concluded
that new technologies should not only not displace women from the
jobs but prevent gender conflicts at large and in the households,
Women should be able to use the new technologies as well as men.
The problem is not in the new technology per se,
but the way
u
162
machines and processes are designed or engineered to be more
suited for operation by men than women and denial of education
and training for women.
DUALISMS : GENDER, DESIGN, EDUCATION
The term 'dualism' is used extensively in literature on
gender divisions in various fields such as labour,
technology,
education. Dichotomy can probably be more aptly used in many of
these cases.
In some instances, both the above terms boil down
to the clearly understood term 'duplicity'.
MIND
BODY DUALISM
Sally Hacker (4) studied the impact of technological changes
_ four industries
.--. .in the USA. concluded that.on women in
In agribusiness automation has
women in particular.
reduced employment
ii. Mechanisation <of farmwork has reduced employment
migrant workers,, maf oma1e.
for
among
iii. Women farmers faced a double threat in
that
the
economies
large scale agro-technology and politics
favoured males.
iv.
Over a 3 year period of technological
telephone company,women lost 22,000 jobs
more jobs were obtained by men.
v. The more sophisticated ithe
’
technology,
worked against women’s interests.
change in a
while 13,000
the
more
it
vi. Women’s
home responsibilities,
lack of
employment
opportunities / options, unresponsiveness of unions,
opposition of husbands and male co-workers inhibited
women worker's ability to protect their interests.
These factors suggested patriarchical elements at work.
vii. The above and the way in which work is organised
heightened
female attrition rates, further easing the
process of automation.
Observing the way managers work in industries, Hauke
Hacker found
views that justified the exploitation of women including easier
manipulation of their labour during times of technological
change.
Such attitudes were prevalent especially among those
managers with a technical or engineering background in industry,
which is predominantly male centred, and prone to gender the
social and physical world.
163
Activities, styles of interaction, '
jobs, machines,
even bodies of knowledge were characterised
devices,
or feminine properties appropriate to mon or as having masculine
based
wonion.
'I’ho.so gender
percept ions were n]stratified
ordered.
and
hierarchically
What was womanly had low status,
status.
Women were considered suitable what was manly had
high
for routine, detail work
care which freed the mind
---- 1 of man
___ for decision
What she found there ;---suggested
significant mind - body i making,
a male-linked mind to'a
female-linked
dualisms t
---- J body.
OCCUPATIONAL DUALISM
The next dualism is in
occupational segregation
confining them to -
1.
2.
of
women
Primary sectors of the economy such as
economy such
agriculture,
husbandry,,
animal
social
forestry, fisheries,
handicrafts etc. ,
These
account for over 80% of all
India.
<
women workers
in
significant
for by t-accounted
odunt-c handicrafts
----- 1-. .
.
,
cereal processing»,
food products,
--------- o etc. Which is understandable.
Within each sector, f‘
there is a further segregation resulting
in women being employed in
. 1 unskilled
and
labour
intensive
labour
jobs with low value addition
and
—J earnings.
the
sectors
in the
women workers
as
-- > are used
and repetitive jobs,
are
which
- They are cheap
so are
labour
ThKrOrrd
modernisation when
machines are introduced.
new
■ a fects women's
employment much
more «seriously than that
usualTv me?’
offices
and
service
industries,
women are usually employed as typists, and
data entry
data
operators,
telephone operators,
reception clerks,
nursing etc.
where jobs
As
in ^P^’-d's'Scndtrs^tors^lhese
of the job1 ladder,
women <
become
- •
^h^quest^n^oM^s'kedM^h 111^0^0^0'1 employees
°f
technology.
new
-- be so anti-women
Why nSW technology is
turning out to
The confinement
of women to routine,
unimaginative and
labour
intensive jobs
can only be the outcome of
dualism,
the mind-body
In other WOr<
d? .the. mind-body dualism
creates
occupational
the
dualism which
is
sustained and ___
_
nourished
successive
by
generations of males who hold superior jobs
are steeped
>
and
who
in the mind-body duaJi
*’“2 ism
syndrome.
(which
are all male dominated) are
Even
unions
not
sympathetic to the cause
of women.
H
164
New developments are taking place as a reaction to the
widely articulated demands and militant stance adopted by women’s
organisations.
Most
jobs in the U.S. armed forces^ including
combat forces are open to women.
Most advanced countries are set
to follow the U.S. example.
In India, women are occupying high
positions in the Administrative Services, Police, Judiciary and S
& T.
This has, however, not helped to ameliorate the lot of the
poor and rural women workers.
of the impressive advances
madej by
It appears that iinspite
-.
.
women in elitist fields, where the mind-body dualism is; breaking
down,
it seems
to be well entrenched in the organised and
80% of
informal sectors of the economy which provide well over
the women workers with employment.
EDUCATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGIC2VL DUALISM
of
the
tha t
dualism which is gender biased is
1 as t
The
absolute
in
The
number
of
illiterate
men,
system.
educationa1
23% between 1971
and
1981 while women
up by
numbers went
55% of men
‘
>
same
period.
illiterates went up by 28% during the
illiterate
in
1981
whereas
the
comparative
figure
for women
were
every
100
to
In
1981
there
were
201
literate
men
was 75%.
illiterate
literate women and 127 illiterate women to every 100
men.
One of the reasons for the higher illiteracy among women, is
the mind-body dualism which ordains that the women's place is at
simple
when working out, they are only capable of
home and
<-- that
-similar
jobs.
Kumud
Sharma
(5)
Arrives
arrives
at
a
and repetitive
conclusion
skill
education,
data
on
country
"Cross
to
Women
’
s
access
&
training
development,
the
supports
resources
assets and
productive
process of
that through an informal
observation
labour
soci a 1isation and mechanisms of division of
wha t
selection, the society channels women in
and
of
The treatment
is considered suitable for them,
large exten t a
the
female
labour force is to a
labour
in
the
reflection of
tlmir
low status
The
market , lack of proper education and training.
ro| x I i nd i ca I
I hat I hf ma p>r i I y of womon i n TT I r.
and
training
in cutting
have been undergoing
and
needlecraft
."
tailoring, embroidery
greater
The question to be asked is how womeni can be given
biases
Tradition
,
cultural
to education and technology.
access
of
A
great
deal
and social norms seek to perpetuate status-quo.
enable
is required to bring about changes that
political will
Conditions
more women to enroll in education and skill training.
have been created to make such changes possible for women of the
providing
middle and
upper classes in urban and
rural
areas,
industry
opportunities for employment in government services and
h
165
though occupational segregation still persists, The problem is
in respect of the poor rural women who constitute over 80% of the
female labour force.
Summarising the above dualisms,
the mind-body
duali sm
suggested by Hacker is based on assumptions by males regarding
wonted superiority in thinking and decision making in complex
fields of administration and industry. This is clearly one of
the urdesirable outcomes of a patriarchical society,
These
assumptions manifest themselves in occupaticnal segregation and
denial of educational and skj.il development activities specially
to the poor rural masses of women where the inequity is the
greatest. Occupational segregation is perpetuated by designs of
machines and
..d processes which are anti—women and which exclude
women from operating them. This fact is used as an argument for
denying opportunities to rural women <and those working in labour
intensive jobs, to education and skill development,
specially
when changes in technology take place. This chain of assumptions
and outcomes has resulted in a self-fulfilling prophecy to
support the mind body dualism as illustrated in the following
figure.
MIND BODY
DUALISM
\
\
EDUCATIONAL AND
! TECHNOLOGY
DUALISM
OCCUPATI
DUALISM
But things are changing. The myth that women are inferior
in status and mind is being broken,
though ever so slowly.
have
Events
overtaken gender biases and made the supporting
assumptions invalid and untenable. Women in armed forces in the
US are flying aircraft and helicopters.
Some women are managing
mega-corporations and many women are working at the frontiers of
technology in medicine, science and technology.
But as far as India is concerned, this trend has to be
translated into actions and programmes which will benef i t poor
rural women. The first stop is, of course, to stop women f rom
getting displaced from the existing jobs by introduction of
inappropriate and alien technologies.
11
166
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
Technology, per se, is gender neutral though not value free.
Technology, which degrades the environment and the quality of
life of people could be operated by both men and women.
However
the focus here is so shaped that it has become gender biased to
the detriment of women. Some examples are given below.
1.
The specifications for a military fighter aircraft is that
90% to 95% of the population of air force pilots should be
able to fly them. The height of pilots recruited by the
airforces ranges between 5'6 to about 6'0". There may be
some pilots who are shorter than 5'6" or taller than 6'0".
It is therefore not possible to design the cockpit and
controls of the aircraft to suit all pilots.
Hence- this
particular specification. Very few women will be able to fly
it as the number of women over 5'6" is a fraction of their
population.
But if the designers of aircraft are told to
design an aircraft for people in the aircraft for people in
the height range of say 5’0" to 5
5'6"
’6" they will be able to do
’his is an extreme example to show how specifications
so. UThis
P^aY
a vital role in design.
Specifications could be
gender biased though the technology of fighter aircraft is
gender neutral.
2.
Lorries,
buses,
tractors and factory machines are all
designed for operation by an average male and not by an
average female. Drivers have to have a certain leg-reach
to
o perate pedals and a minimum of strength to operate
the
s teering wheels and gears. The specifications are gender
biased.
They were not meant to be anti-women but in real
life it has turned out to be so.
3.
Most hand held agricultural equipment (saws.
weeders,
sprayers etc) have a similar gender bias.
Use of such
equipment has displaced female and male unskilled labour
but provided work to a few males who can operate the
equipment.
4.
Powerlooms have been so designed that one operator can
handle
two or more.
more .
But the design and
space/time
considerations rule out their operation by women.
5. A trivial example is the hand-operated bicycle pump which
is extensively used in households and petty repair shops,
Operation by women is frowned upon.
On the lighter side, there seem to be some time honoured
designs which are meant to exclude their use by men. These are
in respect of household devices such as mud-choolahs and hand
sewing machines without stands. The mud-choolahs are so low that
it is inconvenient for men to sit down on their haunches to use
them.
Similarly the floor operated hand sewing machines prevent
!•
h
167
their effective use by rnen as they have to sit cross legged
stoop over them.
and
Examples abound as to how technology has been engineered to
be pro-male, and in effect anti-women.
Similarly where women are
segregated to do some jobs with certain devices, these preclude
operation by men.
In both cases, the system perpetuates the
gender-based division of labour.
Tn h rodiicI'i nn of nr»v/ t.ochnol og i ns , of whatovnr typo,
should
not acceriLu.il.o Lho gender hasod division of J ahour, occupa tiona1
segregation and income differentials,
On the other hand, new
technologies
should be so selected and administered
that
intrinsically they should try to eliminate gender biases,, provide
more opportunities for women :*
the traditionally male dominated
jobs and reduce income differentials,
------This aspect should be kept
in view in Government assisted projects which should have
built
in mechanisms to evaluate new technologies before they are
introduced to assess their impact on women, only after which
should the projects be approved with abundant checks to ensure
their implementation as planned.
There should also be
a
countrywido movement to design women-frtend 1y machines,
devices
and processes.
Anderson (6) states that "By their nature, technologies are
disruptive of
°f old patterns precisely because these old patterns
have not been sufficiently productive.
rPeople look
‘ jfor and adopt
technologies in order to increase economic output andI security.
However, for
f
a technology to be effectively adopted, the gains to
recipients should outweigh losses.
Some of these gains and
losses are non-economic".
What should be women's response to the introduction of new
technologies? Jan Zimmerman (7) prescribes that - "Women should
adopt the time honoured strategy of resisting technological
change and automation to safeguard their opportunities of future
employment.
They should do this even if this strategy subverts
developmental goals." and she concludes
"Women will
find
themselves dealing with the world of tomorrow, using yesterday
tools, the technological hand-downs of their brothers;
they will
find themselves racing towards a technological horizon only to
see it receding before them."
CONCLUSIONS
1.
The Welfarist approach adopted by women's movements in the
past, has
become more ideological and raised issues of
woman's
status, equality in educational and
economic
opportunities and role in decision making.
2.
The
deterioration in women’s employment and
economic
opportunities, specially in respect of poor rural women, has
made the woman's movement more trenchant in its demand to
improve the lot of women in every field.
The increased
i1
168
articulation of such issues has made the concerns more
visible nationally and noticeable at the political level.
3.
Women’s movement has changed its approach from one of
concern for women's physical and material demands to a
concern for equality, status etc which are ideological and
This change in the stance of women's
conceptual issues.
movement has helped to tackle these issues at the political
level.
4.
Old technologies which were highly stable over thousands of
years, provided little mobility for women in the economic
field.
The patriarchal system is being perpetuated by
confining women to their homes. There was little concern or
debate about ideological issues such as status and equality
for women in access to & control of resources.
5.
New technologies, which are likely to be highly unstable in
so far as women's employment in traditional sectors is
women’s
cause,
concerned,
have
been disastrous
to
marginalising or displacing women from their traditional
areas
of employment and denying them access to
new
technolgoy. Patriarchy seems to have taken a new form in the
guise of new technology.
6.
The underpinnings of new technology are the male assumptions
that they are more creative and better at decision-making.
The process through which new technology is perpetuating
patriarchy can be illustrated through the cycle of
mind - body dualism,
(i)
(ii) Design / technology dualism
(iii) the education dualism with last mentioned
the mind - body dualism.
7.
reinforcing
These three types of dualisms are operating in society
affecting
and
the absorption of technology by women
relegating them to the repetitive / labour intensive jobs
which degrades them socially and economically.
These
dualisms are
The Mind and body dualism - this assumes that men are
identified with mind which is an instrument of creation
and that women are identified with the body which is
dumb,
sexy,
unpredictable and much in
need
of
discipline and control. -The above dualism results in
an occupational dualism which relegates women to the
low and menial jobs in administration and industry
whereas the higher echelons remain the domain of men.
The cycle is completed by education and technological
dualism which denies women access to education and the
new technologies on the plea that women are not working
in such technologies.
Ii
169
8.
Through an informal [process
--of socialisation and
mechanisms
of division of labour and splcctioi/
/ the
society channels
women
in what
is considered c
appropriate
for them.
The
processes of 'natural selection' are
suppressed
by
man-made
mores and rules.
9.
It is not as if women have not made i '
advances and broken the
vicious
circle created by the mind-body C
r dualism.
Women’s
entry
in sizeable
lo inumbers in administrative
and
scientific
fields are examples.
However women’s advances have
been
restricted
to a Tvery
—____
small area of human endeavour and
has
SO far
fat. benefited
ueneritea the elite and
upper classes,
The
problem
of
poor rural women continues
to deteriorate wi th
large
scale displacement of women
workers
and more
rigorous
occupational segregation,
It is to be hoped that the breakthrough achieved by women
at higher levels
demoli shes the
mind - body dualism and that the effect
percolates to poor
rural women.
recommendations
1.
Women's
current
occupations
in the
field
of production
(agriculture,
industry,
services)
should
be
made
more
productive and
<economically rewarding
by
application
of
science and technology.
The middle and upper class housewives
are using
technology
to
lessen
their burden at home.
In
a way,
this could
perpetuate' their traditional i
place at homo.
On
the other
hand this
could
release them
for
full
time
employment
outside.
’We should think of
ways and means of designing and
adapting science and technology to make T*c--women more effective
producers
in
the mainstream of production
- 1 on an equa1
footing with men.
There are two aspects in women
j ‘ ;
the mainstream
(i )
in
their current occupations withjoining
higher productivity and
incomes
and (ii), ---future
- 3 access to jobs
traditionally male
dominated.
2.
plannjng stages of future developmental projects,
a
------ 1 be made to ensure that exploitation
I
a particular technology is
not restricted to males but
will give equal access
to women, through appropriate changes
in designs
and
processes.
There are State laws which
regulate the introduction of
new
technologies so that
these
do not adversely affect the
survival and growth of
small
scale industry. Similar rules should apply to
developmental
projects to ensure that
women are not displaced,
There
should be legislation to
ensure reservations for women
in
new industries and expansion projects.
Ij
170
3.
There should be a country wide movement to ensure that
future designs of machines and processes give equal access
to women and that the designs> are not anti - women.
REFERENCES
1.
Boserup,Ester: Woman's Role in Economic Development
and Unwin
1970)
2.
Acharya, Sarthi - Transfer
Employment in India (ICSSR)
3.
Agarwal,Bina
Women and
Technological
Changes
Agriculture - Women's Studies International Quarterly 4, No.3, - 1981
4.
Hacker, Sally.L.
- The Culture of
Workplace and Machine
5.
Sharma, Kumud - Human Dilemma
(Occasional Paper - 1987 (CWDS)
6.
Anderson, Mary.B. -Technology
Implications for
- Technology Transfer:
women: Gender Roles in Developmental Projects, Chapter III.
7.
Zimmerman,Jan - "Technology & the future of women:
we met somewhere before. 1982.
of
Technology
and
(Allen
Women’s
in
Vol
Engineering
Women,
of i Technological
Progress
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171
THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF RURAL WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS IN
IMPROVED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
MADHU SARIN
1.
INTRODUCTION
The majority of rural Asian women are unorganised and
acutely isolated within the confines of the family.
In the
absence of any traditional forum where they can meet to discuss
and articulate their common problems, they continue to bear the
agony and consequences of the ongoing environmental degradation.
Their lack of access to information or control over decision
making in domains beyond the immediate concerns of the family
be it at the community, state or national level,
leaves them
particularly disadvantaged for initiating any resistance or
proposing alternatives to the kind of
'development'
being
pursued.
Most significantly, women's general lack of ownership
or control over any productive resources in a patriarchal
society, leaves them in a perpetual state of personal insecurity,
Challenging
or opposing decisions by male owners of
the
household's resources can easily result in the woman's getting
thrown out of the home, a risk few women are willing to take in
their state of isolation and resourcelessness.
Strategies for genuinely and sustainably increasing women's
control over natural resource management, must therefore, of
necessity, holistically address the question of gender relations
in the specific context. Here, it is useful to clarify the
different connotations of the terms 'women' and
'gender'.
The
focus on
'women'
tends to result in problems of women being
perceived
in terms of their sex,
i.e.
their
biological
differences with men, rather than in terms of their gender,
i.e.
in terms of the social relationship between men and women, a
telationship
in
which
women
have
been
systematically
subordinated. (1) Gender relationships are socially constructed
with gender differences being shaped by ideological, historical,
religious, ethnic, economic and cultural determinants.
gender
relations
in
natural
Understand Ing
resource
management in subsistence economies implies not only looking at
of
’roles'
but gender divisions in terms
existing gender
access to
ownership and control over resources, knowledge,
At a
information and control over the product of one's labour,
broad level of generalisation, one could say that in most parts
of South Asia, whereas gender relations assign subsistence tasks
of biomass gathering to women, they have little ownership or
Further,
control over the local productive resource base.
women's work is perceived to have littl° ’alue in conformity with
socialisation process
women's subordinate social status. T
-bordination so deeply
makes girls and women internalise thir
ton the most d i f f icu11
that helping them become aware of it is
tange.
first step in mobilising them for
This paper
11
172
suinmari sos t ho oxporionco of attonipt i ng Id ovo] vo appropria to
interventions for enabling women to participate in improved
natural resource management in 3 different states of North India
in collaboration with local NGOs. The experience
spans periods
of between 8 to 11 years.
It focuses more on the evolutionary
process by which priorities got defined, whether mixed or only
women’s
organisations, were formed, and how
the
support
strategies were altered in response to improved and changing
understanding of gender issues in each context. Ex
Based
on this,
an <attempt
1 *
has been made to synthesise the learnings; in terms of
the processwhich interventions by local organisations should
ideally be defined and some necessary preconditions which need to
be met for empowering women to gain greater and sustainable
control over the way local natural resources are used and
managed.
A
basic premise of this paper is that both the short and
long ^r2_?°alS °f suPPortin9 women's participation in natural
resource
management must
be defined
clearly,
.
. .
.
------ ------jIs the goal limited
to integrating women m on-going or new [programmes simply because
traditional gender roles assign subsistence tasks of biomass
gathering to women? Or is the goal to expower women to gain
control over their labour, knowledge and local natural resources
which rmay eventually
’ \ "lead to changing gender relations resulting
in greater gender equity? Unless a commitment to working towards
greater gender ,equity in the longer term is incorporated as; a
c 11 c r o c c 1
in
. •
•
programme goal,
success'
in
increasing woment’s participation
in
forestry or NRM programmes may end up being shortlived or
may
even result in increasing rural women’s excessive work burden.
As all the three case studies are from India,
the next
section of the paper begins with a macro look at the role
of
natural resources in the Indian economy. Gender relations in
natural resource management are first defined in relation to
the
national context.
The 3 case studies that follow highlight the differences and
similarities in specific contexts necessitating evolving locally
appropriate interventions.
The strengths and weaknesses of
different approaches for dealing with the common problem of male
hostility\suspicions towards interventions aimed at
women’s
empowerment ,
essentially
changing
gender
relations,
are
discussed.
The limitations of interventions restricted to only
forestry <or NRM issues without the ability to respond to other
major problems faced' by
‘y women are also highlighted.
The third section of the paper presents a synthesis of the
learnings from the 3 case studies.
This is followed by a brief
final section of conclusions and recommendations for programme
design and implementation.
iI
173
SECTION
2.
II
EXPERIENCES WITH RURAL. WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS IN NATURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
2.1
NATURAL RESOURCES AND GENDER RELATIONS IN THE INDIAN
ECONOMY
70 percent of India's population continues to depend on
agriculture with over half the country's land under cultivation .
Much of this consists of private holdings of less than one
Less than a third of the cultivated land is irrigated
hectare.
still
smaller fraction of about a fifth is under intensive
and a
revolution'
agriculture. The bulk of India's population
'green
dependent
on rainfed agriculture and on economically
remains
unviable small land holdings for their subsistence needs., Most
of them do not have the means to purchase their additional
’ ‘ . As a consequence, they depend on the
requirements in the market,
local natural environment for collecting biomass such as fuel,
fodder, material for agricultural implements,
small timber,
for
medicinal herbs\plants,
fruit, mulch,
leaf manure etc.
supplementing their agricultural production. This is done from
public or common lands which may legally be owned by the Forest,
Revenue or other government departments,
some controlled by
village Panchayats. About a quarter of the country's population
is
totally landless.
The dependence of this segment
on
collecting subsistence biomass from common lands is even greater.
Much of India's countryside is the habitat of this population.
It is characterisrd
conversion
character i r.rd by overuse of agricultural lands,
of lands unsuitable for agriculture to agricultural use and nonsustainable and unregulated exploitation of biomass from the
surrounding non-agricultural lands.
It is the majority of the population dependent on rainfed
agriculture or agricultural labourers and the tribal population
on their
__
_ onforest resources that depend directly
dependent
natural environments for their personal well being and surviva1.
this segment of society has been increasingly marginalised
Yet,
in the country’s power structure and government policies have
symbiotic
The
to deny or overlook their needs,
tended
small
land
on
relationship between subsistence agriculture
i
access
public
holdings and availability of biomass from common
Ians has also been jeopardised through large scale privatization
Subsidised acess to the produce of the
of common lands,
roma i ni ng publ i.c lands to industry has depleted them acutely,
The bulk of the population dependent on the natural resource base
for subsistence is finding itself at a double disadvantage. While
created limited
alternative
employment
has
'development'
the natural resource base to which it
opportunities for it r
earlier had access has shrunk dramatically besides becoming
highly degraded. (2).
u
174
Women's predicament within this scenario can be understood
given gender relations which generally assign tasks of biomass
gathering from the natural environment to women. Although entire
households are victims of macro developments, men are able to
find escape routes with greater ease than women. This may be
through migration to urban centres in search of wage employment,
gaining priority . access to the limited new jobs
becoming
available or
simply through turning to alcohol and domestic
violence to give vent to their frustrations. In most cases, this
further increases women's vulnerability and work burden.
2.2
ISSUES RELATED TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BY WOMEN'S
GROUPS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
This case study is based on the work done by SUTRA (Social
Uplift through Rural Action), an NGO based in Dharampur block of
Solan district in Himachal Pradesh (H.P.). The author has been
associated with the NGO as a resource person since 1981.
2.2.1
BACKGROUND
SUTRA began work in the area in 1976, initially focusing on
conventional development 'projects’
such as starting
adult
literacy classes, distributing improved seeds and fertilizers to
farmers, providing better health services, etc.
Fairly early on,
etc.
it
started realising that the most committed and active
participants in its programme were women. From the early 1980s,
it shifted its primary focus to assisting rural women in building
up women's organisations at the village level.
Upgrading the
skills of traditional midwives and training selected women as
improved stove builders were two of SUTRA's initial efforts of
working with women only, The close, regular contact with these
selected local women increased SUTRA's understanding of gender
issues in the area. Many of them were later recruited as full
time activists of the NGO to work with the
'Mahila Manda 1s '
(village level women's organisations) SUTRA has been assisting
village women to form. On the one hand, women talked about their
i n both the domestic and subsistence
increasing work burden in
sectors. On the other, there was a persistent demand for income
earning opportunities. When SUTRA attempted to respond to the
latter, it was often found that women could not find the time for
new economic activities because of their heavy existing work
load.
reports
of
to this, there were widespread
Parallel
due
domestic
violence
and
social
abuse
against
women
increasing
to growing alcoholism amongst men. Cases of men bringing in
second wives to beget sons, desertion, rape (within and outside
the family) and women committing suicide were also common.
evaluation in ! 985 ,
internal
After fin
change
its programme emphasis.
None of
SUTRA <lrci clod to
conventional
the
u
175
'development' projects could respond to women’s genuine problems,
It
decided
to shift its focus on building
up
women's
organisations as its main goal, not simply as vehicles for
implementing development 'projects'
'projects’
but to assist women in
creating their own spaces for sharing their common hardships and
evolving collective strategies for dealing with them through
organised action. The commitment shiften to empowering women to
work for social change which would enable them to live their
lives as dignified, equal human beings.
Two inputs were considered essential for working for women's
empowerment.
The first was to provide them access to maximum
information as information itself is power. The second was to
create opportunities for women to spend time together away from
their homes - to be able to reflect on their personal problems
from a wider social perspective and rid themselves of the
centuries old negative self perception inculcated in them,
Since
then, holding 3 to 5 day Legal Literacy and Awareness Generation
camps and producing pictorial information booklets have become
regular features of SUTRA's work.
Through these, women are informed about their legal and
constitutional rights, the structure of government institutions
and programmes,
and where to go for the redressal of specific
grievances.
In
addition, regular 3
day
gatherings
of
representatives of Mahila Mandals from all the areas in which
SUTRA and other collaborating NGOs are working are organised
annually.
these, women exchange
these,
During
their
problems,
articula tc common demands and work out strategies of action
besides spending endless hours of singing, dancing and laughing
together.
A state wide federation of MMs has been formed to
eventually articulate women's common demands at the state level.
It is through the fora of local MMs and the larger
gatherings of women that SUTRA's work on forestry and NRM issues
evolved.
However, prior to looking into the experience,
it is
useful to briefly look at some special characteristics of
Himachal Pradesh (H.P.), its economy and women's participation in
that economy.
2.2.2
ROLE OF WOMEN IN HIMACHAL’S ECONOMY
Himachal is one of the smallest Indian states located in the
Most of its terrain is mountainous. It is
North West of India,
also the least urbanised states of India, Over 90 percent of its
Often r
Often,
a
population lives in small, scattered hill villages.
these
village consists of no more than 10 to 15 houses and even
are spread over a large area.
be
The backbone of the state's economy continues to
of
subsistence farming on small hill terraces by a large mass
self-cultivating peasant proprietors. Atypical of India as a
whole, there are very few landless agricultural labourers.
u
176
It is tins peculiar agrarian structure of hhe
economy which defines women's status in society as well as state's
their
relationship with the natural environment.
As the
majority of
the small farms are economically unviable, th
the owners are not in
a position to hire labour for cultivation,
It is household
labour, primarily that of women and girls
which sustains
agricultural production.
From childhood, girls are
socialised
into
assisting with agricultural
production,
9
11 u r a 1 production,
care of
the
livestock, fetching firewood,/ fodder
’
and water to make the system
work.
However, women do not receive
and a lot of their work docs 1 ' ' a wage for the work they do
not formally got counted as work as
it is considered 'unproductive house work'
other wcmen agricviltura1 labourers is that they dobnot^own Wfche
that they do not
land on which they labour.
^4-4With this Problem, bUTKA
SUTRA commissioned a study which
and
? qu®I?t!fY woraen's actual labour inputs in agriculture
f" a
actlvlties
4 districts of Himachal.
?he study
found that more than 75 percent of agricultural work, over 90
of aT?thOf work related to livestock rearing and over 95 percent
all housework is done by women in the state. (3). Thus in a
ZrimZrilv wiHtate'S Pre?o"inantly agricultural economy functions
primarily with women s labour.
Altogether, the rural woman of H.P. puts in an average of 14
hours of work daily into agriculture, animal husbandry
and1 house
work.
2.2.3
CHANGING PATTERN OF NATURAE RESOURCE USE
Due to the smallness of landholdings, people in
H.P. have
always relied heavily on collecting biomass from
surrounding
common lands, which used to be thickly forested.
the state's area is legally controlled by the Forest32 percent of
Department.
In addition,
m some parts of the state, each village had its
’shamlet’
land for common use. Then, there are
are privately owned
non-agricultural
sector ;?h"on---il
raZin9 lands)
la"dS> meant tO S"P'>OTt
(grazing
the
livestock
economy.
However,
since 1971, there has been a i
shift in the
pattern of natural resource utilization with major
the '’opening up'
of
the state to 'economic development'.' On
C the
77 one hand,
the
state
govt.
started commercial exploitation of the forests
to
revenue.
On the other, 50 percent of the shamlet' lands raise
were
acquired by the govt, and distributed to r
the
landless
population.
The remaining 50 percent of such lands, although
i retained for
common use, were handed c
-- 1to the
••
over
forest
department
for proper
'management'.
Basically,
this meant even these lands being
Tr
fenced off and replanted with
non-browsable timber species
popular among foresters.
u
r
177
Further,
with the ever rising market value of timber,
men
have started replacing multipurpose local tree species
even
on
their private lands with quick growing
j commercial trees.
Besides increasing soil erosion, 7land slips and drying up of
water sources,, f
’
these
changes in the natural
—resource
resource use
use pattern
at the macro level have resulted in an <acute scarcity of grasses,
tree leaf fodder and firewood,
Given the gender division of
labour,
inevitably,
it
is the women on
v/hose shoulders
the
hardship has fallen.
2.2.4
INVOLVING WOMEN IN TREE PLANTING
It was <during
’
the drought year of 1987
that SUTRA first
attempted to motivate
~ women to plant trees.
During
awareness generation camps and other gatherings of MM meetings,
--------- ^2 women,
the
problem of firewood,
and water shortage had started
being
voiced
repeatedly
by the women.
to the drought,
cases of
women having to walk 20 kilometres Due
to
fetch
to
fetch
just
one
headload
of
fodder to keep their cattle alive started being
'
J
reported.
Drying
reported
.
of
perennial springs due to r
increasing deforestation
was making
-- 1 was
the search for water ever harder.
And
the
women
complained
complained of
the household’s men
simply demanding
cooked meals
without
thinking abou t
how hard collecting firewood
had
become
.
The
we
re
women
snnmliow gal heri ng i i ar.
i i n
non-a
va
I
I
ahi
I
i
t.y
for
cooking could easily result in humiliation
or beating at Home.
SUTRA started exploring women's interest in planting
local
multipurpos e tree species as a means of reducing their hardship
Their response
]---seemed positive and SUTRA raised nurseries for tSo
consecutive
ser;d‘listYofrn1nn^n eXPeri"e"tal ba51 s •
The MMs were asked
to !
f Plants required by their members with names of
the preferred species.
Simultaneously,
the women staff of the organisation were
asked
to put together local- women’is traditional knowledge about
the uses and other characteristics
.j of
various
local
species,
This
led
to
the
compilation of a
rich
storehouse of folk
knowledge , about
local
trees.
Some of
the women got deeply
involved m this exercise.
Not only were
(medicinal,
food,
lighting
food,
lighting material,
material, fibre
fibre production,
fruit,
edible
flowers,
lowers, mulch and organic fertilizer besides fodder and
firewood)
of different parts of trees listed, but also a wealth
of knowledge about: proper
proper management
management of
of
different
species
surfaced.
During the cold winter
- ---- months, tree leaf fodder is the
only green
fodder
available in the hills.
Practically each
terraced
field has a row of local fodder trees along
its
edge.
The household
women
r , ,
. ,
manage these carefully for procuring
maximum
fodder yields
—
yie±a? through
through lopping.
lopping.
They know when and how to
lop without damaging the main tree.
However, when the
time of
few saplings
29 ^7ame' very
VGry feW
sapiings raised by SUTRA were actually
taken by the women and out of those taken,
/ only a few survived.
u
178
On trying to analyse why this had happened,
we realised that
wi th
the onset
of the rains, women's already heavy workload
increases manifold
and they are simply unable to dig
I pits and
plant saplings
as well.
in any case, they
they can
can undertake
such
planting only on their private lands.
But
that
is
not
where
the
main problem
lies,
As far as the management of
fodder trees
along field bunds is concerned, hill women
can teach a lot to the
best of forestry 'experts 1.
The problem iwith
' ’ the private 'ghasanis'
'ghasanis' is that they are
often too far from the house
.
.
- ----- and difficult to protect.
In
case,
there is a shortage of fodder trees on the ghasanis, any
it
is
largely
because the men have got them cut or replaced
by
commercial
What will
wiib
specles"Hl prevent the men from doing the
same with the new *saplings planted by the women ?
As the legal
owner of
the land, the man has the last word on
what
will
be
planted there.
If he does not share
the woman's
priorities
,
there is little she can do about it.
This was also evident in
the poor lifting of fodder plants l>y
women.
the women.
Investigation s
fndHaled
that while
their
preference
whileswomen had expressed
their
for
fodder species, the
insisted on commercial fruit plants.
the men
mon insisted
2.2.5
FOCUSSING ON BASIC GENDER ISSUES
Collective reflection on
the
experience
led
to
SUTRA
realising
that it had made a classical error :in formulating its
strategy.
