REPORT OF THE NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON THE GIRL CHILD
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- Title
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REPORT OF THE
NATIONAL
WORKSHOP ON
THE GIRL CHILD
- extracted text
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REPORT OF I HE
NATIONAL
WORKSHOP ON
I HE GIRL
CHILD
27-29 December, 1987
India international Centre,
New Delhi
WOMEN’S
DEVEI.OPMENT ’ DIVISION
National Institute ol Public Cooperation &
Child Development
New Delhi-110 016
INTRODUCTION
The ihu’.patioii of the, female child inlo the main.-•tH’ain development process is a continuing cause of
concern In activists. administrators and policy planner
in (he South Asia Region. This concern needs Io be
onesaiiona’iizcd inlo manifold goals and concurrent
Nijnclives, both long term and immediate. The
•hbr.alu goal is Io have an active, healthy, confident
Century female child unfettered by limiting
traditional roles, and unrestrained by socio cultural
stereotypes that deny her opportunities to information
and options or limit her choices regarding herself, her
body and her community. Briefly the perspective
visualized is a female child with, high self perceptions
and self-esteem not merely in recipient roles but in
active productive roles; not merely as the bearer of
Deace and pacifist roles but as a ’personae' with
concern for all denied human dignity. The. image is of
an equal, gender-aware, unshackled female child in
control of her destiny and environment.
■ A “slock taking" after the end of the International
Women's Decade has revealed the fact that special
programmes meant for the development of women
could ci «.ate only limited and superficial changes, 'i his
situation is a reality in the developing world and more
The SAARC Conference. on South Asian Children
of 1987 gave an urgent call for improvement of I he
mother-child life cycle beginning with the girl child.
The neglect and discrimination the gid child is subjec
ted to are extensive and deep rooted in a complex set
of social, cultural and historical factors. Il was
recommended (hat the response io this situation
should include a major effort to educate parents and
the community to accept boys and girsl as rituals. •
About A2 percent of the Indian population comprises
of children. Neai ly half of these young Indians ai e gii Is,
just as nearly half of the total population is female. I he
biological advantage of the female sex is negated by
the negative altitudes reflected in then declining sex
ratio, lower life expectancy, higher rate of female
mortality, lower nutritional status and many other
allied factors, However, lhe most important fact, as
revealed by research sludi-’s, is that ihc socio cultural
factors are lhe root cause for this discrimination J he.
malignancy, though noticed in almost all slates of lhe
country, is at its worst in lhe North and North West
India.
I lie gender based disci i.inlaaiioa starts even bcfoi e
lhe birth of a female child. Amniocentesis which is to
r.o in. our country. At the end of (hr. United Nations
be used fur clinical dlngtirHiin of genalL: defects is being
Decade for women, the world conference which met
<ii Nairobi, while recording satisfying advances, also
reminded people that a lot remains to be done. Io equip
hi p.arHctpnfp effectively in development and
misused to Identify the scr of foetus leading io ‘female
foeticide’.
Gender roles are conceived, enacted, taught and
learnt within a complex set of relationships In (he
family and community at large. The gill grows up with
a notion of temporary member ship in her natal home
She is always considered a burden (hat han to be
disposed of along with ns-els in Ihc form of dowry. I ler
productive role, is limited In being a household drudge
and a reproductive macninr. As a insult of thin even
after forty years of independence the female literacy
sha.
• 5 its rewards.
tn India, to be a female is often less (han Io be
human Woman’s role in society, her limited rights,
cimsklriable duties and the shabby treatment meted
om Io her in all walks of life originate from the fact that
she is basically considered a handicap and a but den on
fh.e family light from biilh itself.
7
Reseau h studies carried out in vaiious pails of
India, seem Io indicate that rural and mban pool
women mmaih over-wot|<«d and under rewarded.
traints of growing up a . female in Indian society and her
specific needs have i jmehow eluded lhe attention of
academicians, administrators and policy planners.
Therxe is no denying 'he fact that a girl child is usually
discriminated again I in most spheres of life, be it
healthcare, nutrition, education, employment, training
or social justice. A c. nnplete situational analysis of (he
glil child in India calls for a serious thought in
Amongst this population, a major pail of domestic
developing her nb a >elf confident active, and productive
choirs in< hiding cooking. :* 'eaning, fetching fuel,
fodder and water, as well
looking alter younger
person in all aspects.
U is increasingly evident that this indifference al all
levels towards lhe women and girls will adversely
influence India’s developmental goals. The nation
cannot afford .mother decade of this indifference
which can ci vat.! an alarming situation. It is imperative
to ensure lha’ lhe girl child
*
is given priority in
programming for development.
In lhe context of lhe above concern and lhe need Io
evolve strategies Io enhance lhe status of lhe gii! child,
the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child
»a((» is just 2'1.82 percent which is about half that pf
males ('!!>.89 percent). female enrolment in schools
has qnadiupled since J950, mil six out of every ten
school age gills me still out of school for various
reasons im hiding drop outs
siblings GUIs upon the gid < hik.l. Gills accompany
parents Io fields Io help then .« sowing, transplanting,
weeding and harvesting, (■•■Heeling furl and scaring
away birds. I hey also a< company them Io ihe market
place with loads on their hc< ds and backs. (Jiris are
involved on a large scale in lhe unorganized sector
too. hoi instance, a large number of girls arc woiking
in sut h indtishics as the match, coir, carpel, lock,
glass and beedi gem polishing, making of paper bags,
qarmenls. cotton pod and groundnut shilling bras
*;
l')c»U(>loni non. i irn^nicnd
ware, zaii embroidery, de. G.ually distressing is lhe
plight of a large number ol git !s in lhe domestic service,
rag picking, news paper vending and so on,
I he National Chili 11 abonr Policy seeks Io create a
beneficial impact upon II?? health, education and
shop on llv. Girl Child at lhe India International
Centre, Neu Delhi from 27-29 December, 1987. The
main objectives of lhe workshop were Io table and.
discuss issues related to lhe status of young gids in lhe
age group 0 20 years, and per taining to their nutritional
health and educational status, in the context of the
prevalent gender bias, patterns of socialization,
*,
implication
of early marriage, and child labour; also
listed for discussion were conceited piograrnming
efforts and evolution of strategies for lhe 'overall
development of lhe girl child.
nuliilion »»f (he woiking child in a selling where
different hhom laws are being implemented. This
dor's not, however .bring in I o its purview working girl
(hild lug <iiise she largely works at home and her
specific problems have not been given any particular
consideiahon in National Posey.
I he media, which is su> b a powerful tool in bringing
about altitudinal changes, is extremely Indifferent
towards issues related to gid children, lhe print
thj-oo <!?.” National VA‘! I'
PARTICIPANTS
media, whether in Reboot syllabus or otherwise,
portrays girls in traditional stereotype roles. Audio
visual mass media ulilizr’s the female body (or market
ing consumer products. Cinema and television portray
conventional images of women either asSati Savilri or
I lunlerwali, a lady phantom al work, 'l he personified
portrayal of girls or wom.en >s insufficient. Girls get
coverage in newspapers only in'the form of hard
saleable new
*,
like rape, sun id.-; c»lc.
’lhe integration of lhe female child into lhe main
stream of development, th.- complexities and cons
8
The workshop provided a forum for policy makers,
- demographers, activists in the field, representatives of
voluntary agencies, administrators, social scientists,
media personnel and representatives of international
agencies to discuss major issues and strategies to
improve the status of the girt child. There were 70
participants including resource persons and observers.
They represented a cross-section of activists and
academicians engaged in the field of women and child
development.
A SITUATION ANALYSIS OF WOMEN
FROM BIRTH TO TWENTY
*
— Mcera Chatterjee-
fh‘’-girl(
’■ • «md Child
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I his wmkshop maiks lhe beginning of a process
-the process being the Project on Women from Birth
Io Twenty which aims to produce a comprehensive
status repot I on the female child in India. NIPCCD has
undertaken this ptojccl at the urging of the Depart
nwnt id Women's DevelopmciV of the Ministry of
lium.m »<esourcr. Development and UNICEF has
kindiy funded it. ’1 he. Project defines the female, child
as women from 0-20 year age group. The report will
contain recommendations for action <o be taken by
thcgovri nmc.nl as well as non-governmental agencies
and citizens — for the Improvement of the status of
this vet y important and vulnerable group. We, hope lo
go beyond this lo seeing actual implementation of
actions and schemes within a fail ly short lime, and
also lo have suitable strategics introduced into the
Eighth V Year Plan — and subsaquenUplans, as the
pioblems cannot be qoived in five years.
*
W<.
are dealing here with almost half of half lhe
pjpuialion of lhe Country. The female population
accounts for about 49% of lhe total population and
•16% of females ate under lhe age of 20. So this is no
niean a task that we have set for om selves in this
Pinjecl. To meet these objectives we fell il imperative
io get together a variety of people from different parts
of lhe count ly — praclionci?> resr.archr.i.s, planners,
huicauciats, activists, and communicators — in lhe
fields of health, nuhilion, education, social develop
ment, media, vocational training; labour, law and
many others for a joint consullnlidn, The seminar has
jalhc.icd a notable and heterogeneous group. Over
the nekl few days We will be he.ni ing from Sociologists,
Educationists, Docloi s, Demographers, PAyrhialrisls,
Lawyers, Nutritionists, Bureaucrats, Planners; Film
makers, Theatre people, and Journalists; and may be
even some politicians! I hus, I sen Ihn pm pone of the
seminar, and particularly of I hr-. Situation Analysis
(that I have been asked I o present), as; io table issues,
ideas and Information, lo ask each other questions,
and io argue (if need be) on many controversial
points that su;TUUiid this Suujw.i. Bui cvemuaiiy we
have to hold hands so that our final recommendations
deserve, serious considci alion from the nation al large.
They will be considered seriously it we focus on
real problems and if o' n lecommendations ate realistic
and implementable.
In fact, a situation analysis will emerge fmm the
workshop so I cannot presume lo lay il before you.
What I will do is lo raise some issues and questions
which are uppermost hi my mlnd—and lo which I feel
we must seek answers, I have at ranged these ques
tions thematically and I shall present them fist
verbally and then al the lisk of repealing myself I shall
show you some slides lo illustrate lhe points.
I heme I : I he Gul Is Unwanted
The first theme that I would like lo place before you
is lhe theme of femicide
the fact that lhe ghl in
no won led. Under this rlmm-i
*
one can Include’ both the
abortion of female fetuses after genetic typing and
amniocentesis and (nmole Infanticide which, although
AnSo ; Tnli Is a {hull lypfl.tcripl twin liw» iMnr.i’iUnlhn madn nl Ilin Workshop oh the remain Child on iJr'ccniber 2/, 1907. Somers rmd
■.ri<Hfnc<’5 will bn nupplicd In the (Inal version of lhe report.
25
oiilldv.-ed, is si ill a practice I-xlay. Both involve delibe
*
But if lhe actual costs of lhe service have fallen from
Rs. 600 four or five years ago lo Rs. 100-150 today, il
should nol be loo difficult lo combat. There are surely
other more useful things lhe same practitioners could
bqorienled Iodo for lhe same moncyl The crux of the
*rah <lcshiK lion of the (emi’lo. al an early age. To our
kiiov/ku!<|<! amniocentesis followed by sex selective
al nation is a service available a1 private, readily
a« (’cssible clinics in both large and smaller urban
aicas, so ibal lhe subject of lemale feticide which used
to b<! thought of as a midd'r ■ lass well-to-do persons
issue is no loiMiri that. H is a,:.n an issue that relates Io
lhe poor. I hi; noo>-aie bcTij increasingly drawn into
thisinst iiip’ilous practiceas -'dverlisingon ’he subject
spreads widely these days.l lowever, lhe magnitude of
the piolili’in is vet y difficult to estimate, t he data that
one finds currently arc
*
very s< altered. Beller statistics
ni'i’d Io be ( nllrc led. ()n<‘ example is that in I hr; year
I’UI'I, '10,000 Id11. Jp (cluses wrr <; aboi l(’d in lh(
* cily of
Bombay alone, a (liqhteii’rg figure considering that
Bombay is probably nol the woisl area of die countly.
Another survey in Bombas/ found that (if 8000 abor
tions i cpoi led only one fetus was a male • showing that
lhe success iale of the technique is high. There is
clearly a need for accurate information from other
pails of lhe cotmiiy, notably lhe North where lhe
practice is reno» ledly widespread. I lowever, given lhe
i nethii al nairne of lhe prat Hee any information we gel
is sl»ll likely
b'j an • ‘dere
*-bmale,
I hemi’iii issiie relating to amniocentesis is whether
il c an or should be banned by law. Obsterlrlciangynecologists have argued-that il cannot be banned as
il is a necessary medical technology which caters Io a
positive need. One does sympathize with families who
need lo have amniocentesis for detection of genetically
*
linked disorder s ai well as wi'h mothers over 35 years
of a<ic who feel ‘hey would like lo have Hie lest for
detection of Down's syndrome. Thus, il is probably
not feasible lo han the technology (without leading lo
its "bool legging"). What can be banned and we have
taken some strides in this direction • is advertising ol
sex selection. We also need lo bring lo task (impose
heavy penalities onlany cases which are done blahlally
for the pm pose of. sex selection. The question,
of course, is how effective will any laws be? What are
lhe "teeth" required I o’make the laws operative ? — a
question that lawyers in Ibis group could address
themselves to. We also lace a situation where the .....
s.-i vice providers arc doing Ibis test for monetary gain.
.
26
"■)
/
I
problem is that—as lhe practitioners feel—the lest is
meeting a felt need of society. The families-who
undertake it do not want a daughter; and if one wen?
born they would not be able lo sustain her after birth.
She would be left lo die or be neglected. So lhe
ultimate question Is not really focussed on the medical
technology but on the value system that makes lhen
technology "useful" and used. In lhe long term.'
therefore, this issue is dealt with only by enhancing lhe
status of lhe female child and through a concerted :
series of actions lo increase both her economic worth \
and social standing.
The second pari of this theme. (The Girl is I Inwan-.
led) is female infanticide similar lo fetcide in that those who don’t want really know lhe magnitude of this,
problem. We only know that certain communities.
practise il more than others. For examplejl is believed
to be widely practised among Rajput families of •*
Rajasthan. I his is one of lhe stales where lhe status of
the female is lhe worst. JI here are also lhe famous
Kallurs of Madurai who, il is estimated, poisoned
about 6000 female babies in lhe last decade. These ;
people are landless labourers and marginal farmers '
who can’t meet lhe expected marriage and dowry
expenses (Il is shocking that hundreds of female
children will be destroyed before the preacljce of
dowry goes!) They believe that lhe destruction of a •
female baby will bring a boy as the next child. A Kallur
woman who docs not dare lo destroy her female baby
might be abandoned by her husband—a direct link
between what is practised on lhe female child and the
status of lhe aciuii female. As an aside, il would he
interesting lo know how lhe community decides which t
girl babies are to be allowed to survive— for they are
obviously Jelling some survive lo perpetuate lhe
species. Conversely, lhe question whether lhe
community is dying out because of lhe lack of women
due lo their extreme poverty is germane particularly
because of lhe issue of poverty affecting women In .
other groups in our country.
’’here aic some major differences between the
practice of lemaie feticide and infanticide. For one,
female infanticide is cleaily murder ’against which
(here is already a law. So its practice can be brought to
book • if it can be detected, which is the more difficult
pioblem. Given the'already high infant mortality it
would seem impossible tc detect female infanticide
unless all bit Ihs are attended and repot ted and there is
at least neonatal follow up and reporting of any sudden
deaths. This is still a distant dream. At the moment
lhete may be as much as 40—50% under-reporting of
biiths in some areas and only 15-20% attendance of
liiilhs by It aim’d pin sour d who could report and
follow them up. Currently 14rths reported as still births
or neonatal deaths could actually be cases bf infanti
cide, It would scum imperative to address this issue by
putting in place oghl :nv.iy a system utilising dais.