Simply because women have the primary
for gathering biomass for subsistence needs should responsibility
not mean that
they should also have the primary responsibility for
’re'plenishinq
the depleting
stock
of trees.
Unless the processes
causing
deforestation
or
replacement of multipurpose
species'
by
commercial ones are countered, even the new
the new trees planted by
the
women
arc
likely
to disappear.
It
It is
is not
not the women who are
causing deforestation.
if we had
succeeded in [
-If
persuading
them
to plant trees, vwe would have only added to their
1-*
work
burden
without increasing their control over the trees.
This experience led to a shift in SUTRA's approach.
It was
realised that the problem lay in women's
lack of control over the
management of both private and common lands despite
‘
it being
their responsibility
to <collect essential biomass
J
from them.
The women did not yet have the
- ‘ strength to deal with
the issue
within, their
individual households’
But
they
could
start
demanding collective control by women
over
the management of x
common lands.
This resulted in considerable discussion
of the issue during
various gatherings of women.
The
forest department's
(FD)
policies
towards management of both village shamlat
and
forest
lands
was
analysed.
The women pointed
out
that
the
predominantly male staff of the FD interacted with
the
male
dominated
village Panchayats to seek their consent for planting
commercial
species on ;shamlat lands.
Information on
the
legal
status of different types> of land and the legal procedures
which
H
179
l <) l)<> f<> I lowr’d by the FD wh I I r plant in<j on
nerdof I
pt
<
»
V
I < I <-d t (. I In* v I I I .i<p‘ w< niu’ii .Hid SUTRA ‘ n nt a I I
wmi
o C a I a wye r .
I andn
common
wI Ih I ho Ik* I p
This led to a number of spontaneous, exciting initiatives by
some MMs.
In one case, the MM, on learning that the FD was
planning
to fence off their shamlat land and plant only the
commercial Pine species on it, passed a resolution that unless at
least 50?; of the plants were of fodder species, the women would
uproot them and replace them with fodder plants,
sent
This was
to the concerned forest officials.
The women also demanded that
instead of
the male dominated Panchayat,
the MM should
be
consuted about what to do with their shamlat land,
The forest
guard ran around and somehow obtained the
fodder
species the
women wanted.
The women didn't have to do any
additional work
themselves.
In another village, the MM succeeded in forcing the FD
to
remove
the fencing it had put around their shamlat land for new
planting .
They insisted that that was fthe
*
' grazing land they
only
had and the fencing had shut off their only path to the‘ nearest
source of drinking water for the livestock,
During the following
year,
they iworked out their own plan for improving the area's
productivity and asked the FD to implement it.
At the next
meeting of
their
state
level
federation,
representatives of the MMs discussed the issue further and passed
a resolution that the government should give the village MMs
the
power and
responsibility for deciding how their common
lands
should be developed by the FD.
Prior to the subsequent elections
in the state, all candidates canvassing for votes were asked by
the MMs to give in writing that they would
support the above
demand if elected.
SUTRA is also assisting the women explore
whether in the ongoing settlement of rights on forest
lands
in
the state, the MMs can obtain legal rights over the management
and use of village common lands.
If that is achieved, the women
will gain
legal
control over the use and management of
an
important local resource,
That will enable them to influence the
use of public
resources in accordance with
their priorities
without adding to their work burden.
Beginning with these initial steps, once adequately
the state level federation of MMs can start influencing
resource management policies at the state level.(4).
2.3
strong,
natural
WOMEN'S INVOLVEMENT IN REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED
COMMON LANDS IN RAJASTHAN
This case study is based on the work of People's
Education
and
Developmen t
Organisation
(PEDO)
in Bicchiwara block of
Dungarpur
District,Rajasthan.
The author has
been
associated
with PEDO as a resource person since 1983.
u
180
2.3.1
THE AREA
southern
the
istnct with .81.5% of its population belonqinq to rho Bhil
rlbe‘
Tho <11 strict is known to be drought prone
The
most
recent drought from 1985 to 1987 was the worst slncl'isgl
The terrain consists of low, rolling hills.
The majority of
the Bhils practice rainfed agriculture on unterraced
hill slopes.
During the four decades since Independence
Independence, the district has
witnessed devastating deforestation combined
with significant
changes m land use patterns,
While the population has more than
doubled and the cultivated area
more than trebled, the forest
area has declined to less than one fifth during this period.
Compared to an all India literacy rate of 36%, the
literacy
rate in Bicchiwara block is only 13.7%.
The literacy rateJ among
women is a mere 3.81% compared to 23.9% for men.
The 1981 (census
----- put• the
••
forest rarea of Bicchiwara block at
5,436 ha (only 7.6% of_ ithe total L
area) .
It is estimated that at
Independence, over 35% of the
block
-- ---- was under dense forest
cover.
2.3.3
DEPENDENCE
OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY ON THE
NATURAL
RESOURCE BASE
histor?c.i?red°ri-a2t];y1 Bhil
B,lli population
population of Bicchiwara
block
istoricaHy subsisted by, na combination
combination of
of food growing and food
gatheringJ from the forests. rForests provided
the people with
__ yj
a
wide range of subsistence goods - firewood^
firewood, timber lor
housing
,
furniturec and agricultural implements,
medicinal
herbs
and
Flants. edible fruits, gums, honey, roots and wild
f J owcrs.
During earlier droughts, although there was undoubted
hardship
,
the forests provided a back up life support system
Unfortunately,
t
today
the area has been transformed into a
moonlike landscape of bare,, 1brown hills with barely a blade
of
grass
on
them.
Semi-starved low grade cattle,
with
a
preponderance of goats and Shonpf can bo seen searching for
food
for survival.
With the symbiotic relationship between
the
forests and the local subsistence economy destroyed, a vicious
poverty trap has been created,
During years of crop failure,
people either have to migrate Ito other areas in search of work or
depend on daily wage work generated throughi govt, drought relief
programmes.
The remaining forests are hacked
---- down
--- 1 further to
collect firewood for sale to supplement declining
incomes,
The
traditional subsistence economy is on the vorcio of collapse wi th
mere survival having become a full time task.
H
181
2.3.3
WOMEN’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Besides traditional women's tasks of child bearing,
child
care and domestic work, there is a clear gender division of
labour in the subsistence economy. Fetching firewood and water
are considered exclusively women's work,
Similarly,
taking
cattle for grazing is by and largely done by women although
children and older men also do this. And then, women participate
in most agricu tural activities such as sowing, hoeing,
uoe
weeding,
harvesting and post—harvest storage and processing, Today, with
people's increasing dependence on wage labour, more women than
men can be seen at work sites. Thus, women have also become
major cash earners for the family.
However, ownership of all immovable property such as
and housing is vested in men <and the only property considered land
to
be women's is their jewellery,.
There is strong
cultural
resistance to giving even a [part of the family’s land to
women
and a family without male offspringf considers itself highly
unfortunate.
Thus , while having an intrinsic interest in
maintaining a
healthy natural environment, women find
themselves
devoid of
control oyer decision making related to
management of a basic
resource like land because
its <
‘ *
. --- ownership
vests
with
men. This is
in a context where domestic violence,, alcoholism.
bigamy and
desertion are common among men.
2.3.4
THE ORIGINS OF PEPO’S WORK WITH LOCAL WOMEN
PEDO started an improved chulha (stove) programme, based
on
training jselected village women in 1983. By
r 1986, 30 women had
been trained
-J ias chulha mistris and supervisors. Each one of them
had established
---- J contact with 100 to 200 local women
women in
in their
respective areas.
It was through this extended network of
contact with local women that the organisation started gaining a
better understanding of women's problems.
With the commencement of the three years drought (1985
to
1987),
the near total collapse of the natural resource
based
subsistence economy started becoming evident.
Its impact on! all
local peoplej was terrible but clearly, women were the
worst
sufferers.
The situation led to a serious review and reflection within
PEDO.
It was clear that none of women's
women’s problems could be dealt
with
in isolation
isolationororatatthe
theindividual
individual level.
level. Organised and
collective
action was a pre-requisite.
To
seek
women's
seek
reflection and involvement in articulating
issues
arhirnlatinn dominant
confronting them and defining appropriate strategies of action, a
large mela (gathering) of women was organised in April, 1987.
The response to the mela, despite several
problems, was
overwhelming.
During the 3 days 3,000 rural women.
instead of
i
u
182
planned
dancing
i oncer,,
endless,
f the
For most of
that they had been
The imajor
’
problems articulated by the women fell
into two
main
groups
.
* ’
first were linked to the
collapse
the
of the
agrarian
■
scarcit/^/t Uf /
drou9ht.
Topmost among these were
the
’ £°dder a"d
and
dependence
on 'wage labour
men The
domestic^vin? P f p^oblenl? were social; alcoholism
i among
men,
domestic violence,
desertion,
bigamy and the
general
insecurity in women's lives
S
y
no
the
Due ^considerable
I
discussion on the
causes and impact of
prevailing
villages who had
,
fodder
and fruit plants
for
planting on their private lands.
Women
of
3
villages also
asked for assistance in rehabilitating their
totally
degraded
village common lands.
y
.
pa’rtlci;«ed I’S thrS: »«"r'rorffu«lVe"1
After the mela, PEDO initially received
a demand for
30,000
saplings from women of about 60 villages.
However
,
after
the
first monsoon rain of
1987, the demand
for
plants
shot up
phenomenally.
A total
of 1,64,000
saplings were eventually
distributed to 602 women from 68 villages
; !
PEDO
also
supported
the women of
two
rehabilitate their village‘ common lands that
year.
2.3.5
villages
to
TENSIONS GENERATED BY THE FOCUS ON WOMEN
However, at this stage it started becoming evident that
the
focus
on working wifh on1y women was
boginrJ"
genera
te
leusions and
hostility not only among male villagers
but also
Sieves If'ti: Staff: The
Sta?f <Started
^-tioning the
The male
male staff
‘
•
jectives of the women s programme.
They
could
They
could see
see few
outputs fr™ it uuiite tl,e programme.
p„n,p i„
sJJ»Uon
the hand pump installation, well
womPn°o °nr
terracing
themselves were involved with/' The
terracing they
they themselves
with,
women s
programme,
with
its
emphasis were
on involved
group building
Ind
programme,
with
its emphasis
on
group
building
eiicitmg women's
participation,
to
them,
seemed/o
consist
women's participation, to them, seemed to consist of
eetings with W
women
with n
no
tangible
compllined^^/r
°men Wlth
° tan
9ible results.
They
results.
about I
4- that when
60 they
Y were
WSre asked to intimate
village
women
village
meeting,
being a ilvitld
9' the
R® village
V1Jlagf men
mcn wanted to know why they were not
Reports also started coming in of some of the
villaae invited
31
» .Reports
women
being
by thCir
their ,husbands
empty handed" fro/ beaten /
?usbands when they returned
handed
from ' a women's meeting.
permitting
the/
Some men had
been
exPIctat/n /hat t,'/lves to
.
attend
the
women's
meetings
in
the
to. attend the women's meetings
in
to thorn
Whon at
Mfc th
9anisation would provide some employment
the or
organisation
they rofurnod empty handed, tho
men'’s
found release a in//
1
frustration
bea ting .
u
183
We also started realising that although women were the
greatest sufferers of environmental degradation and could take
the lead in remedial action, gender relations made them dependent
on men's support for taking any land related initiative.
Very
few women are strong enough to assert themselves in deciding how
the land legally owned by men should be used.
All this led to the decision to involve men in the process
of change. PEDO's objective was not to create yet another divide
between men and women.
Instead, the aim was to Jstrengthen
‘
women's capabilities to deal with their problems and fight: their
oppression both
individually and rollortiv^ly.
If mon wore
ma do
part Lcipantf; in the process of reflecting on how women's specific
burdens had increased, they might cooperate in finding ways of
reducing them.
But, if instead, they felt threatened,
it was
likely to result in increased oppression of women in a situation
where women wore ill equipped to deal with it.
2.3.6 WORKING WITH JOINT GROUPS OF MEN AND WOMEN ON COMMON
LANDS
Taking these developments into account, it was decided to
modify the approach and work with mixed groups of men and women.
Thom am
largo chunks of degraded common lands in the
block. Residents of particular villages or hamlets have clear,
defacto grazing rights in specific patches of these lands.
While defining clear principles for PEDO to work on common
lands
in early 1988, it was decided to build upon the existing
group identity of sharing traditional rights in
them,
.
---Thus, all
right holding families were to be involved in the group. To make
every family feel equally responsible for protection, each family
was to be assured a right to an equal share of the produce. Each
group had to make a prior commitment to protect the
plantation
before PEDO was to get involved. Day to day management decisions
had to be taken by a managing committee (MC) elected by the whole
group. There had to be at least an equal representation of women
on the MC which was to meet regularly every month.
Regular
meetings of the entire group were also to be held and every
effort made to encourage women's participation in these.
In any Udbe,
case, as uraaitionai
traditional use rights
rignts to common lands are
family based, it was felt that working on them with only women
would generate avoidable discord. At the same time, due to
women's subordinate status, there was considerable concern about
whether women would have any effective participation in groups in
which men were also members,
All that the organisation could do
to facilitate women's participation was to make it a precondition
for working with any community and ensure the availability of
women staff during village meetings to encourage women to come
out.
But this cannot be always ensured due to inadequacy of
women staff or some of them being unable to provide continuous
and regular support due to instability and personal problems in
their own lives.
184
Further, ccpia 1 participation by women was being sought in
a
cultural
context where there is a
.
.
strong surviving tradition of
men getting together twice every month on the 11th day of
the
t°.
o discuss village affairs.
Women are completely
excluded from this traditional forum.
As a- consequence
the men
forum.
As
-tIevillaaeS ^t^er inf°rmed and used
to taking
decisions related
used to
taking decisions
to village affairs.
Also,, despite winning over the male staff to
Also
the cause of fac.i
faci 1 i ta
tati.ng
Ling women's involvement, and providing them
periodic training inputs for developing the skills for it, it
is
too_ easy
for the male staff to revert to their traditional
dominating or patronising role towards women.
2.3.7
EMERGENCE OF INDEPENDENT WOMEN * S GROUPS
The
performance of mixed groups was
reviewed during a
training
programme for women staff
in
September
1988.
The
consensus was that women's lack of land ownership and traditional
male domination «
role
in plantation ] ' ‘ ‘
Joint meetings of men and women, while successful
illages.
in
hostility and securing their cooperation, tended to
diminish free expression <and articulation by women.
The need
to
create a separate forum for
“''7 women in which they could express
their views and concerns uninhibited by the
j presence of
men,was
strongly felt.
At
the same time, the 1988 monsoon was
exceptiona1ly
good
after 4 to 5 years of poor rains.
Instead of problems of
fodder
and water,
now the women were more [pre-occupied
with getting
credit
ffor buying grain seeds for sowing,
All the stored
grain
had
beenn oaten up during the scarcity years.
Also,
due
to a
dramatic
increase in illnesses during the drought: years,
there
was
an increased need7 “7
for“ remergency loans.
accessible
The only
credit was from moneylenders,
Ihe women talked about the extreme
exploitation
by
local
moneylenders.
They
responded
enthusiastically
to the idea of starting women's savings groups
as a long term measure for getting out of their clutches.
The development of over 30 women's savings
•
groups since then
has
been a remarkable phenomenon and demand"for
assistance
in
forming
new groups is continuing,
Surprisingly, there has
been
next to no male hostility to this activity being
undertaken
exclusively by women.
The monthly meetings of these groups
have
also provided
the much needed forum
----- for
.women
women to
to get
together
rr7???larly for a
non-threatening,
non-controversial
non-threatening,
purpose.
While
some of the groups have kept themselves confined
to
the
savings aclact i v i l y ,
many haw* taken up several
other
issues
of
concern
to the women,
The existence of active women’s savings
groups in villages where common lands plantations have been taken
up has women in their management.
3 day awareness
genera tion
camps
for women have been held
in
some of
the
vi1lages
discussions hve been organised to facilitate learning from
each
other’s experiences.
In the process, group members have
gained
i ,5-'
li-
■
•••
J
185
Confidence :*i-H^articulating their problems, acting on them,
being able to talk even in gatherings where men are present.
2.3.8
and
THE SITUATION TODAY AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
There is considerable variation in women's
women’s participation
participation in
the common land plantation groups that PEDO is
is working
working with.
There has been nothing 'automatic' in the extent
extent of
of women's
active participation in the development of village common
common lands,
no
no matter how acute their hardship of searching for fuel and
fodder.
Even in the villages where women took the initiative and
played a leadership role, this was preceded by enabling them to
interact with other women's groups through melas,
visits,
training programmes and awareness generation camps.
Continuous
interaction
._.i with PEDO's women staff has been another crucial
input for empowering women to participate.
Where either the opportunities for exposure or inputs by the
women
staff have been weak or limited,/
village
women's
participation
in decision making has remained weak.
The
tradition of women being assigned a passive
role
in
decision
making in inon-domestic matters and their isolation
are just too
powerful to break through byJ women on their own.
What
is needed
is to help women create their own forum in the
villages
where
they can meet and interact regularly to build up their confidence
and develop the <capability
* ‘‘
to work collectively as a group,
Initial efforts to
create
to create such
such groups around development of
common lands brought forth men’*s suspicions and hostility
J as it
was a threatening land based activity,
Modifying this approach
to work with <combined
’ *
’ groups of men"and women proved a
setback
to women's participation.
This much needed women's fforum has finally emerged in
the
form of Women's Savings Groups. For
For the
first time,
time,'v
the first
women have
been able to find a socially accepted space where they/ can get
together regularly and have access to information on a
sustained
basis.
Given the opportunity to participate in an uninhibited
manner in exclusive women's meetings,
they are increasingly
gaining the confidence to articulate their views even -.1
in meetings
where mon are present.
Indirectly,
this has increased
Ind
ircctly,
-- - J their
genuine pa r I: i c i pa t i.on
in the manacjt'inen t related decis ions of
their common lands.
In fact, the patter which is emerging
that once women get mobilised to act on a particular problem,
^n^4GaVe ^he.men bailing behind in initiative and commitment,
sometimes having to drag the men along. This was evident in
in a
tew villages when the women decided to take collective action
against
corrupt
cooperative
society
officials
and
the
exploitative practices of moneylenders. The men were too scared
cl
the repercussions of confronting their exploiters and the
women often had to drag their men along as the loans are in the
name of men 1
less
Another pattern
'
....is emerging is that women tend to
which
manipulative in their actions.
------Due to being sidelined
be
by
u
186
the
increasingly corrupted
<-male dominated leadership
and govt, services, i’
z they have not absorbed those valuesstructures
same extent.
to the
They arej more prone to honouring
the commitments
they make.
iis
s
This
iJlustrated by the changed
views of
REDO's male
staff
towards the women's programme.
Their
initial
doubts and
hostility
of 4 years ago have changed to their
specially going
out to involve women simply because women's
rewarding..
Many of them are now trying to aet response is more
more such groups
started in
their
field areas to enable
women
to gain the
necessary confidence.
A similar attitudinal
^subecoming evident even among
the men Of several
several villages which have strong women's
PEDO has °^^-?aidevelooed
Wtth thS idea Of experimenting
with wastelands
-..-o (development by exclusive women's
groups as a
means of enabling women to acquire riqhts
, . •
J ——— —
•- J- 'J I I L, U
t O some
land, albeit as
a group ■ •yr
if
r
this happens, it will mean a step in the direction
of
changingJ ftraditional
'
gender relations in the
control of a
basic
resource like --land.
r; .It
interesting to see if the
women's
manage thear lands differently Lorn the mixed
groups
groups. (5).
2.4
rehabilitation of COMMON LANDS BY WOMEN'S GROUPS IN GUJARAT
This case study is based
on the work done by SARTHI
(Social
Action with Rural and Tribal
Inhabitants
of India) in
San trampur
Taluks of
Panchmahals District C ‘
, Gujarat.
The author has been
associated with SARTHl's work since
1983.’
2.4.1
background
The socio-economic characteristics
of Panchmahals
district
(including Santrampur Taluka)
are
similar
to
those
of the
adjoining Dungarpur district
of Rajasthan where PEDO is working.
Panchmahals
is
one of Gujarat'sJ most
industrially
backward
districts with
89
percent of the workers
still
engaged
in
agricultural and allied activities,
Most
of
them
are
small
and
marginal
farmers.
90%
of the district's
cultivated area
is
rainfed which leaves the
area vulnerable to crop failures due to
deficient or untimely rains.
The most recent drought years
were
1985
to 1987 which
^OUght.a^te misery to the people.
Besides
total
crop failures,
acute
fodder scarcity resulted in heavy
J
cattle
mortality
and
forced large numbers
<of' people to migrate to other
areas
in
search of work.
In fact,
- , rseasonal migration for wage work is
common
in the area as rainfed
--- agriculture yields only
one crop
annually.
Compared
to Gujarat as a whole, Panchmahals has a
higher density of
population,
a much
lower
literacy
much
rate
u
187
(particularly among women), much less urbanisation and
higher percentage of tribal population.
a
much
The forests of the Panchmahals are historically famous,
It
was here that the Sultans of Ahmedabad and the Mughal Emperors
used to come on elephant hunting expeditions.
Unfortunately,
little of the forests has survived the
combined pressures of illicit felling, commercial exploitation,
clearance for agriculture and uncontrolled grazing.
Excessive
grazing smothers natural regeneration and each drought year
brings a fresh onslaught from a desperate population in search of
fodder,
firewood and source of income. The district's grazing
(gauchor)
land is under similar pressure. Out of a total of
about 50,000 ha. of grazing land, at least 10,000 ha. has been
encroached upon by a land hungry population. The rest of it is
in a degraded and unproductive state due to the absence of any
regulatory or management system.
16 percent of Santrampur Taluka's area is supposed to be
under forests and 8.9% is ’Revenue Wasteland'. Almost two fifths
of the latter is already under cultivation
(authorised or
unauthorised) <and what remains is degraded hilly or plain non
cultivable land.
consequence ,
As a consequence,
little of any
available for development of biomass
majority of cultivators being small
similar constraint governs availability
purpose.
type of public land is
resources,
Due to the
or marginal farmers, a
of private lands for the
Gender relations in the area are similar to those* in PEDO's
area. However, there is greater diversity across caste and class
lines. Higher
Higner caste Patel women from larger land owning families
do not have to scrounge for subsistence biomass goods from the
surrounding degraded public lands.
However, women of
the
majority of poorer Scheduled Tribe and backward class households
are in never ending search for firewood,
fodder and other
firewood,
biomass.
Desertion, domestic violence, alcoholism among men
(despite
prohibition in Gujarat) and husbands bringing in second wives to
beget sons are equally common in SARTHI's area.
It is in this context that rehabilitation of degraded common
lands exclusively by women's groups has emerged as one of
SARTHI’s major programmes. The uniqueness and strength of the
programme lies in the fact that it originated out of the poorer
women of Muvasa village themselves articulating the need to find
some means of solving their acute problems of fodder and firewood
scarcity.
This was during the 3rd successive drought year of
1987 .
Working with women's groups did not form a component of
any of SARTHI's programmes till then. However,
both SARTHI's
male and female staff had been sensitised to gender issues in
u
188
natural resource management
i---through participation
]_
• in several
training workshops,, ]both at PEDO and SARTHI/ They helped
the
Muvasa women form the first
11-- ; women ' s group for rehabilitation of a
piece of degraded common land, Being locally based,
they were
acutely aware of the suspicions working only with
women were
likely to generate among villageJ men. They devised
their own
strategies for dealing with this. The role of the
organisation
was primarily
]
that of giving its field staff the flexibility of
experimentingI with a new approach.
Later,
on seeing
its
effectiveness, SARTHI has accepted working with groups,
groups, not ionly
women's groups, as its main programme strategy.
2.4.2
OVERVIEW OF SARTHI*S EXPERIENCE WITH WOMEN'S GROUPS
p
■
-------■
present,
SARTHI
is
working with about 17 women’s
lands groups in 5 of---------its fieldJ centres.
At
common
The land in all cases is either Panchayat Gauchor
(grazing)
land or Revenue Wasteland.
Subsequent to the organic development
of the Muvasa group, initiation of women’s groups
women's
in other
villages has taken different routes.
In some cases,
SARTHI's
field staff have first scouted around to find the
to find the necessary
common land .
They have then tried to motivate local women
women to
drvol op i I an a group.
in
hor rar.nr. ,
i
t ho
of
bhe
hr* work
of
Muvasa group,
group, some imale village leaders have approached SARTHI
asking for a similar women's group to be formed in their village.
offering the necessary land.
As may be expected, the experience with the groups has been
variable. While some are developing well others are weak.
Some
ave fallen apart in early stages of their
formation.
A
complex
-- --------range of factors influence each group's development.
These
include power dynamics within the village, competing interests in
the common land, women's status and extent of exposure to
to the
outside. world, men's attitude towards women
taking
such
taking
initiatives,
the skill, experience and leadership qualities
qualities of
the field staff, particularly of the women staff, and
and the
the extent
of fuelwood and fodder scarcity in the area.
2.4.3
CASE STUDY OF THE MUVASA GROUP
It is useful to look at the process of formation of
of the
Muvasa group in greater detail as it has played a catalytic
catalytic role
m getting other <groups going. Bringing women of newly
newly formed
groups to meet the Muvasa group has become a regular feature at
SARTHI.
These visits have seldom failed to impress new group
members and have invariably facilitated1 new
now group formation.
Muvasa is a largish village with 6 hamlets,
The group
members belong to 2 of these. One third of the families are
higher caste Patels whose women do not go out to work, The rest
of the families are Adivasis (tribals) or from backward classes.
Both men and women of these families have to
supplement
agricultural incomes with wage work.
H
189
Women of
small
and marginal farmer
families
acute
hardship in meeting their fuel and fodder needs.
Fudd face
Fodder
scarcity
is
^ruiC^!fuLe^peri®.nce^ during the summer months.
Firewood
has to be fetched from the--------forests
J about 10 Kms away.
Scarcity of fuelwood and fodder is becoming
Becoming more
more acute
acute with
further <dwindling of the village's common land resources.
Much
resources.
of it has
been encroached
upon.
The
limited
left for
land
grazing is under such intense
pressure that it has become totally
unproductive and barren.
It is
1- 4 ha. of this land on which the
Muvasa group has planted.
FORMATION OF THE WOMEN *S GROUP
In early 1988,
SARTHI had
initiated private wasteland
development with a ffew families in Muvasa.
----- Due to many
families
not working on their
L-- own lands, SARTHI staff had
to hire other
labour to do the earthwork.
Most of this labour
of
Adivasi women from the most disadvantaged families. consisted
Getting
together to work, the t —
•
women talked
about their own
hardships.
They regretted their
inability to participate‘ in
the
programme as their own land holdings
"73 twere too small.
Champa
Ren
and Vikrarn Bhai, SARTHI 's field staff,
took a lead from this
and
started exploring the possibility of the
women developing a piece
common land as a group.
rThe
~'
women showed
immense interest,
work”1 WaS willin9 to Pay for the land
- -- J
preparation and
planting
Impromptu meetings on the work sites
resulted in some ground
rules
being worked
out for the group.
Al]
members would have to do the land preparation those who became
and planting work
themselves.
The
group
group would have
to
accept
collective
responsibility for protectingJ the plantation,
Each
member
would
have aright to an <ecjual
,
’ share of the
produce
.
All
decisions
related
to the plantation would have to bo
taken
co]lectively.
Only women
twould be eligible for
group
membership
it is
they
as
who suffer due to fuel ana
All
and rodder
fodder scarcity.
scarcity.
All women interested
in joining the group would be invited to join.
With the group beginning to come together,
the Panchayat
approached,
The Panchayat gave a no objection certificate" t was
-- ‘ to the
women
P anting on 4 ha. of common land with a commitment
to
renew the lease after 10 years and not claiming any share of
the
produce from the land.
Sonin of the more active
women then wont from house to house
enquring from other non-l’a tel
women whether they were
interested
in joining
the group.
A total- of
— 29 women
decided
to
become
members.
All
of
them are from the poorest
families
in
the
viJ. Iago, with some owning loss than
Chan 1 acre of land.
Duo to
this
process,
no conflict was
generated due to
some women
feeling
excluded from the group.
Ii
190
DEALING WITH MEN'S SUSPICIONS
Even before the <group
---.
.
started
work on the land, village men
had started questioning why the organisation
.1 was working only
with women.
The husbands of some members felt that housework
was
suffering and
the time spent in meetings was
wasted.
At
the
family.
level,
each woman had
level,
had to
to use
use a
combination
of
assertiveness and diplomacy. rThey
”‘
started getting up earlier to
finiah
their housework before going to work
on the land or to
attend meetings.
SARTHI's staff dealt with the men's suspicions bv callinn
meeting of
the whole village to explain why they were
9 a
with a women's
Women
’
s
increasing
hardship
due^o
3
group.
Women's increasing
hardshio doe
scarcity
and fodder and
their having a greater^take
and their having a greater stake in
dealing with the problem were
discussed.
Although
this
were
discussed.
Although
this
helned
reduce suspicions,
many men continued
screed?™
many
men
continued
spreading
rumours
that
SARTHI ’would abduct the women
awav
■ ru™°urs eJc^
women,
away their 9jewellery
women, take
1
Some men would stealth!
lv listen to the
?lr.. jewellery
stealthily
-- -- j group's discussions.
Slowly,
with
the group working steadily and
the women's
increasing empowerment,
the rumours and suspicions died down.
The field
staff ensured some men's
involvement with
SARTHI's
other activities
so that they got better acquainted
with the
organisation.
EVOLVING A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE PLANTATION
The group meets regularly on the
,0th of each month.
Many
decis 1ons aboutthe
plantation have been
taken during
t
meet i inju .
TIh' f i rs t. problem the group faced was getting the h o s n
co
operati on of.
.-uljoLning
Sadavra
village in
protecting
their
plantation.
^miiies of this village used to graze
their
cattle on the land before.
This problem was solved with the help
of Muvasa’s Panchayat and persuading the concerned families?
A.-’
Next,
iwhen
‘
planting on the land was started in
1988,
some
village men had
Thevetried ? 3 demand that only Eucalyptus
should
be planted,
?
pressurise the women’s group to make
the same demand,
On being reminded about their primary need for
fuel and fodder, the women refused to succumb to this.
A diverse
range of species, earlier selected by the women themselves,
were
planted.
r
’
rrrir, In
f
February,
1989, the group had harvested the first
5 P- from
f m its plantation,
Plantatlon.
One evening, 3 drunken men
from grass
i the
grassnln9Alvillage
11 th95 threw an unextinguished cigarette stub on
the
All
the grass
flames and
917355 went
WSnt up
Up in
in flames
and many of
the young
■
plants carefully nurtured by ■’
Y
J the women were damaged.
Initially,
the mishap sent a wave of despondency among the
women's <group
-and SARTHI.
But the women quickly gathered
their
wits and called
--- a meeting to discuss what
to do.
Were they going
ii
191
to
porni if | hr 3
mon to got awa
awayy with such
of
irresponsibility y Did their labour have no value 9 an act
not punish the men, even their future efforts could'be If they did
similarly
nullified. The women decided to demand
a compensation of Rs.1400
from the 3 men.
The men were summoned and told the group's
<
verdict.
Seeing
e group firmness and sensing the entire village
„
s
'
s
sympathy
for
it, they paid the Rs.1400/-.
9
When> i
*
the
Nuvasa field centre staff narrated this incident
during SARTHI's
and
’
inspired
7 The^ rneetin9' the rest of the staff felt
envious
lhe.women’s group’s response was worlds
apart from the
own
p
lng
p'
^responsibility and manipulations of
private land
_
owners. From then onwards, all the field staff
started stnvm, to replicate the Muvaea group In their om
areas.
In November 1989 , with the second grass <—
crop ready, the
women were asked how they were planning to harvest
— - and distribute
it.
<
Surprisingly
, most of them felt that it should
be cut by
voluntary' labour and sold off.
The money could be partly
distributed among the members and the
rest deposited in their
common account.
This led to an interesting discussion
on the
contradiction in this decision.
____
How
was
it
that
although
the
group had
1
raised the plantation for meeting their fodder
needs
,
when fodder
—.* was becoming available from
i
it,
they
were
planning
to
sell it off ? The women’s initial
response was that all
.
of them
had enough fodder from their
own lands.
They
why
had
thoy
raised
the plantation ? Was their own
fodder
going
to
be
adequate
? for
the whole year ? To this the
was that while some
members would have enough for theresponse
whole
out by the summer. What would the latter year, others would run
do then ? Buy from the
market at
< ‘ a higher price than
the
price
the
group would get at
this time- ?? Or would they again walk
4 kms to the canal daily to
fetchi headloads
-- j of grass ? of what
j ’
use
was the plantation
to
such members ?
The <group ‘had- not given serious i
thought
to
these questions.
It decided on a compromise solution.
•
Members
were invited to cut the grass on the
basis of taking away half
the iamount thoy ciit
and leaving (ho other half for t ho common
pool .
When asked similar questions about
firewood,
the women
firmly assert that when firewood
starts
becoming
available
,
it
will definitely not be sold,
They
face
firewood
scarcity
all
year round and fetching it is
even more arduous than fetching
grass.
The women also have a ?lot of knowledge about local trees
and
shrubs and their suitability for different uses .
SARTHI
is
attempting to compile this systematically for use as
a basis for
species selection by different groups in the future,
SARTHI has
also started a Seed Bank for collecting seeds of
useful local
species for its nurseries. Some members of Muvasa's
group have
i1
192
been earning some
income by collecting
for the bank .
Protection of the plantation continues to seeds
during
the fodder scarce summer months.
The land pose
is ata problem
*
some
distance
from where the women live.
They cannot easily keep
while doing other work.