Cl IWs, /\NMs, AWWS tinr t other village level workers
toatlend Io births and p. ill iculaily, to report them; to
visit homes for the first month and report any untoward
deaths.
The question then is Io what extent can we attempt
to use the law and imptuve birth attendance and
repotting Io stamp .out 'he practice of female infanti
cide. I low can we reach into communities to enforce
the law and provide adequate supporting services ?
their seminal role. If advertising on amniocentesis can
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chromosomes I Al Tilonia, a group of performers
enacts a play on lhe X and Y chromosomes Io’
demonstrate that lhe father is responsible for the sex
of the child.
"Preference for sons”is of course based on further
religious sentiments ■ a man needs a son to perform his,
funeral riles and to derive benefits in Inc life hereafter;
Mann’s Laws hold that . "Through a son, a man,
conquers lhe world; through a sop’s son he obtains.
immortality ; and through a son’s grandson he gains
lhe woild of lhe sun.” "One can she the strong inlcrk
generational pressure to bear sons I The issue of lhe ,
low status of the female child is also related Io lhe .
stringency of the dowry system and lhe proscription.
against daughters inheriting which we shall turn to
later.
• . ’
I would like to point out that while we quote lhe \
(Hindu) scriptures lor their negative representation of
(he female child (here are also provisions- which
support the role of daughters. For example,lhe son of
an only daughter • a grandson • may also perform lhe
funeral riles and obtain blessings for his grandfather I •
In the absence of a son, a father can appoint a’
daughter (o his estate. Perhaps we need to commu
nicate these possibilities as a step towards rectifying
The second major difference between infanticide
lhe obsession with sons. Of course, lhe (act of a father’s.
and feticide is that while the lai ter is born of a modern
medical technology, lhe former is an age old practice ■
with religious sanction if people’s interpretations of the
.s/k»5/ms me correct. There is a traditional blessing
that says: “May you lie the mother of a hundred sons”
and a prayer : “The bhlh of a gid grant it elsewhere;
huie giant a son,” from lhe Alharvaveda. One of (he
Suit as prescribes, “The’aii n of existence of a woman is
to be the mother of sons; daugl iters are not desirable:
a wife who bears only ckiughlrys should be abandoned
...” What pressure on mothers to do away with their
baby daughter? 1 The iren;. of course Ir ihnl fa I hans are
genetically responsible icr lhe gender of their off
spring! If we could disseminate this information widely,
perhaps mothers wood be blamed, less for their
female born children. Perhaps lhe status of lhe female
child could be enhanced by pointing out to fathers
sins being remitted through Kanyaclaan (giving of a
daughter in marriage) is well known, though here
there are lhe unfortunate connotations of dowry to
which we shall return.
I’ve dwelt on the issue of femicide al length because
it is clearly the'most drastic of actions related lo lhe
low status of lhe female child. There are a number of
interesting practices which also link it up to the status
of lhe adull female. Foi example, women pray Io Shiva
or Vishnu or one of lhe Mother Goddesses and
observe fasts on their sacred days if lhe birth of a son &
desired. Th«V viflil chrinofl, mako offeringn end hang
up small cradles hoping that baby boys will fill them.
Most significant of all lhe wish can be fulfilled through a •
prayer lo a sat/. This is not very far from the offering of
human sacrifice for (he purpose - instances of which. •
come to light ever so often. I have already mentioned
w
*
’27
/
liu? Kaiim s <>i Madurai who believe ihai by killing <1 gii I
baby, a boy child will be born next, liven in other
( ’(immunities, when a chile.’ dies (naturally or other
wise) vat ions bm ial practices are followed in (he hope
of facilitating (he return of its soul to the mother. In
some? castes in Punjab, de;.< gii I babies arc laid under a
h <•<». *J he nexl mor ning the place is examined Io see if
a jackal or dog has <lrn<vi«’-<l lhe baby towards Its
inolhei ’•» hofise. If it has, il is a bad omen meaning the
mother will give he th Io another gid. If it is dragged
aw.iv li means “a hiolher will be born.” Among (he
K.indhs of Madhya Pradesh it is believed that if a child .
dies within seven days of binh it is excluded from (he
cii< Ir of future female bii ths in the family —so there is
less chance of females being bom. As male children
aie desired through successive generations this belief
could be a powerful incentive to commit female
infanticide.
I here are also some humourous practices relating
to the desire for sons. In the orthodox ritual of
/'nms.H'aii.i (now rarely practised), causing a male
child Io I ><• bom, the husliand poms a few drops of
waler down his wife’s right nostril and tickles il with a
piece of grass’ Another maclice which still exists
today is to make a boy sit mi (he bride's lap timing the
wedding rr
*i emnny,
*
I he gist of this is that we really must see in a
>1 .
. •» II > I ... •
*
(■>-/-}
st | \ I r I1 \ I ft
adulthood, They lead ultimately lo the low status of
the adult woman. I ler situation in (urn affects (he
treatment of female infants', children and adolescents
*
a vi< ioriH cirr
*le.
I’rom a policy and programme stand point one must
axldrcss oneself to these issues by enacting and
enforcing relevant laws, by mass education and by
providing visible oppmlunilies for giiIs to develop and
lo he valued.
i
I heme II:'! he Gii I is Nr? |J acted
, I he second theme is Ih? Girl is Neglected —
pailicul.uly in lhe areas of GmIiIi and nut?iljun. In (his
life < y< le apprdac h lo issues affecting (he female from
birth lo twenty, this theme is particularly relevant lo
the 0 5 year age group.-, but is really one that slays with
lhe girl through the rest pf her youth • or even life.’
28
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from pathologial causes, high morbidity and low
■ nutritional status. Relative to femicide, the’issue of
neglect has more data lo support it. Macro level
surveys as well as micro level studies show that lhe
nutritional status of lhe female child, between 0 5 years
is worse than that of boys of lhe same age, I shall not
repeal studies and figures that many of you would be
familiar with. Dr. Shanti Ghosh’s refenl excdlrnl
paper highlights lhe kind of informalion lhal is available
on lhe’Suhjecl. I lowevcr, where data illustrate a point I
shall cite them.
- ‘A report on some West Bengal villages in distress
(though West Bengal is by no-means lhe worst stale) a
found lhal lhe ratio of malnourished females lo males
among 0-5 year olds was 1.07. If one considered mod
erale and severe malnutrition only (Il and 111 degree)
;
lhe ratio rose lo 1.40, and it was 1.59 among severely
\
malnourished children. lhese data illustrate lhal not
$
only are gid children more likely lo suffer from malnut
liilion, but also lhal when they do (he severity of their
'
malnuti ilion is greater. The'well-known Morinda study
in lhe Punjab many years ago showed lhal sex was (he : ,
most significant determinant of nutritional status.
I lowever, according to the National Nutrition Moni
toring Bureau, lhe picture is somewhat heller for girls ■ '■
than hoys. In the year 1980, 51% of giiIs suffered from
mild malnutrition compared with 44% of boys but the
frequencies of moderate and severe malnutiilion were
25% girls, 39% boys, and 3%girls, 6% boys respectively. ;
lhese national macro-level data are
somewhat
al odds with micro-level studies which alrposl
ubiquitously report more malnuti ilion among
female children than males (suggesting that these data
deserve a close look) Dr. Ghosh quoted (in her recent
paper) data from lhe Safdarjung hospital which dearly
bring out the high ratio of female lo male malnutrition
particularly in (he severe grade. There were 3 normal
males lo every female, but 3 severely malnourished
females to every nude examined. Although lhe NNMB
data for the 1*5 year age group are confusing, there is
complete agreement between NNMB data and that. 1
from other studies on the nutritional status of infants,
where females are cleat ly shown lo be more frequenlly
and severely malnourished than males, l he usual
4-
“.
•
e
t’xpl.inalion for inis is lh.il female infants arc breastfed
• less frequently and (or a shorter duration as D. Belly
Cowan’s wni k in Ludhiana has deal ly shown • as well
as the work of others (<■<>. 1 lalder and Bhallacharya;
Khan; Vijay Kumm). Al’hough (he introduction of
supplementary foods is delayed in (he case of both
sexes of infants, one can deduce from measurements
of nutritional status that giiIs gel less than boys of the
customary weaning foods. This is (rue no mailer what
part of the country one looks at. Boys seem also to gel
belter quality foods as well as more quantity. Dr.
Cowan as well as Monica Das Gupta have shown that
with the increase in number of girls in a family the
stales of lhe girl child declines in terms of health and
nutrition. I his is true also in case of shorter birth
intervals — if another child is born immediately after a
girl she is mmc likely to be malnourished because of
shorter breastfeeding and less care by her mother.
I should like Io add here that allhough lhe NNM13
data may show that girls in lhe age group 1-5 are not
necessarily mmc malnourished, when we look al lhe
dielaiy consumption dala of older girls, age 13-15
years, we find that they consume less (han 2/3 of lhe
recommended calorie i’rlak? in all stales except Kar
nataka, I hose between 16 and 18 years consume less
iiran 3/4 <u lire caioric i<l M\ (in all stales except Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka and Andina Pradesh). The gap
belween male and female weights in lhe 16- I9
*year
age
gioup is abnormally lai ge in stales like UP, West Bengal, Kriala and Tamil Nadu.
Another study, which I would like to quote, from the
CMC Ludhiana compares privileged male and female
children with under-privileged children. There we see
that in lhe piivileycd-gi'oup 2'1% of females were mal
nourished w I Marras’ih lhe under, privileged group lhe
percentage was 74%, demonstrating lhe synergistic
effects of poverty and gender bias.
. I he prevalence of anaemia in young girls is also a
cause of pai titular concei n. In one study of urban girls
it ranged from a low figure of !8%among6-l4 year olds
in Madras • Io 95% in Calculla,
In general one assumes that hoys and girls of this
young age are exposed Io roughly lhe same levels of
disease but perhaps because of lower nutritional
status, mor bitlily in gills- is actually higher. Mure
disconcerting is lhe ubiquitous finding that despite
•
higher morbidity, trealmenCrates lor girls are consi_
. derably lower whether one considers out • patient
«
’
attendance or hospital admission (as in the case of lhe a
' >-<
Safdarjung hospital studies by Dr. Ghosh and others
and lhe Narangwal and Singur studies), fjit Is lend Io
| ?5
be brought for treatment al more critical stages., pf
/
illness, or taken to less qualified doctors and therefore,
their mortality even under treatment is likely Io be »
greater. Kynch and Sen reported dala on Bombay ‘
hospital admissions showing larger numbers of males, i.
’
Mankekar has described a study where female’two Io
three limes larger in number got no I realment when ill:
compared with males. This phenomenon runs through
India whether North or South, East or West. lhe
general feeling Is that scarce resources of time or-^
money should not be spent on daughters - that they
will gel belter by themselves, Il is perhaps also based ’ . :
on lhe belief that girls must tolerate pain and suffer ing,
an aspect of their socialisation which we shall discuss <
shortly.
Ultimately these factors - poor nutritional status,
high morbidity and less health care lead to lhe consid
erably higher mortality of girls under five years. In fact,
figures show that females have a higher mortality than /<
:
males in India—rural, urban, or combined, particularly
” ;
in rural areas of most slates, although lhe male female
ratio is closing in urban areas. Also, mortality in the
age groups 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 years is higher fur
females than males - all India, rural, urban and com
bined, and in lhe stales, especially in lhe North and 1
West, though lhe gap is less in lhe South. ’I he ratios of
female to male death rales in these age groups in iu:a;
areas, for example, were 1.17, 1.31, 1.04, apd 1.42
respectively. While lhe figure for 0 4s in the urban
areas was relatively lower (1.04), lhe corresponding
ratios for lhe older age groups were very high • 1.59, •1.40 and 1.57 respectively.
lhe higher mortality bf girls under 5 is largely responsible for the skewed sex ratio with which we are
all so familiar. While it is true that female mortality is
higher than that of males right upto the age of 35 or 40,
lhe fact is that as 'the mortality rale of the zero Io five
year age group is about twenty limes greater than any
other five yceir age group the oex diffarnnlinl just in thia
I
29
. •
' •’
«
gioup accounts for most of (he skewedness in the sex
ratio • a point (hat escapes most peopled II is just
during these five years that this skewed :sex ratio is
being caused. As we know the sex ratio declined from
1871 Io 1971 (ar.d made a slight upturn in 1981)
suggesting that I he status of the feikale child in
paiticular worsened during (his period.The so called
improvement in ’981 wa
*.
due to a slightly belter
situation in only a few aiuas ul the country. Kerala,
Kamal.ika, Andhra Pradesh Orissa, Jammu and
Kashmir and I limachal Pradesh had ratios over 950. in
the oilier states, males outnumber females by almost
10 percent.
if we look al the r»(?x ratio in terms of the number of
males per 1000 females {(he opposite of what we
normally do) • the all India figure is 1071 (933 in the
other way). At birth the sex ratio is around 1050
because moi e males arc born than females. However,
in other counhics this figire usually drops to around
unity by (he age at one • because males art
* biologically
more vulnerable (han females during infancy, blot so in
India. The male : female sex ratio increases for every
age group (upto the age of 35). Among 0-4 year olds it
is 1044; 5-9: 1061; and 10-1.4: 1097.lt is 1066 for 0-14
year olds.Thus,in the first fifteen years of a cohort we
add almost 50 males per 100 females due to deaths of
females in (his age group (and despite poor reporting
of births, particularly those of females). Punjab,
Maryana and U.P. arc the worst stales with 0-19 year
male : female sex ratios of 1100 (1119, 1118 and 1136
respectively).
*
Besides the. continued need to motivate parents to
virtue (heir girl children more, two more issues emerge
at this stage, hirst, are the programmatic issues of
whether and how our programmes can be strengthe
ned to lake care of little girls so that the gap between
male and female children can be closed and all children
as a grout) can be given nuhilional anti health care. In
1CD5 areas, of course, this programme Is the key
--and the issue here is to ncrease gills
*
actual atten
dance. lhe enrolment figures show that girls are
enrolled Io the same extent as boys but my own
observations al anganwadis suggest that, in fact, they
don’t always al lend. Thus, a stress is required on girls
attending lhe anganwadis— patlicularly those in the
30
0-3 age group (as also boys in (his age group which is •
under-covered). However, elsewhere where (here is
no JCDS/lhe health services will have to lake on (his
role. In my view the key need here is lo make health ‘
. cai e more accessible lo mothers and women at large.
This is a supply issue in addition to demand considera
tions. There is today a very large unmet demand lor
health care al lhe household level despite lhe large
.health infrastructure that exists.
The second issue is of course the economic one.
Thebe are clear indications (hat girls are worse off in
matters of nutrition-and health care in poorer house
holds. There is also evidence that in times ed uconnmic
st rasa tii« I children (and women) suffer more**
Including
lhe recent story of a father selling his 8-year old
daughter during lhe drought in Rajasthan; “What else
copld J do. 1 had lo sell my daughter?” l he point here
is’, of course, that unless we raise lhe level of (hose
below (he poverty line, (in their sturggle lor survival)
gids will always be the worst sufferers and fall below
the survival line. The nap between lhe treatment nf
girls and boys will only begin to close at the level where
families are assured of the suivival of their male off
spring and hence feel they can give a little extra to their
’
daughters: The Telugu saying'‘Bringing up a giil is like
watering a plant in your neighbour’s garden” suggests
that you have to have enough ‘water’ to first water
your own garden (i.e. food to lake care of males)
before you can justify watering your neighbour 1 (ie.
feeding your girl children).
Theme III : The Girl is Undeveloped
The third theme - The girl is Undeveloped - refers to
/problems in eduction - specifically to low school
enrolment and high drop out, or low retention of girls
in school. Once again .the data here are more certain
and the causes of these problems are perhaps boiler
understood - but as far as I can tell lhe solutions still
elude us.