The protection trench
P an eye on it
and
the thorny
plant fencing is not adequately effective yet
Most
of
the year,
awavr ^ui^Tt5 reSpect tbe group's efforts a^d keep their
: cattle
le^ng^n'tJeirStdrSur^the0:00^
^ temptation of
members of the group hid themselves on thrilantati^ and^®^1^
a man stealing grass from it
Ho
a
Plantation and
caught
never steal again
H6 WaS made to swear that he would
Besides
discussing plantation i '
matters, the
group’s
meetings
have become an effective related
forum
for
discussing
other
problems of the women and increasing their
access
to
and knowledge,
information
train^® T^ber is a chulha mistri
another a
(stove
Builder),
para-vet.
as a
respective fields.
their
WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS
OF CHANGE IN THEMSELVES
Getting <organised
has
clearly been an r- as a group and taking collective action
Pestlh?? cxPcriencc
the women.
feel
that they
They
have- established their for
right
to
right
information and knowledge which
access
to
earlier available only to
men.
Collective action enabled was
thorn
’ to break
initial
through mon's
hostility
to women
treading
into a
domain.
non-traditional
Individua 1
members
problems knowing that they havecan now better deal
with personal
group support behind them?
The
over
over finding the 3
carelessly
men
who had
•tarted
a
fire in
the
the plantation
was
supported and almost admired by the
generally
village men
husbands of
Today,
the
many meters genuinely fee) that'the
women should get
more opportunlti os for acquiring new skills and knowledg
and
is
partly due to the
This
change for the better within
within
the‘ |C.
homes since they joined- the
members
'
-- » group.
The (group
-clearly enjoys the leadership role it is
for members of
playing
-- new groups brought to interact with it
their busy jroutl
_ „es and heavy „„kloaas,
Despite
make time for those
always
nn
u
.And their new f°und eagerness
to learn and share
is
-- -o unfailingly inspiring and
other women.
empowering
for
SARTHT has nssi sted the
operative
<society
1__ which will group in getting registered as a co
enable it to seek grants or
loans
for other activities?
The group is now exploring the possibility
of
rehabilitating and
protecting
forest
land
nearby
in
exchange
for getting some govt, owned
a
share
of
increased
the
production from the land. (6) .
i1
193
SECTION
3.
III
SYNTHESIS OF LEARNINGS FROM THE CASE STUDIES
The or-rrn
three •
studies illustrate the Significant role local
women's
g nisations can play in improved natural
resource
management.
rDue to their gender role of biomass
gathering,
rural
women have the greatest stake in sustainable management
of
the
natural environment.
However, as
us evident from the case studios, it is
obtain
women's,
natural not easy to
women
's genuine [participation in
resource
management. Their gender roles have to be understood within
the
broader iramework of gender
gender relations
relations which
which deny
deny women ownership
and contro! over the resource base and deprive fhem o?
access to
and knowledge
knowled9e.In their condition of
isolation,
bordination. and. powerlessness
powerlessness, it is difficult
for
them to
initiate> action aimed at improved management of
resources
they
neither iown nor control. Unless women
are
empowered
to
question
their subordination and assert their right
- to live as equal,
dignified human beings, I
’
‘ ‘
their
participation
in forestry or NRM
programmes is likely to remain
superficial
with
few longer term
gains.
Women's
hardship due to• degradation of
the
environment is only one of the imany problems they face i natural
n their
daily lives,
Their personal insecurity due to not owning or
controlling not only
productive
-< v
---------- resources but even the product of
their labour makes the issue of greater control
over their lives
the predominant issue. They can move in that
direction only
through organised, assertive action in all the domains
a f footing
their lives.
Demanding greater control over the
management
natural resources can be only one of these domains and Of
is
unlikely to be achieved in isolation.
As illustrated by SUTRA's experience, by focussing simply on
women's traditional roles, there is a danger of increasing
women's work burden by expecting them to
destroyed by others, Had it not been for thereplant trees being
sensitivity of the
organisation and its constant search for a better
of gender issues, it may well have misunderstood understanding
women's poor
response fto planting trees. rA commitment to analyse
issues involved resulted
in the formulation of a new the basic
--------strategy.
This s aimed at <enabling
'“’
women to gain greater control over the
__ gDd management of local natural resources instead
of
exhorting them to continue labouring on resource roploni shment
without being able to stop its depletion.
SUTRA's present
SUTRA's
strategy has the potential of eventually resultingI in
in natural
orlZnitod^
039
^
6
^
Chan
^
eS
at
the
^vel
through
Co
management policy changes at the state '
ordinated assertive_ action
by local
local woman
women's
organisations.
----- 1 by
’s organisati
11
194
PEDO's <experience in Rajasthan illustrates
the hazards of
taking up direct action
--- with
--- 1 women on improved management of land
resources without addressing the existing gender division in
the
control over those resources. The NGO had to backtrack from
working exclusively with women's groups to working with
mixed
groups of men and women.
In the mixed groups, although women's
labour participation was much higher than that of men
(in some
plantations 90 to 95% of the labour was provided by women),
their
participation in imanagement
---related decisions remained minimal.
Once most of the physical
u u
- work
---- 1 was completed,
the superficial
nature of women 1s participation became evident,
Mostly men came
for
subsequent monthly meetings of the
managing
committees.
The few women who did attend t* groups’
these, by and large
remained passive observers, inhibited in the
presence! of men.
The rest of the women reverted to
their
role
of performing
subsistence tasks while the
men
discussed future use
and
management of the plantations?
It
became
evident
that
u..
unlike
in
Himachal
’ rr in Rajasthan, women’s Participation in physical
work
on
the plantations was due to their need"for
wages.
It was not
until independent women’s
savings groups were formed,
and a
legitimate space for women to meet and discuss
their problems
created, that women 1s active participation in
management and use
of the plantations increased.
Unless
the
women had
been
empowered to participate with the help of
a
wide
range
of
addit
iona
1
---- —
inputs,
their participation would have
remained
illusory rather than rea 1 .
SARI Ill's
1 us i vo women's groups
groups oinorgrd
emerged through
f-hronah ->
field1staffato rO°HS prOCOSS facilitated by sensitization of moro
its
staff to gender issues in natural resource management
The
Sas dea?^
suspicion towards working exclusivoly with
•
with through seeking men’s support throuah womnn
open
discussion and involving local men in SARTHI's other programmes
.
However, even in SARTHI's case
r~
r strengthening and
the (groups
--to assort their right: to manage and control empowering
some of
the village common land in accordance
-J
with
their
priorities
necessitated a wide range of inputs not directly
connected with
NRM.
thoso hav
ino 1uded awamnor.s gonr*ra I i on
on
nips ,
exposum
visit.*; to ol her [projects and
g r o u p s, 1mpar t i n g selected women
with skills in other areas <___
such as health, livestock care and
improved Itechnology and facilitating
reflection on their common
problems during group meetings. SARTHI's staff also
WOrk?ny
thGir Plantations by evo^i^I ” a facilitated
of
"Trkung hours SO that women could combine
their
While
enabled thetasks* with
Wlth working
workin9 on the plantations.
plantations,
to continue
earning badly needed : this
C°ntinue .^rning
conflict the women u^__
wages,
caused in homes due to their not being able to
perform
other household tasks
--- j was minimised.
”ps9
aaol„Te”
In all three cases, the NGOs felt the necessity to
assist
women organise themselves into c
groups
before
they
could
s tart
dealing with rany of their problems.
-. While SUTRA started forming
Mahila Mandals much earlier, PEDO and SARTHI did so at
a later
iI
195
stage.
All three have realised that working for lasting change
cannot be done with unorganised and isolated individual women.
All three have reached the conclusion that for making any headway
in dealing with any of their endless problems,
including those
related to NRM, women must be empowered to take organised and
assertive action collectively. This necessitates enabling them
to first shed their centuries old negative self image. Awareness
generation camps, providing access to information and knowledge,
creating opportunities for women to spend time away from their
homes to collectively reflect on their predicament, understanding
the power of negative images of women embodied in cultural
traditions and myths, creating pride in the immense traditional
knowledge they have, are some of the tools which the 3 NGOs have
used for empowering the women's groups.
u
196
SECTION
4.
IV
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The experience of the 3 NGOs described in the paper suggests
the following conclusions and recommendations for programme
planning and imp.l omen ta L Ion .
In situations where gender relations assign tasks of biomass
gathering for subsistence needs to rural women, women have
the greatest stake in improved natural resource management.
However, focussing only on women's iroles
’
’ '
without
taking into
account gender divisions over control and/or ownership» of
resources can result in programmes increasing women’s work
burden without increasing their control over the product of
their labour.
The gains,
if any,
are likely to
be
superficial without any long term change.
For any lasting impact, forestry and NRM programmes must be
designed with a <commitment to change gender relations in a
manner which increase
--- women'
-- _'s ownership and control over the
natural resources. For this, programme planning must be
based on an analysis of gender relations in the context
where the programme was designed were faulty.
Programme staff must be sensitised to gender issues and
committed to monitoring the impact of a programme on women
in the area,
Programme design must build in the necessary
flexibility .to alter programme strategies where1 on-going
monitoring indicates that the assumptions on which the
programme was designed were faulty.
At least in the South Asian context,
it seems
that
facilitating formation of exclusive women’ s groups to create
a legitimate social space for women to get together are
invaluable for beginning their process of empowormen t.
These could be formed on the basis of mobilising them for
improved NRM or any other issue of concern to women,
But,
to begin with,
care must be taken to ensure that their
formation is not seen as a threatening development by men.
That may resu1t in the groups having to cope with male
hostility before theyy are strong enough to deal with it.
A major 1*
*■
limitation
of exclusive forestry or NRM programmes
is their unifocal
nature,
-------- -----Supporting and empowering women’s
organisations requires a diverse range of inputs basedI on a
more holistic understanding of women;s situation.
Ii
197
REFERENCES AND NOTES
1.
For a more
comprehensive discussion of
this theme,
see
Moser, C.O.N., Gender.Planning
in
the
Third
Practical and Strategic Gender
World :
Meeting
Needs, in World
1989.
“
Development,
2.
For further details, see (
\ Madhav Background paper
p-,
the
workshop
on Linkages
for
between
Biodiversity\__ and
Restoration
of PeqT^dFd
Lands L
c
Centre • for
Ecological
Sciences, Indian Institute
of
Science,
i y y i.
/ :Bangalore, September,
3.
Sen'ln'A-ot
ti the Mi„fery o£ Labour
4
L bour
Inp,1t,
submitted
For a more detailed r-7
on women ’ s situation
< *
in H.P.
women ' s relationship report
with
-i the environment,/ see :
and
Sarin, M. Hrmachali Women - A Situational
Analysis, A report
prepared for UNICEF, December, 1989 and
5
6.
Sarin,
m. Women and Environment ;
—udy of Himachal
Pradesh,
Paper
preneni.^rj
at
the
CSE\JUCN
Conference on the Environment,
Pakistan ,
Lahore, December 1989.
For a imore
--- detailed discussion
of PEPO's
expor ienco,
soo
^a,r\nf . MR
Sharma,
(
•
•
Women ' r.
Jnvolvotncn t
Rchabilitation
of
in
on
Common
Lands ’~TrT Bicchiwara
Dungarpur
Block of
District? _ Rajasthan; T ’ a p e r
prepared for
the
workshop on Women
ILO
R
Wastelands
Deve
1 opmen t- ,
Nev; Delhi,
January 199]
For a
M
J d description of SARTHl'.s
Sarin,
1
experience,
see
MR Khanna, r-r. r^
Wastelands
'lndSj2£y£? IC)p,nOllt
b
y_________
Women ' s
Groups_________
_______
By
: A Caso Stud
of Work Done by C.~.
1Santrampur
SARTHl in
laluka of Panchamahals JJistrict,
Gujarat?
paper prepared for
the
ILO workshop on Women
--1
&
Wastelands
Development,
New
Delhi, January 1991.
I
/
GENDER BASED DIVISION OF LABOUR WITHIN THE RUILAL SECTOR
PR.
VIBHUri PATEL
SMVT WOMEN’S (IN I VERS I T V ,
BC’MBAY
198
GENDER BASED DIVISION OF LABOUR WITHIN THE RURAL SECTOR
VIBHUTI PATEL
Causes and consequences of gender based division of labour
have differed in different socio-cultural contexts and
in
different times, The incorporation of subsistent economies into
"modern" imarket economies has changed the nature and implications
of gender-based
division of
within -the
’
" labour
--- .1-1.1..
‘ rural sector as an
organising principle of the economy. Penetration of cash-nexus
has affected gender—based division of labour by drawing male
labour in the commodity production and keeping female* labour in
the
subsistence
production.
Land reforms
and
commercial
agriculture have resulted into decline of women as
cultivators
but
have increased the proportion of female
agricultural
labourers drastically.
Separation of women from cash economy
increases their reliance on men <as intermediaries.
Subsistence
economy that involves diversification
-------cl
of tasks and is labour
intensive is suitable to small-scale farming,
In a competitive
capitalist mode of production, t
.._ subsistence economy has a
‘
the
subordinate role to play in the overall economy.
Hence the need
for contextualisation of gender-based division of labour in
relation to the complex socio-economic structure of developing
countries.
SPECIFICITY OF GENDER-BASED DIVISION OF LABOUR IN ASIA,
AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA
Intricate prooiem
’s productive and reproductive
problem or
of women
women's
role in the society is at the centre-stage of gender-based
in the subsistence economies of Asia, Africa
division of labour m
and Latin America. A large percentage of women in the rural
areas of these countries <are subsistence farmers of agricultural
labourers. Worsening economic and environmental crisis have
sharpened their survival struggles. As subsistence rural economy
is made to play a subservient role in the overall development
process, women's contribution also gets marginalised. They are
seen as 'redundant' labour with no security of tenure or carrying
the burden of work on their family land. Their
perceived
i
ir work is
as unproductive or economically unimportant. Green Revolution,
land-reforms
White Revolution, Agricultural Modernisation,
land-reforms and
all developmental schemes have thrived on the ideology of gender
based division of labour that grants a subordinate role to women.
In India, gender-based division of labour has a very important
dimension of caste as a crucial organising principle of society.
FEMINISATIQN OF POVERTY
Commercialisation of both agricultural and non-agricultural
sector have rendered millions of rural women pauperised without a
traditional support system.
Decline of a traditional L
and (cottage industry, the mechanisation of agriculturalhandicraft
product
processing
g tasks have posed a threat to women's chances of
r-
1
1
/
..
•r. ..
j
%
199
employment in - the rural areas. Table 1 depicts a profile of
its
women workers in the household sector that is losing
economic viability in competition with machine made products,
Concentration and centralisation of land holdings in rural India
have marginalised small farmers and poor peasants. During 1951
decline
of the percentage of women
“
"
to 1991, there is a secular
It can also be partly/ explained by the fact that
cultivators.
ftor the land reforms in India in
when land-titles were prepared ai^-..
I |H.
Hille?’.,
I Iley we f
In I In' nmnn ef main
hnndn
hondn
of
tho
I I eiate
o! a to w<
niion
In
households. As Table 2 show?; the V. ?;haio of
of ii II 1Hl
women
88?;.
These
women
have
the rural labour force is very high i.e.
One
to stick to low-paying, casual and irregular employment,
Female headed
third of the rural households are headed by women,
households are the poorest of the poor.
TABLE
1
Female Workers in Household Sector as % of Total Female
Workers in Manufacturing Industry.
Industry Group
* Weaving, Cane, Bamboo
Cotton spinning outside mills, pottery,
coir products, sweets and condiments,
butter, ghee, edible oils, rope, cordage,.
sugar-gur, shoos, leather, silk worm rearing,
khadi,
tanning,
jewellery., cotton
dyeing,
bleaching, embroidery, lace-making .
80
90
* Bidi, rice milling; garments;
60
80
10
30
sheep rearing
wools, livestock
* Clay products,
jute spinning, weaving, medicines,
iron smelting
Industries where the number of women exceed that of men are
Sweets
cane
work, <cotton spinning outside mills, coir products,
cane work,
r jam,
and condiments, rope making, silk worm rear ing, butter,
.
These
are
also
industries
jelly making and tobacco processing. These are also
that are facing increasing competition from the modern sector.
Source:
Report
Women.
of the ■ Working Group on
Planning Commission 1978.
Employment
of
FEMALE HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL INDIA
Non-recognition of work and worth of female labour in the
---- > on the survival struggles
rural economy has its dire consequences
Several micro-studies have
of the female-headed households,
for
shown women get 2\3 of the wages received by male labourers
Segmented*
doing similar tasks for the same or even more hours.
200
labour
markeL discriminates against women in more than one way.
One,
they get less remuneration than their male counterparts.
Two, as they lack required skills and technical competence,
they
are segmented in monotonous, back-breaking work and can easily be
eased
out when new technology,
mechanised
production
is
introduced.
In
this situation, female headed households
i.e.
households supported by widows, separated, deserted, divorced or
single women face acute problems in the labour market.
In the
last ten years several comparative studies have proved
that
in
all
third world countries, among the poverty groups, the
female
headed households have faced a major setback in terms of their
nt andard nf living.
Wil houl dirnet- affirmabivn art ions by
the
•nmeuil .iikI I ho planning process Io nronomlral 1 y empower them,
nothing can be changed as far as female headed households' plight
is concerned.
PAID-UNPAID AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
When
the 1971 census declared that only 13% of women were
the main workers and 2.48% of women were marginal
workers
in
rural India, (see Table-3) it created great controversy
j among the
C
economists, policy-planners and data analysts.
Census definition
oi
work
was brought under scrutiny as it left out the whole
category
of
'unpaid
family workers'
(of whom a
predominant
section was women) from enumeration.
women
in
Visibility of
statistics
and indicators becomes extremely important to remove
gender-bias in policy planning.
Supervisory
role of women in
r
the family farms
among
the
middle-farmers and rich farmers, is totally
invisibilised\
It
explains
the lowest work participation rate of women
in
Punjab
and Haryana.
Thus rural women from a property-owning
class
as
well as women from the toiling class, both remain
invisible
in
the statistics, indicators and the planning process,
As women's
work
is
seen as an extension of house work, it is not
seen as
economic activity even when it adds to family income or helps
in
augmenting
family
resources.
In 1991 census
operations,
some
efforts are made to correct these biases.
BURDEN OF CHILD- CARE AND HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITIES
Rural women <carry out. -life-supporting
. survival tasks in
the
context of
the worsening fuel, wood, fodder and water
crisis.
Over and above cooking, cleaning and caring, which expose them to
environmentally, adverse situations such as dampness,
dirt,
polluted water and carbon-monoxide of chullas, for the members of
the household, they augment family resources by fuel-wood, water,
fodder collection
as
well as by taking care
care of
of
animals and
participating
in
unpaid agricultural operations,
Young girls
start iworking at the
‘
age of five or even less.
Production
for
family con;sumption and production for sale by little girl
.s
have
f- - 1
’literacy,
’1
_. implicationss on female
Girls
helping
their mothers
in
cooking,
cleaning,
gardening,
cleaning,
poultry-work,
animal-caring ,
collecting fuel-fodder-water are forced by circumstances to leave
11
201
their studies.
Domestic labour of women lacks any social
recognition.
The same is true for the work of
'untouchables'.
Women and
'untouchables'
are assigned tasks of dealing with
organic things of daily life (which stink and vegetate) which are
considered unclean, dirty and ritually polluting.
"MEN DO HEAVY WORK"
Low social worth of women's work in the subsistence economy
results in inferior diet for rural women. The popular myth that
"Men do heavy work like ploughing and operating tools (among the
artisan class) so they should be given a larger quantity and more
nutritious food" ’has not been questioned sufficiently inspite! Of
shocking data of a very high degree of mortality and morbidity
among
rural
Indian women.
No one has asked
"Are
not
transplanting, husking, winnowing, carrying heavy loads and such
other tasks performed by women in the rural economy
’heavy’?"
Moreover women also shoulder the burden of repeated pregnancies.
Women and girls face discrimination within the household in
terms of their share of nutritious food.
Society attaches lower
premium to women’s work which provides rationale for allotment of
less nutritious food to women.
NSS data on employment and unemployment have revealed
that
women in poverty groups are actively seeking work.
They have
responded most positively to all public works programmes of road
building, construetion, digging canals etc.
Tn Maharashtra EGS
programmes,
nearly G5% of the total labourers are found to be
women.
RESISTANCE OF
RURAL WOMEN
MEN TOWARDS ANY DRUDGERY-RELIEVING
MEASURES
FOR
While working among the yural women, many NGOs and mass
organisations have experienced strong resistance on the part of
men towards any drudgery-relieving measure, may they be gobar-gas
chulahs or smoke-less chulahs or introduction of appropriate
technology for routine strenuous tasks done by women.
In the
rural development process also women's lack of control over
family and community resources do not allow them to garner fruits
of development.
rEven in the reforestation programmes only women
exhibit genuine interestj. as they have to spend hours in fuel-wood
collection.
Insensitivity and resistance shown by male community
leaders
(who chose to side with
-- the
--- forest
------- contractors
---------- in tree
felling programmes)
towards the Chipko movement is a glaring
example.
In the Shramshakti report, the members of the National
Commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal
sector
have succinctly revealed gender-blindness of
Block
Development Officials, members of Gram Panchayats and Zilla
Panchayat who refused to accept that women were involved in
concrete and strenuous tasks for survival of their families and
were contributing a great deal for the economy.
H
202
"HOW CAN WOMEN HANDLE TOOLS"?
Several myths prevail in society about women's ability to
handle tools due to 'Technology Fix' in the minds of the rural
elites as well as the masses. Cultural legacy of "seed and soil
theory" and women seen as 'pollutant' also prevents them from
touching tools like ploughs, potter’s wheels, handlooms etc.
In
these households only men are considered as
" economically
active." Women's role in the production process in agriculture,
pottery, cloth-manufacture is not recognised. Hence when the
issue of skill-training for women is put on an agenda, it is not
taken seriously. Even while implementing the TRYSEM (Training
for Rural Youth for Skills, Employment and Management) programme,
there is a strong aversion to give them training to become
electricians, welders,, black-smiths, carpenters, potters, screenprinters etc.
In most of the TRYSEM programmes, pet projects are
sewing t knitting,
tailoring which are an extension of women's
domestic work.
Here too, if the profession becomes economically
viable,
it is taken over by
j men. The main complaint of TRYSEM
trainees is: "We don't get any assignments and our skills remain
unutilised. What is the use of such training"?
RURAL WOMEN AND THE CASTE SYSTEM
As a result of an interplay of <caste-hierarchy and the
gender hierarchy, the worst victims of the development process
have been women from the lower castes.
In
In the
the absence of
adequate facilities for female education of lower caste women,
they have to continue doing traditional menial chores.
Social
sanction of a covert or overt form of prostitution due to
economic compulsions among the Dalit women can also be seen as a
part of gender division of labour in a caste-ridden Indian
society.
SSurvey of' prostitution
‘
in the red-light areas of big
cities and serious studies of the Devdasi system in Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Orissa have revealed how patriarchal control over
women's sexuality,
fertility and labour is exercised with the
help of caste and class factors.
Use of a woman's body
(traditionally and ritually seen as the soil to be harvested)
to
earn income has become a customary practice in the tribal areas
of M.P. Bihar, W.Bengal, Garhwal region
.of U.P.
A double
„
standard of sexual morality for high caste women (who should be
protected and confined to f
*
the
four walls of their homes) and low
caste women (whose sexuality should be public property)
operates
in this case.
MIDEOLOGY OF PURITY AND POLLUTION”
This ideology exists at two levels. While assigning chores
the family and in the community a 'pure' and 'impure'
nature
of work becomes a decisive factor in determining which gender and
which caste will have to do such chores.
At other levels,
guarding 'Chastity' and 'Purity' of women from the high caste,
results in their seclusion and confinement to domestic life.
At
in
H
203
’sexual purity' and 'defilement' leading to
an ideological level 'sexual
damage of 'honour' keeps all women under constant threat of rape.
In the rural areas, open admission of rape and
'illegal'
pregnancy can result in the excommunication of women, There is
no alternative for such girls or women, but to be in the red
light areas - in the absence of any other support structures.
Ideology of.women as property of men permeates in the customary
laws concerning adultery and rape.
In case of 'rape' the burden
of. the act lies on women while in case of adultery the onus
on .men who committed adultery. In tribal communities in
shifts on
Singhbum if a woman has sexual contact (either due to rape or
wilful consent) with a non—tribal man, she loses customary land
rights as she is seen as defiled.
SEXUAL SEGREGATION AND RURAL WOMEN * S WORK PARTICIPATION
The Purdah culture provides the material base for home-based
1__
production in which a large proportion of toiling women ini rural
India are involved.
The exploitative nature of home-based
leading
production
to utter disempowerment of women has been
highlighted succinctly in a study of lace-makers of Narspur by
Maria Mies. Confinement of women to home-boundaries
home—boundaries and their
seclusion determine social relations surroundinn
surrounding their work.
Informal family networks are used for super exploitation of women
home
based workers where patriarchs of the
family
take
supervisory roles and deal with the outside world, Women home
based workers have endless work-schedule
--- ------ -j as thore is a thin line
between wage work and subsistence work.
They rarely got any
leisure time. The nature of oppression and exploitation remain
veiled.
Commercial interests capitalise on purdahi culture and
women
as the cheapest form of labour.
use
No labour laws are
no
applied,
standard minimum hours of work are observed,
No
concern for
xor occupational health and safety is shown. Women home
based workers provide cannon-fodder for the exploitative informal
sector.
i
WHY ARE THE RURAL WOMEN ASSETLESS?
The Shramshakti report has revealed that all over India,
rural women's accessibility to tools and farm equipment is very
limited.
Among the artisan class also women were found to be
assetless.
When the National Commission on their visit to
different states of India inquired from poor women about their
asset-ownership,
their standard response was "Children are our
only assets",
When the traditional support structures are
eroding fast when new forest laws don't allow rural and tribal
women access to minor forest produce, when village common land is
encroached upon by the rural elite, it is very important for
rural women to have assets of their own. Animals,
land, tools
and equipment, etc. owned by men enhance their income but it may
not necessarily enhance the standard of living of the family,
It
may be used purely for recreation and comfort of the male
members of the family. Moreover, assets in the hands of men can
easily be disposed off or pawned as menindulge more in gambling
u
204
and drinking.
if one out of three households is looked
after
women, it is very important for women to own assets.'
ECONOMIC.*; OK WITCH
by
HUNT INC
Rising incidences
f
of witch-hunting in the past
has invited the attention of women activists but at theone decade
same time
official agencies have chosen to maintain a
conspiracy
of
silence.
Witch-hunting should not be seen as a
legacy
of
the
past but should be understood
in terms of violence
-----.1
perpetrated on
women
who question the status-quo.
are
Why
women
from
subordinate groups dubbed as witches?
Why
'
witches
'
are only
those women who are either widows or
divorcees or militant
activists exposing local level
-- — exploitation?
Property ownership indicates power.
Hence if daughters
and/or widows inherit assets in terms of land,
animals or a
dwelling place, iwitch-hunting
*
comes handy for the
relatives to
grab those assets.
sssets. Findings of researchers and activists in
Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Bihar have revealed that
witch-hunting
is also used as a weapon to silence assertive
women
against barbaric customs or oppose sexual advances who protest
of
people.
a
Dalit or tribal woman aspiring to go for powerful
higher
education or a widow demanding land rights can be c
easy prey for
witch-hunting and this can also be a tool to silence
□ the rest of
the women in the area.
GREY REALITIES OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION
The Green Revolution with its package of HYV, ]
'
mechanisation,
tractorization,, <commercial crops and capital intensive
---- - j farming
have accentuated class
-j polarisation in rural India.
The Green Revolution has
ensured employment of fewer male
workers for more intensive work
and phased women out
of
agricultural work.
The most successful examples of the
Green
Revolution 1have been Punjab and
the work participation j ‘ —I Haryana and in these two states
rate is the lowest.
In the
of
1 economic’ prosperity' we find
the most barbaric forms of midst
violence
against women in these states.
Dowry -murders, rape, abduction
of girls and women, forced polyandry,
sex-determination tests
leading to abortion
----- 1 of female foetuses are rampant.
Studies of women in the dairy industry
(so called White
Revolution) have revealed that here too,
women
are
at the bottom
of f *
Miir^mn'
d
°i
ng
the
m
°
St
back
br
eaking
work
for animal
care.
Milk
Milk r~
cooperatives are controlled by men.
The
selling
price of milk is decided by men. Control over
money is exercised
by
men.
Mechanisaton of agricultural product
]processing
industry has rendered imillions of rural women involved
- — — - d in
dehusking, winnowing, j
In the absence of any S"her alte^atfve9 a?d cleanin9 unemployed,
-- ot
her the
alternative
gainfula J^asses?0^^^011' theSe
women have :to
join
army of
of pauperised
oauoeri
thu army
Ii
205
LANDLESS POOR AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS
Landless P°economic ‘JiaS?1OS1"9
decreaslng
areas
decreasing
of
the
Agrleuitural
n.eohaM^tao”1’1^
fertilisers
-J women
forced
by economic
circumstances either to miarat-e t-r, t-u
work or seek ^ge"»p?oyme« ZnLra^^ea"
-^Ch of
°£ “a9ein 5
search
emerglng small-scale Industries or in the^ohUe
eit^er ln
areas either
in n<™ly
such as Food for Work Prnar^mma p
th Publlc: works programmes
in many government recon zed' Employment Guarantee Scheme etc.
rural Ld'tribal iJom^ ■ ^cJean
backward' areas,
to
«omenOn'5orterst°geteiesriagesU"terPartS;
workers. oZZ to Zhe Sh ZoZI,
"tie plantation
and. disguised unemployment, the b^ZaiilJo6"^' under,e"Pl°yment
agricultural labourers is very limited.
9 power of landless
CUSTOMARY LAWS AND LAND RIGHTS
Social
relations not only determine
gender-based
division of labour but also the family laws thatthe
ggovern important
aspects of gender-relations
..j such as marriage, divorce,t custody of
children,
guardianship rights, maintenance and alimony
alimony
and
property rights.
Aftor°^
V^.
Oa
^
1Gr
customary
laws
gave
land
gave
rights to women.
After codification of2 family laws during
during the
colonial period,
heavy patriarchal, patrilocal
and anti-women
--and
biases have seeped into the
„ ’
personal laws. Now, on land titles,
mostly names of men tare
found. Among ricH-peasants and landlords
households, land titles are often made in women's name merely to
evade laws about ceiling on land-holdings.
Articulation of demands by deserted, divorced and sinale
earlie£aVMmiq° ,rCVealed that support provided by kith and kin in
to comm tlr?ef.wh®? women faced crisis situations
situations has
eroded due
has eroded
the custom a^S'br?de°£
rela14°nsalso
found
It is also found that
•
bride price as well as ’'dowry
dowry'’
have
have increased
productivea9himan hOmen- , Rride-price acknowledges
acknowledges women
as
co^modiJTZs
n
b:in9s?ut at the ^ame
time reduces
same time
reduces them to
it perpetuates the
of
and ’worthless’.
IMPACT OF LAND REFORMS
Land Reforms are seen as a sign of economic
economic development.
When the Tenancy Act was passed, land titles
were made in the
name of male heads of househr -ds. As a result, we found
drastic
reduction
—
in the number of
men as 'cultivators’.
Women lost
t hei r runl-omnt-y land ri.jh!
/omon’n groups working In the rural.
H
206
areas have to/o-u
take 'Up the demand of land-rights.
of
Singhbhoom
((Bihar)
z l..__
and Bhuribai and Dhagibai Laru
of Janco
E
Dhulia
(Maharashtra) have
--.a filed public interest litigation cases in
-i the
Supreme Court of India
i demanding land rights for women.
land-owning by women VERSUS CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT
OF LAND
Even in the cases of •‘ ‘
statutory land ownership by women due
to reasons of laws concerning
ceiling on p
don't have real power to control andproperty-holding, women
d manage land,
Their
ownership is nominal,
just on paper.
Any decision making
concerning land use is not in
their
Even among the
political parties there are — —hands .
strong
differences
on
the issue of
land rights for women,
Our deputy prime-minister
—.* Mr.
Devi Lal
had brought a bill in Haryana assembly
demanding
that
daughters
should
not be given land rights,
In response to
strong
condemnation from the women's groups, the
bill was shelved.
MEN DO DECISION-MAKING AND CONTROL ASSETS\ INCOME,
WHILE WOMEN DO
DRUDGERY: '
Even
with women iinvolved in subsistence
r
household industry, animal
production,
- care,
or
handicraft
a poultry
• •
" °
r handicr
aft making,
men are seen taking
major
_ ‘ decisions concerninn
concerning quantum of
production,
negotiating terms and conditions with the agents,
the
deciding
the kind ?f technology to be used.
in KnlamUir-'
Experiences of women
Surat, silk industry in
food and fish processing
that cjender—di vision of
painter was asked a question about the joy of cre!tinn Kalamkari
painting
AfterePsloggingaLforPei4fhSurstaOdavWw
jUSt PUShin9 a our
our Pensrupees.
One paintinq hS on
Y
manage tO get barel
barelyY 5
This kind of alienation Jnd deie^r6”96 7 dayS tO c^plete" .
€0™"”"“'
1" the in£or„al”::o'orr;hendthe ”°""3n in
Stnrf1On K °n -Self EmPloyed Women and Women in the National
Sector) members interviewed them during their field work Informal
T4is
as
their
Si F
.na £lsh r -
ECnFef'°ia^’e^
RURAL WOMEN AND COOPERATIVES
The Co-operative
movement supported and encouraged in the
course of 8 plans has not helped the subordinate
groups of rural
society.
Discrimination
--.i in
in class,
class, caste and gender-biases,
prevalent in society, gets relected'in the
fisher-folk,, weavers, handicraft workers andcooperatives of the
artisans.
Agents
exploit the_ vulnerability of poor toiling
_
J
women,
charge
compound
rate of interest,
fforce them
• ■ _ to do distress selling of
their
products. Against this, male members of
the cooperatives hardly
show any sympathy to women members ]
by giving themi loans etc.
Hence, in many places women have formed\heir
--- own •
cooperatives.
u
207
Annapurna in Bombay, Self Employed Women's Association
in
Ahmedabad, Working . Women's Forum in Madras, Astitwa in Valsad
have
formed
their own Cooperative
Banks.
Fisher-women's
cooperatives
are
formed in Kerala.
Kalamkari
cooperatives are formed in Bihar. Women artisans have painters *
form in Dastaker fairs, held in different parts of Indiafound a
where
they
products
without
any
commission
to
be
given to blood-sucking agents. Collective efforts bv
women
can
change the: gender-based division of labour and
empower women.
WAGE DIFFERENTIALS IN AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
R
woiyen aye now vocalising
vocalising their
their anger against wage
• fferentials m agricultural operations.
Due to their
operations.
pressure,
in the charter of demands of many
many peasant
peasant organisations
"Equal
demand17 SwUal WOrk" has appeared as not residual but a
workers
involved in
in’the
the"f^uK^cessing
in u p’ Women W
°rkefs involved
fruit-processing ^ndustr^
raised objections fc
to
wage-differentials based
based on
on gender
The
? ^age-differentials
employers tried to quieten women by saying "After all theC
are
A?6 A a:1rast s
" eise
will
inherent gender-bias where ™X h^e to’beSat<:?eastto^Y=t A “a
i\rn'S
“a™: “7 XKr
ards.
As a result, even mass organisations, which use womAn
o
gam
common
demands likel.plLnl
higher ”
waqes, better
wnrV
a •4-*
famine relief programmes,
go"™t
J S
srAA
’ “hcn?t c<”esofof tohusband
land
BOdh
ya
fo" Zqe.i a :"
comes to women1
titles in joint names
names
husband and
and wife,
wife, quickly back out
SAArOZoi??^:trU991B "
G’
and SdaStia “-^oraA
I Shahda
WOMEN IN PANCHAYATI RAJ
What has the panchayati raj system done for
women? Has it
empowered women sufficiently
fficiontly to be effective in the decision
making process at village, ( ' •"
_ / tehsil or district levels? To' what
extent is the 30% reservation of r
self- government bodies going to helpseats for women in the local
j women in changing the course
of (economic development in rural
India? These issues have been
often-i raised in women's groups.
groups, Some of them have
actively
participated in the electoral process
by
putting
up
women
candidates,
supporting women candidates with commitment
to
women's development or by pressurising the political
-parties
to
take up women's issues.
Struggles of tribal twomen
--to force the
Government of Maharashtra to provide Employment Guarantee
Schemes
in drought-prone
areas of Maharashtra was one such measure,
Since the last two years, women's groups are lobbying for special
allocation of resources
—
for female-headed households.
Demands
households.
for facilities of shelter-homes,/education, job-reservation and
allowance for deserted, old, divored women were raised by
several rural women's organisations in Maharashtra.
H
208
RECENT CHANGES
Visibility <of- women’s issues in the official
forums, mass
media and in society in <
_J 9eneral due to the combined efforts of
gender-sensitized researchers ,
women’s groups have resulted in planners, officials, NGOs and
recent changes vis-a-vis women in
general and rural women in particular.
Stereotypes based on
gender-basedI division of labour are
questioned
.
Women are
encouraged
to try non-conventional and
more
remunerative
occupations.
To improve their health and nutrition
status,
Integrated
<
Child
Development Schemes are
__ introduced.
Special
allowances and ‘scholarships
'
to promote the girl-child
' s education
and prevent their (drop-out from schools
are
provided
by the
state.
Mass electronic media is
used
to
educate
people
about
women's contribution 1
to society. Disc'rimination between girlchild and boy-child is questioned
through television spots and
appealing slogans, Men are requested
to take responsibility
for
limiting the number °L^ildren bY use of birth
control measures
like condoms and vasectomy operations,
Legal literacy programmes
to make c .
allrt^bourgendtr-t^tfcrbut
31^3^
of
of society
about gender-justice
course,
without
most discriminatory
3 limit but,
J;w of
5hZch
rSe'/
lth°Ut touchin9 the
'property of men’ and deprive them Which
of t rf
duCe^ wome
reduces
women" to mere
and
deprive
them
of
or natal family property.
equal rights to matrimonial
At one 1 ovol. , one feels , :1IUI,U, ,l(jer| r|„n to t-hof,o chanqos
in
due
these
thinking.
'Towards > i’nJia i encouraged
3 report by the Natio
"al Committee
National
of Status of Women in
L??P°tnted.by the Government of India
in 1974 was a ?landmark in this
direction.
It gave danger signals
T„.5;
-------. .•
by stating thatb . Indian
women are a declining
sex' and
'economic
developmen t reduced the work
participation
rate
The
---- of women ' .
"Towards Equality it report helped us to get out
about Indian women's bigh status due to the i of complacency
Goddess Culture.
In the last 17 years, mobilisation of women f
to
highlight womenspecific’ issues have provided alternate
-J vision
—
i
and collective
wisdom on all issues affecting women's
survival
struggles.
National Perspective Plan (NPP);
1988-2000
(NPP),
A.
d
.
,
Shramshakti
Report and debates on Women’s Commission have
put forward crucial
issues.
CONCLUSION
To strike at the
root of gender-based division of labour
perpetuate isubordination
___ _
of women in the economy
in
WG must change the course of economic development and
in
_.i
the
long
run.
‘
But immediately
we need to question it, in whichever
field
of life we encounter
it.
Women should - be treated as
important constituents of the <-----economy
as auxiliary
force to be hired.
laqt- , < ‘ ‘•
+. •
" not merely
-1
last
labour shortage, and fired first atX^imrT—
10c expansion and
and fired first
economic
: crisis,
Only when subordination-domination j '
’
relationship
between
’women and
changes
in
all
«
/
men
spheres of society, wilfwe fi^d
the gender-based
gender-based division
division of
of labour.
labour. The need for
changes in
division
of
labour
u
.
tor
- as an
an oraani^inrr
organising principle of osociety
is mevitabl
But
that
i1
209
it
jshould
’
not help development of one section of society
at
cost of the other.
the
REFERENCES
1.
Ashraf, Halch : Women, Work and Ideology in the Third
Tavistock Publications, London, 1985.
World
2.
Desai,
Neera and Patel, Vibhuti:
Critical Evaluation of
Women's Studies Research from 1974 to 1988, Research Centre
for Women's Studies, SNDT Women's
University Bombay,1990.
3.
CoiS?^' M®ithreyi' <Ed.): women in Indian Data
System:
Contribution to Women's Studies
Studies Series, No 5
Research
1990rS f°r Women's Studies, SNDT Women
Women's
’s University Bombay,
4.
' Vltahutl: Women and Work, Current Information
R^hrer^entre^V "T “T8’1 ’"d
Studies
University, Bombay,
,Ho'ne"'s
St“dies,t
-!
SNOT
Series r
Series
j'.
Women's
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11
210
A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO GENDER RELATIONS
N.S.YAMUNA
BACKDROP**
THE HISTORICAL INEQUALITY OF WOMAN TO MAN
This apparently inherent imbalance is the single
*
single greatest
obstacle to progress,which the women’s development movements
J is
supposed to have made so far, on a global
scale.
To set a
definite direction for progress and to gain headway, the immense
backlog.of.inequality needs to be dealt with first, and expressly
so, as it.is the root cause of the hitherto farcical policies on
women's issues, and of the failure and frustration of all those
engaged in the Women’s Movement.
This is the state of affairs as reflected in the numerous
papers published in India and overseas.
The inequality only
seems to grow in variety and complexity, and appears to be beyond
the scope and grasp of legislation, especially in the
Developing
Countries.
That it is so, even today, twenty years into the
Women’s Movement in India and nearly half a century after the
statement of Equal Rights in our Constitution, is a sad
comment
on both Men and Women of our time. rThe
~*
ultimate threat of this
basket of failures is to the entire cQuality of
Life today,
resulting m
in an environment of pollution> as our offering to
future generations.
Be that as it may, ♦BACKDROP is used rather
**INEQUALITY
: UNEVENLY MATCHED than ’’background " as an attempt
to bring down a screen on the past to censor
its active
intrusion,
so that we may enact in the present, with less
inhibitions, that which would be.
ANALYSIS FOR DESIGN SOLUTIONS
If the variety and complexity of the Man-Woman
issue is
beyond a successful assault, after all these years of
attempts, then it must be logically reduced to a more global
simple
state, " which does not elude solution".
In other words, when you have lost your way, tthe best thing
to do is to go back to the beginning and start all
over again.
That may seem a simplistic
*
suggestion, but it is worth a try,
when persistence along the* avenues so far attempted only seems to
have led us into a greater maze.
Therefore,
let us <consider the concept of Duality,
as
understand it in everyday life and follow L-j
its expression :
we
The Natural State of the Original Design (OD)
is the
inherent concept of duality in creaton, as manifested
in
our
universe, and. as described by Things Philosophy
and
Things
Science. The Yin and Yangr are equal to one another.
The c
positive
and the negative are equally important to produce electricity.
iI
211
On observation, we find that Men and Women have a base of
common traits, in which supposedly, every Man has stronger male
traits and lesser female ones and likewise every Woman
has
stronger female traits and lesser male ones. Men and Women are
both equally important to procreation. Neither of them can do it
on their own. Atleast not yet.
The fusion of Man and Woman at
a higher level is portrayed by
the
concept
of
"Ardhanarisvara"
in
Hindu
metaphysics. This concept of
the androgyne is universal and
exists in some form or the
other
in
folklore
and
mythology all over the world.
Therefore we may take it that
this fusion is intended in the
Original Design and is evident
at
different
evolutionary
levels
in
a
variety
of
manifestations.
/V
A/ +
M-i-
«
"The hardness of man is enclosed by the softness of woman
and the softness of woman is filled with the hardness of man ;
this is the way the whole universe meets itself
Softness in hardness and hardness in softness is the wisdomt in
It is the way inside understands outside, ’here
everything.
touches there, onn comprehends other, this knows that.”
#15. THE WISDOM IN EVERYTHING
(The Tao of Relationships)
THE BEGINNING OF THE /ABERRATION
INEQUALITY CAUSES :
a)
Development of skills and capability with progress of
knowledge.
In interacting with the; environment and
with each other,
in providing themselves with food and
shelter r
protecting themselves from harm, M and W came to
draw upon their innate intelligence. The stimulation and
feedback that such processes provided led to the further
development
of the human intellect,aligned
to
these
activities.
b)
The simplistic segregation of the sexes Male
Female :
The business of life called for a certain efficiency, which
demarcated roles, responsibilities and specializations, that
naturally divided themselves along the dichotomy of the
sexes.
c)
With the
agrarian
displacement of the nomadic societies
attitudinal
change
came
the vast
by the
towards
i1
212
possessions,
territories,
i <3 rial i
j
—
relationships and procedures
that
is well documented by historians and socioloaists
The
resulting culture, we may observe, was one that
sought
-security and ]permanence
by the acquisition of
immovables,
bulk and value,
by a
a radical
alteration in
value, by
radical alteration
relationships
between Men and Women
and amongst
amongst Men.
Men. rThe
holdinq of
.1 and
“'
possessions
called for
more
elaborate
prot
?io : huge
for more elaborate
security systems,
manpower
which and
that required large manpower,
in
for la?;:rC:ca?eme?am?M bab^makin9' c
°^ing and
and cleaning
cooking
j
.. ?
cale families. Once Women were confined
in
physic,•,ny,confined
c:"ou™.iw
and since keotatjLeb° sSs ?1'’ng ° teleol°9i=al e path that
a teleological path
has since kept them bonded in a specific
hemisphere.
The
specific
hemisphere.
birth of sons and her dedication to the care
of
the
-Fem-i
i
to the
of
were the sanctified measure of a woman
’s care
? the - famlly
identity and status
m society.
THE
PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE INEQUALITY
The transition into the Industrial Age
pronounced gender
certainty- further and
-----Masculinism acquired more power, which
was
safeguarded by institutionalisation.
VESTED INTERESTS
*re:power from physical strength,
Knowledge,possessions
*re:comfort and freedom
LACK OF ASSERTIVENESS
*abdication of active Participation
outside family
‘preoccupation with motherhood
CONFUSION in mind and distancing
from child bearing/rearing
VESTED INTERESTS
to retain acquired power
(from motherhood)
and re: security, comfort
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
To protect the vested interests,
society demanded that
demarcation of the sexes be made explicit
and formalised,
Therefore,
the configuration with hard edges was advocated
and
promoted by appropriate role models, training.
occupations
and
power segregation.
I
11
I
213
Thus Men were strong, brave, powerful and free. And womanly
traits
were
ridiculed.
On the other hand,
Women
were
delicate,timid,
[
“
pleasing
,
dependent.
And any tendency toward
independence
of thought,, word or deed was rooted out at the first
t
indication, mostly by other women.
i
----------
W
M
W
In romantic settings, Men were champions, warriors,
heroes.
warriors,
Women were beautiful, inspiring, adoring.
It followed then, that
Men were rational, logical and intellectually superior, whereas
Women were emotional,, unreasonable and intellectually inferior.
In domestic quarters,the different roles assigned to Men and
Women came to mean that Men were to be served by Women and
Women's purpose was the service of Men. And so it was said "lonq
live the difference".
I
This difference between Men and Women cdeveloped into a
context far removed from the Original Design of: Nature, and was
interpreted and practiced not as their being equal complementary
roles for the enhancement of the quality of life,
Rather,
the
difference was translated as an intended and necessary subservience of the one to the other, as if Men belonged to a higher
chosen order of the human species and Women had as yet,
one or
more
evolutionary spins to go.
The difference was
thi us
conveniently reflected as inequality.
"Gender is never simply
«
an arrangement in which the roles of
men and women are decided
in
--- _.i a contingent and haphazard way.
At
any given moment, gender will reflect the material interests of
those who have power and those who do not.
Masculinity,
therefore, does not exist in isolation from feminity------it will
always be an expression of the current image that men have of
themselves in
1.. relation to women."
(Arthur Brittan in MASCULINITY
AND POWER).
THE PROPAGATION OF THE INEQUALITY
I
The slanted empowerment of Men versus Women was
methodology that achieved the propagation of the inequality
has been sustained til 1
recently.
tVic.
f
1
Vl tjrv I Ve. c\-
J VO
w
V\u^> \?clva.<
I
L^.
the
that
iJ
214
II he f til m o i r. | o |>e
br I ghl r for Women and fair
l.o bo Eh
then
sexes,
Masculinism, which is "the ideology that
justifies
and naturalizes male domination, the ideology of [patriarchy,”
must be systematically countered.
"rIn general, masculinism gives
primacy to the belief that gender
is
- . .
3 not negotiable
negotiable----- it does
not accept evidence from feminist
and other sources
sources that
that the
relationships
between
men and women
are
political
and
political
constructed..." (Brittan)
I f
Status in Society :
n the larger family circle
in matters educational
n religious participation
-in professional circles
mechanistic outlooks of the previous eras.
In this transition
X
^SSfd thS 9fowth-to-disintegration of formations Ji^
the feudal family, the industrial corporation, tightly controlled
tion states and trans continental empires.
We now witness
movements on both macro and micro levels simultaneously, as in
the
current global socio-economic mergers of a different
scale
together with the antithesis, which is the stake of
the
r
individual entrepreneur. Women
are part of this transition and
only need to maximise the situation favourably and strategically,
both at theJ entrepreneurial and sectoral levels.
levels,
With the
shrinking of the joint family,
the extended
extended family, clans,
the
communities,
Women's opportunity
etc.,
Women's
for
restatus
inforcement «also shrinks
shrinks..
In the nuclear family,
her status
could increase marginally or not at all.
However, with economic
independence, j*
*
she increases
her capability and eligibility for
empowerment considerably.
215
THE GENDER ENVIRONMENT : WOMEN•S PERSPECTIVE
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
1.Adaptab111ty/
resilience in
adversity
1.Succumbs to
1.WorId conscious
ness of Women's
Issues & concerns
1.R1sIng
aggress Ion
vs women
dictates &
inhibitions of
the past
2 . Great 1 ve &
1nnovative
2.Dwindled numbers
(1991 Census)
2.New open Indian
economy
2 .Present
cash crunch
3.Highly
imaginative
3.Health neglected
severely
3.Greater Interest
worldwide in educa
tion & training
3.AIDS
4.Dexterity &
skills
4.Lack of support
iveness of other
wome n
4.Favourable cultur
al trends in India
4.Increasing
polarisation
of groups,
races,nations,
sexes
5.Patience,
dlscipl1ne&
endurance
5.Lack of suff icient & appropriate
role models from
h 1 story
5.Nat Iona 1 programs
5.Social recog
nition of homo
sexuality and
lesb Ian 1 sm
6.Hardwork ing
6.Inappropr1 ate
6.Funding Increase
role models created (Gov t & Forc ign)
by cinema & TV
agencles)
7.Trustworthy
7.Lack of selfesteem
6.Soci eta 1
"parthenogenetic"
tendencies*
7.Present era of
global change :
democracy and
restr uctur ing
7.Impatience
of the young
to knock off
dependence on
home
8.Growing numbers 8.Lack of judgement
in Women's Movt.
& discretion
8.Technology that
equalises M & W
musele-w i se
8.Terror Ism
9.Emergence of
con temporary
role models
9.Ineffective Law
9.Younger Men
seek ing more
companlonsh ip in
partnerships
with Women
9.Dubbing of
W as aggressive
when they are
assertive
10.Caring
10.Global inequality 10.Ant 1-drudgery
10.W blamed for
of Women
technology (e.g.
being irratio
washing m/cs &
nal & Illogical
electronic gadgets)
I
216
11 .R 1 se in
seIf-e steem
11 . W's con fusion
between "assertive"
& "aggressive"
11.Women's
So 1 idar1ty
Movement
11.Very high
expectatIons
on Women's
performance
emergence of male propagation of heroes In themselves,
self-suffIclent
from women,e.g.Kerala Cinema: Mammoty and Mohanlal
: bloated stars and
ballooning male themes (Economic Times, Sun 13 Oct
1991 article by
Sadanand Menon).
12.Grow Ing
awareness of
W's rights
12 . W ' s guilt over*
13.Growing hope
for equal
opportunities
13.Fear of losing
fem 1n1ty
s lighting
traditional roles
12.Rise In
Women's
11teracy
12.Resentment of
W who achieve
and own power
13.Rise In Middle
13.Cr111c1sm by
class purchasing
both M 4 W of
power
Women who step
out of tradi
tional roles
i.
14.Men's empathy
with Women's
Movt.
14 .Fear of losing
family ties
15.Men's active
partIclpatIon
to remove
Inequa 11 ty
15.Deep need of
15. Spl. Banking
15.Rise In
security,therefore
facilities for
harassment of
fear of taking
W entrepreneurs
W In jobs
risks
16.Pr1v1 lege of
motherhood
16.Repressed
16.Captive markets
host 111ty toward
for Women
authority manifest entrepreneurs
ing as defiance
16.Lack of
privacy due
to sensational
Journa 11sm
17 .More Women
seek Ing
educat Ion/
higher educ.
17.Fear of achieving 17.New norms, stds.
and using power
4 records of
17.Lack of norms,
standards 4
records for new
pursuits
18.More Women
employed &
seek Ing
employment
18.Fear of making
18.Ava1 lab 111ty of
18.Danger of
a mistake and
media support for
1ncompat1being thrown out
Women's cause
b111ty 1n
of the race
marriage
19.Women's
success In
male roles 4
profe ssIons
19.Lack of object 19 .Ma le bast Ions
ivity in W In
opening up to
critical times
Women
14 . Techno logy &
know-how for
W entrepreneurs
achievements
14.Women In jobs
break 1 ng down
from stress
19 . Compct111veness among
M 4 W destroy
ing possible
homogeneous
re 1 atlonsh Ip
i I
217
ihehjssiesaandPcii;CatiOn °f
&W0T AnalVsis methodology
to
in
Movement
.
It amply lends itself to view the variety of element^
make up the complexity of this canval; and e™tS that go to
the
havIObeenf°r 1^%g5°win9 cynicism and frustration understand
of
those
who
ave been involved m the Movement for sometime
Like all such
fufU9gles' yhere the opposition has much to lose,
the ofreaction to
the ploneering side gaining ground and impact is one
show of stronath
a greater
,„a might,and. displi,P Qf se^4'£flilenoy>
strength and
usually ^y resorting to auto-suggestion
1 or gathering in groups,
Such tendencies are thrown up in
this
table,as for example
THREATS : #1, #4, #5, #6,#9, #10, #11,
#12, #13, #15.
From the field laid out by SWOT,
it is possible to evolve
strategies for effective action
towards the realization of
Objectives and Mission?
prs nrircon^?r:f^:x:n.:hcD^XnrGende?
For example:
Strategy
A
#18,#19 all contribute towards building
buildinq ud
the WEAKNESS #7 usingI the
the OPPORTUNITIES
#1
OPPORTUNITIES #1
L n1?,
to counter THREATS #9,10,11,
US'll 6'JI mA1 •
that strengths
#2,#3,#4,
strengths #2,#3,#4
L'
contribute to building STRENGTHS
i ana
Strategy
#11.
B : STRENGTH #9 builds
WEAKNESSES #1,5,6,7,9,10,
11,12,13,14,15,16
and
17 using all
the
OPPORTUNITIES of course, but especially #1,4,
7,9,17,18,19 to counter THREATSJ #4,9,10,11,
12,13
TOWARDS A SOLUTION
PREAMBLE
: The first requisite is to reduce the
the Man-Woman Woman issue to a simpler,
more man complexity of
manageable state,
for the Purpose~of translating the constitutional
guarantee of
new social values
■"C-ucs as goals of Indian society.
•
r
SSF^tit^
Constitution,
operational formulations to effect the transition.
PRINCIPLE OF
EQUALITY
\/
7\
9
the
and
REALITY OF
EQUALITY
KEY
The key to the solution, ;at‘ this
_:_1_ point in time.
appears to
be the route of economic independence.
u
218
THE NEED To validate
’
Women’s right of <quality
’ *
and to strengthen
the efforts of all involved,there is need to prove that
-1—: such a
demand is just and viable.
JUST because it was so intended
in the Original Design of the
Creator.
VIABLE in the context
of modern India
THE CHALLENGE
1.
To demonstrate with conviction that the legal right of
Women,
set down in the Constitution
------ 1 is merely
the
empowerment <of" their inherent right equal with Men,
as
decreed by the Creator of the Universe.
Legal Right
in Constitution
2.
Inherent Right
of Creation
To adopt the appropriate measures of presentation
and
packaging to take <care of the psychological and cultural
resistance that is to be
Lj encountered in this endeavour.
THE SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE
It appears
that evidence to demonstrate Women's Equality
plans i bly must l)o found in historical, religious
and scH onti f i c
sources.
First, it will apparently be necessary to
far
back as to a design of society when Women were equal go as
to
men
in
status
,
i
matters
social and religious significance
along with contemporary scientific data that has shown that This,
Women
are
ogica y and intellectually Man
’’ss complementary
Man
complementary
being,
can successfully counter the depiction of Women in
i of Women in literature.
music— and
-- 1 art as conveniently unequal to Men. Such evidence
can
be readily found in the Rgveda, in pure Tantra,in
.
-.1
Biology
and
Nature studies,
in contemporary psychology and
and in
in historical
documents,
that are more and more Ibecoming
__
the subjects of
research, with growing global interest in
_.i Women's issues.
What is coming to light is that evidence of
of Women's
Women's natural
capabilities and legitimate status from early civilizations
deliberately submerged during certain developmental stages by
Men 1 s vested interests. Similarly, during the Indian
j the Indian Freedom
Movement,
it was found that all British records had carefully
ensured that Indian 1heroes would be depicted as villains or
villains
weaklings and their heroic deeds would be misrepresented
to kill
Indian morale, ((until Mahatma Gandhi). The post-independence era
The post-independence
discovered that thisJ process of distortion had been so systematic
an effort, that
i p*.
art' music,
education and scientific
studies were left
" quite deplete of evidence of their worth, apart
from the fact that a wealth of Indian intellect and culture had
contributed to ithe
’
British Raj. The plight of Women’s status
seems to have been the <same, only it was considerably easier to
erase whatever evidence
--- ‘ in a culture which had only oral
219
traditions of depicting norms and
recording
greater part of its history.
events,
for
the
serious
groups rl-o t:ak<
n
P J’ldior. into the origins of Women ' n ntntun nnd
power f
'’,<;2’rt'nthe1{t,irOU?h1Na.U-e rituals' on to the early
civilizations until
---- the loss of legitimate status in the current
era.
In the depiction of Sita, the gradual putting down of
can be traced :
Valmiki
exalted Kshatriya princess.
Kalidasa
knowledgeable, beautiful,
but no choice of her own.
Tulsidas
the acme of obedience.
Women
a time, J
.1 and was
of a son
tjpeci
1- Thr, e when daughters and sons had eaual
"putrika" “a:,n°ell
as ;putra
rights to
property and to perform religious and social factions.
skilJs
™
the "samana"
where men and
tO PreSent thelr --- and
In the 10th Mandala of the Rgveda, Usha,
goddess of Dawn is
portrayed as the author of the "samana”.
She
marching into the heavens, radiant and proud ofis described as
her knowledge
and^beauty, inspiring admiration in
the minds of all who look to
In later literature,
as a
j
-- ' caPable of sweeping away the
of
reti^inc/anH
Came
to be
be Personified
a maiden,
cam? to
personified as
as a
shy
,
retiring and timidly emergingJ from the cloak of darkness.
Appala and Maitreyi were rishis
rishis, which is evidence
that
marriage was not the be-all and end-all for women of their
time
.
Besides
,
Besides, we hear of Ghosha, who was
an
unmarried
woman
living
in
her
er father's house like any son with right to
property.
■ Marriage was a union of two
of full development.
There was no reference to age and persons
to its limitations.
There
were no child marriages.
In
Tamil
Andal’s [poetry and in "Silapathikaram", the classic
in
l.i torn turn,, there is no "thali" as the symbol of
marriage
71,■ •
1
J•
220
•that woman must wear, the symbol of being a possession, dedicated
to servitude.
The
"saptapathi
mantra"
even
from
the
Yajurveda,
establishing the legality of marriage witnessed by
Agni as
"sakshi" is a most beautiful evidence of the recognition of the
equality of the sexes. The groom chanting it, could be said to
suggest that he is making the request, and that it is for the
bride to accept his plea:
"By these seven steps, we become companions.
I become
your friend.
I shall not stray from this path of my
promise, and so also you. Let us be united into one.
Let us be loving together. Let us be of good health
and strength, and let us both experience life together.
If I am the "samavedam" you are the "Rg".
If you are
"bhoomi", I am "akash". If I am "manas",you are my "vak".
No doubt, the imagery in the poetry is not rigid. A man and
woman may be given the freedom to compose the verse between them
and decide which one of them will be the earth and which the sky
and likewise, which the thought and which the word !
How many modern brides and grooms know the meaning of the
ceremony whereby they take each other as partners.
Even today,
the custom of the bride garlanding the groom first is considered
as an act of worshipping her new "lord", rather than the bride
making her choice, in the continuing tradition of the historic
"swayamvara" .
It is no wonder, for if the gesture were put into
the actual current context, it would rob the "boy’s people" of
the opportunity of lording it over the lowly "girl's people".
In the case of the interpretation of the relics of Mohen-jodaro is an example of the distortion of the feminine status in
the universe.
Either because of biases held by the scholars
working in the field, or naivete, or the lack of technology, the
story of these Neolithic findings was told in a way very
different to what is emerging as the real thing,
today.
Of
interest to this argument is that there is a definite feminine
presence in the motifs on the seals uneartlied, which
which was
was not
noticed or presented to the world outside.
Evidence points to
the earlier Mother Goddess being replaced by a male god, which is
"a very common factor in all religious cults of the ancient world
as well as in modern Hindu cults". (Shubhanga Atre)
The late Western Civilizations have made much of the power
of reasoning and logic that is considered a particular male
faculty and qualifying male intellectual superiority.
More
recently, with the growing awareness of the
importance of
ecological balance and environmental care, there is a growing
healthy respect for Nature.
This renewed universal view has
once more brought to light realms of thought that hold sacred the
world of imagination,
"Throughout the world at all times and in
all places, men have pictured, in one form or another,
the
u
221
imaginative image of the tree", says Roger Cook, echoing the poet
William Blake.
Henry Corbin,
scholar of Sufism and Islamic literature,
suggested that the affirmative "imaginal" derived from Latin
could replace ” imaginary", when needed, as he did, when writing
about the visionary experiences of Islamic mystics.
They
mystics.
conceived the alam al-mithal (world of image) or the alam-imalakut (world of imagination)
"as
imagination)
' as an intermediary
realm,
between,
existing between,
and interpenetrating with,
the realms of
intellect and nonse perception,
According to this schema,
imagination is the central faculty, that of the soul, acting as a
vital bridge between senses and intellect,mind and body,
spirit
and matter.”
. ,
The Tree of Life has perhaps been associated with
all the
religions and faiths of this earth, not just Buddhism,
but
also
with the Egyptians, f
’
the
Assyrians, the Red Indians,
throughout
Africa, in Indian love_> [poetry associated with Sri Krishna,
r in the
Far East, in Persia and
-..J even by the psychologist C.G.Jung
C
, who
equated The Tree as <a symbol of the human psyche's
process of
individuation.
It is
--- called
------- "the Symbolism of the Centre
Centre" by
Mircea Eliadc,
the famous historian of religion
religion,,
depicting
humankind's "desire to grasp the essential reality of the World" .
It is clear that • the v. Age
' of Reason has passed.
It is time that
Men dropped their
obsession and prepared for the development of
the
lert brain ,
in which circumstance they are equal with
Women!
CRUCIAL ISSUES
. .1?n
thlrd wave* of democratization sweeping through our
civ .Ration, Women along with other groups are "at the point of
significant escape from private and individual confessions,
ringing.their emotional and bodily experiences into the public "
and social arena. Such a statement was summarily banished from
the patriarchal structure in the male orchestrated "age of
reason . What is now called for is the creation of a "
Janguaqe
capable of recognizing and expressing the significance of
emotional and bodily experience of both Women and Men. This need
has so far been suppressed in the rationalist framework for moral
and social theory and practice.
*THIRD WAVE : The current era of democratic
transitions
constitutes the third wave of democratization
in the history of the modern world. The first
"longy wave .... began in the 1820s, with the
widening of the suffrage to a large proportion
of the male population in the United States,
and continued for almost a century until 1926,
bringing into being some 29 democracies.
In
1922,
the coming of Mussolini
marked
the beginning of a first "reverse wave" that by
1942 had reduced the number of democratic
222
states in the world to 12
World War II
initiated
a
second
wave
,
governed
democratically, only to be followed by a second
reverse wave (1960-1975)
that brought
the
number of democracies back down to 30. At what
stage are we within the third wave?....And will
it be followed by a significant third reverse
wave?
(Democracy's Third Wave by Samuel P
Huntington)
Women have denied aspects of themselves and as a result have
denied the real formula of their power. Women have rightly and
wrongly
accepted
"notions"
"notions11 of
" individual
freedom"
and
"collective power" donated to them by Men, who usurped the real
thing.
And yet, prompted by an universal consciousness,
they
have relented from time to time in support of the ideological
statement of the preordained equality. Men,
Men f nevertheless, have
in
practice,
safeguarded the inequa
inequality
1ity in the guise of
protection <ln^_1by_V^tuc,of..their Possessing logic and reason,
which they found wanting in Women.
This
framework
of life in
deplorable
dichotomy of theory and practice is manifested in the
of the Indian Constitution, together with the reality
independent India,, when the status of Women is as yet
or even more so, than before.
Today, when Women at last refuse to be judged "by the
standards of patriarchal moral culture, which constantly negated
and invalidated their individual experience", comes the moment of
truth.
Men must now dornnnstratc the real
intent of the
ideology
of the Indian Constitution, in this "critique of liberalism" that
women ^have brought to the forefront. Does the Constitution,
in
fact, "stand for" equality, or does it in practice merely present
a scenario of rational choices, perpetuating the old imbalances
m the guise of protection, productivity and the? viability
viability of
the nation?
What is crucial is the realization and ci
acceptance of a grave
responsibility by all activists for Women's equality, that in the
assertionn of feminism as a counter,, when justice is the issue,
reform must be sought courageously, clearly and with balanced
argumont. There is an accountability that must be adhered to by
crusaders in the rising back lash to the Women's solidarity
movement.
Sy.giving rise to expectations that cannot be met
by sensationalising and trading the plight of down-troddeni women,
contemporary feminism condemns women further to despair,
to
ridicule and to further "victimhood".@
. Every instance of lack of supportiveness by Women, in
politicking, back-biting, gossiping and whatever, must
must be
be deemed
a betrayal of the feminist pledge. Such evidence of
of elements
that are immature and insincere will mark the potential level of
success of the Movement.
$Victor J.Seidler
@Katherine Kersten
11
223
It has boon described by Toffler that we now live in an era
that is witnessing a massive restructuring of power relationships
on all levels,
from the macro transcontinental to the micro
interpersonal.
It would be the most insensitive, <
’
short-sighted
,
unintelligent act to ignore the opportunities and challenges; of
this human phenomenon, "for we stand at the edge of the deepest
powershift in human history”.
In this "fight for control of the
future”, women can insist on balanced responsibilities and the
return to equality and mutual respect.
In any argument like the present one, there must bo room for
examining the practices that have gone on, of discrimination by
men agsinst women, by men against men, and by women against
women.
Before we come to aggregate the differences between the
sexes, let us first approach it from a perspective of the whole,
There is need to regard the sexes from the base of humankind to
recognize Mon and Women as persons, created in compliment to one
another, before the enumeration of differences.
A fair reassessment in contemporary terms would amount to a
fresh calibration,
in the New World context.
Such a reevaluation of the assumptions of systems, so far in vogue,
trans
vogue,
races and
subcontints, could very well expose the missing
dimensions in the fabric of current social jurisprudence and
management.
We would then clarify the significance of the
absence
of
Women’s
experience in
social
theories
and
perspectives, which are the biased origin of the instruments and
practices of this long discrimination.
If we were to now assign an impartial consciousness to once
again interview the causes for the unequal status of women to men
today, would we gain a better understanding? For example, was
the burden of inequality solely imposed by Men?, Was it also
self-imposed by Women? Was the confinement of Women as much
engineered by Men as it was submitted to be Women?