National '.urveys put the percentage of girls enrolled
at lhe age of 6 (into class 1) al 54% of eligible girls. This
contrasts with 80% in case of boys. By class VI only
24% of girls are in school. Only 15% are enrolled in
classes VI to XII. These are really disconcerting
" ; • figures The national survey done by the NCER.T ln..„
biased choices of disciplines as they enter into higher
education, Theic ate very few women in engineering.
agricultural and veterinary sciences and commerce.
'l he ratio of women Io men entrants into medicine and
the sciences has fallen In lhe Inst 30 years and is only
4: KO. This ratio is 6:10 in (he ai Is; aiid 9:10 in eduction
Dvppiln this Inst relatively favourable ratio in vduca
lion, gids are not entering into the school leaching
profession in sufficient numbers Io break lhe vicious
1981 ns well as the 1981 census supports Ibis trend.
Class VIII mu'.l be consideied the minimum number of
years of school necessary lor ir.ally (unclionalliteracy
in the sense of ’hr complelrress of schooling. In 1981
while tnidu lip’iory wn»» iiinuml 47%, fumnlc •literacy
was only 25%. Tl'rrc hav hern a trend of increasing
(’molmf’ul of«iii Is in srbonl I ml il has been very slow. If
* look al ligmrs from 19'. 3 51 Io 1980 81, over I his.30
w»
year period boys enrolment al the primary level went
up from 61% Io 100%, whereas girls enrolment went
from 25% Io only 66%. Al lhe middle school level •
(Class VI Io VIII), enro'mcnt of girls went up from 5%
Io 27%. We also know ’hat rural residents and
underprivileged groups have larger gaps between
males and females, and that there are severe regional
imbalances in the country While 73% of women in
Kerala ai c literate only 127. in Rajasthan are; while 75%
of girls in Kerala in lhe 5 PI year age group are in
si bool, this ligm e is only 1(1% in Rajasthan. 1 herefore,
allhough female enrolment is increasing the gap
belwnen male
*,
and femali’s is perhaps widening. This
may h«> larg«4v d<w» Io
cycle of low school enrolment of girls I Ohly 25% of
teachers al lhe primary level in 1980-81 wete women;
and al the middle level only 30%— a figure that shows a
decline since 1960 61. I bus,.(he issue of wastage in *
female education is also pertinent.
’.
wonomir farlois related
Io the jujeil h.’tjinls Io wmk both in and out of the
house
versus lhej low returns perceived Io their
education. Also iclalcd is lhe,continuing practice of
ear ly mar i iage of gii Is. And not I he least il is due Io the
poor availability of facilities for girls in lhe way of girls
schools, female leachersand lhe quality of lhe facilities
ru gids schools. I Ims, on 'hr education front there is
clearly a lol Io be done Io improve lhe status of (he
female child. The recent n-ixrrl of lhe National Confe
rence on Women’s Educalion (1985) is excellent on
lhe subject of whal n/?eds ’o be done for girls in school.
A brief representation of women in higher education
is in order, This subject is well within our purview as
we aie dealing w«lh girls hi Io (he age of 20 which
includes those in higher education,at least Io lhe
graduate level and in professional courses. Although
lhe percentage of gii Is enro’kjd in higher education has
increased from 1(1% of tol d enrolment in 1950-51 Io
almost 38% in 84 85, this is dill low. 1 lowever, il does
show that one e certain social and economic hurdles
have been crossed l>y qiijs lh:»y can compete well and
enter into higher education l he issue here is not so
much quantity peihaps as quality. Gii Is make gender-
j
Although non-forinaleducation is perceived as lhe
alter native Io formal education (and a solution lo some /
of the above problems) lhei e is an ongoing debale on ’*•
whether i( should resemble formal education (i.e. be * r
oriented Io lhe 3 Rs) - which would give it lhe middle \
class status associated with formal education • or
whether il should be mien Id towards skill • general ion •
•
HUI..I. i.HiiMiig.
nwo Hl «IIU ivttllliy
have shown lhe way Io improve income-generating
skills of women through training. I his issue merits T
greal attention by this Workshop. The well known
Mahbubnagar study done in lhe eady 1970s showed
that lhe integration of non fonnal education and
health and nutrition services had very positive effects .
on lhe status of women.
Thuma IV * 'l he Girl ie ’Used’—Reasons
In facl,while we attach value to girls going’ Io school,
it may not be literacy that we are after al all, but
exposure Io ideas and concepts - whether in science
or maths or biology or literature. Unfortunately our
society attaches value to just the opposite. Girls
should not be exposed Io worldly ideas and Io lhe
dangers associated with them. Girls are withdrawn
from school, firstly, because of no economic gains ,
associated with their education by their natal families
(as by lhe lime education leads to earning they will be
part of their marital families). Secondly,’.if girls arc Io
be married (heir virtue must be protected. As they •
near menarche or enter puberty with its first signs of
breast budding around lhe age of 9 or 10 (thai is
31
than that of inales particularly in lhe 0-1
*1
ai (mnd (lass III or IVI Ihry an? potential objects of sex
abww so they can’t be left Io w.ilk through villages or
Io olhri dislanl 01 i rrigl iboni ii ig villages. They cannot
he left Io the mercies of male s< hoot teachers. By the
lime a gii I actually menstruates (ar ound the age of 12
on an average) the potential of contact with males has
Io be absolutely minimised, the third reason for
withdrawing gills fiom school or never sending them in
I he Gi st place is a combination of I he above two. Not
onlv ai e they r«atei al home but they arc more useful. If
Ihcie is any economic value aJlached Io young girls it
is dial llvy can help their molhrrs perform a variety of
domestic and home based income earning tasks
Mothers expect a great deal from their daughters'
because Ihry are over burdened themselves. Young
year age groups.
’
This issue is also related to lhe lack of alternative
education and training opportunities for young girls
both in terms of preparation for work (skill learning,
etc.) as well as of oppoi (unities for young working gir Is
Io learn. These lacunae are lhe basis for further
discrimination both within lhe family and in terms of
employment of women. I he system also substantiates
lhe traditional work roles played by women as well as
lhe low pay, back breaking jobs, poor working condi
tions, exploitation, and lhe infamous double burden
faced by women. Literacy and employment are corre
lates of belter health, of boiler use of health facilities
by women, of survival of children, and of us.e of family
planning, ( t hough this last is not the main reason Io
improve literacy and employment among women ■ I
am pointing out lhe far reaching benefits of doing so.)
«th Is mind < hiklr err vrunniu than I he ruse I vug---Il in not
mrreaial Io see a six year old gal looking after a four
year old brother. I hrv fetch waler, fuel, wood, look
after I'uffaloes, etc. I hey arc involved in home-based
iudir.it y mk h as weaving, basket-making, bidi rolling,
mate h and fireworks. r«lr, (even in sweet shops). We
< annul ignore I his ronh ihiili
*
e r. Hec.enl eslii nates say
that 1 -I crores of ( hildien are engaged in wage labour.
Another 3 ( tmes at e engaged in economic activity and
unpaid family labour.'! best? bgur cs total Io I wo-thirds
of the ( lnldien out of school and the majority of thesei
Theme V : ’Lire Girl is a Liability
i
Among!) M year oil girIs lheie was a 32% increase
in ’’main \v»nI'.eiduring |H/| III, compared with a
d<u Ime of 3 5% among boys • r this age group. This is
pt< ibalrlv I »<•< arise prute boys are being sent Io school
and con\<’»|u<mlly more girls being drawn into the
• laborn fort e. I he largest growth rale among live year
age <|i oups was in the 15-19 year age group, where the
female wor k force grew by 63% (compared with a 27%
increase among males in this nge group • the largest
im tease, among ‘males was m the 20-2d year age
gumps Altogether the female "main worker1' force
gt ew twice as much as the male but,of course, on the
whole there ate still fewer fema’-es than males ‘working’
(under thin definition), Twenty pvrcjrml of all working
rcmarrs ai c uiiuki z.v yv:Hi b <»i age Aim
/<» (»i vVul nh iy
females air illiterate. Projections for 1981-2001 suggest
that the pat lit ipalion rale of females will grow faster
32
and I5-19
I
«
’l he fifth theme is lire'liability' that young girls pose
Io their families. T his explains much that is happening •
or not happening in lhe education of girls and also
refers Io lhe phenomena of early marriage and early
child bearing Al an early age girls become.conscious
that they are only temporary residents of their natal
homes, through the constant references Io 'going
away’ to a marital home and certain associated rituals
which they are made Io perform. While al a young
age, a girl can "play” her 'tear ning by doing’, domestic
work prepares her for her eventual roles as wife,
mother and daughter-in-law. The acquisition of these
roles is precipitated by puberty.
Puberty changes a great deal for girls. While lhe
prepubertal girl is considered pure, in puberty she
acquires impurity. The average age of monarchs in
Indian girls is around 12.3 years • which is a rather
delayed age compared with the West, due, it is
thought, Io lhe poorer nutritional status of young girls
in India. Girls are often secluded al lhe first menses and
although they may be given new clothes and special
food and so on, their movements are restricted go that
i.xi2rr>*',c|i i>.n v,5lb
are minimised.
* ,°
b-'
already referred to lhe effect this has on schooling but
the other major correlate is marriage and child bca-
ling. Most puberty-associated riles focus on the girls
"readiness” (or marriage and moi her hood. Il is inte
resting lo note that while-mens!! nation is considered
an auspicious even! In some communities, particularly
thpna in South hulin, in the North tho amphnuiq ia on
the pollution aspects and the liability (he girl subse
quently poses. G’u Is must be "kept away from the sun”
which is considered a fertilising agent as they are
‘ready to be fertilised'. Moving girls into the ‘inner
quai tors' Or into purdah is another response to
puberty. Along with their seclusion, a behavioural
change is demanded of daughters of this age. Because
they ate vulnerable they cannot be 'loose’, they must
be shy and modest, look down, restrain their speech,
and so on. Also they begin to practise rituals and
undeitake fasts to pray foi a good husband.
’rhe issues of girl child 'neglect', 'underdevelopment'(\.e. lack of investment in them) and 'liability'are
closely inter-related. When girls are actually handed
over lo their marital families a’, the time of the wedding
there is a symbolic return In the natal family of what
has been consumed dm ing the girls' years of residence
at the father’s house. This is somewhat ironic given the
fact that girls consume so little. Although she has been
given little, the notion that she must return it is strong.
Girls have no right lo anything within their natal
homes, and their obligations also are focussed on (heir
maiilal homes.
The practice of eady mmriage still exists today
despite the Child Mari iage Restraint Act which speci
fies a minimum age of nwirrii’ge of 18 years for girls. In
the lU-PI year age group 6.6% of females are married,
compared with 2.6% of male.?.;. In the 15-19 year age
group this figure jumps to 13 5% of females but only
marriage by education level, we find that it increases
with education; there is a significant difference of 5
years in llyj age of marriage between illiterate girls •average age 16.8 years — and graduates for whom the
mean age of marriage Is 21.9 years. Other social
linkages of the early marriage phenomenon aie well
A
(mown. As the highest marriage rile is (bat in which a
father gives away his daughter decked with gold
' ornaments (her dowry), the higher lhei girl’s age al „
marriage, the more dowry she is required to haye. In
fact, it is a “sin” for a father not to marry off his •
•daughter as soon as she reaches “rnaidageable age
(defined differently by different communilies).
On child hearing - if we look al lite agp.specific •
fertility rate of women between 15 and 19 - it Was 97.6
.
for women in rural areas. That is, among every 1000
girls in this age group there are 97.6 births. In lhe-20-24
age group this figure jumps to 266, roughly three times
as much. Among married girls in the former age ,
groups (15-19 years) the age specific marital fertility
rate is about 170. Eighteen percent of births occur
among women less than twenty years old : 50% by the ;
age of 25; and 75% among women Under 30.
A look at the survival chances of infants born lo
women married at different ages reveals the impor
tance of “maternal competence” among girls in early
childbearing. Among those who were married beiore
the age of 18 years, the infant mortality rale is 156;
those married between 18 and 20 years had an 1MB of
*
132
above 21 years the rate is 90 which is close to the
current all India average IMR. Similarly, the LMRs of
women of different literacy levels revepl that the more
literate the girl is the lower is mortality of her infants.
Besides low infant survival, low birth weight and high
maternal mortality are also correlates of early child
12% of males. By 20'24 of cour se the? percent of females
married is almost double that of the 15-19 year of age
gioup I In 1981 the mean age of marriage for girls was
18.3 compared to 23.3 in males. Being close lo the legal
lower limit of 18 years, this suggests that for every
female gelling married over Ine legal age there is one
marrying under the legal age • a clear cxamnle of how
bearing.
w Are these practices ordained by the shastras which ’
could help lo overcome some.of the negative aspects
’
of a girls upbringing reported above? in fairness lo •
Manu, lo whom we usually ascribe the lo.w status of
our laws are not enforced or, probably in clear
example of how our laws ai •. not enforced or, probably
in this case, unenforceable. If we look at age of
first feed his guests, next the pregnantwomen, then < 1
Infants and (he aged.” This in ay explain a little of why a • .
women's aspirations are to be married and become •
women, his laws make a very interesting point ;
“Pre^inant wom°n are lo be Ivmnitrnd. A man qhnnlr!
33 '
\
pregnant • that may be '.he only way out of her
deprivation trap, the only stale in which she gels some
attention I
Theme VI : The G«rl •$ Exploited •
The issues of social and sexual abuse - harassment,
rape; prostitution • constitute the sixth theme : The
Girl is exploited. These problems are related to the •
‘'polluted” status'of the pubertal or post-pubertal ,
female. I shall not discuss Ibem here al any length as
they will undoubtedly be touched on by other speakers
nt this workshop, but I should like Io mention a few
fads and figures.
As mentioned earlier, a major reason for girls,
seclusion after menstruation has begun is not only her
family’s (ears of her molestation by men (leading to
unwed pregnancies) but also of malignineni. of the
family. Vaiious practices arc followed Io restrain the
sexuality of girls, r.uch as proscriptions against "hot”
foods and physicai exercise. The body is coverd from
neck Io ankles, and so on. The corollary of this is that
any young woman not observing these customs
becomes fair game. We know (his from the common
occurrence of eve-leasing of girls in urban sellings.
Almost 25% of reported rapes are of girls under 16
years of age. As much rape goes unreported and even
occurs within the family coi ilexl, this figure is probably
an underestimate as young girls are likely Io be the
most susceptible}.
.,
estimate as young girls are likely io be the most
susceptible.
;
.
'
The sale of daughters • which 1 mentioned earlier in
connection with the drought in Rajasthan . fillc it
*
brothels of Bombay and elsewhere. We know of the
devadasis, daughters of lower castes dedicated to the
goddess Yellamma • prostituted to priests and other
men. In Bombay, they are also known as /3/iavin . .
(beautiful ‘wantons’), dev/i (attached to the gods) or ;
naikin (one of a gang of prostitutes). Forty percent of
Bombay's prostitutes are devadasis. Two hundred
girls a year are “dedicated” In this way; In addition,
girls are sold into bonded labour, to landlords and
money khidcnn. . •
. .‘J h, * . ,. .
‘
Girls are also abandoned or run hway and may end
up in inntilutinnn mich no orphniingc»B,-remand homes,
hostels, and so on - where their plight leaves much to
be desired. Legal and protective Issues are key here,
as well as strategies to rehabilitate these young women
to a happier and productive life.. ,
. . •
tn this workshop we have included a session on •_
media - both Io discuss how its ‘‘negative” role • (he
As mentioned earlier, a mnior reason for girls
seclusion after menstruation lias begun is not only her
family’s fears of her nudes lai ion by men (leading to
unwed pregnancies) followed Io restrain I he sexuality
of girls, such as proscriptions against “hot” foods and
physical exercise. The body is‘coverd from neck to
ankles, and so on. The corollary of this is that any
young woman not observing these customs becomes
fair game. We know this from the common occurrence
lurid portrayal of young women and (heir devaluation
•can be eliminated, and to Identify strategies for more '
positive outcomes. There is clearly a need to reach ■
young women and those who look after them al all
stages of (he life circle toward Improving (heir pros
pects. We must also focus on how the media can
rectify and not exacerbate • problems of girls’ sociali
zation which form (he basis of further neglect, depri
vation in health and iiutiitiuu, and discrimination and
exploitation In social and economic spheres. Can the
media be used to change attitudes and act as a
“counter-socialising” force? Flow can its reach be
extended Io promote genuine development Options
for gii Is fi om bii Ih lo 20? In this context loo we must
see in a continuum the life .cl a woman from birth
through childhood and adolescence, into adulthood
and old age. Our workshop is timely in its focus on the
of eve-leasing of gills In urban Rollings. Almost 25% of
reported rapes are of girls under
years of age. As
much rape goes unreported and even occurs within
the family context, this figure is probably an under
roots of discrimination • and It Is fortunate to have the
blessing of Manti : “Where women are honoured,
there the gods are pleased. Where they are .dishonou
red, no sacred riles can yield rewards,”
THE GIRL CHILD :
DIS TURBING DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
• •
.•
«
,
»
<
In the Inlernnliohnl Year of the Child (1979), the
Ministry of Social Welfare had commissioned a book
which won publitthtHl unekir Ihtt Ulin, Profilo of the
Child in India : Policies and Programmes (New Delhi,
1982). In. my paper on “Demographic Perspective”, I
had observed : "Our analysis reveals that the highest
priority must be .given to the female child in rural
areas... In order to focus all ention on the neglected
female child in India, the Government of India should
announce a massive programme for improving the lot
of the female children in particular and declare the
1980-90 decade as the decade of the neglected child in
India” (p. 41). The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-90)
did give added irnpoi lance. to programmes for Mother
and Child 1 leallh (MCI I) and Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi himself launched an intensive immunisation
programme in 1985 (Universal Immunisation
Programme) and declared ''Immunisation for all by
1990" as a rational goal. J would still plead lor a bold
and vigorous programme in the Eighth Five Year Plan
(1990-95) focussing attention on lhe girl child.
I congratulate the National Institute for Public Co
Operalion and Child Development (NIPCCD) on
organising this important seminar on the Girl Child in
India. In my short presemalion, I would like to focus
attention on three disturbing demographic aspects,
nnm°ly,
nrlunmo. cp.x.!rdio: the higher infant and.
child mortality rates cjf females and (he persistence of
lhe low age al marriage of gii Is in rural areas. Vigorous
‘policy intervention is called for to rectify lhe state of
affairs.
• •». -v---.. '
»• *
•
•
— Ashish Bose
r-v
*Declining Sex Ratio
As per the Indian census practice, figures for the sex
ratio In India nrc preoanled In terms of lhe number of
females per 1000 males. In most western counh ios and ,
in the United Nations publications, lhe sex ratio is
• calculated in terms of lhe number of tpales per 1000
females. Before commenting on figures for the sex ’•
ratio, one must make sure of the definition adopted. ,
The continuous decline in the sex ratio of India has *
caused concern to our planners and policy-makers.
One encouraging feature of lhe 198.1 Census was the
reversal of this trend : the sex ratio figure Increased in
1981 compared to 1971. The sex ralio in India as a.
whole was 972 in 1901, 964 in 1911, 955 in 1921,950 in
1931 and 945 in 1941. After independence, it increased
slightly lo 946 in 1951 but it declined to 941 in 1961 and
930 in 1971. It increased to 933 in 1981.
While we welcome the increase in lhe sex ralio in
1981, one must keep in mind two statistical points : (i) .
the increase by 3 points per 1000 is by no means
spectacular and (ii) one cannot judge the trend from
one single observation and conclude that lhe trend 5
has reversed. One must see how things are al least in
1991 and 2001 before concluding that lhe declining
sex ralio has been stalled or even reversed.
The All India figures lend, to be deceptive. Il is
important lo look into lhe state figures. Jake lam'l
Nadu for example, a state which Is rated high lor ii."
efficient administration, a stale.where the growth rale
of population has been the lowest in lhe 1971-81
decade. I low come in this state, the sex ratio declines
from 978 per thousand in .1971 io 977 per thousand in
1981? In Table 1, I give some selected figures Io
indicate diverse patterns. While interpreting these
figuies, it is important to realise that the stalewise
figures for sex ratio are not only influenced by
diffi’ienlial mortality by sex but also by migiation. For
example, if the emigration from the stale is predomi
nantly male (as in Kerala and many other parts of
India), lhe sex ratio will inci ease, because of this sexselective migration. If the MCI I programmes work
well, theie should be a deni on lhe female mortality
i al(!.’» also .uh I I Ik* diflei enlial me u I alii y by sex should
mmow down. The attitude nt lhe people towards lhe
female child is also an impoi taut (actor. If health care
revolves sound sons only and not round daughters
also the mortality differemiah will ppimnl. If uxpimdi
*
hue on medicines and hcal li care is largely concen
trated nn male child i en, the morlalily differentials will
persist, lhe analysis of sex jaliu is, therefore, guile
complex. Nevertheless, it does give a summary picture
of lhe damographic scene.
In Bihar and Orissa, there has been a considerable
decline in the sex ratio. This should cause us concern.
Even about lhe all-lndia figure, one should note that
though the sex ratio has increased from930in 1971 to
933 in 1981, lhe figures remain much below lhe figure
for 1951. Thus we have still not recovered lhe loss on
this front even in the post-Independence .era. There
fore, there is no room for complacency.
Male-Female Differentials in Infant and Child
Modality
Thu slow decline in lhe infant mortality rale (number
of children who die witlrn one year of birth per 1000
live births), especially in lhe rural areas of India has
brought despair to our health planners, and admlnis
*
Iratm h. In Table 12,1 prenunt lhe 1MH figures fur I lie last
ten years released by lhe Registrar General of India
(SRS data). 1 he rural 1MR continues to be-over 100, a
figure wl rich is shockingly high by modern standards.
Japc\n, it is worth noting, has an infant-mortality rale of
only 6 per thousand.
I able l.’Sex Ratio in Selected Stales. 1981
(Females per 1000 males)
Stales
1971
1981
India
Amlin a Pradesh
Km natakn
930
• 977
Kerala 1
1016
Tamil Nadu
978
954
933
975
963
1032
977
946
941
981
919
885
937
942
879
870
1 lihar
Madhya Pradesh
Orissa ,
Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh
Maharashha
Gujarat
Punjab
1 laryana
Source : Cansuii of India, 1971 and 1981
36
957
941
988
911
879
930
934
865
867
Difference
(1981 minus 1971) >
4 3
—2
•1.6
4- 16
—• 1
—8
0
—7
-l- 8
+6
4 7
+8
L + 14
+3
L
{
•
Table 2.‘ Infant Mortality Bale in India
? ■
Y^V
Rural
Urban
Combined
1975
J 976
151
139
140
137
130
124
119
114
114
113
107-
84 .
80
81
*74
72
65
62
65
66
66
59
140
1977
1978 ,
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985 ‘
,
>
'
:
.
? .
••
129
130
127
120
114
.
’
?
no
105
105
104
97
■
‘i
’ .
Source : lleyishar General, India (SRS data).
In Table 3, (he dal a are presented sex-wise. In the
rural areas, the IMR for females lends to be still higher
than for males. The situation in the urban areas in
recent years is somewhat encouraging and is in
keeping with the trend in developed countries where
thp fnn»a!e mortals v is k«vn;» itwin iiiat for males.
The SRS figures on IMR have to be interpreted with
caulion because a whole set of methodological issues
like sampling and non-sampling errors, etc. ate invol
ved. Instead of looking Into individual figures, one
should look at the tr pnrl Ao («»• r*e rural areas r>i v Cun ■
cerned, there is no evidence that the female IMR is
.
'fable 3: Infant Mortality Bates by Sex, India
Year
19/6 ■
1977
19/8
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
Urban
Hural
Males
Females
Males
133
136
132
129
123
119
114
113
113
N.A.
146
146
J 43
131
125
119
114.
114
114
- N.A.
78
80
74
73
65
63
70
69
68
N.A.
.« •
*
Females
82 ’’
82
75
71
65 ;
62
60 '
63
64
N.A. .
• '
•
‘
.
* :
In 1985, only the total figures were presented by R.G . For 1985 only the overall figure is available for
rural and Urban < trees separately but not for males ai id females separately.
•
37
haver than lhe male. Relentless efforts have Io be
macle Io hi inc) down the IMR both male and female and
both in iiiial areas and urban aicas. Bui lhe degree of
elfml inqni.ied will be more in lhe case of lhe female
child. In seven al par Is of India, the ar rival of lhe second
or third female child in lhe family is considered most
unwek ome, Io say lhe least.
which arises oul of this discussion is : Can family
planning succeed in slates like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Ullar Pradesh in the face of such high
infant mortality rates ?
1
Mean Age al Marriage
The Office of lhe Registrar Genet al has estimated
'fable 4'. IMR in Selected Slates, 1985
Stales
Ullar Pradesh
Orissa
Marihya Pradesh
Rajasthan
Assam
Grii.ua’
Bihar •
Aiulhra Ptnd >Jirh
Kai nalaka
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Rural
154
137
131
111
112
112
109
90
80
95
32
Urban
Combined
78
84
79
76
96 :
64
62
57
41
53
30 .
142
132
.122
108
111
98
106
83
69
81 •
31
.
Somcc : Registrar (icneral (SRS).
I able 4 allows lhe shoclvngly high infant mortality
l rites in sever al stales,of India, figrn es which should be
totally unacceptable Tu health planners and policy
makers.
•Il will be seen that the rural 'MR in Ullar Pradesh is
almost five limes lhe i ui al IMR in Kerala. This shows
lhe futility of having blanket policies for MCI I and
family planning loi lhe whole country. The higher
literary lah’S in Kerala (loi imal females) does make
an impact on lhe MCI I piogramme as well, apai I from
other considerations like physical accessibility, the
health and education infiar.ltucluie, lhe expenditure
on health, the altitude of I her people and other
hi<Jni ienl :»!'.(! allied faCtmS. OmC pwlii'y
311
lhe n.iean age al marriage for males and females, based
on (he 1931 Census data on marital status, [ he mean
age of marriage in India as a whole, works oul Io be
23.3 years for males and 18.3 for females in 1981. Il
may be noted that according to lhe Child Maniagc
Restrain! Act, the minimum age al marriage of males is
21 years and 18 years for females. The all India
averages are above these figures. I lere again, lhe
figures are deceptive because of (he. wide slalewlse
variations as revealed by Table 5. Ill large parts of
India, lhe mean age al marriage of females is much
below lhe legal minimum. However, there has been
some improvement compared to the situation in 1971.
Damoginphlcnlly speaking, Kerala and Punjab arc
inc mu:ii progressive states Hom lhe point of view of
'I able 5:Mean Age at Marriage o( Females, 1971 and 1981
Stales
India
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
I laryana
Maharashtra
Wes! Bengal
Karnataka
Gujarat
Tamil Nadu
Punjab
Kerala
1971
1981
17.2
15.1
15.0
15.3
15.5
16.2
16.6
17.5
17.9
17.8
18.4
* 19.6
• 20.2
21.0
18.3
16.1
16.6
16.6
16.7'
'
17.3
17.8
18.8
19.2
19.2’
19.5 '
20.3
21.1
21.8
Source-; Hnqislrnr General
I he mean age al marriage, while the situation In the
large stales of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh is very unsatisfactory.
i
Enforcing the Child Marriage Restraint Act in a
situation where millions are violating tills Act poses
formidable problems, apart from the inadequacies of
the Act itself. The age al maniarje of girls cannot go up
simply because'there 4s a law which prohibits child
marriages. Cur field work in the rural areas of
Rajasthan shows that even in Rajasthan, the people
are opposed Io child marriage but in their perception,
a girl ceases Io be a ’’child’' after she attains puberty
Thus most villagers do rroi1 understand how marrying a
girl of 15 or 16 amounts *o a "child.” marriage. It was
also pointed out to us by many villagers that a person
who grows a mustache is no more a ’'child” but a man.
So marrying a “boy” of 19 or 20 is not a "child
marriage” (hough according to the Child Marriage1
Restraint Act, it is a child marriage. To complicate
matters, according to Indian lau^, a person becomes a
major when he or she is 18 years but according Io the
Child Marriage Restraint Act, a young man of 20 is a
“child”. We recommend that the present Child
Marriage Restraint Act should be replaced by an Eady
Marriage Restraint Act and the law should be enacted’
in a manner which is capable of implementation. But
even when this is done, it Is doubtful If the age al
marriage will go up unless there is a vigorous social
reform movement striking al the deep-rooted prejudi
ces of Indian society, (he massive illiteracy of women.
the perverse syslem of "dowry” and other social evils.
•
39
EDUCATION AND SOCIALISATION
—StiSiiecui lYdUdink
Socialisation is an informal process of education-it
slid Is horn lb(» time a child is burn- il precedes formal
educational process.
Such a socialisation on how and why a child should
behave in cei tain ways based on its gender, is carried
through the way a gid child is dressed, the toys she
plays with (usually indestructible, cloth made dolls
that in turn carries explicitly the gender differences),
the food and nutrition given to her and the avenues of
(c)
(d)
(e)
frnc'dnni nnd t out dctiunu on mnwemantB. A buy child la
usually given Inys which aiedeshuclible, have science
and technology implications (cars, planes, guns etc.)
ard promote constructive aptitude (like tools, blocs,
etc.)
Education is (he formal spheie and comes much
after lhe socialisation process has been initialed;
educational process tends to reinforce (he socialisation
process- for gids to become- peaceful, non violent,
tolerant; for boys Io becoineaclive, scientific, violent.
Sports in lhe school reflect this;girlsindoor, 01 not too
far; minimum infrastructure needs; passive, collective
and peaceful. Boys-ouldoor, active, involving a good
amount of facilities; Energy and free movement.
Education thus confit ms i aider than changes the
preceding socialisation process. If education is Io be a
process of resocialisalion and counter traditional
sleicoiypr/s—-
il needs Io educate parents and teachers first;
students later
(b)‘ should not equate education for girls with literacythis is responsible for huge drop out rate by lhe
• (a)
no
(f)
lime they are ten or twelve-knowledge of 3 Bs is
not enough. Aims and targets should b»|. higher.
Raise its content io include a scientific approach;
science education and technical aptitude deve-;
lopment should be compulsory for girls.
Should include body mechanism and body know
ledge,
help girls to soil out lhe Immediate technical’
problems in their scientific/technlcal activities In
which they are all lhe time engaged. Education
will thereby become meaningful, and parents will
be cooperative.
Need to change lhe whole educational system
and values for gids; presently il is oriented to
making women serve lhe needs of men (and not
of society) and not even of family. Both education
add socialisation process are aimed at making
girls belter wives and eligible for good marriage
prospects.
Strategies for Action :
Strategies to relieve girls of the household duties
-sitch as child care, bunging fuel, waler etc. and
release them for education. Provision lias to be
mode 1'01 availability of iiiese things nearuy.
(ii) Facilities In terms of establishing schools.which
are close by; have suitable working hours, and
provide security etc.
(iii) Uniform education with identical facilities.
(iv) Sports and extra curricular activities and culti
vation of group activities.