Did Women
abdicate participation in the outer arena of power by seeking the
safer domestic
*-- power block? Was it the simple story of the
victory of muscle and brute force, with the mindlessness that
goes with it? Was it that Women had their bellies and hands full
and left the rest of the world to Men, until suddenly, it was too
late? Or was it all these things at some time or another, or all
together?
If the answer is in the affirmative to any of these
questions, then Women must acknowledge part of the responsibility
for Women’s their status through history.
And Men must assume
the awesome responsibility of having wrested and wielded the
"power triad" of "muscle, money and mind" over the environment of
all the world, for so long.
u
224
A proper understanding of the past, of the reasons,
rcasc,causes
and circumstances of Women's unequal status vis a vis
-- > Men will
provide the prerequisite data base to meet the challenge s today.
And those challenges are in the makeup of Women's
Women 1s intellectual
and emotional fibre, which will spell out the
the strategies
strategies for
success against the opportunities and threats in the
the new
now world
world wo
are about to inherit, along with Men.
Our hopes lie in those young couples, who seek each other in
a refreshing new context,, as the forerunners of a new
order that
has begun atleast in pockets of society. Possibly this trend
this
will ripple through the world, in our age, or the next
or the
next thereafter.
We see around us young people who are stepping
out
in
a
more balanced
partnership
and
more
honest
interdependence.
They do not need
millstonesu o f the .past.
--1 the
—
They are impatient to shrug off the compulsions and
obsequesies
of
■ 4. the
x.. "°ider generations".
It is time to lift the
veil and steo
f‘
into the future, while the young
—are
-- . still
na step
willing to hold'handsT
1i
225
MEASURES TO COUNTER THE OPPOSITION OR
TO SUPPORT WOMEN'S EQUALITY BID
It will be a necessary precaution to adopt the appropriate
measures to eliminate the disabilities and discriminations that
have been talked about in the volumes of publications associated
with Women's Development.
These measures, when founded upon the
right evidence gain credibility and strength.
The next step would be to present the evidence in such a
manner to gain
quick acceptance by easy assimilation and
understanding.
This
could
be achieved
by
making
the
presentations by natural renderings, such as stories set to music
and theatre, rather than by film and TV.
Such
participative
exercises could form the most important part of the learning
process in education and training. In this way, the message of
the training programme will have a stronger impact and reach, as
having a logical base with an imaginative treatment.
CAUTION
This evidence must be first authenticated by C_
demonstrating
that it comes from the embedded past and from Nature.
Use of
technology and electronic media needs to be done judiciously as
that could well kill its credibility.
SOME MEASURES TO UPDATE WOMEN'S EQUALITY
1.
Presentation of plausible evidence that such updation is
authentic and legitimate claim from Nature.
2.
Enactment of stories and singing of songs on such themes
should be a part of every gathering of the
Women's
Development Movement to increase consciousness.
3.
Stories of creation of M
Wr of love and romance and the
joy of the union of M + W, to counter the growing aggression
against Women due to:
an
a) emancipation of Women
b) lower tolerance of Men's behaviour by Women
c) further
(eg.
4.
distancing by Men
Observe the many programmes on Star TV
by BBC world service.)
put out
Creation of new role models to counter the historical
romantic!sation,
for the perpetuation of H the inequality",
augmented by Cinema and TV.
u
226
W
Virgin, Mother, Mother-in-law, Vamp
M = Hero, Patriarch, Law-maker, Teacher, Swami,
Professional (artisan, trader, farmer), Villain
The avant-garde writers and film and TV programme makers
must take up this responsibility on a mass scale for any
perceptible impact in the near future.
5.
Symbols as device, a quick language for mass
to drive home the concept of equality.
e.g. tho family planning symbol
communication
- from Tantra, the Yoni
/
to counter the Lingam.
may
Perhaps the combination of the alphabet along with a
bo considered:
symbol
^1=
or simpli
into a mcnmonic that speaks universally
This is an area for research and development in graphics
which needs to be dealt with by specialists in communication.
The success of the Women's Development Movement to result in
equalizingI
Woman with Man,
is dependent on securing
the
appropriate ideological and teleological formulations to effect
the transition.
The appropriateness is to be sought
in
precisely the reference that has perpetuated the inequality,
namely historical, religious and biological data.
So far, the
references may be said to be submerged and/or skewed by male
orientation.
Those very same references contain the missing
logic for the Women's Movement. The equalising elixir that Women
need is in themselves.
REFERENCES
1.
Women's Work and Employment: Struggle for a Policy
(Selections from Indian documents: Edited by Vina Mazumdar)
2.
Women and Society in India
3.
The Hymns of the Rg Veda: Selections from translation
by Puschil, Max Mueller etc.,
4.
The Second Sex - Simone de Beauvoir (Picador)
5.
On Women : Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
(Sri Aurobindo Society,Pondicherry)
ii
227
6.
The History of Nature - C.F.Von Weizacker (Routlege & Paul)
7.
Change Masters - Elizabeth Moss Ranter
8.
Social Values for a C
’
Changing
Society - Svjami Ranganathananda
(Ramakrishna Mission, Hyderabad)
9.
Tantra: The Indian Cult of Ecstasy Philip Rowson (Thames & Hudson)
10.
Living Systems - G.J.Miller
11.
Introduction to Cybernatics - W.Ross Ashby
12.
The Heart of the Organisation - Stafford Beer (Wiley)
13.
Women in Workplace: A Man’s Perspective Lloyd S.Lewan Ronald G.Bitting Slex
14.
Sex Roles: Biologica, Psychological and Social foundations by Shirley Weitz
15.
Issues of LINK
(Publication on Health
articles on the subject of Women and AIDS)
16.
Selection of Talks by J.Krishnamoorthy
17.
The Survival of the Individual
18.
Why Women Sabotage their own Success
(PARADE April 1990)
19.
Rediscovering Masculinity - Victor J.Seidler (Routlege)
2 0.
Mar.cu I i n i l y and Powor - Arthur Brittan ( B I a f’k wo 1 1 )
21.
The Archetypal Mother - Shubanga Atre (Ravish)
22.
The Tree of Life
23.
The Tao of Relationships - Ray Grigg (Bantam)
24.
Smt. Gita Sunderara jan, r*
'
Madras
for examples from the Rg Veda
and depiction of Sita etc..
25.
Democracy's Third Wave - Samuel P.Huntinton in Journal
Journal of
Democracy Spring 191 (c) National Endowment for democracy.
26.
What do women want - Katherine Kersten in
Spring 1991 by the Heritage Foundation, USA
27.
The Mind of the Cells
Research, New York)
Care
&
Various
Apa Pant (Sangam Books)
- Maxine Rock
Roger Cook (Avon)
Policy
Satprem (Institute of
Review,
Evolutionary
v/. ■:
>
3"
.■■■?
7.7: ■'?
' 7; 7“, - , ‘
7;\";
■'»■'.
.'■■
"J/:-:-7“7s.'
GENVER PLANNING : THE NEEV FOR ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES
MS. RANJINI KRISHNAUOORTHY
INITIATIVES
WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT,
MAVRAS
u
228
GENDER PLANNING : THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES
RANJINI KRISHNAMOORTHY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The
gender relations approach to women’s
development
.stresses
that the problem in women's development is
not women,
but the socially constructed relationship between men and
women,
a relation
in which women are
subordinated,
It,
therefore,
recommends
the empowerment of women i_..2
and conscientization of men
to transform gender relations and other social
relations which
oppress women like caste, class and race,
The approach-.
approach>
thus,
questions the very direction of the dominant development paradigm
which aims at reform within existing structures.
Gender planning,
one would assume,
would
facilitate the
unfolding of
such
a process,
Instead,
most
gender
planning
frameworks
restrict their attention
-- 1 to : increasing the; access
of
women
to
material
resources,
related
—1
to
pre-identified
projectsXprogrammos, in a top down manner,
with the limited Women
in Development
('
“ ; objective of integrating
(WID)
j women
into the
mainstream development
7--- t process.
.
.hls PaPer calls
xol
approach
to qender
for an
an alternative
alternative approach
plannuHf
(,no
aims at
women's empowerment
emphasises
aims
at: women's
empowerment and
and
the transformation of both
both the
the material
material and
and ideological
ideological basis
of
women's
oppression,
in both the public and private domain and
through a
• r°9raipme with no predetermined activities, but
one
unfolds
with
and where
vision the
of project
the'••
clarification of the nneeds
women themselves.
Such a
gender
planning approach would
step beyond the
programme a rcna
to include
institutional development;
proper
selection and gender
sensitization of
staff,
critical
and
participatory reflection on organisational goals and objectives,
organisational structure -and1 processes from a gender perspective.
1111s L'2-25 eL
.. pboratcs the
une above
Ciuovc critique of
ot dominant
qender
planning frameworks
greater detail
detail and
and draws
draws upon
the
------ j
inin greater
experience of 'Women's Development Project' (WDP) of
Department
of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj,r Government
of
Rajasthan
Government of
m
in suggesting an alternative approach to gender planning.
Ths structure of the paper is as follows: The second section
elaborates on
the
gender relations approach
to
women's
development and its differences from the WID approaches.
In this
context,
it examines the rationale for gender planning.
The
SrCt^n ®nalyses the Perspective, scope and methodology of
some of
the dominant gender planning frameworks from a gender
relatrona!
approach.
The last section
elaborates
on
an
alternative approach to gender planning.
u
229
2.0
GENDER RELATIONS APPROACH TO WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT:
2.1
GENDER RELATIONS APPROACH
Different people mean different things when they use the
phrase 'gender and development* approach.
I1 zhz.il
^l~b
shall elaborate
here
the interpretation of a group from different parts of the world
wh° met. in 1979. at.Brighton, England in a workshop titled
Continuing subordination of Women in development".
The gender relations approach towards women’s development is
based on three beliefs :
1.
The problem in women's development is not ’women’, but
rather the relationship between men and women.
2.
The relationship between men and women is socially
constructed and not based on biology.
3.
The relationship between men and women is not one of
equals but one in which men dominate and women are
subordinated. (Whitehead, 1979)
Gender relations are constructed by an interplay of several
factors:
religion, media, mythologies, education, laws etc. on
the one hand and social relations like class,
caste,
race,
ethnicity etc. on the other.
It has further highlighted that gender relations are not the
only source of women's subordination; gender relations interlock
with caste, class, race, ethnicity in subordinating women.
The
women.
gender relations approach,
therefore,
calls
for
a
radical
calls for a
transformation
of
society, towards aa
society
in
which
society
in
inequalities of all forms are eliminated
(including
gender)
eliminated (including gender) and
where values of love, trust, tolerance, democracy, participation,
nurturance, self-reliance etc. govern the functioning of society.
This radical transformation, it was envisaged, could take place
only through the process of women's empowerment.
~
The process of women's empowerment
can be discussed at two
levels: material and ideological. At the ideological level,
is concerned with conscientization of women and organisation for
change.
While at the material level,
it is discussed with
reference to women's access to resources,
power and decision
(Bhatt, 1989). With regard to conscientization, Gramsci’s
(19/1) idea on ideological hegemony of common sense is useful.
Hegemonic control consists of the attempt by the dominant groups
to diffuse the antagonistic interests of different groups in
society and make them appear to be one and the same - the ’common
sense'.
This common sense forms the superficial and explicit
which
consciousness,
is
inherited
from
the
past
and
unconditionally absorbed.
However, there is a second level of
absorbed.
u
230
consciousness which unites the oppressed group, and leads to
an
understanding
of
the world in which all
finequalities
and
oppressions are clear, and also to a new world view
--- j of
society
based
on
equality
and the
flow
of
human
potential.
Conscientization ,
is
the process by which the second
level of
consciousness
is brought forward.
It involves challenging the
dominant
logic or common sense, so that it seems
less
logical,
first in the minds of the oppressed (women in general), but
also
in minds of oppressors (menin general).
The proceB.'s of women's empowerment has also got
to
take
cognizance of other sources of women's subordination
caste,
class,
race
etc., though gender relations is the main
source.
Women of
oppressed class and caste may need to
form alliances
with men of similar background to struggle against such
sources
of oppression.
2.2
GENDER RELATIONS APPROACH IN CONTRAST WITH WID APPROACHES
The gender relations approach is a departure from the Women
in development
from t-ho (WID)
mid lQ7nr°aCheS'i which developed in its different
forms
from the mid 1970s onwards.
Moser
(1989)
classifies
the
Moser
(1989) anti-ooverte
classifies ajd
WID ???fOaCh2s
three categories
■. equity,
n
..
/ -- 7 ; equity, anti-poverty
efficiency.
The equity approach, which emerged in the mid
1970s,
sought to bring about equity between men and women
in
the
political,
economic and social spheres through reforms
in
laws
and development policies.
The agenda being
threatening,
this
approach soon gave away to the anti-poverty approach, which aimed
at creating
assets and services for women
through
programmes
designed in a top down manner.
The late 1989s, in the context of
debt crisis*andJ scarce
scarce resources
resources witnessed an added concern with
tapping the potential
contribution ot
of women
for
producing
economic resources for the country and services
rendered by the
state.
The concern was therefore, with increasing the efficiency
of
development programmes.
What is wrong with the WID approaches?
The WID a
approaches
believe that there is nothing wrong with the direction
the
.1 of
of
development process, but the problem was that i
women have not been
integrated
into it.
Secondly, the WID approaches5
believe that
women are not integrated1 as equals in the development
process
because of sheer lack of foresight or prejudices
t
--- j vvaj on the part
of
male planners
|
and ignorance and
women.
and superstitions
superstitions of
of
They,
therefore',
assume that top down planning and policy changes are
adequate to bring
about changes
in women's
position,
That
underlying women's subordination are certain relations of
power
between men and women,
women, which can only be transformed through a
process of empowerment of women is not recognised.
Thirdly
the
emphasis of these approaches is more on the public
rather'
than
is' political
private
lives of women.
That personal is
is
not
adequately recognized.
Lastly,
approach
does
recognized.
Lastly, the
the equity
equity
not
recognise the division between men and wnmon
women On
the basis
of
Ii
231
caste, class, region etc. Given these differences, the call for
between men and women in general does not make sense
which women with which men is not specified.
The gender
yenuer. relational approach addresses many of
the
weaknesses mentioned above: it questions the very direction of
the development process, it recognises the relations of power
underlying
women's
subordination and
calls
for
women's
empowerment rather than top down policy changes and programmes
and it recognises the divisions within women and men and the
need for multiplicity of struggles on the basis of caste, class
and gender.
2.3
RATIONALE FOR GENDER PLANNING
In this context, Gender planning,
planners and implementors:
is
required
to
disaggregate
'women'
<and identify the most
women in terms of caste., class, gender etc.
oppressed
make it possible for women to understand the
relations which subordinate them.
different
demystify the social construction of gender in the
of the oppressed women.
help
eyes
help identify the practical gender needs
i
’ of women (which
arise out of acceptance of gender relations like
..j
fuel,
water,
fodder etc.) and the strategic gender interests
of women (which challenge existing gender relations eg.
gender division
of male
j
labour,
labour,violence
male
etc. )
and
organise and empower women for meeting them.
promote
organisational development
agencies from a gender perspective.
of
development
The focus, in gender planning, on organisation development
is especially important as gender planning techniques,
however
well designed, can't be used effectively unless the organisation
has developed to the extent of being able to put these to use.
This will include critical reflection on the organisational
vision, objectives and strategies, and also on the organisational
structure,
processes,
staffing,
systems
from
a
gender
perspective.
3.0
GENDER PLANNING PERSPECTIVES, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY :
STATE OF THE ART^
Phis section will
examine the perspective,
scope,
and
methodology underlying some of the gender planning methods in use
in India from the gender relations approach outlined in the
m
earlier section.
u
232
3.1 PERSPECTIVE
Let us jfirst look at the perspectives of the gender planning
approach developed
by united States Agency for
International
Development
(USAID)
Coady
International
Institute
(CII)
and
Institute
Overhold
et al (1985) being used in India by
USAID,
Canadian
by USAID,
International
Deveiopment Agency (CIDA) Oxfam
(1991),
National
—i
(1991),
Labour Institute (NLI~, 1991)
_r and National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD,1988)) etc.
The vpurpose
_
’;___ different gender planning
of' these
approaches as
cited in different
documents
—*is summarised below:
USAID
planning.
on its Gender Information framework (GIF) for
gender
Aid evaluation findings provide stray evidence that
gender
is an all important variable in the development process,
that is
projects matching resources to the roles and responsibilities
of
are more effective than the projects that"~d^— not.
Therefore to ensure more positive project and programme outcomes,
planners need to.identify
to identify key differences in male\female
roles
and
responsibilities,
analyze the
the
implication
of
-,
analyze
implication
of
those
differences for programming
|-...
and incorporate that information into
development activities.
ThG GIF provides a framework for the
process". (USAID 1991: 1, emphasis added).
Coady
International
Institute
(CII)
on
the
social\gender analysis handbook developed fc^r CIDA.
purpose
of
. "The [purpose of this handbook is to introduce
the concept of
social\gender analysis and how it can be used to
increase the
effect i venoss
?Tr)^ programmes in terms of
benefitting
the
disadvantaged
(including women) in a socially sustainable way"
.. ii
.
(CIDA, Undated :: 4, parantheses and emphasis added).
OverhoId
et
gender planning:
aL
(1985) on the need for
its
framework
for
’’Although there has been much activity, development planning
efforts still
fail
to recognise fully women's actual
and
potential
contribution to the development process or the effect
of the development
process on
them.
The imperatives
for
rectifying
those
inadequancics are based on both economic and
equity concerns
framework which will
facilitate the
process H
(Overholt et al, 1985 : 4, emphasis added).
Thus the
ideological
underpinnings of
the
above gender
planning frameworks arc 1'
the WID approaches of efficiency
(USAID)
anti-poverty
(C1I) and equity
et
al?
4----- J
s(Overholt
- • —
v_ >_ U*
U. /,
CJ
J. o
r
ZAkJ f
19 91).
also
FAO
The term gender has Ithus been shorn off its ideological position.
u
233
The
verbal ideology underlying
planning framework is different :
Moser's
(1989)
gender
"The methodological tools identified (in this framework)
simplify theoretical feminists concerns relating both to the
productive,
reproductive and community managing roles of women,
and <to the nature of their gender subordination, such that they
can be translated into specific interventions in practice."
(Moser, 1989: 1817, Parantheses added).
Thus Moser's framework evolves out of an analysis of the
process of women’s subordination, and seeks to
to identify and
address strategic gender interests which arise out of
this
process.
It however,
assumes that these strategic
gender
interests can be converted into needs and planned for in a top
down manner.
Like the WID equity approach it ignores the
relationship of power in subordinating women, which can only be
transformed through the process of
--r women's empowerment.
3.2
METHODOLOGY , SCOPE AND PROCESS OF GENDER PLANNING
The above criticism of the perspectives of different gender
planning approaches does not imply that they are without any use.
Let us examine the strength and weaknesses of three gender
planing frameworks from the view point of its scope,
thcoretica1
basis, emphasis and methodology,
and also the process
it
recommends for planning :
Moser's
(
(1989) method of Identifying and meeting
practical and strategic gender needs of women.
ii.
Overholt et al (1985) method.
iii. Social\gender analysis method.
The features of the above three frameworks are presented
Table 1.
in
H
234
DETAILS ON GENDER PLANNING FRAMEWORKS ACROSS DIFFERENT FEATURES
Features.
Moser’s framework:
Planning for practical
& strategy gender needs
Overholt et al
Framework
Fhe method
The framework
distinguishes between
practical gender needs
of women,
(ie. needs which do
not question existing
gender relations but
arise out of it:
water,fuel, food etc.)
The framework uses
The framework
three inter-related consists of an
components:
assessment of:
-activity profile
- the disadvan
in the production
taged groups as
and reproduction
related to the
arena.
project, in
- access and control
terms of caste,
profile over
class,gender etc.
resources and
- the nature of
benefits.
the disadvantage
- analysis of factors of the disadvant
influencing the
aged (an assessabove two variables.. ment of gender
division of
labour,access
and control over
resources and
distribution
and consumption
of benefits)
the social
relations
which maintain
their disadvan
tage, and
historical
patterns in
the same.
the relationship
between local,
national level
in creating and
perpetuating
poverty.
- In the light of
this analysis,
the project
recommends
participatory
planning,
implementation,
monitoring and
evaluation to
address the
and strategic gender
needs of women
(which seek to
transform existing
gender relations for eg. gender
division of labour,
control over
resources,unequal
wages)
and suggests that
development efforts
should seek to
address strategic
gender needs.
Social\gender
analysis framework
I
U;
r
235
Features
Moser's Framework:
Overholt ct al
Planning for practical Framework
& strategic gender
needs
Social\gendcr
analysis framework
disadvantage
as related to
the Project.
Vision
Gender equality
Gender equality
and efficiency
Equality in terms
of class, caste,
gender etc.
Starting
point
Sectoral activity
already going on.
Project already
determined.
Project already
determined.
Scope
Programme planning
Programme\Project
planning,monitoring
and evaluation
Project planning,
monitoring and
evaluation
Emphasis of
the Project
Public domain
Public domain
Public domain
The extent
to which it
addresses
women's
empowerment
Material aspects of
women's empowerment,
not ideological
Material aspects of Material aspects
women's empowerment, of women's
not ideological
empowerment,not
ideological
. Recognition
Takes the divisions
of divisions into account in
between women analysis, but not
and sources of while planning
subordination
of women apart
from gender
relations.
Takes the divisions
into account in
analysis,but not
while planning
Takes the divisior
into account in
both analysis and
planning
Planning
process
Top down
Top down
Participatory
Done by
Planners
Planners
The target group,
planners and
staff of relevant
institutions in
the project area.
What are the strengths of the above
gender planning frameworks?
u
236
i.
All the frameworks draw attention to tho heavy work
bn r t Ion ol
w< )inr'ii arising out of the gender
women
division of
labour
ii. All the frameworks visibilize the role of women
production of goods and resources.
in
the
iii.The framework of Overholt et al and
social\gender
analysis, in
addition,, stress the gender inequalities
addition
in access and control
over resources and benefits
inspite of their significant role in the economic arena.
IV. There are development programmes and projects already
Planning "techn^ues" ^"proiidr^frame^ks
On the other hand these f
frameworks
conceptual and methodological weaknesses.
suffer
in
several
hey focus on the material rather than the
the ideological
aspects of women’s oppression & empowerment. The need
for
women to make explicit and challenge
their
superficial consciousness (whereby they accept their
subordination as commonsense) is not given adequate
emphasis. That the material aspects of development may
not be sustainable without changes> at the ideological
level is not recognized.
For eg. productive assets and income
envisaged ior
women iunder the development of Women and
Children in
Rural Areas (DWCRA)) programme has in practice resulted
in control (over
-assets and income, created through the
programmes, by men.
ii.
The
starting point in all the
gender
planning
techniques is the project, the broad sectoral activity
(agriculture, animal husbandry
I
etc.) of which has
already been determined,, rather than the women whose
practical
and strategic gender needs are
inter
sectoral.
iii.
Women's oppression in both the private and
public
domain are political issues.
The gender planning
issues.
frameworks however restrict their attention to the
arena Important personal issues like control
public arena.
over jsexuality, violence against women, dowry, etc.
do
not receive adequate attention.
iv.
The division within women are taken into account in the
ana 1ysis stagn, but not in gender planning (other than
tho socia1\gender analysis framework).
u
237
Strategic
class.
gender
interests of women
will
vary
with
For example iequal access to property is
gender interest'of the middle\upper^class a strategic
women but not
the women
from economically weaker sections whose
families may not have any access to
property at
all.
Similarly, post-harvest technology may increase
access to income of women with large land holdings, the
but
may reduce the employment opportunities
for
landless
women.
v.
The frameworks (except social gender
gender analysis)
emphasis on the techniques rather than the process lay
of
gender planning. The need for people’s
participation
both as an intrinsic value in itself, and to
the effectiveness of the project in meeting theincrease
needs
of women, is not recognised.
vi.
The primary thrust in all these iframeworks
is on
programme planning. However programmes> are implemented
in the context
--- of an organisation, Thus, there is a
need
for
reflection on
organisational
visions,
objectIvor,
organisati ona1
nt ruet-11 ron f
prnronnon,
nynl
| .o, s< »na I polieH-i <•! <•. wh I Ch I s riot q i von duo
importance in the planning frameworks.
Many of the shortcomings listed above arise out of
and assumptions similar to the WID approaches. How does concerns
from planning for integrating women into the development one move
process
to planning for women’s empowerment?.
4.0
TOWARDS GENDER PLANNING FOR WOMEN *S EMPOWERMENT.
The women'ss Development project, a joint venture of
the
government and 1NGOs in Rajasthan was launched in mid 1984.
The
principal aim of the
.
Pr°joct is "to
to empower rural women,
through
communication of information, education and training"
(Jain et
training”
al, 1988).
Empowerment is seen as integrated growth
liberation of women both individually and collectively as and
collectively
a
group.
The empowerment process involves sharing
j on the part of
WDP staff,
the existing body of knowledge about
about poor
helping the women to use the information to question women,
their
oppressive social relations on the basis of caste, class,
gender
and articulate and move towards an alternative vision of
society
and their lives. The needs identified by the women through
the
u
238
i
process are both
corn practical in nature
like water, grazina
education,
fuel etc. and also strategic like child
9 land,
marriage
,
prostrtution
yioience
against
women
etc.
Thus,
the
violence <
between ■publtc' and
and •private' are sou9ht to be bioke^ b^h
barriers
. --- i1 are
collectively addressed by the groups. Further i-ho <-+-»Further
the struggle
o^^e^Le
SSj' is
not of wooen alone. AlUanoe? „i?h men
same
sought
or meeting some practical needs of women. The class
role are
The
role
of
the WDP in this process is not seen as one of m
eeting
these
needs
through "schemes but facilitating the empowerment of
women so
that they can avail of existing government
programmes and legal
provisions.
To foster such a process.
the WDP is organised as follows:
VILLAGE LEVEL:
Each selected gram
Panchayat has a trained
village level worker called a Sathin who
belongs to one of the
villages of the Gram Panchayat.
She is
for the
formation of women's forums at the village responsible
level.
She
works
close
in
link with nine other Sathins ofSathins
neighbourina
of
______
Gram
Panchayats.
e cluster of 10 Gram
Gram Panchayats
PanchavaFc with 10
ig sathins is
coordinated by one Pracheta.
BLOCK LEVEL
:
suonnrt
provides support
the communication
P”Chet^ a block level Government f
functionary,
and guidance to the Sathin. she also
provides
link
--- - with the district level.
DISTRICT LEVEL: ( i ) 7At‘ the district level is the District
Women's
Development Agency (DWDA) under the Chairmanship of the
District
Collector. Each DWDA has
(ii)
Director who is assisted by a
Project Officer.
(
‘‘; Technical Resource
di)
Support is provided Y
at
the district level by the
Information Development and R
Resource
Agency (IDARA). This is a voluntary agency working in the
field
of adult education and rural development.
STATE LEVEL:
At the State level:
(i)
The district TDARAs arc coordinated by the State
WARA.
(ii) The bi rector of WDP is the overall
incharge of the
programme.
(iii)
The m<onitoring
facilitated by
Jaipur.
and evaluation of the programme is
the Institute of Development Studies,
The first activity of WDP was the
selection,
through
training programmes,
of Sathins and Prachetas.
The training
programmes gave an
opportunity to get to know the potential
candidates.
Their socio-economic
___ ______ : background,
perspective on
women ' s <development,
“
commitment to the
programme,
willingness
work with
ux^ciavancaged women, <openness
-----h disadvantaged
to new ideas, ability to
to
take inititative and work collectively
"*
”
”
"
1
1'
were
some
of
the
criteria
used for selection.
11
239
The training programmes are a continuous activity through
Jajams (the monthly meeting of Sathins attended by Prachetas and
at times, other staff) and Shivirs (a meeting around particular
i.ssues\problems attended by staff at all levels). The focus, in
these meetings miin training procjramnien is on:
- enhancing self confidence
- internalization of WDP’s perspective
- broadening perspective on women’s development
- self reflection on application in one’s own life.
- developing the ability to diagnose and solve problems
- developing the ability to work as a group
- building innovativeness and creativity.
In all these meetings, the staff at higher levels and
resource persons played a supportive role,
giving information,
facilitating discussions, reflection and decision making on the
issues at hand by the Sathins themselves.
What can we learn from this experience on the components for
gender planning for women’s onipowerment?
(i)
Concern
with developing the programme around
the
participating women, rather than integrating women into
predetermined projects\programmes.
(ii) Emphasis on conscientization and empowerment of women
rather than reducing women's poverty or increasing the
efficiency of the project.
(iii)
Absence
domain.
(iv)
Recognition of divisions within women on the basis of
caste,
class etc. and the need to address sources of
women’s subordination arising out of these
social
relations,
wherever necessary forming alliances with
men.
(v)
Adoption of iterative participatory planning processes
with collectives of women, rather than one shot top down
planning techniques targetted at individual women.
(vi)
Emphasis on selection and development of staff with
right perspectives on women’s development.
(vii)
Development of a shared vision within the organisation
on the overall goal of the Project: women's empowerment.
(viii)
Evolving participatory decision making processes within
the
organization
and gender
sensitive
personnel
policies.
of
a distinction between personal
and
public
the
•i
j
’
. •;T
•
•U !
5
. I
■i
1
I
'.'■A- ■■ 'W- • ■ :
'i
J-.'I
>•'‘240
V' '
(lx)
Commitment at the policy, making level of the government
towards facilitating the process of women’s empowerment.
(X)
The joint involvement of NGOs, government and
institutions in the project.
research
There are several NGOs working towards women's empowermen t.
There is a need for consolidation and analysis of
these
experiences no as to gain a bettor understanding of the planning
process for women's empowerment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
.Bhatt, 1989, Womens Organisation :
Issues and Debates,
M.Phil.Thesis,
Institute of Development Studies, U.K.. Coady
International
Institute
(CII)
Undated,
A
Handbook
for
Social\Gender Analysis, CII, Canada.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 1991, Twenty third
FAO Workshop on Gender Analysis; Applying an Analytical Framework
to Enhance Project Success,FAO, Rome.
Gramsci,
1971, Selection from Prison Notebook,
Lawrance &
Wishart. Jain et al, 1988, Exploring Possibilities : A Revie
____w of
Women 1s Development Project, Institute of Development Studies,
Jaipur.
Moser,
1989,
’’Gender Planning in Third World:
Meeting
Practical
and Strategic Gender Needs".
World
Development
Vol.17,No.11 pp 1799-1825.
National
Institute of Public Co-oporntion
and
Child
Development (NIPCCD). 1988 Workshop on Gender Analysis in Project
Planning for Policy Makers and Project Planners: A Report,
NIPCCD, Nev/ Delhi.
National Labour Institute (NLI), 1991, Draft Report on the
NLI Workshop on Gender Training in Development, NLI,New Delhi.
Overholt et al, 1988, Gender Role in Development Projects; A
Case Book Kumarian Press, U.S.A.
Oxfam,
1991
Oxfam, Bangalore.
Report
on TOT (Gender) Workshop
USAID, 19 91a, A Trainers Manual
:
____ Volume
I
._____
Workshop
to Integrate Gender Considerations
_________
Planning, USAID, Washington.
A
Draft,
- How ____
to Conduct
into Development
’’Some
Preliminary
Notes
on
the
Whitehead,
1974,
Subordination of Women” in Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Bulletin Vol.No.10.
'v...
■ ?? c
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GENVER ANV BEHAVIOUR
MS.SUVHA ANANV
RESEARCHER,
SAKTI, BANGALORE
11
241
GENDER AND BEHAVIOUR
SUDHA ANAND
INTRODUCTION
Gender
is the cultural interpretation of sex
dif ferences.
Gender differences are different from that of
sex
di f f erences.
Sex
are
differences
physiological
f ea tu res
re]a ted
to
procreation,
to biological reproduction.
Sex
differences are
found
in all anima1s.
However, humans from their
very
origins
have
i n torpreIrd
and
reshaped
their
physical
and
social
environment
through
symbolizing.
Though
humans
arr
sei f reflective,
culture-creating
animals,
humans
have
sex
differences,
like all other aspects of physical
differentiation
these are expressed symbolically.
While sex differences are physical
are
physical,, gender dlllerences
differences
socially constructed.
Every culture has prevailing
images
images of
what men and women are "supposed to be" like.
Concepts of Gender
are ingrained and imbibed through the socialisation
process.
A
child doesn't have to be spanked to produce a behaviour pattern
A frown, a tone of voice is sufficient to
or change a behaviour.
effect a change in behaviour.
Being born as a girl or a boy and
the reactions shown by
the relatives to
the
baby makes an
impression on
mind,
the baby's mind.
This impression has
a
lasting
effect on
the baby's growing
self-image.
The
socialisation
process, by which the
child learns in a small way at home of how
to manage
in society, is taught of each and
everybody's
role,
everybody's
their position in the community etc.,
For example, if a
threeyear old boy gets hurt and cries, a typical response would be
"Don't be a sissy, don't cry like girls" - (Pombala madiri azhade
- in Tamil and Hen makkalu tharah alu beda - in Kannada)
thereby
teaching them
1.
Not to express through crying
2.
Crying
is a feminine behaviour and it is
below a male's
dignity to cry.
Whereas, if a girl of the same age cries it
is well accepted and is consoled, thereby encouraging the so
called "weaker part" of the personality to be developed.
It has been mentioned oar 1 irr"(lender"
concept is built
in
socially con r. I r uc I • ed . Gondorr
difference
and
is
is
ref]ncted
through beha v i on r.
"Behaviour"
includes anything a
person or
animal does
that can be
way.
observed
in
some
Behaviour,,
unlike mind or thoughts
or feelings can be
observed,
recorded
and studied.
From what Is
can and
In said and
a nd done, we
do make
inferences about
the feelings, attitudes,
thoughts
and
of ton
uinn ta J processes which may bo behind the behaviour.
The internal
The
mental thought processes can be observed through
behavit^ur.
basic unit of
behaviour
All
our is an activity.
behaviour
is
a
series of activities.