.•
(i)
EDUCATION AND THE GIKL CHILD IN INDIA
—Usha Nayar
The conscious and unconscious neglect of the gid
child by Ihc society in genci al and by education in
particular has caused iireparable damage to the
nation. A nation that has emerged as a space power
and potentially a great industrial power, has left behind
a trail ol illiteracy and |••overly. The woisl sufferers are
the women and girls of marginalized groups l.e. the
tuial and Ihc urban poor, the deprived castes,tribes
and certain minorities.
India accounts for the bulk of the world’s Illiterates.
For every 100 boys enrolled in the school, only 55 gir Is
are cm oiled. Of these who are not attending school,
three fourths childn’inf: :ue girls. Again, of those
enrolled only
out ol every ten girls are able to
complete elementary education, At the secondary/
stage, there are only 20 percent girls compared to 39
percent boys... The failure to universalise elementary
education is largely, un account of the inability of the
system Io enrol and retain the poor, more so in the
case of females. In th>? age group 15-35 years, we have
one hundred million illderafcs of whom 69 percent are
females. This age group is a 'lost generation’—women
and men in reproductive and productive age group
without lit<•?• »v:y I hey wen n born in the? era of indcipen
*
dent India, after the adoption of a Constitution’,
committed not only to equality of all regardless of sex,
caste or creed but also with enough provisions to
grant a special* status for females for protective
discrimination Io remove their educational and eco
nomic disadvantages'which have been handed over to
them since ages:
It may be argued that so far education has con-.
sciously done little. Io all or the situation of (cmahs?
'I he rhetoric of equality between sexes never got
translated into action. Planned development by passed
women and gave them at best a ‘beneficiary’ status^ '
never recognising their worth. The system succeeds in
reinforcing the unequal image of women.
Education has not touched the lives of 75 out of
every 100 women al all. Besides quantitative shortfalls,
the type and quality.of education merely confirms and
extends female’s nurluranl. subservient and family
centred roles. Further, .it sends the women to the'
labour markets to work in unskilled, low skilled, lowprestige and low paid occupations. The NEP, 1986
commits itself Io women's equality. The education
policy does not rest content with piuv^lon o»
enhanced access of girls Io education bul also thinks
of strategies that could help retain them’ in the system
till they complete al least eight years of schooling. For
the first lime the nation has given a thought. Io socio- <•
logical questions like poverty and inability of parents
(o spare girls for schooling, Demand for segregated •’
schooling for girls as well as for women lead icrs has its
resonance in the policy. For Instance, nt day care
centres, creches, anganwadis, balwadis, and prlmar.y
schools it is mandatory to hire female teachers. 'I he
policy further calls for interventions like provision of
safe drinking water and cheap fodder and fuel for the
poor families—the reason being lhal like care .of
younger siblings the above said tasks lake away belter
part of the lime of women and girls from poor
41
households. The PO is replete with numerous Ideas
and programmes that need Io be launched, towards
the goal of women's equality.
In the Indian context, .my strategy for human
icwniK <! development has Io lake into account gender
inclusiveness. Discriminatory practices manifest them
selves in many forms such as institutional benefitsand
structural processes. I fence a positive interventionist
approach needs Io he taken Io understand and
eliminate the gcneial discriminatory barriers against
girls and women, For example, the conscious and
unconscious sexist bias in I he school curricula and
educational programmes p)events the women and
gills from realizing their full potential.
Twin Pronged Attack
<•.
For any meaningful intervention responsive Io girls
education and development, female literacy and a
general climate of awareness must be promoted to
serve the purpose in the following wav. One, It should
serve as a pi ecursor to change in the low status of the
42
girl child and, two it should serve as a concommilant to
their syslei Aalic liberation from ignorance and low self ’ ;
image, lienee, redesigning and reorientation of the . ’
curricula, and recommendations of the teachers the’ ’ a
» Instructors, and the educational administration is
f:
important. Schools can either continue to play second
. fiddle to society’s power structures, or^lhey can be
turned into a powerful instrument of change in social •
perceptions and societal interactions. As a powerful
.instrument of change, they can promote values of sex
’
equality through activities beyond teaching. While the
boys and girls are encouraged for complementary
roles based on values of sharing the equality, they
could also be trained to be watchdogs of media, . »
Further,there Is the need lor resocializing little boys
and gii Is as well as older men and women to accepl the
value of equality and to develop a belief in II. The
parents, the teachers, the administrators, and Ihc
policy makers would do well by giving a very special'
place to the girl child, for she Is truly our future.
.
GIRL CHILD LABOUR
— Dr. Sliarda Jain
If Acts of Parliament could make men moral our
society would present an altogether different picture
now. Child Labour continues Io remain a serious
problem, not for lack of formal legislation. There are a
large number of laws in India (the. latest being that of
1986) which forbid ’he engagement of children In some
employments and regulate the conditions of work in
other employments. But laws affecting children (like
most other social Ipgisla’ion) have generally remained
unimplemented, because neither patents nor emplo
yers. surprisingly no! even Government, have taken
them seriously. The harsh reality of child labour
persists despite statutes- because the root cause rests
in (Tie existing .Soclo econnmlc structure, which on the
one hand breeds poverty find social inequality and on
the other creates a vested interest in the employment
of children. Unfortunately, legislation does noi strike
al the tool cause.»
While concern for child labour dates back to our
Constitution (Article 2zi) the concern (or girl child
labour is a recent phenomenon. Until recently child
labour was ah »rorJ contr^minus with boys, who worked
lor a wage Io suppfrmumt the family income, True, the
gill child worked much more than the boy but it was
not considered 'labour’ in market terms. Even in the
National Policy on Child Labour there Is no separate
consideration of girl child labour and her special
problems.
Lack of Stair sties A. fJntn
’t he most crucial, but sadly neglected segment of
(he rural population from the view point of improving
the quality of women's life, is the gid child who does.a
major part of the domestic chores from cooking,'
cleaning, fetching fuel, fodder and Water, looking alter
younger siblings to doing farm jobs. Since concur n for ,
the girl child labour Is a recent development, there’is;
paucity of Information on the working <jhI child,'
Specific dala in respect of working girls (specially inn
low calibre, mental, non monetary domestic and non>:
domestic labour) in the rural or urban areas is
unavailable.
’
s•
»»
Figures provided by the census 1981 and National,
Sample Survey 32nd round relate mainly to the
category of wngednbour which Is only tire tip, of (he ’
Ice berg. A very large majority of girl child labour is
involved in nonmonetary work-domestic as well as
non-dnrnpslic. A$ (ar nq wann■ lahmir k concerned in :
rural areas girl child works with the elders in thg family
as farm labour or in construction' work and Ute
payment for her labour is also received by the head of
(he family.
In urban areas, the wage labour (or the girl child is
largely as domestic help, often substituting fur the
*
molher/aunt/sister in-law, In menial jobs such as
cleaning utensils and washing clothes. ’Hie adolescent.
girl rushes from one household to another, often
working in 4-5 houses twice daily. Young harijan girls
start work a( a very eady age helping their mothers or
grandmothers in sweeping and collecting garbage.
The wages are collected by the elders tn the family.
i While several categories of children subjected Io
abuse and neglect are not considered child labour
43
I here are large numbers who can be healed as child
labour, such as gid child prostitutes or beggar gids and
boys,
'
,
1 here is an urgent need for more research and data
on Ihti working gid child. Even In reaped of rural
working women lhe census data do not reflect the true
picture, In Bhaintpur district (Hajasthnn) where I work
with i oral women, the census dal a of 1981 repor I over
ninety percent rural women (age J 2) as ‘non-workers’,
though almost all women work as agricultural labour
(nonwage), in animal Inisbandr y, besides attending to
their daily domestic drudgery..i
there are practically no ligyres on domestic and
non monetary child workers (who are mostly girls),
girls engaged in marginal economic activities and
those working a? unpeid huiibuliuid help. in case of
wage labour, where slalislics are available, it is a sad
reality lhal while lhe percentage of rural child workers
(5 lu M age gioup) to the total rural population of lhe ,
same age fell for boys in the decade 1971-81, it almost
doubled for girls of ’he same age group (fiom 4.57
percent in 1971 to 7.79 in 1981), ’faking figures
together tor rural and urban child workers, hr com
parison to total workers lhe percentage of girl child
workers increased almost four limes (from 2.39 in
1971 to 8.65 in 1981), while that lor boys lias remained
almost constant. This dearly reflects lhal more girl
children are entering lhe labour market.
l he above flgur es are based on CHILD IN INDIA (A ‘
hlnliblicnl Profile, 1985, Ministry of Social and
Women’s Welfare),
Allcinative Slratervy
, II is fanciful decrying child labour/girl child labour.
Complete chocking it off the labour market is not
going Io be possible. Poor families do need extra
earning. Even the poverty alleviation programmes like
IKDP/MBEP/RLGEP'will not help Io prevent GCL
because beneficiaries under these programmes
receive only subsistence support.; their rock-bottom
Income compels Urem to send their children to work
lor whatever measly wages they can bring.
To wean lhe GCL away from exploitative, demean
ing or low calibre work an effort has Io be made in
biing ihem in the told of healthy, non-hazardous and
creative occupations after proper training. Effective
44
and meaningful.programmes for GCL willjrave (o be
based on survey of lhe local situation under which a
child labourer lives and works, A handful of people
oltllng at the helm and planning educational and
training programmes can only churn out general
formula for all areas and situations which remain non- •
concretised and hence unapplied. The National Policy
on Child Labour presents special part-time and
vocational courses for children and micro level plann
ing for the Non-formal Cducatioh Centres. So does the
National Policy on Education and lhe Programme for
Action. But giving cdntenl to these programmes at the
grass roots level is still to be made a reality/Il is necessary to link training to the iob market, bid
unless new jobs are created in abundance training will
be purposeless. To talk of self-employment after
training Is easier said than one. The major part of gir.l
child labour comes from the disadvantaged mkl indi
gent sections of lhe society. Il Is loo much to expect
that an year or two of skill training will also equip them
with the ability to start and manage their own work,
Micro-Planning and District Authorities.
For micro level planning heavy responsibility falls
on district level agencies specially the District Hui al
Development Agency (DHDA) and District Industries.
Centre (D1C). Aimed with statistical knowledge of the
area, leverage over infrastructure and control over
funds, lhe DltDA and lhe DIC must make ai) In-depth
study of what new rural employment can be created in
the area within the parameters of available raw
material, training facilities and the possible local
markets. Providing facilities to supportive village level
production units or small industrial units will surely
help open up new job opportunities, the grass root
organisations such as a gram-panchayat or a voluntary
agency working in a village may not. have easy and^
reliable access to such Information, lhe district level’
agencies must get seriously involved in micro-planning
and not just dish out funds and/or lord it over the
voluntary agencies in the field, Without (he baste
Involvement of the district authorities at all points and
in all situations, lhe micro-planning envisaged by
•rational planners will remain hollow.
Sex-Discrimination
I o improve (he lot ol the git! child labour, the bias
against the female child has first Io be rooted out, The
neglect and dis;:riminat:on a girl child is subjected to
are extensive. 1 he bias exists at vat ious levels, in rural
and urban areas, inside and outside homes, in (he
social milieu itself. To gwe an cxarnple.-although there
ate no rules restricting bank loanu to unmarried girls,
bank managements are wary of giving (hem loans on
(he plea that after
*
rnairiagv. (hey might go away
beyond (he reach of the bank’s lending branch. In
village Scvar (district Bharalpur) a gi oup of scheduled
caste young women (including 7 unmarried girls) were
trained under the TRYSI'M Programme. After the
training was over, the trainees submitted their loan
applications tn (ho local branch of Central Bank. The
applications of the unmarried village girls were rejected
on (he plea that they will move out of (he village after
marriage. Such are the unintelligent conventions
which stunt (he wholesome growth of a gin child.
There is need lo reduce (he lower age limit for
eligibility under *1 RYSEM horn 18 Io 14 years in case of
girls, to draw them away from demeaning physical
labour into promising training programmes leading Io
gainful employment. A probable offslioot of this will/
also be that parents will be in no hurry to marry off
their daughters before the statutory age of 18 years.
The demon of girl child labour cannot be exorcised
by the mere use of a char mor canlatidn of a ‘mantra'. .
Imaginative and hard decisions have to be taken.
Young girls, specially in the rural areas,, have Io be
brought within the fold of educational programmes;
with an emphasis on vocational training. Since girl’
child labour cannot be abolished altogether in our
existing situation (unless the basic Socio economic
situation is revolutionised) endeavor has to be made to.»
make her labour more purposeful & gainful, supple
mented by relevant educational & vocational inputs.
With rural industrialisation as Governments declared
policy, gid child labour between the ages o: 14 and 18 .
could be made its main sustaininu force.
Employment of unmarried girls in healthy, non-’
hazardous and gainful jobs is perhaps a very impor lanl
step in bringing about social and demographic change.
SIGHT UNSEEN • REFLECTIONS ON THE
FEMALE WORKING CHILD
-Neera Burra
Introduction
Prom a rapid survey of (he literature, it would
appeal (hat there has been lit lie research focussed
upon the female working child. Neither the Employ
ment of Childi en Act of 1938 nor its ava/ar, the Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986,
addresses the distinctive concerns of the female
working child. Data regarding the subject of this paper
have been culled from studies on. child labour In
general or women’s studies di labour studies.. Admit:redly, these data arc sparv.e but this paper seeks to
raise some basic, issues concerning (he status and
future of the female working child.
Demographic aspects .
According to the 1981 Census, there arc 263 million
children in India constituting 39.5 per cent of the total
population of the
*country.
Nearly 78 per cent of the
child population is in the rural areas and the rest in the
urban areas. The share of males in the child population'
is 51.64 per cent.1 Little more than two-fifths of the
children in the age-group 5-14 years were counted as
literates. Only half of the male and one-third of the
female children had attained any degree of education.Nearly two-thirds of the urban children are literate,
whereas the share of literates In the rural areas is only
one-third. Approximately 11.2 million children were
notified as main workers and 2.4 million as marginal
workers. Main workers were those who,were involved
In full time economic activity and marginal workers
were I hose who were nut working full time. The table
below gives
*
the percentage of children 0 14 In the
workforce (all ages) according to the 1981 Census.
Table 1
Poroono
1. Main Workers
Total
Bui al
Urban
2. Marginal workers
'fol al
Rural
Urban
Source : Art g/ven in Nnngla 1987:70
46
Females
Males
•
5.02,
5.78
2.12
4.17
4.88
1.80
8.35
8.86
4.58
10.97
11.32
5.02
19.64
21.29
5.59
9.38
9.59
4.56
I he table above lnd.icr.teri that while a larger pro
*
portion of girls Is Involved In (ull-thne economic
activity, a larger piopo’ Jon of boys Is marginal
worker s. 1 his is partly bec ause boys also go to school
lor some horns of the day.
Inlerpslingly, a comparison of the work participation
rale (WPR) of male and female children shows that
between 1971 and 1981 there has been an increase In
the WPR of girls compared to boys. (The WPR of
children is the percentage of child workers to the total
child population.)
Table 2 gives the WPR fo> child workers (main) by
sex for both the 1971 and the 1981 Census, showing an
increase in the WPR of girls and a decrease in the WPR
of boys. However, some observers have noled that
female participation rales tended lo be underesti
mated in the 1971 Census since women respondents
did not consider 1 household woj k as producli ve work.
‘fhe bulk of the female working child population Is to
be found in I he rural areas where children are engaged
in looking after younger siblings, cooking, fetching and
carrying. This releases adults for more productive and
remunerative work. In the rural areas, little gillscan be
seen carrying small pots on their heads, following (heir •
mothers or elder sisters lo the wall and what, al first, is
little more than play develops soon into a useful help in
the work which has to be done in every household.
Girls accompany parents lo the fields lo help them in
activities such as sowing, transplanting, weeding and
harvesting, collecting fuel and scaring away I he birds.
They also accompany their mothers lo lhe market-’
place with small loads on their heads or backs.