Our behaviour is generally motivated by
a
desire to attain '’ome goal.
i i
242
The goal towards
which we are working
i
may just yield a
reward of social acceptance. People
t
interpret behaviour in terms
of past experiences in their own frame of reference.
of tine
the main results of human evolution is that we haVe
One or
become a species in which behaviour is strongly
influenced by
; ‘
learning.
Our evolutionary heritage has given us the potential
for great behavioural flexibility. It: is
through
behaviour
that human beings manifest Gender differences.
Society has
prescribed certain roles to both men and women.
'Roles' are seen
as defining all behaviour such that the stability and equilibrium
of the system is ensured so that society could function smoothly.
The term 'Role' has been used to describe
patterns
of
behaviour.
It is seen as complementary to social position, i. e. t
it is the behavioural component of social
position.
And
Gender component is inculcated and played out as 'Masculine' the
or
*Feminine
e role'.
Even as children, boys and girls perceive the
status accorded to their own sex in the family and society.
The
reactions to the perceived status may be varied
either . accepting or rejecting the role thereby questioning
the society's verdict on their sex-role. The denial of the role
may be simply refusing to play the typical sex-role or by
emulating the other sex i.e., a female child acting like a tomboy. Such children may also be seen to be enjoying the image of
being a "tom-boy" «since she may feel to be of a higher status
than the other girls of her age.
But rarely do we find a
is seen to be enjoying his "poor sissy" position - for boy who
obvious
reasons,
DETAILS OF THE GENDER ROLES
role
< ' prescriptions
‘
r
°ie is a set of
and proscriptions for
what'behaviours
behaviour - expectations about what
behaviours are appropriate
for a person holding a particular position within a particular
social context.
A Gender role is a set of expectations about
what behaviours are appropriate for people of one Gender.
According
to the traditional perspective,
someone is
"born into" the category "male" or "female" <_..J
and by virtue of her
or his birth becomes obliged to perform the male
--- ; or female role
one is expected to behave in accordance with the
prescriptions
of one’h Gondor.
The
obligatory nature of Gender roles is so firm that
when dictionaries
attempt
to define woman and man,
man, they often do
,
,
.
so
'by ’listing
*
‘
Gender role behaviours (man: one possessing high
degree (of" ’bravery, courage,
strength etc.; woman: who is shy,
timid, obedient etc.,)
Now to look into the differential emotions in
men and
women,
as part of behavioural component. we will go through
u
243
the
Biological\Genetic theories. According to these theories,
purpose of emotions is to communicate about survival
related,
approach - withdrawal processes; for example,
fear helps to
identify potential aggressors,
The important issue relevant to
an understanding of Gender differences in emotional development
is
that
the two sexes
historically differed
in
their
interpersonal survival - related functions.
-
I
’Women were primarily responsible for child - rearing; men,
for gathering and hunting food. Hunting required communication
amongi peers who were at relatively similar levels of physical,
Cognitive and social development ,while child-rearing required
communication between a developmentally more advanced caretaker
(in physical, social and cognitive skills) and a developmentally
immature,
non - verbal and physically vulnerable child.
These
differences in gender - related interpersonal interactions have
implications for two aspects of emotional functioning,
Women
should be more sensitive to non-verbal cues than are men,
since
non-verbal sensitivity is adaptive for child - rearing; and women
should show anger less often than do men,
since anger is
theorized to-be a precursor of aggressive behaviour, and is non
adaptive for interactions with children.
The variation
in
expressing emotions can also be explained through social theory
-which says
that the sons and daughters may
be socialized
differently or the behaviours of adult males and females are
observed to differ and children imitate those differences.
Lew-.
Lewis
explains that emotions are based on attachment
systems, and that the throat of loss of attachment results in the
emotions shame \ or guilt, which aim to restore the attachment,
She says, women are more prone toward experiencing shame and men
toward experiencing guilt,
Her argument includes (1) Women’s low
socio - cultural status causes women to feel inferior which
predisposes
them to experience other's negative
view
of
themselves; (2) because women care more about their relationships
with others than do men (i.e., are more affiliative)
In other
words, women experience more negative feelings about themselves
because of the importance they place on the approval
or
disapproval of others; (3) men's greater aggressiveness relative
to women's, leads them to experience more Guilt. Guilt is aimed
at actively making amends to another because of a wrong - doing
or because of: an injury inflicted on others.
Gender roles have many components
including interests,
activities, dress,
skills etc. For each of these components,
there are clear and different expectations for those who occupy
the male and female role. For example, in the ideal traditional
culture, the "good" woman is a Pativrata, subordinating her life
to the husband's welfare and needs. The
,.. goddess
__ __ Uma, laying down
the guidelines of right conduct for women describes a "Pativrata"
as one who is devoted to her 'Lord' which is her penance: her
The
eternal heaven. The husband is the God which women have.
Husband is their friend, their high refuge, The husband's grace
and Heaven are equal in the estimation of a woman.
i
I
11
244
our
roles are prescribed for
Society,
men and
women as follows-: Female - Housewife, Cooking, Caring for the
children, Husband and other members of the family.
Male
protector, a breadwinner, Though there are no formal laws or
rules to enforce these appropriate roles, they are being imposed
through social norms which are sometimes stronger thanl formal
laws .
In
Just social mockery,
jokes etc., helps to
keep
the
individuals in line who move away from the set norms, Husbands
who help their wives in household activities are sometimes
referred to as "hen - pecked" husbands. And in cases where
individua J s a re not able to live up to their appropriate roles,
sometimes they even go to the extent of ending their lives - for
example, women who are not able to get married for various
reasons, men who are not able to get jobs. The male is expected
to
be career-oriented,
to look for rewards,
self-esteem,
achievement and personal growth.
For a female, the reward can be seen as one of husband's
achievement, children's or other family member's success.
In
short, a man's growth can be self-centered whereas a woman's life
is always oriented towards the others.
The so - called Gender-appropriate
roles
are
being
maintained strictly with the help of constricting do's and
don'ts,
to the members of the respective Genders. For example,
society may not mind too much if the woman goes for work as long
as her primary role of caretaking is not neglected. And in the
same manner if the woman is only a supportive earner it is wel 1
accepted, whereas if she becomes the main earner of the family
when the husband is alive and healthy, he will be scorned and
made fun of - thereby maintaining the Female role-boundary.
Choosing a girl who is less-educated, less-paid, or at least of
equal status but never a girl of a higher status, is in order to
conform to the societal Gender role behaviour
;
the general
opinion that the woman should always be a subordinate to the man.
And the wife is expected to behave in such a manner that she
doesn't in any way challenge the husband's image or his position.
Moreover
a woman doing a purely 'male job'
is better
accepted as it is seen as emulating the stronger sex whereas a
man doing a purely 'female job' is looked down upon as it is seen
as derogatory to his position.
Rosaldo
of
"Women
are
Stanford University explains
more involved than men in the grubby and dangerous part of
existence,
social existence,
giving birth and mourning death.
feeding,
cooking and disposal”.
By contrast, men are often identified with culture, with
human
consciousness and its
achievements etc; in short with
the lofty realm of life that transcends nature.
The human
u
245
"
male, Simone de Beauvoir says "remodels
the face of the earth,
creates new instruments, invents, shapes the future."ii
"As a
result",
says anthropologist Sherry Ortner,
"man assumes the
dominant role. Culture at some level of awareness asserts itself
to be not only distinct from but superior to nature.
If women
were considered part of nature, then culture would find it
’natural’ to subordinate, not to say, oppress them."
Surprisingly
enough,
the female's tie with nature has
been used as an excuse not only to diminish but also to exalt
her.
The second is no better than the first; both ways of
looking at women deny them equality with imen .
Men
and Women are encouraged
encouraged to
to
develop
certain
personality traits which are different.
They are not only
different but the value attached to those personality traits
which are to be developed by men carries higher social value than
for those traits which are to be developed by women.
Ability
to
reason is a good example
of how group
pressures influence the development of admired
personality
traits.
Even before the days of Intelligence tests,
Reasoning
tests r
was regarded as "higher" mental ability than memorising,
Boys
were encouraged to develop the ability to reason while girls were
discouraged from developing it either by limiting their learning
opportunities or by labeling those whose reasoning ability
men’s as
as""masculine women". As a result, men
competed with men's
developed this ability and were judged as "superior". Women were
encouraged to develop the ability to memorize and were then
judged as inferior because they possessed a trait that had less
prestige.
Mon having
loped the ability to reason
were
cons ulor ('(I bo I I ('i fui i I ('d Io doa I with r. i t • ua I. i onn where (Iff i r. > nr:
have tobe made.
It is not that all is well with the role prescibed for the
men just because it offers higher prestige.
Because to attain
that
prestige they must sacrifice being emotional,
being
dependent - in short
short,, the men have to prove themselves to the
high pedestal which is set by the society by being an " achieving
automaton".
From early boyhood on, his emotions are suppressed
by others and therefore repressed by himself,
In countless ways
he is
*
constantly being conditioned not to express his feelings
and needs openly.
Though he too has needs for dependency, he
1 earns that il ir, not maseul i no to aot in a dependent way.
It is
also not masculine to be frightened, to want to be held, to cry
etc. , While all of these expressions of self are acceptable in a
girl they are incompatible with the boy's sought after image of
being tough and i n control.
Emotionally repressed, out of touch
with his body, alienated and isolated from other men,
terrorized
by the fear of failure, afraid to ask for help, it is ironical
that the male is imagined to be superior. Even as young boys
they would never be given a doll as a present, only mechanical
things to play with and the parents would become extremely
disturbed if they see boys playing with dolls or show any so
u
246
called
'feminine'
interests.
Sometimes young boys
become
extremely confused since there is peer pressure to act like a
boy, whereas usually the teacher’s coveted classroom values are
traditionally
’feminine' ones. The emphasis is on politeness,
neatness and cleanliness with not much approval to show his
aggression. Findings from studies show that the higher the boy
scored on the masculine scale, the lower his report card average
tended to be. Even the same emotions are manifested differently
by men and women - for e.g., a woman would take the aid of
verbal blows when she is angry whereas a man would show it
through physical aggression. We can assume that this is one of
the reasons for a larger number of male criminals.
As
adults, men are not to show their emotions,
least
of all of being sad.
So some men may find 'being drunk'
as an
alternative way of venting their feelings and emotions.
Role
Denial
happens when the person
[
is not able to
accept the prescribed role for himself/herself
----- . This can happen
for various reasons 1. When the person is not able to fulfill the
required behaviour pattern 2. J'*
When the status attached to the
role is perceived to be too low. Men very rarely deny their
roles since they may be labeled as "failures".
a
superior
Just
as
role
in
the
social
group
contributes to a feeling of superiority in men and
and boys
boys,, so also
an inferior role contributes to the development: of feelings of
tnreriorily in girls and women.
Here the term 'superior role' or
inferior role refers to the prestige and status given
to the
persons who filay the respective roles. The uniqueness of the
Gender role is that they not only prescribe male and female roles
but also of higher and lower status,
thereby creating
a
hierarchy. Many high - achieving girls and women fail to see the
justice of being treated as inferior, and so they react with
anger and resentment. Their capacity to achieve may in no way be
inferior to those of mon but still they would be meted the same
treatment given to those of traditional women simply because
achievement has no approval in the so - called "female role".
Whether this anger is expressed outwardly in "masculine
protest" or suppressed behind a cloak of docile feminity, it will
affect the personality adversely.
When a feeling of inferiority is well developed,
the woman
loses
respect for herself and for members of her sex.
In a
social environment where the attitude toward women is low,
girls
grow up in homes where the role of women is so scorned, they lose
respect for themselves as people. When this happens, some women
become easy prey to the lure of money and
and glamour often
associated with the life of prostitution.
Harsh and Schrckel
writes that "Prostitutes" are seldom sex-obsessed but more often
are women who have a low regard for the female role;
thus they
experience little difficulty in offering themselves up as sex
objects.
u
247
CONCLUSION
Gender
concept
is not static but flexible,
and its
meaning becomes clear in the beliefs that people hold and in the
context
of
social
interaction, where those
beliefs
are
manifested, rather than in any inherent qualities of the male or
female.
Human life can be defined as the constant and endless
process of healing an inner split. On another level,
the soul
and the brain were supposed to be divided into a feminine sensory
It
part on one hand and masculine reason and will on the other.
is also accepted by a set of Psycgologists that as humans we have
So
an 'animus' and an 'anima' the other Gender component in us.
'masculine'
and
perhaps it would help us if we consider
'feminine' aspects as complementary to each other than alien. We
are subject to many myths that impede the human growth of women
instead of
as well as mon. Wo grow up in sox - defined cages,
reaching our full potentials. The so - called set - roles are
slowly changing but not the old behaviour - patterns probably
because of the built - in social conditioning.
Both men and
women find it extremely difficult to conform to the old behaviour
patterns.
Perhaps it would be better if we change our
behaviour patterns according to the changes in the role
patterns.
By thus changing our set behaviour patterns we would
also be able to change the lower status accorded to the female
and the high expectation from the male.
REFERENCES
1.
Terri Apter
: Why women Don’t have
Wives
2.
Sudhir Kakkar
: Intimate Relations
3.
Elizabeth B.Hurlock
4.
Time-Life Books
: Human Behaviour
Men and Women
5.
D.L.Shepard
The Science
: Psychology
of Human Behaviour
6.
Beth B.Hess and
Myra Marx Ferree
: A Hand book of Social
Research - Analysing
Gender
Personality Development
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248
SOCIAL CONDITIONING AND GENDER BEHAVIOUR IN INDIAN SOCIETY
M.S.UMAPATHY
The great paradox of modern India, which is wedded to two
Principal Political ideologies viz., Democracy and Socialism,
is
that we loudly proclaim equality between Men and Women even as we
encounter the presence of glaring inequality everywhere.
Rovsseau classified
inequalities as natural and
social.
Researchers have been trying to find out the role of heredity and
environment in contributing to sex-inequality.
Now the term Sex
is confined to the biological mechanism and the term Gender to
socially constructed traits attributed to males and females
(Unger 1979).
Biologists' search for genetic transmission of sex
specific
differences has not been conclusive or productive so far
(Carol,
1986 ).
However, :*it i* generally agreed that both biological
and
psychological
factors typically interact in subtle‘ and
complex
ways
in producing differences in the behaviour of males and
females.
Psychologists
and Sociologists have concentrated on
socio
cultural
factors
contributing
to sex differences
in
social
behaviour,
because
these factors exercise strong
control
over
behaviour in general.
Gender research has become a field of
study
by
itself
wherein psychological characteristics assigned to the
categories
of male and female by an individual or a group and the
variables
that affect perceptions of gender and social constructions of sex
stereotypes are examined (Deaux 1985).
Socia1
interactions and related
social
cognitions
(i.e.
attitudes,
beliefs, values, interests and attributions) of
both
individuals and groups have been found to be important
in the
adoption and expression of gender related behaviour,
Therefore,
the view that gender inequality is a ’cultural wrong’
(Fenchol
1978,
Peter Marea 1991) and that the psychological
and
social
growth processes are the same for both males
and
females
is
gaining ground among the researchers (Austin 1984).
It is gender
identity developed in a growing child which ultimately determines
maleness and femaleness from a social behaviour point of view.
Despite these views gaining ground, attitudes, beliefs,
old
alucs and old habits continue to circulate, as they have a
life
of
their own.
These are collective representations
held
in
common
and
shared by the members of the society and
serve as
means through which each member defines his identity in
relation
to others and to the Universe in general.
They mediate one ' s
percept: ions and serve as filters through which
objects,
events
and persons are perceived and evaluated.
And they arc passed on
H
249
from
generation
inequalities.
to
generation
and
thus
perpetuating
sex-
How do fthe
’
gender related behaviours originate ?
How are
they reinforced
and maintained? C
Can they be restructured
?
These arc the questions proposed to> be
answered
here,
with
specific reference to the
Indian1 context.
-- -----
The origin <of' earliest perception of sex-differences must be
traced back to Adam
--- and
--- Eve.
--- - The first man and women could not
have but noticed the anatomical and psysiological
differences
psysiological
between them at
first
sight, but the
folly
of
attributing
the
folly of
inferior
status to Woman based on external
genital
differences
could
be traced back to only Post-Vedic Period in
India
in
around
300
B.C.
The position of the Hindu Woman in
in ” the
early Vedic
the
times was
high.
changes
was
high. It TJis
- --the
11 great
----- ■ social
...
that took place
B.C.
after 300
that
led
to a
degradation
in
her
status
(Kuppuswamy, 1972).
The needs of the times imay have dictated the assignment of
sex roles, like need to fight for survival and feeding the young.
As more security and comforts of life were achieved
' '
man must have
begun
to assert himself
to preserve
for himself
certain
privileges
he enjoyed before at the expense of woman,
And
to
justify
his actions
he began
to rationalise,and
spared
no
scriptures
to lend authority to his rationalizations,
Even
the
great Manu was no exception to this process.
And women did
not lag behind in
assimilating
these new
values
in perpetuating the same old inequalities»
they
suffered
and
subjected their daughters to the same values and
suffering.
How did women fall prey to those manipulations and why did
I
they
continue to suffer this long?
The answer,
perhaps,
lies in the powers
of
the
socia1
conditioning process.
We Io.imi many Ihingr; even before V7O cou 1 d
reflect upon
them, particularly during early childhood
(Vecna
Das) •
An^
is highest at appropriate critical periods
5 of
life, <and such learnings leave strong impressions3 that are hard
to change,'
like attitudes towards
sex,
rituals,
inferiority
complex,
basic
fears etc., and a person may become unable to
learn certain
things once his critical period
is
past,
like
learning mathematics, grammar need for change, need to strive and
achieve etc.
And,,
as nature would
have
it,
a
girl
child
undergoes more critical
<
stages of visible growth and development
than a
boy
child,
Using a complex
system of
rewards and
punishments in various direct and indirect forms, Indian society
has been nurturing certain values and beliefs among both boys and
girls so as to land women under conditions we find them to-day.
In order to understand the operation of these social rewards
and pun i shmr'u I r. and I heir effort
fnir behaviour in I •ormn of our
r*’’
HM'U , ..lliturhui atMl bfliefr., | he p i oee r: •: r • n of eont I i i i on I n< j
in general and social conditioning in particular may be
briefly
u
250
explained here. However, conditioning
uiuniny is only
omy one of
ot the ways we
learn, as there are several other methods of learning. A
A review
of other methods is beyond the purview of this paper.
Suffice it
to state here that
different methods of learning actually
complement each other and contribute to the acquisition of
different kinds of skills, perceptions and attitudes of the child
as it grows up.
conditioninc; process
It was Throndike, an American psychologist, who gave laws of
learning based on his experimental studies.
Drawing on the
Principle of Association that ideas <and' experiences tend to get
associated, he ttried
explain
:rieci to ex
Plain the conditions under which trial
and error method of learning[ occurs.
One of the laws of learning is the Law of effect,
according
to which an experience should be satisfying to the
learner
to
establish
a link between the stimulus and his
response
.
Satisfaction imay be gratification
‘ ‘
of a need avoidance of
a threat
or reduction in discomfort.
The
’Law of effect’ received strong support
with Pavlov’s
experiments on dogs.
Ivan V Pavlov,
a Russian
convincingly established that the law of effect occursphysiologist
through a
K°f excitation-inhibition in the neural processes.
He
called his procedure of establishing links between the
external
cail^Hm Ian
3" eternal
internal autonomic response
i------- as conditioning,
Now
to salivate n
to
1C
ti
modcl
;
t,
2
e
Procedure
------ - model, the procedure involved a dog learning
salivate
alivate to the sound of a metronome.
The sound is t-hn
neutral stimulus, neutral because it does i.not elicit salivation
onlvthRaf?g' Whenc
7er the
thc c,
°y became hungry food was served but
Whenever
dog
only
after a metronome was sounded.
After several
qimh
sounded,
?5T!e?tatl?n?.of bel1 fo1lowed by
food,, a coupling of the neutral
J
Jstimulus bell
1
and the food takes place,, making the dog
salivate
at the sound of tthe
‘
be 11 itself. That is,
the dog became
conditioned to the sound
--- J of the bell.
Although, the experiment appears to be quite simple and
the
process discovered to be co~..^.. knowledge
c,
common knowledge,
the implications for
behaviour control have been far reaching,
Beginning with bell,
salivation could be built up to many other
stimuli such as
different typos of sounds,
lights, verbal commands
facial
expressions and so on.
And by gradually withdrawing
the
conditions
that
strengthen the conditioned
response,
an
established conditioned response can be extinguished.
With
right
reinforcements they could be recovered also,
Neurosis may be
experi monta1 1y indimod wh^n condtradichory
st imu1 us s i t u a t i ons
are introduced and the animal,
unable to give appropriate
response, breaks down.
As human functtinning
‘
is too complex to be explained on the
basis
of a simple St imu
.. 21 us-Response model,
many
Complex
conditioning models have- been
developed.
u
£
251
Skinner’s-.model,
-----/ the most widely used, involves
involves conditioning
voluntary <activities while Pavlovian model involves
—> involuntary
activities such
such as
as salivation. A simplified <explanation of
Skinner's model is that a rewarded response tends to
—> occur again
and so <also a promise of withdrawal of punishment,
that is,
positively
reinforced
outcomes
are
retained
and
even
strengthened.
Even human emotions and feelings get conditioned.
A
telephone ring could set off a series of
fear and anxiety
responses.
And it is not necessary that one should directly
experience the feared object in order to get
conditioned.
For
instance,
one can show fear of snakes
without
directly
encountering them.
Even with little or no personal contact at
the mere sight or a cue one can display strong emotional arousal.
Conditioning could occur from within the person also.
Internal organs can be paired with electric shock to elicit
a
withdrawal response. After several repetitions or even just
one
intense experience,
<
internal activation
-------- of
-- the
-- i organ can arouse
withdrawal behaviour to avoid the shock.
Fear of social boycot
can trigger off many feelings of physical discomfort in
a girl
when she is compelled to withdraw from achieving a desired goal.
Even emotional responses of another per
person as conveyed
through vocal, facial or postural manifestations
-- j arouse emotional
reactions in observers. Thus many social cues may eventually
acquire emotion provoking properties. Watching a Woman who took
initiative in life meeting with disastrous consequences, a girl
may become anxious about her own initiatives in life.
SOCIAL CONDITIONING
Humans
continually reinforce themselves through
selfevaluation. Society enforces several standards and norms on the
child which are gradually internalised as one’s own. These are
internalised
norms
of behaviour for self.
Rewards
and
punishments are self awarded for reaching or not reaching the
self standard. But in actuality these self prescribed
demands
are set by external social agents-like the father or the
mother
for the daughter on such ----issues; as being an ideal wife.
iThe human tendency to imitate consciously or unconsciously
is also used by socialization agents to control gender behaviour.
Exemplary models are adopted by people for self reinforcement.
These may be any significant other in one's life,
for a girl
child it may be the dominant mother.
Self performance is
evaluated against the model and such evaluations, gradually serve
as their own reinforcing agents.
There are external reinforcing agents other than the
members, who may be classified as traditional and modern.
family
Peers,
t
u
252
‘ %
teachers,
colleagues form the first group while Films, T.V.,
Video and advertisements constitute the modern social agents.
Many studies have shown how peer groups are effective social
agents in enforcing society’s sex role standards (Lamb,
1980)
That members of one sex playing the role of the opposite sex is
disapproved by peers was effectively demonstrated by Carter and
M.C Closky (1983). The differential treatment meted out to girls
and boys in India is too conspicuous to be dealt with here.
Social pressure to conform to sex appropriate behaviour
exerted by teachers directly through teaching and indirectly
providing themselves as models for imitation.
is
by
Among the modern agents of socialization, many studies have
shown how girls are shown to find happiness through self denial
(Walkerdine, 1984), how girls who take initiative end
in
disasters (MC Robbie); that it is the business of girls to look
attractive to the boys (Dulkin & Akther, 1983) and so on.
Films
and TV rank the most in India in reinforcing traditional sex
roles.
I
Even a cursory glance under the classifieds of any Indian
News Paper would show that women wanted for jobs or for imarriage
are desired to be ’young, attractive, charming, lovable'
etc. ,
and that the kind of jobs open to them are teaching, typing,
selling, nursing and so on.
The attitudes and beliefs about sex differences established
in childhood and reinforced during growth and development at
various stages of life soon become generalised to all members of
the same sex and of the opposite sex.
Thus, at the human level, in every day life jgender
j
based
behaviour become conditioned and manipulated under control of
multiple schedules of reinforcement operating concurrently or
alternately.
Social conditioning thus becomes the essential
substratum of the sex-role socialisation process.
SOCIAL CONDITIONING AND GENDER BEHAVIOUR : THE EFFECTS
What is the effect of the gender related social conditioning
on the
..J behaviour of girls and boys in India?
The
most
’
conspicuous effect amonggirls isafeeling of inferiority as
compared to boys. Freud would explain it on the basis of his
’Castration Complex', but there is ample evidence to suggest that
it is socially inflicted.
It is an universally
accepted
principle
that comparing children is injurious
to
their
psychological growth and development, In our society girls are
always compared unfavourably with boys. Even in the work place
women employees are denied equal wages, or even if equal wages
are given
given,, are frowned upon on the ground that the quantum or
quality of work turned out by them is not comparable to those of
their male colleagues.
u
253
‘i
Negative feelings, once established, tend to make one feel
inferior, which as a self reinforcing agent, makes one behave as
a inferior person, They could force a woman to become humble and
highly suggestive,
under which condition her behaviour can be
easily manipulated,
Inspection of brides or Vadhu pariksha is an
example.. Such repeated
and
rejections
e exposures
t
-- —
j—
may force a girl
to believe that she is inferior and
in
desperation
------- desperation she
she would
would fppl
feel
relieved when she is accepted no matter by whom.
attitude of resignation is another consequence that
7
‘
explains role acceptance. After
being
exposed to a series of
physical and emotional trauma, the girl would desperately look
for some immediate relief-like the Bekhrov’’ss goat withdrawing
feet to seek relief from electric shock. Anything
Anything that would
bring peace and reasonable happiness to herself and to those whom
she loves, even a vague promise of it, she would accept.
Many
ask why would a woman accept such hazardous jobs as policing
knowingly and then plead concessions, For a common man it is
hard to understand how a person gets trapped in unwanted roles.
Nature has also provided basic fodder for the society to
turn out beliefs on sex inferiority.
Pregnancy,
confinement,
breast feeding, periodic physical and psychological discomforts
due to menstruation, scope for rape may serve to reinforce a
sense of inferiority.
Nature’s processes are not viewed as
different and complementary, but as
’inborn weaknesses••
In
modern times the Indian woman, burdened with multiple roles,
naturally feels these
tnese processes as very inconvenient.
These
experiences
serve to reinforce a wish among
women
that
psychoanalysts would be glad to call. ’a desire to be male’.
At times of stress many of us feel we should not have been
born. So an oppressed woman could wish she was not born a female
or the opposite, that she was a male. Interestingly, boys do not
express a desire to be born a girl for obvious reasons.
In many
studies of drawings and verbalizations of girls it is found that
they prefer male roles and masculine activities (Hurlock, 1974).
There are many oenavioural
behavioural implications for a man too.
He
has ample scope to feel that he is superior to women in many
respects, which attitude only serves to perpetuate discrimination
based on sex.
It would be worthwhile to concentrate here on the
negative raspects of this complex of superiority among men about
themselves.
The motivation of men to achieve may suffer on account of
the assumption of a ’natural superiority’
over women.
The
underachievers may blame women in their environment for coming in
their way. rBoys may become cocky, arrogant and demanding towards
women - especially at times like marriage,. When the woman in his
life ]becomes increasingly assertive he may react with abnormal
anxiety which he may fight by derogating or sexualising women
(Kim M 1978).
u
254
Some
men,
on
realization
of
their
behavioural
inconsistencies towards women, which they find hard to explain.
resort to defense mechanisms like Rationalisation.
a
They
may
complain about the hard role they have to play in life beingj men,
how they must suffer in the office under a tyrannical boss,
swallow all insults to keep their family alive and so on.
They
may
attribute to women such characteristics that would justify
their own gender prejudices - like 'Policing is a man's job1 ,
Women are not safe drivers'.
RESTRUCTURING GENDER BEHAVIOUR
It is possible to overcome the unfavourable conditions of
reinforcement that promote gender inequalities, The process of
behaviour change is essentially substituting new ccontrolling
conditions.
*
Situations
may *be restructured for intervention
-.1 so
as to build up new attitudes and values.
values,, eliminate the old and
reinstate the
<*
•
extinguished
and reinforce the desirable existing
ones by planned reinforcement contingents.
Imprinting,
conditioning, imitation and cognitive learning
takes
place
at
critical periods
of
life.
Deliberate
interventions for Gender training should be set off at these
critical stages. While childhood is the most critical of these
stages for both boys and girls, the onset of puberty, imarriage,
pregnancy, motherhood and widowhood are crucial stages for: women.
Parentparticularly mothers are the first reinforcing
agents for a child,
They also serve as models.
Studies show
that disrupted families, educated and employed mothers and
fathers with children have more opportunities to play nontraditional roles and therefore, are more likely to change their
attitudes faster than others (Kiecolt, 1988). Besides,
it is
also necessary to support families that showr inclination
to
Reward them to demonstrate the benefits
change.
]
of
new
practices.
Maternal employment and mother's education help in role
transition.
Shared parenting and its advantages
may
be
emphasized.
School environment and teachers play the role of
traditional socialization
---1 agents.
In school curricula
gender
bias should be withdrawn and gender equality should be projected"
It is important to stress here that more than information given
to a child on matters of sex and gender, the attitude of the
informant towards such matters is more important.
Even play
activities and reading materials should be specially designed to
supplement class-room efforts.
Teachers may be given orientation
courses
make them gender cognizant for effective teacher
student interaction and for providing appropriate modeling to the
children.
Parents must find their daughter's education as
something worthwhile that would make the life of the girls better
than their mothers or grandmothers.
u
- 1
255
Community intervention programmes are necessary to rsupport
and sustain attitude change.
It would be advisable to start"with
small circumscribed groups, who have positive attitudes to change
or those who show an attitude of least resistance.
Enlightened
religious leaders, social workers and voluntary groups can help
m formation of such target groups.
Status and Power are important instruments of social change.
The, women in important positions in government, politics and
business, leaders of Women’s organizations, women from high
socio economic status, who are enlightened and committed to
promote <gender equality, should serve as instruments of change
and also as models for emulation.
Representations for women in strategic positions of decision
making should be,insisted upon. All efforts should be made to
develop competencies among women intellectually and vocationally,
to provide for wide occupational choice, financial
financial means for
autonomy and higher status for greater control and freedom.
The
modern socialising agents like T.V.,
Films
and
newspapers play,a very powerful role in communicating messages.
Using this media, ££
:
£s pOSSibie
project carefully planned
programmes to bring about attitude change,.
Disseminating new
information,
creating cognitive dissonance, appealing to> reason
and
emotions,
giving persuasive
messages
are
effective
communication methods for attitude change.
People may
be
enlightened on women's contribution to economy, economic value of
house work, importance of child bearing capacity that makes all
capitalistic production possible and
__J such other issues that help
gender sensitization.
Counselling centres may be planned for people having trouble
in adopting non traditional sex roles like shared parenting for
womeni who have developed inferiority complex as against men and
for women having emotional problems, such as fear of success.
Sex role games are reported to be potentially valuable for people
who need such counselling. (Greenblat 1978, Bear 1979).
Any
programme of change is naturally bound to
meet
resistance.
Even people without vested interests may become
disinclined to try new ways. This applies to educated women
also.
The new ways call for time, energy and additional
resources which
could be utilized otherwise.
If tried, the
outcome is uncertain whereas existing behaviour
offers
---------- ------------- reasonable
security.
And a part of socialization technique is the fear of
consequences
resulting from the
departure
from
approved
practices.
So the programme should anticipate, both from vested
and non-vested. interests, troubles of many kinds and prepare
people for initial social and economic discomforts. A venturesome
adopter of the programme should be rewarded. Efforts should be
made to secure legal sanctions and defiance should attract costly
consequences.
Social support to the beneficiaries to iwithstand
repercussions from enforced changes should be extended.
>,•
t
u
f. • >
fit.: .'•■"r;
256
x:i,f
‘
••
As for the official programmes of the government for
improving the status of women, there is a view that they have
turned out to be programmes for contributing to the continuation
of traditionally accepted socio-economic roles of women, > for
perpetuation of dependency as well as the iniquitous nature of
family structure, for using women as instruments of employment
generation and economic development and for accepting family as a
unit of development ignoring the existing inequality of women
within the family (Vindhya and Kalpana 1989). The
r“
*
necessity
of
dealing with social mechanisms by which women’s subordination is
perpetuated needs to be impressed upon the powers that be.
Any programme for change should aim at
1.
Weakening the existing attitudes gradually.
2.
Projecting the desired attitudes in a phased
increasing intensity,
programme
3.
Strengthening the existing positive attitudes
their sustenance with supportive programmes.
and
4.
Conferring some immediate inspectional benefits on those who
try to change,
5.
Stressing co-operation between sexes rather than competition
or confrontation in working towards shared goals.
of
helping
It imay be apt to quote here a message attributed to Swamy
Vivekananda.
da.
'There is no chance for the welfare of the world
unless
the conditions
of women improve. 7It is
‘
, . ,
,
not possible for a
19 91').
bird to fly on only one wing' (Ravindran Nair, 1991).
iI
257 ;
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BANGALORE
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260
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER AND SOCIAL CONDITIONING
SUJATHA RITA
The study of men and women rz
\ has moved through
such
three
distinct stages in just the past as
twenty
---- twenty years, from an emphasis
on sex differences f-through
preoccupation witn
with sex
sex roles
roles to
'
centrality are biolSca
gender. 1
The sex difference
difference that maleness the
and
femaleness are biologically
biologicaily given ]properties of individuals
with
clear implications for social behaviour of one sort
behaviour of
or another,
Within this perspective, the egalitarian
view is
that
such sex
differences> are relative to intrasex variation,
that
they
are
rarely
relevant
for important behaviours, and
that
the
differences
are
as
:
ac=
u- -4.