According lo a recent study undertaken by Ishral
Ali Siddiqui,
“A study by two expei Is fromjhe Bangalore-based
Indian Institute of Sciences shows that a girl child
’Fable 2
Work Participation Rates for Child Workers(Main)by Sex 1971 and 198.1
•
Males
Tufa!
Rural
Urban
Female's
1971
1981
1971
1981
6.65
7.56
2.75
5.46
6.30
2.46
2.63
3.05
0.82
2.95
3.53
; 0.88
Source • Nnnfjta 19^7 ‘ 74
While these me some gcneial slalisHcs, the child
labour force! according lo the 1981 Census is 13.59
million. I he National Sample Sut vey Group (a Baroda
based organization) figures of 1985 on child labour are
44 million. 1 he reason for these wide variations is that
while lhe Census counts only those children as
workers who are engaged in economically productive
work, lhe definition of child labour accenting lo lhe
Operations Research Group is more broad banded
and includes all children between lhe ages of 5 and 15
who arc r.l productive work may be paid or unpaid,
and busy any hour of the day al home or outsides.3
They recognise that not all work that children do is
remunerative and therefore,lheir figures are more
realistic.
spends 29 per cent of the total time on fuel-wood
gathering, and 20 per cent on fetching waler. In
eastern Utlar Pradesh, where a woman spends
between one and four hours daily on household
activities in addition to a back breaking day on the
field, at least 30 per cent of lhe burden is shared by
lhe girl children between lhe age group of 6-11. And
in a country where women share 45.57 per ceilt of
the agricultural Work, more than 20 per cent is
shared by girl children”.5
While lhe participation of lhe girl child In almost ?.!!
sectors of the economy Is pervasive, It Is most striking
in rural India. According td Arun Bhatlacharjee:6
“the social belief that a female child is an economic
liability can be countered by the argument that in
47
tuiai India a girl winks for 9 hours a day and an
average of 315 days in a year, in lhe fields and al
home providing the family an annual labour which
at minimum wages could have cost Rs. 2,200 to hire,
By the lime she ceases to be a child she has
provided economic help Io lhe family woilh Rs.
39,600 surviving on food below nutrition level and
struggling against prejudice and discrimination”,
Significantly, while the girl child is very visible In
rural India, Ibis is not,so in lhe urban unorganised
sector. In lhe latter area, girls are found to be working
In some concentrations of child ‘labour but not In
*
others. !:or example, in Slvaknsl, in Tamil Nadu,of lhe
*15,000 working children in lhe match Industry,
approximately ninety per cent are girls below lhe age
o' bl years.7 Girls arc found in large numbers in lhe
coir industry of Kerala and in home based industries
like incense making and pap.ul preparation? Girls are
involved in substantial numbers in the beec/i industry
and gem polishing industry of .Jaipur'7 and lhe making
of paper bags and garments, cotton pod shelling,
groundnut pod shelling, hand embroidery, grain
cleaning, block making, sub assembling elect Heal and
electronic items.10 I here aic, al a rough estimate,
approximately 6,000 git Is wni kinjpin the gem polishing
trade of Jaipur.I hmdredsof gills are working m lhe
lock industry of Aligarh, lhe brass-ware industry of
Moiadabad in Uttar Pradesh, the carpel Industry of
Jammu and Kashmir and the. 2nn embroidery industry
of Va» anasi. Bui these are essentially invisible children
who do not go to work in factories and In workshops
and therefore,do not come, under the purview of the
law. We shall rclyrn later In the paper to this theme. A
large, number of- girls are Io be found In domestic
service, rag-picking, newspapervending and so on J1
Most of them accompany their parents to work as
they cannot be Igfi behind nt homo,
J
Constitution, law and government policy
The most recent legislation in this area came into
force when the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regula
tion) Act of 1906 was passed by Parliament. The new Acl
fakes lhe place of the Employment of Children Act of
1.930 and has as lln objectives lhe Identification of
processes and Industries that arc hazardous for children
40
(so that employment of children In these,may be
banned) and the regulation of child labour in nonhazardous industries. According to Article 24 of the
Constitution of India, children below lhe age of
fourteen are not Io be employed in any factory or mine
or be engaged in any hazardous employment. This is a
- l-'undamenlal Right. The Constitution also directslhe
Slate (Article 45) Io endeavour to provide free and
■ x
compulsory education lor all children until they reach
lhe age of fourteen, Another provision (ArJicle 39 (c)
and (f) speaks of the need to see that lhe lender age of
children Is not abused and bcln the objective of mot
’ allowing citizens to enter avocations unsuited Io their
age or strength on account of economic compulsions.
».
In lhe public debate that ensued following upon *
news of impending legislation, two distinct points of .
view emerged. Government and its spokespersons
stressed lhe argument that lhe Constitution did nol
ban child labour per se but only prohibited it in
f
factories, mines and hazardous employment. I lad lhe
'
intention been to wholly ban child labour, it could have ‘
been unequivocally so staled in the Constitution, lhe
argument ran. The opposing point of view urged lhe
reading of Article 24 in the light of lhe spirit of lhe
Directive Principles of Stale Policy regarding free and
compulsory education and lhe prohibition against
;
allowing citizens to work at Jobs unsuiled to (heir age ’•
or strength by reasons of poverty.
In pursuance of Constitutional mandates, the
Government of India has announced lhe formulation
of a National Child Labour Policy. A Child Labour
Technical Advisory-Committee has been constituted
to Identify hazardous processes and industries and
action programmes are reportedly being formulated in ’ .
ten select industries. The basic thrust ot lhe National
Child Labour Programme is to belter coordinale and ■ ■ a
Intensity on-going dovclopmanlnl programmes fur
l
Income-generation and employment In child labour
•concentration areas. A sum of Rs. 11 crores Is
expected to be spent every year to cover 30,000
children In lhe ten project areas keeping In mind their
needs In the fields of nutrition, education and health.
The Government has also announced Its Intention to
implement effectively provisions of different laws
relating to child labour. How will this programme
govut menial pol:c.y is in relation to the urban unorga
nized pet-ioj, wo shall examine II In that context.
Types of child labour
Guy Standing and Gerry Rodgers of the ILO use
fully classify child work to include a) domestic wor k b)
non domestic nonmonetary work c) bonded labour
and d) wage labour. In the domestic arena, both in the
ui ban and in the rural areas, work is done primarily by
female children which releases the parents for more
productive woi kJ3 This bias against the female child is
both cause and effect of relegating her to such a role in
contrast Io the more productive type of work that the
male child is typically engaged in. Examples of non
domestic, non monetary work - often as part of family
labour • can be found in the tending of cattle, the
grazing of goats, the collection of fodder and so on;
beginning with ‘hese jobs from the age of five or
thereabouts, the rural male child soon gels involved in
3 whole-time way with agricultural operations.
l he existence of bonded labour in India has been
recognized for long.’'1 Almost 73 per cent of child
labourers are pul to work by their own parents or
guardian.®.:s Children are bonded no! only in lhe rural
ngiicultu’d! sector but also in lhe urban unorganised
sector.16 lhe method of payment for children is
uaunlly Uy llw ptaue-i ti n Mysiem which puts an enor
mous pressure upon (he child.17
Health hazards
While not much is known about health hazards
faced by girl children in the carpel industry of Jammu
and Kashmir, Abdelwahab Boudhiba reports lhe
health problem of children in lhe han carpel industry :
“lhe girls who weave the magnificent carpels of
Iran, which are a source of admiration Io all and of
wealth to some, spend ‘the entire day on narrow
planks. They are unable to move and their work
makes them adopt a squalling posture, invariably
doubled up. Despite their youth, some children suffer horn a form ol ankylosis of the whole of the .
lower part of the tot so. Many are sickly, suffering
from tuberculosis or anaemia. By the time they
become adults. *hcy are often round-shouldered
and have deformed arms and legs. In regions such
industry, a large number of them are subsequently
sterile or have very difficult pregnancies linear rm <4
lhe fixed posture that they have had to adopt’ ”1C
The zat iembroidery industry where a large number
of git Is are working is another potentially hnznidoun
indushy.says P.M. Shah. According to Shah :
The eyesight of young girls working for 12- lf1 hours
a day in micro-computer factories or in the ’zaii’
embroidery industry is reported to be damaged
within a period of 5-8 years”.
These industries are some of lhe largest elnployers:
of girl children. There are other industries where gills
are working but in relatively smaller numbers and lhe
specific health hazards faced by them are Unknown/
In many sectors of the economy,, children’ are
working in extremely hazardous conditions. Says
Vishwapriya Iyengar about (he match industry :
“Children mixing chemicals in thejboilcr room get
lungfuls of toxic fumes, suffer high’ degrees of
intense heat and run lhe risk of being badly injur ed
in fire accidents. Children Who stamp frames on lhe
metal sheet too suffer heat, toxic fumes and execs-',
sive strain on the arms and shoulders which have to
remove and place the heavy frames with great
*
rapidity. Delay of a second... can cause lhe entire *
IrnniG to go up in roaring flames which could cause
instant death. Shrlni, a child of 10 (vho passes over.
6.U0U frames a day, admitted that the strain of heat
and the heavy frames often made him feel dizzy and/
faint, but he had to keep all his reflexes sharp while
on lhe job for otherwise he might set fire to
himself..... According to lhe children, fire accidents
occur when match heads rub against lhe friction
side in (he course of putting lhe box together too
quickly. These children also complained dseveic
back- and neck-aches.”20
lhe beedi industry is another hazardous industry.
Mohandas says about beedi workers :
“As lhe beedi rollers are exposed to the tobacco
fume during the entire working lime, lhe incidence .
of serious diseases happens to be veiy high”.21
Says Mohandas :
“In fact beedi rolling leads to two types of occupa-4
tlonal diseases. One is caused by the injur iouscffect
of inhaling tobacco fume and the other is lhe result
of long hours of continuous silling in an unhealthy
atmosphere lining a monotonous job. Diseases like
I B, asthma,allergy and continuous cold belong Io
the former while backache, body ache, stomach
ache, gas trouble, piles and drcumaliccumplalnls
belong Io the second category.22
In other industries children die of r.ilocosi In the .slate
factories in Madhya Pradesh.23 'they are exposed to
l<u uialums iiinl bum-marks In fire glass factories of
Firozabad,7* hyssinysis in the powerloom industry of
Bhiwandi in Maharashtra:"’ pneumoconiosis In lhe
lock industry of Aligarh.2/’ Even if the children could
afford lhe treatment, many doctors are not trained in
occupational health and blithely ascribe illness to
poverty.
The roofs of bias
But while many of
factors r.75 coininwii io boi’n
working boys and working girls, lhe girl child is
exposed Io cumulative inequality • discrimination by
the parents as well. In many cases, lhe employers
discriminated against girl employees.2/ Parental dis
crimination is based on sever al factors. According to a
pilot study conducted by Maili eyi Chaudhuii amongst
agricultural labour households in a village of BolpurSrinikelan Block in Birbhum district of West Bengal,
on»» of lhe possible reasons for sex bias in child nutri
tion may be lhe traditional belief regarding lhe gi eater
economic value of male children.2ft In this study it was
found that in no agricultural labour house hold were
aged parents economically dependent either on daughlersur on lhe son-in-laws or daughter’s sons.27 This is,
by and laig<», lhe case all over India,
I
Exploitation: lhe female adult and the. girl child
Several studies • particularly among beedi workers
•show that, in par I, lhe exploitation of the female child
is directly a result of lhe exploitation of women, A
report on her’di workers of llizamabad In Andhra
Pradesh stales : •
“In most places these days it is customary for even
lhe poorest Ural least enroll dreir children in school,
even if they are sent to school only when therein no
work Io be done al home. But Sanghalana activists
’’
did not find a single (female) child of a beedj worker
al lending school. They slay al home Io do lhe work
their mothers cannot do. And once they are suffi
ciently grown up they go to the factory to 'help’ their
mothers. Il is true that lhe. Acl prohibits child
labour (section 24) but if children insist pn filially
helping their mothers, what can lhe poor selh do?
And, in lhe process, the selh also acquires welltrained new recruits whose training pays for ilrailf. in
he to be blamed?"J0
Mothers and daughters
1
\
It Is ironical that while women'are discriminated
against in all walks of life, It Is they who are chiefly
responsible for discriminating between their own sons
and daughters. Several studies have documented lhe «
nature and extent of this problem. Letda Gulati's study .
of working women is revealing in that II shows how
women perceive the roles of male and female childr en.
Mothers are by and large indulgent towards (heir male •
children.31
Female children are kept away from lhe educational
process as Malavika Karlekar shows in her study on
women sweepers In Delhi. I ler respondents fell (hat
daughters could help the family by looking afler
younger children so that mothers could be released
for wage-earning.
’ "Of lhe entire sample, (here were only four gids .
who were studying beyond Class VIII and two hap
pened to be the daughters of two clerks, Further,
six mothers admit led that while they had sent out
their young daughters to be sweepers,, their sons
were still in school”.32
‘ .
Says Karlekar:
"If most mothers were somewhat motivated to keep
their sons, in school, far fewer were so inclined for
their daughters. Apart from lhe opportunity cost .
argument, women accepted lhe conventional sex
stereotypes for their daughters; in addition they
were pessimistic about the chances of l|ielr daugh„
lets achieving occupational or social mobility
through education.”33
* •
Phoolbathl, a sweeper, told Karlekar that :
”... nearly all our girls work as sweepers. Why
should I waste my lime and money on sending my
daughters io school whe 'r she will learn nothing of
use.... So why ’nt put m», jhl Io woik so that she will
learn r.onwthimral.'oul’tnir profession n» well as bn
nbh? to conk. My elder gi ’ who is 15 years old will be
married scon. ! ter rncUn’r in-law will put her to
cleaning lairiiv
*
-- son^w irre. loo much of school
ing will only give git Is big ideas, and then they will be
beah’ii up by llwir husbands or be abused by I heir
in laws".11
Says Leela Gulati :
“I low can one complain about sex discrimination in
wages or weaker commitment of men Io (heir fami
lies, when the same women themselves practise
dir.criminalion against their own sex in (heir own
houses? In my studies I found that (a) boys stayed
longer in schools than gills; (b) weie not expected
Io do virtually any household chor es; (c) boys wei e
allowed much greater freedom Io spend whatever
wages they earned; and (<_/) boys got relatively bel
ter food in terms of claim to rice against tapioca.
On the o’h<” Land.! observed that (a) a air I has to
do •?!! (he suppu’ ling bom ehold chores even when
she goes to school; (b) *.| ’p is withdrawn from school
when she is needed full time in (he hoimrr; and (c)
she has Io conlr ihute most of what she earns to the
house when she goes out to woik.
Possibly, *h<» reas',m,: Mr this attitude on the part
of the women nethat (i) they hope to-be looked
after by their sons in !h<?h old age; (b) while the sons
Ivino in n dnw« y,
del inuh?rs nrn a liability; anti (r)
n son can hope to mow into a bolter paid, skillnd,
and sometimes possibly •« regular, pemuunenl job,
whereas lhe daughter will work all her life for a low
wage and be hard up.”
Several issues arise u/iich require. consideration
regarding the female woi king child. Part of the prob
lem is that both for the parents and for the law, the
work of the girl child is invisible. For the parent, the
exploitation of the gill child is linked closely to (he
treatment meted out fo the mother and therefore,an
accepted part of social behaviour. And so even the
parent diffcrnliales between the male and the female
child with respect, amongst other things, to the
amount of work the female child is supposed to do.
‘I’he piece-rate system
As to the law, Article 24 stresses that child labour is
banned in Includes, mines and hazardous employ
ments and Ibis is the premise on which {lie new Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. has
been framed. It assumes (hat since there is a spot ific
ban in three areas of economic activity, children can
be allowed Io work in other sectors. On account of
various social and cultural reasons, ver y few git I child
ren are to be found working in factories, mines and
hazardous employments. In the case of’hazardous
employments, not much is known about, hazardous
work and the word ‘hazardous’ itself has .not been
defined anywhere, in the Z\cl or in the Constitution.
lhe well known occupations where large numbers of
girls ate employed are the match industry, the cat pct
industry, the zan embroidery industry and the bredi
industry. In lhe case of the match industry, girls go Io
work in factories and in woi kshops. This is a fairly rare
. occurrence because girls are seldom sent out but it
can be explained. According to a recent study under-’
taken by lhe Madras Institute of Development Studies
(MIDS).
"... while lhe daily earnings from match work arc
about Rs. 3.50 to Rs. 4.00 per day, they amount to
75 per cent and 50 per cent respectively-of the,,
female and male agricultural wage rales".16
According fo this repot I ;
"The fact of the matter Is that al such a low piecerate, essentially a child rale, only a given number of.
cidiihn will r.nma la work’M
* ’
f.
j- .
•
r
.£
t
.
>
{
J
Further, it is pointed out :
"... female woi kers both adults and chiidr err, at e far
more widely employed in the match industry than
male workers, 'they are universally employed in
piece-rated work and arc not used in any kind of
work requiring supervisory capability. ()n the other
hand, there are cases of boys serving as appr entices
or helpers in functions in which at least .a small
number will continue after growing up".
One reason for the large number of girl children in
the match industry is that lhe wor k in the factor ik’S is
poorly paid and does not lead to skill-formation. Men
and boys do work which Is more remunerative and
skill-based and (he women and girls are relegated to.
51
N*1
f
: *'
t
<
v
a'
more routine and unskilled, low paid jobs. The adult
males pielei Io do agricultural work when it is availa
ble for it is belli?! paid. The wages paid to children are
usually less than a third of those paid Io adults for the
same job.39 Inlercs’ingly, one possible reason for the
large concent ration of girl children in Sivakasi is that
the bulk of the labour force belongs to the Scheduled
Castes : the relatively greater freedom females
amongst them enjoy permits them to go out into the
man’s woi Id.
Wi -i king al home
II Sivakasi affinds an oxampk
*
where novei tv forces
chik li en l(i woi k and cullui al 11 adit ions allow gn I children Io participate in this work, other parts of India
present adifleienl pichire.'Many child labour concen
tration areas have ci aft-oriented industries and tradi
tional craftsmen, who are mostly Muslim. Whether it is
the gem polishing industry of Jaipur, the lock industry
of Aligarh, the carpet industry of Jammu and Kashmir
or the zaii embroidery of Varanasi, the constraints
placed upon the Muslim female prevent her from going
nut of the house Io work. Yet, there arc large numbers
of girl woikcrs who practise rheir trade al home. The
law is blind Io lheir existence and deaf Io their needs.
In the <ujai b,ilri and beedi industries, lhe adult female
woiker is paid al so low a rale that, even in order to
cam a pittance, she enlists lhe help of her female
r.hildicn. Ida Bhaf writes about hoiwe tiased workers :
“Theii earnings for an eight hour working day are
not more than Rs 3 as in lhe case of skilled zari
workers in Delhi, and as low as Rs. 1 for lacemak(»is. Home based workers earn the lowest of all
categories of workers. Jeniffer Sebslad in her
study on self employed women finds that in Ahmedabad I he overage monthly Income for home-based
workers is Rs. 130 as compared Io Rs. 250 for
vendors and Rs. 170 <nr !jj>huurcrsH.in
Bering home -based and using family'labour, the beedi
industry which is banned under lhe Child Labour Act
continues regardless Io use lhe. female child worker. In
fac I, il has I wen observe that :
“I tome based piece rate workers are not included
as workers, in lhe Factories Act and so are not
covered by most labour laws. Furthermore, most
52
trades are not listed under lhe Minimum Wages Act •
and even where they are, home based workers are
not mentioned.”41
.
’
The same study goes on to say that :
“There is no official policy to ensure employment
,f
for home-basqd workers or to improve their lol”.42 «•
Government’s policy and programme
The Government of India has recently-short-listed
ten priority areas in lhe urban unorganized sector tn
provide health, education and nuhilion Io working
. children and to re-aclivise lhe income-generation and
employment • oriented schemes for lhe parents of
wmking children. Thu. ten Industries are lhe gem
polishing industry In Jaipur, the glass industry in Firozabad, lhe lock industry of Aligarh, lhe diamond cutling industry of Surat, the brass-ware industry of
Moradabad, lhe carpel-weaving industry of Varanasi,
Mirzapur-Bhadohi and Jammu and Kashmir, lhe
match industry of Sivakasi and the slate pencil indus
try of Mandsaur and Markapur.
•
In many of these industries where boys go to work in
factories and workshops, girls also contribute their
labour but within the closed confines of lheir homes.
In the gem polishing industry of Jaipur, girls arc
engaged in bindai ka kaam or drilling boles in beads
and stringing necklaces. In the lock industry, while ■
people are able to give some estimates of the number
of working boys, there is no count of girls who help al
home making levers, springs and other essential com
*
ponents for locks. The carpet industry of Jammu and
Kashmir used girl children employs a as part
*
of family
labour and the heed/industry employs a large number
of giils • but mainly as part of family labour. The
diamond cutting industry does not seen, to employ
girls, but this may be due to lhe fact that most of lhe
boys are migrants from,the adjoining villages arid giils ••
are rarely sent Io work alone when they have to corn
mule long distances.
One reason why girl children are not taken so
seriously is because their work is not directly rernu-’
nerative even if it is productive.The giil child helps
increase the total quantum of woik done by the
mother whether it is in the gem, lock or bc^d/industry.
The boys also go to work in those industries but
because they go out to work, even if they are not paid
••
;
.
*
anvlhiirg tmdui the guiV
*
of apprenticing or training,
Ihrii wm k is seen hv parents as an investment leading
Io earnings in the Itilme. When gills learn skills like
bind.ii l<«i haamor z.ni embiorder y it sometimes redo
*
ci’s the downy burden on parents and, therefore, the
giil is made Io work harder.
I he Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986 does by default overlook the female working
child. 1 he basic premise of labour legislation is|hal
there must be an iderd. liable employer and an identifi
able employee whose working conditions can be
regulated and wages fixed. But in the case of the girl
child there is often no identifiable employee because
she is working as part of family labour. Even if
legislation wore Io reach out Io the mother, the
daughter would still uol come under the purview of the’
Ad al all
1 be National Chi’d Labour Policy seeks to have a
beneficial impact ur.nn the health, education and
nutrition of llje wmle rg child in a selling where differ
ent labour laws arc belter hliplemenled. Il follows from
* foregoing analysis that whatever impact will result
the
will afflict only the male working child. I’or in the
scenar io sketched above, the female child is working —
but largely al home. Many women who work for hours
hevond count m home do not consider whirl they are
doing as 'wink' • their daughters’ contribution would
be even less entitled in I heir minds to such an appellalion. I he gir I child will he well outside the radius of the
o
I.
2.
.1
.
development programmes envisaged-be. they Io do .
with stipendiary education or vocational training or ,
supplementary nutrition • and as the labour laws are Io.
be implemented al a factory, mine or in hazardous,. .
employment, they will leave her untouched? In fact,
since not much research has been undertaken on the
female working child, we do not even know wlial kinds
of health hazards she is exposed to at'ho’me under the
relentless pressure of the piece-rate system. When ■.
male working children receive the attention bestowed ”
by governmental intervention, this will most likely rein
force in the minds of parents their already poor opin
*
i
ions of their female children. In turn, greater discrimi
nation against them will follow.
\
Il is not without irony (hat the same cultural stereo
*
♦.
lypou thdi lump (he. girl child at home protect her from
the hazards and the exploitation (hat the boy child
routinely faces. Yet Io remain at home is to be hidden
from public view. I he female child in the unorganised.
sector is hy and large unseen: she is the blind spot of
child labour law, policy and programme. Clearly, (he
first step is to sight and locate her in all her vai legated ' ■
contexts and fix the coordinates of hftr being. More
research is needed to illuminate the darkness that
surrounds her. When uw c°!V.pre!:cr.d She space iuai
*
she inhabits, attention can then be dircled Io see how
the instrument of law, (he contours of policy and (he <
concreteness of programme can be fashioned and
shaped in her favour.
/References
N.mgia. I'.uvrcn : Child Labour cause - effect syndrome. New Delhi: ./.m.ik Publishers, 1987, p. 54.
N.wyat, Rnhini • "Female Patlicipation Rates in Rural India”. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol XXII, No51, December 19, 1987, p.
2207
Khatu, /( K. rt a/,
* Wot king Childtcn in India, Baroda : Operations Reseaich Gtoup, 1983, p. 69.
4.
See Noir, Ravlndrau : "Educatioh Mvh.v do more ghl.i dtop out?” Rut uksheira. Vol XXXI, No 13,‘May M5, p. 15; Dasgupfa,
Ihphh, el al: Village Society am! Labour Use, Delhi: Oxfotd University Pless, 1977, pp. 16 18; and Sawant, S.D, (ft Ritu Dewan t>
"Rural Female L abour and Economic. Development." Economic and Politic rd Weekly. Vol II. June. 30, 1979, p. 1095.
5.
Siddupii, fahtal Ali: "Focus on the gid child." NMC • UNICEF media wodishipftn 'git! child'at Hotel Kanishka, New Delhi, October
12 11, I9R5.P.4.
Bhallach.vjee, Arun;“ I he GidChild A Being 7h.it Does Nut Exist For Ihv Media". NMC • UNICEF media wotkshop. op. cit 1985, p. 2.-
6.
53
Nair, Ravindian : "Education : why dn mpf
*>
**
<.»••
disp "til
cit 1303, y. 15.
i
Jhahvala, Behnana and Jenifer Schstadl : "To be sdLrinployed... and a women.” Himmat. Vol 17, No. 15, 1980 81, p. 29; and
Krishnakumari, NMC.: Child labour in Bangalore City. Delhi: Published by I.S.P.C.K., 1985.
"Beedi Wmkeis olNizamabad", Economic and Political Weekly. August 8,1981, p. 1305. Sec also Burra, Ncera; A Report on Child
7
8.
9
I abour in the (7em Polishing Indnstiy of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Picpnred for UNICEF, October 1987.
10.
II.
12.
13,
Id
15.
,
16.
17.
18.
19.
20
21.
22
y?
24.
25
26.
27.
Utt.
29.
30.
31.
Bhat, Ha: "I he Invisibility nl Home Based Wmk: The Case of Piece Rale Woikers in India"in Singh, Andrea Menefee and Anita Helles
Viltancn (eds.) invisible I lands. New Delhi: Sage, 1987, p. 30.
•
Kailek.u, Malavika: Poverty and Women’*. Wmk. A Study of Sweeper Women in Delhi. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Lid.,
1982, Pahl, B R. "Child workers in Bangakne I", Financial Express, January 3,1986; and Juyal, B.N. etal. Child Labour: The Twice
I \phnted. Varanasi: Gandhan Institute of Studies, 1985.
Rodgers, G. and Guy Stand ig: Child Wmk, Poverty and Under-development. Geneva: International Labour Oiganlsalinn, 1981.
Kishwar, M. and Ruth Vanila (ends): In Semi h of Answers: Indian Women's Voices from Mnnuahl. London Zed Books Ltd., 1984.
Gain. RBI "Fair Dual (nt ('luldtvii. ” t\»/i lot, Ntnv Delhi, November lilt, J Vtlt); Mat la, Satina : Bonded Lnboui In India : National
Smvcu on the Incident c of Bonded Labour, Final Report. New Delhi: Biblia hnpex Private Ltd. 1981, pp. 13 14.
<
.
Juyal, B N. el a1 ■ Child I.about: I he 7 wire Exploited. op. cit. 1985, 73; Ganguly, Piyus: "Child Labour Rules Flouted with impunity".
7 tic I vlctiiaph (Gal« ulta) Amil 16, I9H4 ; tmd ibtmh, Munrfr til nf: Woildiig Chlkhen In Bombay - A Study. New Delhi: NIPCCD,
IWt)
Kulhaini. M.mu N. : "M-ii< h making Chihli rn in Sivnkasi," Economic nnd Political Weekly. Vol XVIII No 43 October
198 I. p IHS.'i.’M.’hf.i, r.;,iy,ig: "Moi Igagrtl Child I abnur of Vrlltnn, Women Beedi Workers Talc of Wao” Mainstream, Vol XXII
N<» I Srptrmbet 3, 1983, pp |5> 16; and Gangiade, KJ), and Joseph A. Golhia : Women & Child Workers in (he Unorganised
Sector. New Delhi; Cnnt rpl Publishing Company, 19K7, pp. 4--5.
Bon j. Neeia : "Child I.ahum in lifdia : Poverty, Exploitation and Vested Interest”. Social Action. Vol 36. July • September, 1986;
lyeiui.u, Vfshirapnva L.: "Pyre of Childhood: (. 'hild Workers in the Match Factories of Sivakasi" in Gupta, Manju and Klaus Voll(eds)..
Voimg I lands at wmk. Child I nbmir In India New Delhi: Alma Ram A Sons, 1987.
Boudhiba, Abdclwahab : I; ^ploita/ion of Child I abour. Final Report. Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
DKcrinnnahon and Proteclioo of Minorities. New York : United Nations, 1982, p. 11.
Shah, P.M.: "Alternative 1 leatlh Approaches (or the Health Car e of Wor king Chikh en" In Shah, P.M. and Nigel Cantwell (cds). Child
I abour:«thr cat to health am! rlevclopment. Geneva: Published by Defence for Children International (2nd revised edition). 1985, p.
39
lyrntrw, Vishwapriya L.: "Child Labour In flu) Match Units of Southern Tamil Nadu". Paper prusunledat a seminar on Child Labour In
Imlia New Delhi' Indian Social Institute, August 9, 1986, p.5.
Mohandas, M. : ’’Beedi W<”Ucis in Kerala ; Conditions of Life and Work." Economic and Political Weekly. Vol. 15, July December
1980, p 1522.
find
•
.
j/.k. A.mrya : ’’Siliruis Deaths u!CJaiu Wmkctn." Economic and Political Weekly. Vol 15. July ■ December 1980, p. 1883;.Mi(ra,
Numal "The slave t hildien nf Mandsaur". Sunday. June 15-21, 1986, np. 100-108.
Hmta, Neera : "*Glass Factuiics of Fiiozahiid'I ■ (‘light of Workers". Economic and Political Weekly. November 15, 1986, pp.
ppiS; "Glass Fai toreu; of Tii/ixabad it Plight ol Child Wotkcrs". Economic and Political Weekly. November 22, 1986, pp.
20 U 20.16; "Child woduxn who 'play'with lite". The Hindustan Times Sunday Magazine November 30, 1986; Bat se, Shvcla ! "Glass
I a« t<»it«
*$
of Firtuabad I: Children Playing With Fin?”. Indian Express, April 5, 1986; "Glass Factories of Firozabad II: Fleecing of'
I laplcxsl abour". Indian Express, April 6, 1986; "Glass Factories ol Fiiuzabad III: Nelson's Eye to Worker's Safety." Indian Express,
April 7, 1986.
Raise, Shvcla : "Childlabour hit by poweiloon closure”. Indian Express, November 15, 1985.
Burra, Nevia : A Repot t on Child Labour in the Lock Industry of Aligarh. Prepared for UNICEF, March 1987, pp. 22-25; Burra,
Navia : "All this masala gets into our eyes." Ebe Timex of India. Sunday, June 21, 1987.
Tit hhtiliya. K.R. : "Child Lah-nir in A Metropolitan City, (A Study of Ahmedabad).”Indian Journal of Labour Economics. Vol XXII
No4. January 1980, p.c.-104, Jhabvala, Rchnntia aitd Jennifer Sebstadt: "To be self-employed... and a woman", op.cit. 198081,p. 29.24,
Ch.uidhml, M.un eyl: “fiex liUurto Child Nun Idem." Paper presented at NMC-UNICEF media workshop on'girl child', op, cit 1985, p. 4.