•
likely to be instances of female
superiority
as male. Historically,
Historically, a non -egalitarian view
of sex differences
male bd™imore
m°re Pr*valent-these differences
are used to explain
ale dominance by assuming that they
they are
large,
socially
:o^io:?t'Se:ndd1^:”tently £av°"r- men.
cases r
the
sought
biological features or .ssume”toebehkTO»r
“9h‘ ■a"'0"'’
specific
to need social scientific explanation to -/ and is not considered
and ubiquity of male domination observed in
account for the degree
-.1 society.
Politically and conceptually,
socialization
imodel was a great the move to’ a sex role
improvement.
perspective,
From
the biological
this
determinants
of
i
femaleness could be combined
maleness
and
upbringing in any proportion of with social determinants
via
nature and nurture that iseemed
appropriate.
differences were no longer
intrinsically
since both large <
explained
J could be
---Specific
especially
practices r
. . ---- 1 was held
differences in
sex
the
toeeha"gT£j
a°" are
than
often
Lue
:::
debate
questioned the
altering relationships between desirability or feasibility of
^uestions about
whether a Particular'differencemcou?d h^On1^
nurture,
are
also
spectacles
biological di££eren„s that have been
and reinforce
significance (e -g., shunning short men or tall women).
social
This
the
U',e presumption
PresunlPtion of
of c<
continuity
throughout
. .Jhe 1;Lfe ^urse.
Advocates of nurture of sex roles
course.
premise
learning
was one
ofaiiter1
bahnlng W3S
°ne of
°f the most accepted the
determinants <Of later behaviour and assumed
influential
consistency between
the behaviours3 and expectations
typical of children
(e.g. t
playing with dolls or trucks) and those
of adults (e.g., male or
female
sex
typed careers),
trivializes the consequences of This perspective not
only
adult learning and
change
u
261
throughout life, but also rests on the idea of an abstract female
role that exists apart from any interpersonal relationship and
without
concrete
behavioural content,
The focus
is
on
personality traits that are presumed to be constant across
situation and over the life cycle and that <can supposedly be used
predict a wide range of behaviours.
This ignores the
individualised, essentialist view inherent in the sex roles.
The
awareness of cross-cultural differences
in
what
constituted maleness and femaleness was an important step> in
moving from a biologically determined view of sex differences to
a socialization determined view of sex roles, but the increasing
evidence of inconsistency of any one individual's behaviour
across time and in different situations casts doubts on these
views. Moreover, the only trait that links behaviours as diverse
as sewing, nursing, and scrubbing floors is the sex-typingf done
by the perceiver. The fact that each characteristic could in
theory be separately socialized into little girls does not begin
to explain why they are packaged together <conceptually
.
-. .
The
label 'female' is itself an abstract categorization that links an
incredible diversity of unrelated and frequently inconsistent
behavioural expectations and outcomes.
To describe anything that
receives the label '
“
'female'
as part of a supposed1 sex role is to
grant it a coherence,
consistency,
and constancy that the
evidence does not justify.
As a result, recent years have seen the <emergence
—*"732
of an
entirely new perspective on maleness and femaleness,
---- The key
concept in this view is gender, seen as a principle organising
social arrangements, behaviour, and even cognition.
One of the
central elements in gender systems is the taboo against the
sameness of male and female "a taboo which exacerbates the
biological differences between the sexes and thereby creates
gender" (Rubin - 1975) .
Because the gender system insists on and
difference, men and women are created who have an
rewards ainerence,
interest in presenting themselves and being perceived as
'real*
men and ’'real*
real' women - that is, without elements socially
defined
socia
as belonging in the other category.
As Rubin put it, 'from the
standpoint of nature,r men and women are closer to each other than
either is to anything else...the idea that men and women are two
mutually exclusive categories must arise out of something other
than a.non - existent 'natural' opposition. Far from being an
expression of natural differences, exclusive gender identity is
the suppression of natural similarities for social purposes and
by social means.
Gender is not a trait but a jsystem for dividing people into
distinct, non - overlapping categories> despite their natural
variability on any particular characteristic and regardless of
the inconsistency between features that are all supposed to be
definitive.
Doing gender specific work is part of what defines
’real’ men and women as such; so too are gender specific sexual
relations.
262
Because the gender system is not a reflection of natural
differences,
creating gender is a struggle.
Unlike
the
socialization account of sex roles, the psychic process central
to the gender model include ambivalence,, conflict and rebellion.
We all bear 'the traces of conscription' (Rubin a «system that represses parts of our potential andI no 1975) into
one ever
fully conforms to- it. On the other hand, even those
individuals
who deliberately refuse to take their allotted place in the
system cannot escape knowing what it is. Moreover,
like other
. power relations gender is constantly being renegotiated
reconstituted and it is particularly visible at boundaries and
and
points of change.
Because gender is relational rather than
essential,
structural rather than individual,
analysing
requires consideration of changes in systems over time. gender
The
basic
thSt 9ender is a Property of systems rather
than people,
this
people, this paper concentrates on the
C
‘
developmental
conditioning of people ini a gendered social structure.
^^^■2ender roles
r°leS haVe been studied both in relation to their
acquisitioncontent
. ^h^firstf representeFb^psychoan^ytiJa 1^ theor^
The first.
second,
soda! learnln, theory and
K
developmental theory,
role dif'f^^tLtZon^: processes common to each <gender "h"'^
/ and to give little emphasis^ to
differences in content.
Social learning'theory
-learning processes whereby sex - typed activities emphasizes the
are acquired,
processes
such as positive reinforcement of gender
"typed
behaviour,
negative
reinforcement of cross
gender
typed
behaviour,
imitations of some gender models and
vicarious
learning that are equally
<
applicable to both boys_ and girls.
Whereas,
in cognitivet • development
'
theory emphasis is on the
mental <activities through which f ’
‘ “
i the child
incorporates external
influences into
xnco aa set
ot
set of
of attitudes
attitudes and
and beliefs
beliefs about gender
a?d involves different levels in the understanding
understanding of
Andder f°le c°ncePts-. Yet,
Yet- another perspective is to view female
and male roles as separate as their development
fundamentally
u
TdlS PaPer concentrates on four related
dimensions
which describe aspects of gender role acquisition according
to
rcher
(1984).
Three of these are concerned
with
role
requirements at specific points in development, whereas,
the
ourth is concerned with the nature of changes with age.
The
first
dimension is the degree of
rigidity
or
flexibility, and concerns the extent to which any cross
- gender
typed behaviour are permitted,
There is evidence of greater
rigidity in the gender role activities of boys
than girls.
First,
in the activities in which children engage,
secondly
in
c^en’s PGrceptions of gender - appropriateJ activities
and
thirdly,
adult’s reactions to gender - appropriate and
cross
gender behaviour.
u
263
Studies of parental and peer group responses were consistent
with the view that boys are specifically discouraged from cross gender activities. Whereas, there is evidence that the masculine
activities of young girls are partially legitimized under the
label of ’tomboy'. On the other hand, behavioural femininity by
boys
is less commonly admitted and is viewed
altogether
differently - as a behavioural problem.
Overall, the evidence confirms the view of more rigid
activities, role perception and role requirements for boys than
girls .
Boys learn avoidance of feminine activities at an early
age,
associating these with the derogatory label
'sissy 1.
The
earliest form of gender role learning for boys is viewed as
avoidance learning enforced strictly at a time when the boy
cannot understand the reasons for the prohibitions.
Such
punishment - motivated learning is known to be long lasting and
to be associated with anxiety.
There are conflicting findings in the literature on the
issue of whether boys or girls show a wider conception of
activities appropriate to their own role according to which
aspects of gender role concepts are investigated, The degree of
complexity or simplicity in the gender role concept is reflected
in the availability of role models.
For girls, the mother is
usually present as a role model, and toys such as dolls provide
consistent preparation for the adult female role.
For boys,
there is no such consistent male role model since the father is
usually absent for much of the time.
Hartley (1959)
suggested
that boys tend to build up relatively simplified and incomplete
picture of their role since the models available to them (peer
groups and older youths, and idealised media portrayals)
are
incomplete and contain only a few components of the typical adult
male role. There is, particularly an over emphasis on physical
strength and athletic skills. However, other studies suggest
that boys have fairly detailed knowledge about the adult male
role from an early age. Thus, there may be different types of
idea about the male role, according to whether the child is being
asked about boys, or men, or whether he is being asked about
fictional or real men.
The dimension of consistency or inconsistency refers to the
extent to which there are conflicting requirements for the male
or female role. Such conflicts may be developmental ones,
in
that what is regarded as appropriate at one stage becomes
inappropriate at another. Alternatively, they may operate at the
same time during development, producing
conflicting messages
about role requirements.
For example, boys viewed their own
gender as behaving both positively (e.g.gently)
and negatively
(e.g.roughly) possibly reflecting the contradictions of their
physical
role
requirements.
Emphasis also changes
from
attributes such as toughness during boyhood to occupational
status in later life. This form of inconsistency can be seen
essentially as a temporal one, relating to the incompatibility of
preset’
and
and future role requirements. For male 'roughness'
i1
264
aggression in particular there are two messages formal
disapproval and informal approval.
The former is seen in
findings that mothers give more reprimands for boy's than girl's
aggression. The latter is illustrated by the following quotation
from a mother about her four - year - old son: I like the way
he's rough. He is a proper lad.1
girls
girls,, the inconsistency of role requirements is more
minor - both aggression and adolescent sexuality are more
unequivocally disapproved.
In fact, any inconsistency of role
requirements reflects the degree of inconsistency between the
various role models.
This may arise either because of a
discrepancy between role requirements for different ages,
or
between ideal requirements (what the child is told to do)
and
what he or she observes that adults do, or alternatively, because
of-the conflicting opinions of different adults.
In
Furthermore, gender role development during childhood is
essentially a discontinuous process in that there are qualitative
difference in the understanding of gender role concept at
successive stages. Such discontinuities are regarded as arising
at approximately the same ages in both boys and girls.
Discontinuity in gender role development (Knox and Kupferer
1971) applies particularly to men. They suggested,
that male
socialization is heavily laden with the notions of achievement,
power,
independence and avoidance of feminine
activities.
However, when a man becomes a husband and father, he is l
__1_
required
to (carry
-out many activities that he has previously regardedI as
feminine
and many of the features of his earlier masculinity
"
,,
will now appear inappropriate.
David and Brannon (1976) suggested that there are three
phases in the development of the male role, the first is the
avoidance of femininity, during which the boy will learn a series
of negative rules; the second stage, which is superimposed on the
first, occurs before and at the time of adolescence and consists
of a series of positive guides, mostly based on physical
characteristics such as toughness,
aggression and
sporting
success.
rThe
~'
third phase, which again operates in addition to
what was learnt before,, consists of a notion of masculinity based
on achievement in any one of a number of possible activities.
The addition of each new type of dominant role requirement
involves changes in external pressures, emphasizing
rather
different features as the main aspect of masculinity,
Different
individuals arc likely to adapt to these changes in different
ways, and rank - order changes occur at different ages:
thus a
boy may acquire high status during his school years for masculine
activities
involving
toughness
and
sports
success
success but
subsequently his achievements may be poor in the world of work
with its
:
emphasis on intellectual and interpersonal competence.
Likewise,, <a boy who is relatively ill - equipped physically for
the masculine role at school may achieve a high occupational
status in later life.
u
265
Katz
(1979) concluded that discontinuities in
female
development between childhood and adolescence is greater for
females than for males,
Katz maintains, that during adolescence,
the girl begins to follow a new more rigid set of rules instead
of the more flexible requirements of childhood.
Tolerance of
tomboyish
behaviour
decreases
drastically
and
sporting
achievement and academic excellence are less valued,
valued.
Interest
especially in our culture becomes concentrated on attractiveness
and preparation for marriage, and restriction of sexual access to
girls as virginity is highly valued.
Although the empirical evidence is at present scarce,
the
scarce,
general impression so far is that the female role progresses at a
relatively
wide channel during childhood and
narrows
at
adolescence and in adulthood shifts to the traditional feminine
role, with minimal divergence to cross - gender behaviour.
Whereas, the male role begins relatively narrowly, but opens out
later from the masculine stereotype to cross - gender behaviour.
This paper illustrates some of the possibilities that arise,
when
focusing
on explaining gender attributions
in
the
development of women and men.
i1
266
REFERENCES
1.
Archer,J.1984
"Gender role as developmental Pathways",
British Journal of Psychology 23, 245 256 .
2.
David,D.S. &
Brown,R.1976
The male Sex role :
Our Culture's
Blueprint of manhood, and what is done
for us lately.
In D.S. David
and
R.Brannon (id). The forty-nine percent
majority. The male sex-role reading.
MA. Addison - Wesley.
3.
Gerson,J.and
K.Reiss,1985
"Boundaries, negotiation, consciousness.
Reconceptualizing Gender relations."
Social Problems 32,4:317-331
4.
Gerson,K.1985
5.
Hart 1 ry , R . i:.
Sox-ro I o [ironnurrs and tho noci a 1 i za t ion
of
the male
child.
Psychological
reports,5,457-468.
6.
Hess,B.B.and
Ferree,
M.M. 1987.
- Analyzing Gender - A Handbook of Social
Science Research - Sage Publications,Inc
7.
Katz,P.A.1979
- Development
of
female
Inc.B.Kopp (ed.,)Becoming
York., Plenum.
8.
Knox,W.E. &
Kupferer,
H.J. 1971
- A discontinuity in the socialization of
males in the United States. Merrill.
Palmer Quarterly.17,251 - 261.
9.
Margolis,D.1985 -'Redefining the situation, Negotiations
on
the meaning of
'women'. Social
problems 32,4:332-347.
10. Rubin,G.1975
- Hard Choices,Berkeley:
California Press.
University
of
identity.
Female.New
The traffic on women : Notes on the
political economy of sex : ppl20 -157
in
R. Reiter
(ed.)
Toward
an
Anthropology
of Women.
New
York,
Russell, Sage Foundation.
H
i
A PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE
OF UONEN'S MENTAL HEALTH
R.L.KAPUR*, MS.ANISHA SHAH**
PSYCHIATRIST, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
**RZRESEARCH ASSOCIATE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED
cr? STUDIES,
BANGALORE
i1
267
A PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
R.L. KAPUR, ANISHA SHAH
It is now well accepted that societies all over the world,
some more than the others,
selectively discriminate against
women. This bias operates from birth to death and allows the man
greater say in decision making and greater freedom in making
choices in life. This is bound to stress and distress women,
resulting in difficulties in coping and sometimes causing serious
mental disorders.
Taking up the argument from the other end,
rates of mental disorder in a community, and their relative
distribution in men and women would be a sensitive indicator of
the gender discrimination. By examining the mental disorders in
different societies and in a society as it goes through the
process of social change, one could indirectly examine the extent
and nature of this discrimination.
The present paper is an attempt to explore the phenomenon of
mental disorder in men and women with this specific question in
mind.
rThe
”’
’
‘
comparisons
are made
both in the international and the
Indian ,context,
-- ---We then go on to examine the possible causes for
the differences in the rates and patterns of mental disorders
looking for social stresses which are peculiar to women’s
existence. Finally, we look at the understanding we have of the
personality development of men and women that could make women
more vulnerable.
Before we look at the rates of mental illness in men and
women,
it needs to be pointed out that there are various
methodological problems in arriving at such rates starting[ from
’what is a case’ (or who should be considered a imentally
-ill
person), as well as difficulties arising in the (
“
classificatory
system of mental illness used by different researchers,
However,
since these methodological drawbacks would affect the entire
population being studied (i.e. men and women) equally,
one can
proceed
to examine the sex differences reported
in
the
epidemiological studies.
I.
PREVALENCE OF MENTAL DISORDER
To begin with, we need to look at the status of women’s
mental health prevailing in our country over the last few
decades. Since we lack appropriate indices of evaluating mental
health the best index that
could be used 1.^
is the prevalence of
------------------mental illness in women.
It has been firmly established that the occurrence of mental
illness is more in women than in men all over the world,
world. Studies
in varying cultures have shown that women suffer more i.
i.e. as a
function of their being women are more vulnerable to mental
illness.
11
268
High psychiatric morbidity among women is reported by
epidemiological work done by Hagnell (1966) and Leighton (1963).
This high prevalence of mental illness in women is reported
in various Indian studies too (Verghese, Being, Senseman, Rao and
Benjamin,1973: Carstairs and Kapur, 1976 : Nandi, Das, Chandhuri
Banerjee,Datta, Ghosh and Boral, 1980 Shah, Goswami,
Mawar,
Hajariwali and Sinha,1980). Females have a significantly higher
rate of morbidity with male :female ratio being 2:3
(Nandi,
Mukherjee, Boral, Ghosh, Almany, Sarkar and Biswas 1977).
Total
psychiatric morbidity for the two sexes as found in various
epidemiological work done by Nandi et al (1979) (1980 b)
is as
follows:
Sample
Male
R\thousand
Female
R\thousand
Hindu + Muslim
90.56
114.60
Caste Hindu
76.7
145.4
Scheduled Caste
49.6
72.7
Muslims
70.5
109.5
Tribes
20.9
29.2
Higher psychiatric morbidity in women is found to be
consistent
irrespective of the rural or urban
background
(Verghese <et al 1973: Nandi, Banerjee, Boral, Ganguli, Ajmany,
Ghosh and Sarkar,
-/ 1979: Nandi et al 1980 a & b) .
Women of various communities and belonging to various castes
suffer from psychiatric illnesses to a greater extent than men
do.
(Carstairs and Kapur, 1976: Nandi et al 1977 : Nandi et al
1980 bb Thus irrespective of the class, caste, community and
rural \ urban
upbringing, women have greater
psychiatric
problems than men do.
When examining the kinds of psychiatric disorders in men and
women, most international literature reports no
consistent
differences
by sex for psychotic symptoms and
especially
schizophrenia. However, rates of affective and anxiety disorders
are significantly higher for women.
When the patterns of psychiatric illnesses and symptoms in
the community in India are examined, one finds the following
kinds of distribution reported by Carstairs & Kapur, (1976):
iI
269
CLASSIFICATION OF SYMPTOMS
Male
Female
%
%
Epilepsy
1
1
Psychosis
2
1
Depression
4
3
Anxieties & Worries
1
1
Other neurotic symptoms
14
20
Possession state and
Hysteria
2
3
Somatic symptoms
7
11
No symptoms
68
60
Sen
et
psychiatric
al
(1984)
gives
the
following
morbidity
for
males
and
pattern
females
rate\thousand)
Male
%
Female
%
R\1000
R\1000
Schizophrenia
4.51
6.60
Depression
6.30
29.20
MDP
1.88
Anxiety
1.81
1.88
Hysteria
1.80
7.54
OCM
0.94
Phobia
2.82
Neurotic Depression
1.80
4.70
of
( in
270
Ii
Depression is the most prevalent mental illness in women all
over the world. This has also been1 reported for Indian Women
(Nandi et al 1980) Kapur and Singh (1983) found male :
female
ratio for various kinds of depressive disorders to range from 1:2
to 1:3 with the following % for MDP and depressive neurosis:
Male
Female
%
%
Manic Depressive Psychosis
30.2%
69.8%
Depressive neurosis
25.8%
74.2%
However, despite the fact that women suffer from greater
number of psychological problems than men do, when one examines
the hospital based data, it becomes evident that women seek
consultation less often than men do. This is contrary to the
trend reported from Western literature where women not only
suffer from psychiatric illnesses more than men do but also seek
consultations more than men do. An Indian study done almost 3
decades ago, shows that among the cases referred to
the
psychiatric outpatient clinic in a general hospital, 60.5% were
males and 39.5% were females (Sathyavathi & Sundararaj,
1964).
Another study comparing socio-demographic and clinical profile of
patients
attending a general hospital psychiatric clinic for
1967 and 1977 also indicates that one consistent feature in the
profile over the decade has been that males outnumber females
(Kala,
Kala & Bathia,1981).
At the emergency
outpatient
services, males again outnumber females with a ratio of 1.62:1 at
the department of casualty and by 2.21:1 at the department of
psychiatry (Trivedi and Gupta,
1982).
60% of the patient
admitted in a psychiatric ward in general hospitals are males
(Chaturvedi, Varma, Malhotra and Pradeep Kumar, 1983).
In a state mental hospital, male long stay occupants were
twice the number of female patients (Somasundaram, Jayachandran &
Kumar,
1982).
In an evaluation of the mental health delivery
system, it has been reported that the number of beds occupied at
any given time by males outnumbers females in all service centres
(Channabasavanna, Subramanya, Gangadhar, John & Reddy, 1981):
u
271
BED STRENGTH
NIMHANS
Private
Psychiatric
Centres
Government
Mental
Hospital
(Service
only)
Government
Mental
Hospital
(Service,
research &
training.
Male
59%
60%
73%
66%
Female
41%
40%
27%
34%
When examining the occurrence of psychiatric morbidity
the <----- J *— ' twosocio-demographic variables need to
considered - age and marital status.'
in
be
All
<studies
■
* ‘
show that psychiatric illnesses increase with
age, irrespective of gender,']/
’
probably
as a function of increased
complexities in life with work, family and society at large.
However, while in childhood the rates for men and women are the
same, the women continued to show higher rates
--- in
— all
— — age groups
puberty.
after puberty.
(Verghese et al 1973, Sen, Nandi, Mukherjee,
Mishra, Banerjee & Sarkar, 1984 : and Mehta, Joseph & Verghese
Castair'’s & Kaour
1985).
Kapur (1976)
(1976) found
found the
the following
age
differences in 'case' rates in males and females that support the
above trends.
Age Range
15
20
21
30
31
40
41
50
51
60
60 +
Male
12%
20%
36%
43%
40%
45%
Female
20%
31%
42%
55%
56%
56%
Western literature also reports the same trend. Gove & Herb
(1974) found that young bpys have higher rates of mental disorder
during childhood.
At adolescence, girls show higher rates as
they^ become subject to increased social pressure to adopt to
traditional feminine roles in deference to males, motherhood and
dependency on males.
At this point, one interesting research finding by Carstairs
& Kapur (1976)
needs to be highlighted.
The
matrilineal
societies offer an entirely different role set to the women and a
272
comparison of.the matrilineal system and the changed over system
(i.e.
adopting
the patrilineal system)
gives
a
deeper
understanding. of problems of women. Women hold much more power
in the matrilineal system of family structure,
When
the
symptom rate was examined for families following the traditional
matrilineal system and those that changed over to a patrilineal
system resulting in loss of power held by women, women showed a
considerably
in the changed pattern.
- higher rate of distress
-------------- -.1
PATTERN OF RESIDENCE
Traditional
(matrilineal)
Changed over
(patrilineal)
Male
32%
38%
Female
36%
55%
This indicates that the amount of power held by the
within the family structure is related" to
— the
-- j state of
mental health.
women
their
The second important variable is the marital status of
women.
This is a difficult variable to examine since there are
various social processes that
lead to
---- ----—> a marriage being <_arranged.
There is no consistent international report on the rate of mental
illness in married and single women and same is; true for the
Indian context. We wish to only highlight the need to examine
these variables when studying women's mental health in India,
since for a woman, marriage would be a very significant life
event as there are too many social pressures on women to get
married,
Further, the very nature of marital relationship that
pemands complete readjustment of the women to the husband's life,
would be very stressful and again reflects the discrimination
against women inherent in the stage of life itself.
However,
in understanding the status of mental health
women, the impact of marital status and quality of marriage
well as the occupational role that women adopt needs to
examined.
in
as
be
Unfortunately, these are more complex factors as one cannot
establish a one to one relationship in the marital status,
occupational role and mental illness.
How and why a person gets
married and what makes a woman decide to remaini a housewife or
choose a career are complicated processes.
At
the
moment, sufficient data is not there
to
say
that
amongst the married, selecting a career is associated with higher
mV-.-
•
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c''
C (7*
..
s r:;;;
■
'■'PJ
9 1
i;
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273
■■
■ 'Si
tte of ^’mental
es&-^ However, these issues are
worth
r nsr e s ti g a 11 n g\
Even \j independent of the occu&nce of mental
illmess, vbne is justified in identifying these two as stresses
'that have a very significant impact: on a woman’s well-being.
To ^uittmariser
o
★
International reports show that women have higher rates of
mental illness than men.
★
Indian studies consistently show higher rates
illness in women.
★
This hol4s true irrespective dt1 rural or urban background,
castes/religious community and socio - economic status of
v^omen.
★
Women have higher rates of affective and anxiety disorders
internationally and in India.
*
Depression is the most prevalent mental illness in women
all over the world. This takes the form of somatic
symptoms in developing countries.
★
Men
outnumber
women when compared
on
psychiatric
consultations at hospital settings as well as admissions
to psychiatric wards.
★
While mental disorder rates for men and women are similar
in childhood,
the rates are differentially higher for
women after puberty.
'
★
Women in societies where they have more power show
mental illness rates compared to other societies.
★
The role of marriage and having a career in producing
stress and mental disorder needs to be fully investigated.
II
of
mental
lower
FACTORS RELATED TO HIGHER RATES OF MENTAL DISORDER IN WOMEN
Now, we are left with the most important question. Why
do
women
have higher rate of mental illness?
Since
higher
psychiatric morbidity has been reported for women all over the
world, one group of theorists propose that it is the biological
differences
in males and females that give rise to
sex
differences in mental illness.
.However, it is well known that women are hardier than men in
relation to major physical disorders. The rate of heart disease
and cancers is higher in men. Also, women outlive men.
If
biological vulnerability was the cause for higher mental disorder
in women, it would have shown up in relation to major physical
disorder and life span also.
u
274
Further, to accept biological vulnerability would be too
easy and convenient way of explaining away the question.
We
acknowledge the biological differences
----- j between the sexes yet how
can one accept the idea of a universal ’weakness’ in women that
is based on a biased concept of health? How
now can
can one justify our
definition of health or fitness that automatically excludes half
the world's population.
GENDER BIAS IN DEFINITION OF MENTAL DISORDER
When we face the question of who is a psychologically
healthy person, naturally the professionals who make judgement of
health and, . ill-healthn (mental
.-- health
----- 1 jprofessionals, psychologists
and psychiatrists/clinician
)
come
into the picture.
psychiatrists/clinician)
Broverman
Clarksen,, Rosen,
Krantz and Vogel
(1970) concede that the
abstract notion of health
influenced by
by greater
__ tends
---- > to
to be
be more
more influenced
social value of masculine stereotypic characteristics than the
less valued feminine stereotypic characteristics.
In a classic
atud^ they asked clinician
for
descriptions
.
----------------- of a psychologically
healthy woman, psychologically healthy man and psychologically
heaithy person. They found evidence that sex role stereotypes
attect the clinicians' judgement too (psychologically healthy
womenare: talkative, tactful, gentle.
gentle, aware of other's feelings,
religious, quiet, have high need for security and express tender
feelings.
Psychologically
men
are
aggressive,
healthy
independent,
not emotional, objective,
dominant, competitive,
logical, worldly, adventurous, self-confident,
self-confident, independent and do
not get easily hurt).
Further, the description of a psychologically healthy person
is closer to that
--- of
__r a psychologically healthy man. So, in order
to be considered healthy, a woman must accept behavioural
norms
for her sex, even fthough these are generally less desirable and
considered less healthy^ini a competent, mature adult.
As the authors of the above study also pointed out, may be
these biases arise out of the clinician's notion of health as
good adjustment to one's environment. The environment i_l_
already
has different norms in society for male and female behaviour,F
so
the adjustment for the two differs.
There are alternative definitions of mental health and
maturity -in the notions of self-actualization and fulfillment of
one s potential, as put forth by Alport (1955)
Maslow (1954)
andi.1^oger® (1951). However, such drives in women would be in
conflict with the need for adjustment of the social environment.
GENDER BIAS IN THEORIES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
In order to understand development of a personality, various
psychologists have offered theories which are Iso being used to
understand the dynamics of psychopathology of mental illness.
Some of these theories explain why certain symptoms of distress
appear in certain people, what makes a person select certain
tj
275
forms of coping skills. However, these explanations would be
easier to accept if the psychological theories are not biased
Many thinkers have lately become alert to the
against women.
biases in these theories and warn about the difficulty in using
them with women.
Let us see what understanding of women is offered by the
various psychological theories of development. The psychological
theories of development at our disposal have been found to be
sadly wanting where understanding women is concerned.
Freud's
theory of psychosexual development is structured around the
experiences of a male child that culminate in the oedipus
complex.
He considered women to be deprived by nature for a
clear cut oedipal resolution because of the strength
and
. persistence of women's oedipal attachments to their mothers.
Thus, a woman's superego is not as impersonal and independent of
its emotional origins as is required in men.
Freud concludes
that women have less sense of justice than men and are more often
influenced by feelings of affection and hostility.
Piaget's work on children and moral development also uses a
male bias.
He finds that girls have more pragmatic attitudes
towards rules, are more tolerant of rules, are more willing to
make exceptions and are more easily reconciled to innovations.
Thus, he concludes that legal sense, which is essential for male
development,
is less developed in girls. Piaget's work equates
male development with child development (Gilligan, 1982).
Both
Piaget and Kohlberg emphasize the importance of respect for rules
in moral development. This is learnt in opportunities for role taking
in the course of resolving disputes.
Yet,
such
opportunities arise less often for girls since the kind of
activities they learn involve indirect competition (e.g. games of
ropes) whereas boys learn independence and organisational skills
for coordinating activities of large and diverse groups,
They
deal with competition from the’ early childhood phase.
Chodorow (1974) proposes that the interpersonal dynamics of
gender identity
’
’ \ formation
'
i are different for boys and girls, since
the primary caretaker for infancy and early childhood is a
female. Female identity formation takes place in the context of
ongoing relationship since the mother tends to see the daughter
as more alike and continuous with herself. Thus the experience
of attachment and identity formation fuses for girls but mother
experiences
boys as male opposites.
Boys
thus
separate
themselves from mothers curtailing their sense of empathic tie.
So male development leads to individuation and defensive f irming
of ego boundaries. Chodorow agrees that this does not mean that
women have weaker ego boundaries but women have empathy in their
primary definitions of self, Women experience themselves as less
differentiated than men and are more continuous with the external
object world.
Thus, women experience dependency differently,
Separation and individuation are incorporated in the male gender
identity but for women issues of femininity do not depend on
separation or individuation.
Femininity is defined through
276
attachment. Thus, a 1woman’s failure to separate becomes
to develop by definition.
failure
Erikson also addresses these issues in detailing identity
formation.
He talks of the need to learn and master technology
(industry Vs inferiority) that leads to autonomous,
initiating
and industrious
But this holds true for
---- ; self in adolescence.
males.
The female holds her identity formation in abeyance as
she prepares herself for an intimate relationship with a man
whose name she will adopt, whose status will define her and who
will rescue her from emptiness and loneliness by filling the
inner space'.*.For men, identity is formed before intimacy in
any jrelationship is sought but for female intimacy
and identity
formation go hand in hand.
The point here is that till we are able to resolve what
constitutes the development of a healthy personality in women and
derive the definition of a healthy
1
person equally from that of a
man and woman, we have to- —
be careful
in using
using the
the existing
-----in
theories. as offered by various authors.
It
seems
It seems that an
existential approach to understand and accept women is required.
Simone de Beauvoir (1949) has tried to give an understanding of
women from various perspectives.
PROBLEMS OF LIVING AS A WOMAN
In order to understand the features of
[psycho-social
development that could explain the gender differences'in
__ —i mental
health, one needs to look at the development of a woman since
birth. Briefly, the early socialization pattern for a girl child
are so as to make her fit into one or the other role that society
has prescribed for her. This would hold true for men too except
that since birth the female is constantly made aware of her
secondary status in society.
She has to cope with various
of
problems
development
like
developing
her
identity,
establishing it
ir for
ior herself
nerselt and making it acceptable to others,
She has to resolve psychosexual conflicts which are of very
different nature for men and women• Because of her greater
sexual vulnerability, she needs protection against child abuse,
and sexual violence throughout: her life.
The development of a woman’s identity is the most crucial
feature.
Her concept of self depends on what she achieves in
lif e. Here, as
<
mentioned earlier also, if she pursues her growth
and fulfillment that rejects the roles that society offers
wife),
(mother, wife),
she will be alienating herself from society.
Acceptancei by <others is very important for development of a
healthy definition of self. Women also require sources that
could enhance their self-esteem.
However, increasingly, women face conflicts because of this
constant struggle between self and others. Society offers very
limited resources to the woman for her development,
Women’s
interaction with the outside world is always restricted by the
I i
277
family and culture.
May be she is protected to her own
disadvantage.
She is made dependent on others for the smallest
of activities,
This pattern repeats itself for most women after
marriage too.
Marriage itself causes tremendous amount of anxiety,
since
with her limited knowledge of sexual behaviour,
she has to
suddenly enter into an intimate relation with an almost unknown
person.
Despite marriage, iwoman is not encouraged to become a
mature adult. Most of the decision making power lies with the
husband or in-laws. However, her status improves tremendously
once
she
attains motherhood.
Here too,
the
mother-son
relationship becomes prominent, Ashis Nandy (1980) has even gone
on to say that it is the basic nexus and the ultimate paradigm of
human social relationship in India.
In
In fact,
fact, in
in a
a culture
culture where
the conjugal male-female relationship is not central but
the mother-son bond that is prominent, the issue of ’ it is
emancipation becomes much more difficult - as Ashis Nandy woman's
views
it.
The development of sex-role through
through the
socialization
process
c°ntribute significantlyr to our understanding of
women.
„^?U?Leach. Culture.has its own definition of male and
female roles there are certain <
_
zr ------ 1 cross-cultural
regularities like
the concept ux
of iiiciscuxmity
masculinity and temininity.
femininity^ Me Clelland
(1975)
states
'sex role turns out to be one of the most
important
determinants of human behaviour: psychologists have
found sex
ifferences in
m their studies from the moment they started
doing
empirical research'.
7
Development of sex role through the process of socialisation
involves jsocializing
• - - agents in the form of family, peers,
schools/ colleges, At each stage of interaction and influence of
these/
society's norms
norms for
for male-female
male-female behaviour is subtly
imparted to the individual.
Through various
psychological
processes
involving
learning,
imitation,
identification,
interjection,j cognitive processing and dissonance,
the person is
moulded in one or the other: sex-roles.
However, sex-role learning is just the beginningj that leads
to Rnx-roln R fomohypy . Gilligan (
’-- - pnint-n out. thnt i t i r
(19R2)
difficult to just say 'different*,
The judgement of 'better'
or
'worse'
has to be made and is based on men's interpretation of
research data.
Psychologists have found differences in the personality of
males and females, some of the differences reported from birth
itself.
Yet, unfortunately, the way society is defined,
it
the male's conception of the world~thaCforms^the^standardand
world that forms the standard
the woman and the.feminine
The
the feminine is always at a disadvantage.
masculine characteristics
of
authority
and
aggression
are
valued
-- __ authority and aggression are
Leadership fem^nine characteristics.
Men act
as
leaders.
Leadership qualities, aggression, ambition, competitiveness
competitiveness and
ominance is more desirable in men and women need to be sensitive
*
*
w
I
7^
4
o
A
i
I'
Iothers,
•I
I
the? needs
Ft to
tender. i:warm
eager to
affectionate, childlike and gullible CGhadially
■
'
■■
■
Of
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.
—,
twaxm,
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278
ticl
soothe,
J and Kazi,1980 ) .
Males respond with
• -i more overt
<
aggress^Tye reaction whereas► females
are- more withdrawn. 7A woman's role as daughter, mother and
wife
have a certain framework beyond whichi a woman can not step out’.
^Parental beliefs <and’ *attitudes regarding women’s role
! = in
society is crucial in shaping the personality
of children.
,Das
and Ghadially (1988) have^found in"their tL
study on families with
traditional, incongruent
and
n
2-1
, . . non-traditional
.
--------- - Parents, that modern
parental outlook
and egalitarian sex role attitude isJ conducive
to the development of androgynous adults and
attitude results in sex-role stereotypy. Even if one conservative
parent had
a modern outlook (incongruent parents) it helped decrease sex
stereotypy in children.
They point out the importance of
feminine Jiraits and values for our culture since both
--- 1 boys and
girls shotted a preference for masculine traits.
pue
to
various
socio-cultural
processes
like
industrialization,
-r
urbanization, mobility,
change in
family
structure, :increasing acceptance of working women,
women is changing in our society. All those have the status of
a f fectcd the
women particularly, There are certain role-changes for women yet
the stresses on women have increased
increased because there are no
corresponding role changes in the role of a man and other family
members that would support: women in her changing role.
Rao and Rao (1982) 1have found in a study of sex role
attitudes of college studentsJ that for a working woman household
responsibilities and duties have not declined,
--- - New roles have
been added to traditional roles, thus increasing a woman's
burden.
Husband and relatives do not oppose women seeking
employment but unequivocal support includingJ sharing household
responsibilities is lacking.
’ ’
• They found that students expressed
traditional attitudes towards the wife role and father role but
females
expressed «significantly less traditional
attitudes
towards wife role and mother role. Male and female students felt
that a woman's most important task is to take care of her husband
and children and that her greatest satisfaction comes from
children. For
“
most women family needs remain more important than
personal ambition
~bitic“. One of the arguments is that if a woman has
to increase her status at home,
--- , she does not have to add to the
family income and also working women's status is worse than those
who do not work
-- \.. Yet, the less traditional attitudes in females
towards sex roles can be explained in terms of perceived changes
in status, power and prestige of employed women.
Outside
employment is seen, as a sign of independence and equality between
sexes.
Ramu’s (1989) work on «single career and dual career couples,
employed in public sector reports contrary finding to the above
study.
Women, regardless of employment status were
more
traditional than men. Further, the dual - career husbands were
more traditional than single
career husbands. This indicates a
I
u
279
greater stress on an employed woman, probably having to adjust
to
a more traditional husband.
Thus, does it mean that with education, influence of western
culture etc, the women begin with a liberal outlook in the sex
role, however, when married and employed, the stresses that they
have to cope with increase, as in marriage the wife is expected
to adjust to all aspects of the husband,
his family and
husband,
environment,
friends and activities.
She would be carrying
certain role concept of what <_a wife should be doing, ingrained in
her through her family and culture,
However, with the additional
role of employment and co-earner of the family,
she gets no
relief from the traditional role notions of wife that
she has to
live by.
a . working- woman, various conflicts within
.- For
.
reiationshipsJ with the husband and children pose the family and
challenge to her notions of self and identity, a continuous
She has to
clearly define for herself as Lto why career is important
will it
theH
lth the role
r°le of
°f only
°nly a secondary co-earn2r or
her with
will
career
1Y be
h® understandin9 and supportive in
in her
pursuit of
'-aL ccl .
man'sS1worTLHne°US1Y'i.
r
as thS W°man StepS OUt in the
a
— it is usually defined,
man s world, as
she faces world
many
more
One can make a generalised statement,
alienref‘
.°ne
that in almost
al!
a-Lx professional
piuiessionai hierarchies, the route up the ladder differs
for
and m some it d *
than
_—. Why is that so? 7
hi:r1s:eTat,a’tb“iety
requi"d for
£°“
"*One
in
----- j required
instl”^o„s “d the
“e--nU
”b'r- of
O£--"°
”en in
number
women
educational
professional colleges is increasing,
the
educational system, girls perform much better than boys Within
do. Yet,
very few of these continue further
'
to pursue a career. Many
out probably because of the inecessity to adjust to husband opt
and
his family after marriage a life-long stress
which
the
women might find difficult t_
to cope with if, in addition, she has
to cope with the outside world,
---- * Those who make the decision to
pursue a career are forced to contribute to the family's
income
without any advantages for themselves like
“
lessening of household
responsibilities.
in their continuous struggle
with
the two
struggle
with m the
roles,
they forget to be
be achievement
oriented
achievement oriented.
In
fact
chievement orientation m women is negatively valued by
despite the incte.se-^
1
*
"
women.
If
would be
Sp :?mtehn; LnddLn.so^yiL<’S?i“Jy
--
.In.nordeF to be appreciated at work,
the women has to
giVe much m°re to it than men do. Many women would
ind the struggle useless and so become content insteady pay packet without investing in a career and just getting a
achievement.
to
Sd,
al
(1975)
fina
that
Indi
’
"
towards a service profession whereas men pursue higher gravitate
education
and technical training and develop careers on
technical and
I'
u
280
political leadership.
in 1970-71, women
science
graduates
numbered 48,000 of whom 60% wore school to a chore;
.
100 of 2Q90
officers in die ('lite Indian Admlnls t ra L 1
vo Services were women,
although many more were employed in lower
ranks of Government
service.
Psychologist's explanation for lower achievement motivation
in women
women has
has been
been that
that women
'fear success'
(Horner 1971).
Competitive achievement raises conflict in femininity and success
for women,
thus probably
women tend to avoid occupational
commitments which lead to
success, in order to preserve their
feminine identity.
Sassen (1980) offers another explanation that
the conflict is because women have a 1
heightened perception of
'others’ when in a competitive situation,
others
and need to avoid hurt makes Their sensitivity to
hurt makes them withdraw
from
competition,
since largely in rany occupational role success
of
one would mean failure of another!
These issues highlight the nee<^ to understand women's psyche
better
tremendous camount of role transition
t-h With the tremendous
taking
there
would
be
conflicts
made in the W?Vr
surfacing at various choices
the life of women.
women. What is the nature of these
What
?
hat Presses help in resolving it and where does
that leave the woman who wants an
an integrated
1 self',
are
questions worth further exploration
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
In our ppaper we have tried to demonstrate
over the world suffer from higher rates of that women all
mental disorder
compared to men.
stands in contrast to higher rates
for: men
- ---with respect to major physical illnesses,
.
e.g. heart disease.
Also,
the total life span for women is
longer than for men.
Thus ,
despite
the relative
’hardiness’
of
women,
their
vulnerability to psychological stress is high.
We have tried to examine the causes of high rates of mental
disorder in women.
7‘ turns
‘
out that the very definition of
mental health/disorder could be biased in favour of men. We have
also looked for other psycho-social factors which are stressful
for women all over the world and for Indian women.
AH' women grow up with the threat of sexual violence since
like
forced
■ „eea to
In addition,
define themselves through relationships; more
more than
than men.
men. The role
ot women as wife and mother seem to
to absorb
her
life.
absorb her life, In Indian
society, apart from these issues, additional
stress is
is generated
additional stress
due to unresolved acceptance of a working woman.
Society and
Society
family has not changed to accommodate this role transition
transition in
women.
Jhe.pattern of.marital relationship continues to hold man
in
-fthe
’
dominating
k,,
x position.
" • 1=
-* r
Women still need to complete • their
identity
J by being wife and mother.
They face prejudice at work
since men cannot accept women in a competitive position.
u
281
It would have been interesting to see if
the
development in women makes them especially vulnerablepersonality
to life
stresses.
But, when we examine the various theories
of
personality development,
it turns out that some of the great
theorists like Freud and Piaget have looked at it from a
angle, either ignoring the female <or when she is considered,male's
the
theories regarding her are derived
.~J as a counterpoint to the
observations with males.
It is our submissions that the
are
women
a society.
As the Indian society
obligation to women,
it would
would be
helpful toH^onito^ its
women, it
be l._l
its
examining
statusSnthS
. exa
™lnin? the mental
cental health of women as they gain
through education and increasing
increasing involvement inY roles
which take them out of the houses and work towards
national
development shoulder to shoulder with men.
It is the
experience
greater
in ^^socieiy
1^ A^
the^ndia^^^T
very sensitive
and delicate
<--
thC^LtirofSr
subtla
in
set
u
282
REFERENCES
Ashis Nandy (1980)
At
University Press.
the Edge of
Psychology,
Delhi
Oxford
Broverman T. H., Broverman D.M,, Clarkson F.E., Rosen Krantz.,
P.S.& Vogel S.R., (1970).
JSex role stereotypes and clinical
judgements of mental health, Journal of consulting and
clinical Psychology.
34.
34 . 1-7.
Carstairs. M. & Kapur. R.L.
(1976).
London, The Hogarth Press.
The great Universe of
Kota
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TRAINING METHODOLOGIES
Col.M.M.A.BASRA
TRAINING AND LEARNING
The
terms
Education, Training
and
Development
(of
organisations and individuals) are used .—
synonymously
.
Education
is an all-inclusive term which
takes into account all learning
activities.
The term education is
now used as the process
leading to acquisition of
(paper) qualifications,
Training
originally referred to the communication and transfer
of
manual
Saiiin^eCewHa^y
perform an economic task as
in
'Apprentice
Training . While
while education is iunderstood as the
leading
to some qualification
and is
is not
not directed
directed at the process
acquisition
-- t , and
* --i of
particular skills, training is associated
1
with
equipping
a
person
to perform a given job. Thus
Thus while
while edu
education is general and
extensive in nature,
training
J is more specific and is job
oriented and centred.
Another term, development, has been used
over the last three
decades to distinguish
distinguish it
traininq.
.f
.1..!..^
.
Protagonists
of
development argue that whilefrom
training equips a person for a
current job \ task, development is
aimed
-J at developing people for
future responsibilities.
Be that as it may, the term f
training is used in this paper
to cover all the terms <-connected
with
the^effective
of knowledge to a 'trainee
• transference
nee’ or 'student*.
Training is an activity which is planned and carried out
an individual,
by
group or an organisation in order to make
the
^aineLmore effective in his or her
----to
1 or
the other hand, we refer
theher present or future iobs
On
, we refer to the phenomena of
of
'learninq'
'learning'
in
individuals (trainees \< students) during the learning
course of training.
The effectiveness in training depends upon clarity of training objectives, i ’
planning and design of
aa:i„1c^:L^ofor^"^e8^rainin9",eiho‘!oi^i.es and
Attitudes and motivation of learners,
the <training
environmen t and the perception of the
trainee
about
her\his progress.
A popular understanding of the term training
is that it
effects a change? m behaviour in the trainee
in a desired
direction - i.e. the
of the transference of knowledge and
skills to a trainee in.1process
a desired direction.
The L|----- . .
------- ------- a
*- »- Cl
E>5°iCeSS of
transference
<of" 'knowledge and skills to a
trainee has been influenced
--------1 by learning theories. These theories
.
iI
286
try to explain the prorenn nf ?
learning in a trainee and the
effective methodoJogi es to be adopted
in a training situation.
_.i
A theory of learning is
about the nature of learning. a systematic set of propositions
These propositions are
are based
based on
observations and are developed to produce
J
a
coherent
picture
of
learning.
LEARNING THEORIES
Learning theories can be classified into
S
two groups, namely,
1.
The Stimulus - Response Theories (S - R)
2.
Cognitive Theories.
R THEORIES
(Russia! fn
* theories are derived from the work of Pavlov
law Of ee c°7dltlonln9 and Thorndike (USA) who postulated the
law of effect'. TheS.R. theories represent learning in
terms
of changes in association with Stimuli and Responses. 9
simplest of
the S.R.
' Contiguity'Theory'
“which
s^a=h!°rie5
that °f
E.R.Guthrie’s
’A combination of stimuli which
has accompanied a
movement will on its recurrence tend to be followed
by that movement.'
This is the basic principle of learning by
contiguous
association between stimuli and responses.
Guthrie's theory
responses.
asserts that once <a stimulus has been associated with a
response f
that stimulus will thereafter
------- r elicit the same response.
That is,
we learn by doing.
Hull's
theory
makes use of the Pavlov
concept
of
'conditioning'
and Thorndike's 'trial and error' learning.
Two
key concepts in Hull's theory are the 'strength of
'drive'.
fAccording to Hull, a habit is a permanent habit' and
that develops every time a given stimulus is associatedconnection
~d with a
particular response.
'Drive', is the need which provides
stimulus.
If a need is satisfied to any extent the drive the
is
proportionately reduced.
Thorndike's principle of the 'law of effect'
------_5 and i
them is associated by
state of
satisfactory t-’ - organism, somewhat similar to the
to 1the
reduction
of <"drive in Hull's theory.. rThus
~
Hull's and Thorndike's theories
speak of reduction of_ drives
--- --j or needs.
Both these theories are
described as
’reinforcement theories'.
On the other
hand
Guthrie 1s theories do not refer to needs, drives.
reinforcement
u
287
or rewards.
Please note that 'punishment' is not explicit in any
of the above theories.
Pavlov had provided 'punishment'
as a
negative stimulus in his experiments
--- 1 training animals.
-- with
Skinner represents a major school of thought with
the S-R
psychology. He did not postulate a theory to explain
a
theory
of
learning. He built up a system of learning based on
'descriptive
behaviourism; which include factors such as stimulus,
/ response
and reinforcement.
There is no mention here of
of theoretical
notions such
'law of effect'
such as
as
'law
or
'drive reduction'.
A
reduction'.
reinforcer in Skinner's theory is not associated with
'drive
---- j
and
reduction' but with 'strengthening'' of responses.
Skinner distinguishes between two types of learning :
Respondent and
ii. Operant
The respondent type is classical <
Ji
conditioning
originally by Pavlov.
described
T1?e
feature of this
-l.lj type of learning
is the 'pairing of two stimuli
2
'
------ ’ which are
JL *i
the conditioned stimulus and
the unconditioned stimulus
The conditioned stimulus is
evoke a response similar to that so designed or selected as
as to
j
°
f
the
uncondit
ioned
stimulus.
Pavlov had demonstrated
salivnJ \a dog
? C
°Uld be conditioned to evoke
could
the response of salivating
by . pairingJ the sound of the bell (the
conditioned stimulus) r
many times with food
(the unconditioned
‘stimulus).
Food naturally evokes jsalivation and the bell came
to do so as a result of conditioning.
leads
to a reinforcement. The operant is‘a —- that
on
the environment to produce reinforcement^
operant
(or
instrumentai)
learning, the emphasis is on arranging
situations
(the environment)
so J
that
to be conditioned
corrPlAt
hat responses
responses to
appropriately - related- with
reinforcement. An example is are
Programmed instructron type of training. The design ol the
the
ituations
systemlr°ninnt tO
tO reinforcement is unique to
S. inner ' s
m a sense,
this could be
termed
astern
a
’manipulation' as in brain-washing.
While in the respondent type of learning the
stimuli
conditioned z
in the operant type of learning the
responses
reinforced.
C-.
are
are
ITIVE theories
Cognitive theories emphasise
the processes whereby the
stimuli are differently perceived,
Cognitive
theories take the
position that learning is a < '
change
in
perception.
Their ]basic
question is
'Has the learner's
-‘
J
perception
of
a
situation
changed?"
u
288
Cognitive theories are closely related to each other and
include those derived from the Gestalt psychology,
Kurt Lewin
and E.C.Tolman are credited with adopting Gestalt psychology
(propounded by Wertheimer Kohler and Koffka) in explaining the
processes of learning. Lewin's theory makes use of the Gestalt
concept of field (like a magnetic field) which stresses dynamism
i.e.
every part is dependent on every other part, A tea-cup is
not the sum of its parts (the handle, the vessel portion and the
base) but something greater since it serves a function.
A learning occurs, the field changes and the learner behaves
differently because he perceives the stimulus situation in a
different way. The change in the fie-j^ comes about quite
suddenly, and when it does, the new behaviour emerges quickly in
a 'insighful' manner; Examples of such 'insights' are cognition
in the solul.lon of all typer, of problems, nuc:h as
learning Lo
ride a bicycle or swimming. A learner cannot be taught these
skills by teaching the components of those skills piecemeal.
Tolman tried to combine parts of the Cognitive Theory with
S.R.Theory which is known as ’Purposive Behaviourism'.
Behaviourism’. According
to Tolman all learning is goal-oriented
goal-oriented..
Learning therefore
becomes
goal-directed,
provided the motivation
is
there.
Learning takes place when the learner finds out the
'cause
’cause and
effect'
relationship.
When he does this, reinforcement
reinforcement takes
place and the learner develops a cognitive map in his mind,
a
mind,
phenomenon which takes place in complex situations such as
individual and social relationships, influencing and leadership,
problems solving in real life situations, etc. Summarising:
Guthrie emphasises the stimuli which evoke response
Hull emphasises reinforcement.
Thorndike stresses 'law of effect' on the organism whether a
particular
response
is satisfactory and reduces needs
(drive).
Skinner emphasises reinforcers that
especially operant conditioning.
strengthen
responses,
Lewin emphasises changes in learner’s perception of
and their inter-relationships.
stimuli
Tolman emphasises 'goal oriented' learning and reinforcement
as a result of goal achievement.
LEARNING THEORIES AND TRAINING METHODOLOGIES
Training
methodologies are the methods used
in
the
transference of knowledge and skills. These methods may be
verbal
(teachers, discussions of various types etc.)
or nonverbal
(reading, demonstrations, games, doing etc.) Both these
Ii
289
classes
of methods may be
complemented
with visual
<aids t
demonstration equipment etc.
Visual aids may be in the form
..i
of
charts, programmes, slides, films etc.,
The content to be
classified as follows:I.
transferred
to
the
trainee
may
be
COGNITIVE
Pacts
names,
dates,
locations,
heights,
depths,
distances,
species,
classes,
families,
simple
relationships etc.
r
Each item of fact
--- -jisa
piece
of
knowledge at the first level of
cognition.
Species
,
families,
relationships involve a number of items
and
can be viewed as a second level of cognition.
ii.
affective
Theories,
rLkWS ®nd ConcePts - These are also
in nntnature
involve
?re but
but/
nvolve a
a ” 1large number of items cognitive
at the
to hL level
leVel of cognition.
co9nition.
Theories and concepts
tend
to become complex berAiiqp
ncepts
of the This
number
nature of the items involved
can^e intera^tive
This can be
the third level of coanitinn
b
V1ewed as
of these
prone to different pereeptio^s Many
.n7i«eepXS
“.
& inter-personal
Zmo?ionsaSSr°fiknowledge and skill is reiated to
behaviour,
emotions,
feelings,
sensitivity,
awareness
values
etc.
which cannot be quantified and which are, eby'
their nature
very complex.
This class of problems and constructs
deal
with real-life problems which tend to bo complex.
PSYCHOMOTOR SKI U.S
This
Itype.of learning involves manual and
physical
skills
combined with simple facts,
> sequences etc.
Coordination of
manual
’’
skills
is the crux of learning these
J skills which
could
become complex if complex sequences of
actions
and
responses are required.
While there is
no one single i
which can be
recommended for .a particular type of methodology
learning.
/there is a broad
agreement that a combination of some
methodologies
is more suited
for that type of learning than other
methodologies.
At the
same
time,
certain types
of
learning
cannot
take
place
with
a
Particular methodology.
1The
following are examples Lectures,
by themselves cannot teach
learners to drive,
cycle or swim,
These types of learning require
psychomotor
skills supplemented
..ted with verbal methods.
Training pilots to
fly
is made easier and more comprehensive
by
using
simulators.
11
290
ii.
Any amount of ’doing' cannot transfer concepts and
theories
to learners
learners..
The transfer of such learning has to be by
verbal
methods
supplemented
by
demonstrations
and
experiential learning.
iii. Both lectures and psychomotor methods cannotL make learners
sensitive to others’ feelings, establish goodI interpersonal
relationships etc. This transfer has to be effected through
case.
discussions and laboratory methods.
it
is
sufficient
to say that certain methodologies can
be
prescribed'
for certain types of learning whereas other
methodologies can be ruled out. This i^ not to say that the
trainer cannot make innovations which can make the transfer
of knowledge and skills more effective.
~
Some of the more common methodologies are described in
following paragraphs.
the
the lecture method
This is the most common verbal technique
technique employed
employed in
training. The lecture is an.oral presentation of: a subject
subject by
by a
qualified person.. rThough
"‘
- this
method is widnj.y used, this should
not be interpreted to be simple,
' *
In reality it is quite complex
to plan,
present and evaluate. Most often the weakness in a
lecture can be traced either to the lecturer or his preparation.
Lectures could also be ineffective because this method is not
appropriate to a given type of learning,
The lecture method
involves four or more stages which are Understanding
the objectives of the
coverage desired and time available.
lecture,
the
Planning and preparation which involves collection of
materials, arranging training aids,
preparing lesson
plans and rehearsals.
iii. Presenting the lecture.
iv.
Obtaining feedback.
Lectures are suitable to Present facts, knowledg e, ideas and information
an organised manner
Identify and clarify issues or problems
iii. Stimulate or motivate the audience
iv.
Save time and reduce costs.
in
1i
291
ADVANTAGES
direct
I. IMITATIONS
and
clear
conserves time
- allows facts to be presented in
a logical order
- Passive as far as the
learner is concerned.
- Non participation by
the group
- One way flow of
information
large number of students can be
accommodated
- Not easy to assess
effectiveness
easy
- Requires
speakers
to
use training
aids
competent
- economical in terms of time and cost
GROUP DISCUSSION
9rouP discussion is a training methodology used with up to
about 20 participants to discuss a Itopic under the supervision
of
a moderator. Group discussions are formal discussions
~ ---------j with an
agenda to deliberate with the intention of arriving
conclusion or direction for the group.
This method9 at a
adequate opportunities for individual learners to share allows
their
exP®riences and ideas with other members of the group,
This
method encourages
learners to express their opinions,
to
topiclfY/ explore or solve problems or to clarify or
or amplify a
A
■small
number of people gathering and sharingJ ideas does
not always
vq make
mnirp 'group
’group discussion' a (training
‘ ’
methodology.
When
the objective of the discussion is not clearly defined and
there
is no likelihood of an outcome, the resulting
degenerates
into a group conversation. By contrast when we talk
talk
of a group
..
discussion, we are dealing with a relatively formal
process.
It
is purposive talk by people comprising
the groups to make
decisions,
come to conclusions and solve problems.. The process
involves collection and sharing information, its
arriving at a formal conclusion acceptable to the analysis and
group as a
whole.
As a training method it is especially suitable for
use after
a topic
topic has been covered by a lecture or studied by
by the
participants privately. Group discussion has the same stages of
preparation, and evaluation as the lecture method.
The
advantages and limitations of this method are:
11
292
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
Unlike a lecture, provides
1. Suitable for up to 20
opportunities to the participants
persons.
to share experiences, evaluate
factors and courses of action.
Encourages individuals to work
as a team.
2. Requires study before
discussion.
3. Helps learners to develop
confidence
3. Some participants would
like to dominate.
Helps learners to gain group
acceptance
4. Requires supervision
to ensure that silent
participants are drawn
into discussion and
reduce domination by
a few.
ROLE PLAYS
Role play is one of the best known methods of verbal
simulation.
It is the pontaneous acting out of a situation,
condition or a set of circumstances by members of a learning
group. The purpose is to emphasise relationships between people
and groups.
The actors portray typical attitudes, problems,
situations and relationships which the learner may encounter in
real life.
This method of teaching is valuable because of the emotional
impact that comes from observing or participating in
the
presentation.
Role plays allow the learners to come closer to
the actual experiences of feelings connected with incident,
problem or situation. This is best employed in training when the
objective is to illustrate a dramatic aspect in such areas as
managing people, organising, leadership or problem-solving under
pressure.
To
be effective,
the faculty member supervising
the
presentation will have to guide the role players and get them to
rehearse their pieces.
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
1.
Able to stimulate real life
problems.
1.
Requires considerable
preparation of effective
roleplays.
2.
Stimulate learners to listen,
observe,and analyse.
2.
Many participants are not
used to role-playing and
have to be selected and
inducted with care.
i1
293
3.
Gives opportunities to some
3.
learners to project themselves
into a role.
Tendency to use this as a
gimmick.
CASE METHOD
The objective of the case method is to provide learners with
opportunities to analyse social,/ <economic and other problems and
encourage them to develop solutions. IWith
*
this approach, a wide
i
of
learners
'
spectrum
learners' skills and abilities
can be brought into
---- ---pi-ay- - is
The^case method
usually employed when the factors and
issues involved are large, their interaction complex and possible
solutions not obvious.
The learning focus in the case method is not so much on
arriving at a solution, wmen
which is never 1there,
but to (i)
encourage participants to identify the factorsj and issues
most
relevant to the problems in the case.
Be able to
(ii)
articulate these with conviction and bring out the
interplay
between these factors.
(iii) Highlight the scope of possible
options and (
iv) develop a ;set of possible solutions ruling
(iv)
out
some other courses of action.
The case method is non-directive, the instructor presenting
the, case problem allows sufficient study time, creates an
environment for discussion and acts as a catalyst and guide.
A case may bo written, filmed or orally presented,
A case
will usually be drawn up in sufficient detail to
the
participants adequate data to understand
--------- 1 the problem,
Cases may
be long or short depending on the time available for
study and
discussion.
Cases take time to develop as effective training tools.
Cases have to go through a series of revisions and testing i n
groups before they can be administered with confidence.
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
1.
Exposes participants to a
1.
large area of social,economic
and business factors and
real life issues.
Takes time and effort to
develop
2.
Forces participants to think
purposefully, develop selfawareness and a capacity for
sound judgements.
2.
Requires time to
administer for study and
discussion.
3.
Develops habits of thinking,
approaches, decision-making
skills and looks at the
totality of relationships.
3.
Not dynamic as it
deals with a particular
situation and connected
problems.
'-
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294
4.
Participants do not ' own '
responnibility for
solutions.
5.
Many participants
may
take cases casually and
show non-involvement .
INCIDENT METHOD
Developed
at M.I.T, this is a variation of the case
•
. , method.
The incident
-— - - — process
process limits itself to one or a very
number of aspects and as the name suggests, is confined limited
incident whereas a case may cover many incidents spread to one
over a
period of time.
In short, it is a case in a shorter form.
The <-scope
_
for.using the incident method is mostly confined
to social issues, :*
, inter-personal and inter-group relationships,
actions and reaction
----- 1 etc.
GAMES
Games,
like role plays, are simulations.
are verbal simulations,/ games are invariably While role
presented
written form.
plays
in a
Games are dynamic and involve sequential decision-making the
outcome of the preceding decisions being used as inputs
^he
followmg periods. They, therefore, differ from cases which are
D LuL1C •
While simulations refer to the study of models, games refer
to simulations used for training either by themselves or in
conjunction with other inputs.
The d
\ of games for training
design
depends on where
(or in which junction ofj management or purposes
leadership) the learning
is to take place, Games can be designed to cover
important
functional
areas
in
social
and
service
organisations
(organisational structure, procedures,
communications,
project
management etc.). All these types
.types of games call for sequential
decision-making to maximise a certain value or minimise
other
parameters. Use of games for learning provides insights into
interdisciplinary nature of society and business or any type the
of
organisation.
Apart from providing opportunities for studying
the decision-making process, the participants are also exposed to
other issues of group dynamics.
ii
295
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
1.
Dynamic, provides opportunities
for sequential decision-making.
1.
Difficult to design
and test.
2.
Competitive,
as different teams
compete with each other to try
to win.
2.
Time consuming to
administer.
3.
Highly motivating and participant
oriented.
4.
Instant feedback on performance.
5.
Participant’s own decisions.
6.
Gives insights into system
organisational interdependencies .
7.
Experiential learning provides
for conceptual insights.
LABORATORY TRAINING
INTRODUCTION
Many organisations in the advanced Western Countries have
used ’Personal Laboratories' or the 'Laboratory Approach' (Lab in
short) as a vehicle for organisational change through increasing
the personal skills of its members, giving them a deeper insight
into the complex area of interpersonal relationship and for
improving organisational policies and procedures. The Internal
Revenue Services (IRS), which is the equivalent of our Income-Tax
Department, the Peace Corps' and* a number of public agencies in
the USA have utilised lab methods to provide opportunities for
the personal growth of their employees. The US Government has an
agency ACORD (Action for Organisational Development) to promote
this approach.
In the training context, lab methods can be used very
effectively, to bring about behavioural changes in trainees
largely
through
’personal
learning about
the
self '
in
interpersonal and Group situations.
PURPOSE AND PROCESS
Basically,
the lab approach to training seeks to free
individual to be a more effective participant and to learn
various levels as under
Personal learning about the self in group situations.
an
at
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296
ii. Transfer <of" personal learning to the work place
the home also), and
(and to
iii.Restructuring the organisation to make it more
satisfying
and rewarding to its members.
Lab
groups have been variously labeled
~
T-Groups
or
Sensitivity Groups, T-Group is short for 'Training Group'
. About
a dozen members get together in
'structured'
settings.
In an unstructured setting, the group has'unstructured'
no specific
task to perform nor does it have any agenda.
The intention in both t
u
types
of settings is to learn about
themselves and each other from"interactions
------- generated in whatever
activities they engage in.
TYPES OF LABS T-GROUPS
T-Groups, can be broadly classified into two types
The Basic T-Group
The T-Group or 'Sensitivity Training Group', is composed of
individuals who are strangers or normally do not work
together.
The focus in such group is
'expressing' and
unfreezing old attitudes and creating and increasing trust
and openness between
members.
on group members.
The Basic T-Groups tend
to be unstructured'.
ii.
Variant T-Groups
These are variously called 'Core Groups', 'Action Groups',
'Family
Groups'
etc.
These groups are
composed
of
individuals who normally work together. The focus here is
more on conceiving and implementing changes in the members 1
work.
PROCEDURES
Basic T-Group
Usually this type of lab
comprises strangers.
training
is
unstructured
and
Unlike psychiatric approaches to effect changes in attitudes
and behaviour, Basic T-Groups consider .mostly the
'public'
(referring to data which is shared in the group
and
not
group
Secrets' which have not been expressed) and the 'here and
now' data available to all members.
The range of this target data is very wide.
297
The specific structure members develop in their interaction
such as leadership rank order.
interaction.
ii.
The process of their group life, iwith special attention
to
getting a group to experience the way each reacts
to
the
’here and now' ggroup life coming to an end i.
e.
how they
view the termination
-- 1 of the T—Group.
iii. Thc i r
specific emotional reactions to
one
behaviour as in jointly 'fighting' the trainer or another's
in fleeing
from some issue which has over-whelmed group members.
Hence Basic T-Group can be said to have two major purposes:
To analyse the data generated by their own
' here-and-now'
interactions. and
To develop insights and behavioural skills that
both
• k l- analysis and action in the group as well asfacilitate
in the
back home’ situation.
The overall goal is to increase the level of trust among the
group members so that each will provide to the othersincrealina
timely and unambiguous' feedback concerning-
perceptions.
feelings.
reactions.
The type of sentences used in the conversation in Basic
Groups are typically as given below:"I feel that
it
"The way you speak to me
ii
"I believe that
H
"What I hear you saying is
H
"Do I infer from what others are saying
H
"I feel you are not being specific about
T-
etc.
Though much of the work that goes on in the Basic T-Group is
based on the data internally generated,
’exercises’ are sometimes
used to clarify certain inferences,
principles
and reactions
emerging from the group interactions.
Such
exercises
can cover
an extremely broad range from listening skills, 1barriers
___ 1
to
communication,
group decision-making process, appraisals.r
'winor-lose’ games etc.
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298
VARIANT T-GROUP
These T-Groups have been developed to facilitate ’back-home’
learning,
to encourage members of the same organisation to
experiment at the work place with new behavioural skills or
insights as also to create more satisfying work relationships.
These T-Groups are ongoing processes intertwined with their
routine work.
Variant T-Groups tend to range widely between ’here-and-now’
and the
’thorc-and-then-. That is, their members often have
intricate common histories
----- for a long time in their organisation
that do not enrich nor burden Basic T-Groups.
The variant T-Groups concentrates on behaviourally preparing
individuals to decide upon and achieve their definition of the
desirable organisational goals.
Variant T-Groups can take many forms as they seek to build
useful learning processes into organisations. For example formal
decision-making groups in organisations take heed of the learning
and :insights gained from the T-Groups.
If the formal decision
making group in their organisation does not change its way of
functioning,
the other members are expected to express their
unhappiness.
A special T-Group is then organised to allow
members to voice their concern. Hence there is a pr
process of
checks and balances leading to a situation of advice and
-- 1 consent,
Hopefully this will lead to more openness, frank feedback and
more co-operation.
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