Ibid., p. 5.
%
’
"Beedi Workers of Nrzamal.ad.”Economic ami Political Weekly, August 8, 1981, p. 1305.
Gulati, I cela : Profiles hi 7 cmnle Poverty. A Study of Flva'Poor Working Women In Kerala. Delhi : Hindustan Publishing
Coi/Hiralinn 1981,12,82.100; Singh, Brinda: "Daughter of Migrant Woikeis: A Case Study”. Paper presented at NMC UNICEF media
workshop on’grrI child’op ctf 1985, p. 2.
.
54
Q
Women in Inclia-A Statistical Analysis
—M.S. Yadav
Omraj Siti^h
1. Pemale Population, 1981
Sector
No. of Million
256 (77/IX)
75 (22.6%)
331
Rural
Ui ban
Total_____________
Souk a : Census of India. i‘A‘11.
2. (howlli TH’iid of Population, 1901-1981
Year
’
.
Total Population
(hi million)
No. of females
(in million)
Sex ratio
(females per 1000 males)
238
252
251
2/9
319
361
117
124
123
136
155
175
213
264
331
972
964
955
950
945
946
941
930
933
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
•
439
19/1
’ '
548
685
1981
5. h/k e : Census of Indie, IWl.
b Kuial-mb-m Sex llalio h’i 1981
Mica
Ij-malei; per 1000 males
Hural
Ji ban
lol al
952
889
933
uiiirct' . Census of Indin, p/W/,
.
32.
33.
3*1.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
'10.
'll.
^2.
Kailrlcar, Malavik.i: Povaity niul Womens Wur/<. A Study of Sweeper Women In Delhi, op, ell. 1982, p. 120.
Ibid., p. 12). •
/
Ibid., p. 122. See n.'so Kmlohar, Muliwihn: "Education."In Desai Mcera and MailhteylKilshnataj (eels.) Women nml Society In India. ■
Delhi:/\j.inta J.looks Intel nalional. 1987, p. 162-163.
•.
(Juiafi, l.er.h : Profiles in b'enude Povetty. A Study on Five Poor iVoildng Women In Keinln op. cil. 1981.
•v
7 he Match Industry In Sivnhnfil,Sattur: Towntds Jlcmovnl of Cldld Labour, Madias .'Madias Instlluteuf Development Sludh’5.
Angus! 1985, p. 5'1.
*
‘
Ibid. p. 55.
1
.
Ibid. p. 39.
.
/Iimmni'thig ChH»( Labour. A llvpntt on the IPE1I Project on Child Enbour In India 1983-85. West Pcn'gal : Inslilulc of
l>y< lK»h'«pcal luhii'nfionalHcsrnirh, 1985, p. P3.
‘
Hh.u, I Ja : “Ihn /tvdr.ibility of 1 lome fl.utcd Woi/t; l ha Case of Piece Kale Woihera In India", up. cil. 1987, p, 30.
Ibid. p. 31.
Ibid.
' •
■ .
4. Dish 11 >11 ftot) of Population by Sex nnd Broad Age Gioupn 1981
..
$
-
v;■
Ik :
ir
,
Population Millions
fe
Males
Females
0— 14
15 -24
25 -49
50 i
140
66
103
45
132
62
96 .
41 .
Total
354
Age Gtoiips
.
,
r".
’•
>
.
r '■ '
7
•
’
_
*
331
•
Stance f Ccnsu.; of hid/J: 1981
•
5. Expeclation .of Life at Birth (1901-1981)
1901-11
1911-21
1921-31
1031-41
1941-51
1951-61
19bl-/’I
1971-8!
1981 86
1986 91
1991-96
1996 2001
, •
Expectation of life at birth (in years) ■
Males
.»•
Females
Year
•-
22.6
19.4
26.9
32.1
32.4
41.9
46.4
52.6
55.6
58.1
60.6
63. i
23.320.9
26.6
31.4'
31.7,
40.6
44.7
51.6
56.2
58.7 ’
61.2-
• ■
i
«
-i.
*>
•
• t
Souice : i) Census oi' India, 1981;
ii) Figuics 1981-86 Io 2001 arc projeclions-office of Registrar General, India, Ministry of I Ibipe Affairs.
'
...
6. Work Force Participation Bale by Sex and Area 1961 to 1981
Huial
Uib.in
’I ol.il
1971
1972
1961
Aren
•
1931
'
*«
M
I-’
P
M
j;
P
M
F
P
56.96
51.56
55.94
25.66
9.J3
22.85
41.60
32.13
39.90
53.46
48.82
13.09
6.62
33.81
29.33
52.62
48.54
16.00
7.28
34.76
29.23
52.50
11.85
32.92
51,62
13.99
33.45
Souice : Census of India, .1961 Io 1981.
1
•
57 -
7. Mean age at Marrinne. 1901-1981.
Decade
Males
Females
190111
1911-21
1921-31
103141
194151
1951 61
1961-71
1971 Bl
I9B1
20.2
20.5 .
18.4
20.2
19.8
21.4
22.2
22.4
23.3
13.2
13.6
12.6
■ 15.0
15.4
.16.1
17.2
17.2
13.3
'
,
;
r
■
*
Source : Census of India, 1981. Series /, Paper 2 of 1983.
fl. Literacy Rate, 1901- 1981
Year
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
Percentage of literates to total population
Males
Females
Persons
'
9.83
10.56
12.21
15.69
24.90
24.95
34.44
39.45
46.89
t
0.69
1.05
1.81
2.93
7.30
7.93
12.95
18.72
24.82
5.35'
5.92
4
7.16,
9.30 I ’
16.10 ‘
16.67
'■
24.02
29.46 .
36.23’
*
Source : Census of India, 1981, Series I, India paper 2 of 1983, Registrar Genera! & Census Commissioner:of India.
9. Literacy Rates Among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and rest of the Population In India from
1961-1981.
■
Year
Scheduled castes
population
Females
Toltd •
1961
1971
1981
10.27
I/1.A7
21.38
•
3.29
6.44
10.93
Literacy rales
Scheduled tribes
population
Total
Females
8.53
11.30 .
16.35 ’
3.16
4.35
8.04
Rest of the ,
population
. Females
Total
27.86
OO.OU
41.22
StHircu : Seventh Five Yeai Plan 1985-90 Vol. II Planning Commission, Govt, of India, New Delhi. 1985
16.59
17.11
29.51
.
13. Infant Mortality Rate by Sex (1972-1983) in India
Year
Infant Mortality Rate
Males
Female •
1972
132
132
124
123
119
113
104
105
*
1973
1970
l<»78
1979
J 980
1082
1983
148
135
134
131
121
115
106
105
,
•
Snmri?: Officer of (he Rvyfatrnr General, India, Ministry of Home Affairs
14. Women Candidates Contested and Ejected to the Lok Sabha from 1967-1984
Year
No. of Contestants
1’otal
Women
l%7
1971
1977
1980
1984
2369
2784
2439
4620
5313
’
69
86
70
142
164
-- .•---------------------------- - . r -r. . . . .
No. of elected
Total
Women \
520
518
542
542
528
/.
31
21
19
28
42
Sdiiicr: /:/< n lion Commission of Indfa, New Delhi
15. Women Candidates Contested and Elected to the State Legislative Assemblies 1970-83
Year
1970 72
1977
1979 80
1082 83
i
Nn. int C'nninc i“
Total
Women
14273
17282
17826
8656
Soin re : I. faction Commission of Indin, New Delhi.
387
408
420
241
Total
3264
2852
25?0.
1530
No. of elected
Women
161
74
117
44
' ’
...
I
JO. Literacy Ra’e by Sex and Hural, Urban tn J981
Area
Males
Females
’Vol at
Rural
Uiban
Total_______________________
40.62
65.58
.46.72
17.90
47.65
24.88
29.57
57.19
86.12
--------- 1--.....
Source : Census of India, 1981
11. Percenlajie of Main Workers Io Total Population by Activity and Sex in India in 1981
8.No. Activity
1.
(’"ilivalors
2.
A<i»Iculhual Labourer
•J.
I imisehold hhtushy
4.
Other woikers
Total
Males
22.56
10.10
Females
4.65
6.46
1.64
0.64
17.32
56.62
2.24
13.99
Total_____
13.91
' 8.34
'
;
1.16
i
10.04
33.45
Souice : Census of India 1981, Series I, India Pail 1113 (i) Primaiy census Abstract, General Population, Registrar
Genei al and Census Commission, India New Delhi. 1983
I’Z. Wmh Pai licjpalion Hairs by /mjc bi India
Females
A<|c Gtmip (in yra«s)
0 14
15-19
20 24
25-29
30 39
4(1 49
50 59
60 »■
All ages
.
*
’
’
■
1971
1981
2.63
15.78
18.12
20.01
21.70
22.63
19.64
10.64
12.06
2.95
18.48
20.32 •
22.52
25.31
25.97
21.56
10.19
13.99
v
.
.
Suuicc : Census of India, 1981, Series I India PaperH of 1983 Key population statistics based on 5 peiccnt sample
Data. Registrar General and Census Commissioner for India, New Delhi, 1983
»
ii-
SOME ISSUES IN NUTRITIONAL DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST THE FEMALE CHILD
—Anuradha Sahasrabiulhe
I.
Background
I hat women are discriminated against in our
roriely in cveiy respect is a widely acknowledged
fa< I. Il is all well known lhal (hey enjoy a status
lower than lhal of Ihiid class citizens.
l.l
Some Kclevanl Socio-Cultural Factors :
A woman in our society has no individuality. J ler
identity is wholly defined by her relationships Io
*
others
This selflessnesn lit carefully cultivated
ihimtghoul her lib
* lime. The main Instrument in
this nurturing routine is self-negation and sacrilire, i in’ drirrimliin I ion wo twliuvn in, boginn n<
.
(i)
biith of a female child. I lowcvr.r, technological
development has managed to advance the same
lo a stage before the actual birth.
An impoi lant resuH of the general discrimination
and an altitude of condemning the female lo third
class citizenship,1.s lol al disregard for her health
status Jr, fact, nui luring her lo believe in silent
suffer ing as an asset Io womanhood is an integral
pari of the Indian culture.
I he National Commit lee on Status of Women
(1971-7'1), points lo religion, systems and age al
marriage as some ol the chief factors conducive
lo lower ing of female status. The observations of
the Committee arc briefly described in the
following paras :
IJIed of religious upbringing: 1 linduism preaches
complete subservience lo men folk and a life
without recognition and development of 'self.
Iht? Koran regards men and women as equals,
but the Muslim tradition and law does not accord
equal status lo women. Ihe basic .tenets of
Christianity loo have intermingled with local
traditions, which accord preferential treatment
lo men.
r
(ii) Decent .Systems :— Two decent systems are
followed in India. The patrilineal systerYi, which is
followed by the majority, leads lo discrimination
between sexes in all respects. Since social
compulsion In such a system is to 'give away' the
daughter, she tends to be looked- upon as a
burden and disci iminnted against In nt.eas of
nhlrition, medical care and education.
(iii) Early marriage and lack of education also
contribute to poor health status of women.
(iv) Cultural upbringing :— Sudhir Kakar (1982)
points out that internalization of low self esteem
in Ihe Indian culture also presupposes lhal gills
and women have no sphere of their own and no
independent livelihood. Thus considering Ihe
reason for I heir very being lo be of service lo
ollrers, il is ingrained in the mind of every Indian.
gii I lhal thinking of her own welfare is a grave sin..
Only ‘educated’ girls ‘complain’.
Given such a biased cultural upbringing, il is not
difficult lo trace Ihe reasons for women always
keeping (hemselves on the lowest rung of the
ladder, where sharing of family resources is
concerned. She is proud lo do so. In fact, (he
ultimate sacrifice for her would be to give up (hat
* K.»Igm Smlhir, '’Psyclin St'u i.d Mahlx u/ liifaycy : feminine Idcnllly In Indfa”; Mullieis xml Infants; The Inner World, Oxford, 1982; 56.
61
cereal pr eparation, and a diluted gravy, if al all, of
the meal/pulse/vegetable accompaniment.
The young house-wife besides being a woman,
who thanks Io lhe discrimination, has always had
the ivt>sci and the infer rot share, is rendered even
more vulnerable to malnutrition and ill health
under such circumstances.
little share loo, in the name of ‘love’, 'mother
*
*,
hood
ch ,
I he reason foi dwelling on f he socio cultuial bias
is its obvious impact on sharing of foodiesources
and resultant malm a i it inn and ill h(??Jl!; amongst
the female population of this country.
II
SIGNIFICANCE OF FEMALE ‘
MAI NU 1 HI HON IN FEMALE CHILD . .
HEALTH:
1 he consequences of maternal malnutrition, its
ielationship with childbirth and growth have
been widely studied. I lowever, most of these
studies seem to disregard issues pertaining Io the
effect of maternal malnulrilion on the female
child as distinctly dilfcrenl. from those having
effect on generalized childhood malnutrition.
'I bis paper wishes Io raise lhe relevant issues in
.the light ol the sot io cullui al factors dvae.r ibed in
lhe tn (’ceding paras and the possible effect of
these on Ike health status of lhe female child.
111.
*'
RELEVANT FACTORS CONDUCIVE TO
FEMALE MALNUTRITION :
(1)
Sharing of Nutritional ResiOtjrces: Food in an
average Indian household is a limited commodity.
1 here have been several studies that prove that
lhe women gel a qualitatively as well as quantita
tively, smaller share of these resources. The
ICSSR study group (1971) had 48.53 per cent
respondents indie aling that the women serve lhe
family first but eat last.
I he shar ing palhdn of food resources is generally
found to be a*?.folhvM<;
•
The ear ning men foil’, first, other males and child
ren next (boys first and girls after that), followed
by older women and lastly lhe housewife..
Al this point it would be worthwhile to consider
lhe eating habits of Indiana, Generally a maxi
mum portion ol lhe rneal is taken up Uy cereal
based food preparations with pulses, meats, and
vegetables serving as mere accompaniments,
meaning that the total quantity of these 'side’
dishes is limited. Since sharing In the family is
. unequal, it is not rare to find lhe young housewife
left with an inadequate quantity of lhe staple
62
(2)
Special needs of a I louse-wife : The woman
who is being referred to as a young house-wife in i
this paper is *.
in‘the child bearing stage of her life, besides
being in an agegroup when maximum physical
work is expected of her.
1
Her health and nutritional stalus prior to this
stage, i.e. her childhood nutritional status would
have a definite bearing on her health status at this
stage.
(a) Some Reasons for Early Child hood
Malnutrition amongst Female Children :
c
It is difficult to trace lhe history of eady child
hood malnutrition in the case of a female child. It
is more likely than not that she is a child bor n to a
malnourished mother who herself was a product
of maternal malnutrition, early nutritional dis-.
crimination, eady motherhood, etc.
(a.l)The Effect of Prematernal Malnutrition.
*
(i) Fewer complications in pregnancy, fewer
pi emature births and healthier babies result
when the mother is well-nourished prior to con
ception. Labour is also easier in healthy women
of belter height. The pelvis of a well-nourished
women is well developed and rounded, which
facilitates labour. On lhe other hand, early child
hood malnutrition resulting from discrimination
due to social practices and cultural conductespecially rickets, would lead to under developed
or mal formed pelvis and difficult child-birth. Sim. ilady early childhood nourishment being directly
linked with the. development of the body, the
effect of an under-developed body on child birth
as well as health of the mother and child Is too
obvious io warrant further discussion.
; 1
Shah and Shah (1981) have found that nutri
tion has a significant relationship to birth weight,
SOME ISSUES IN NUTRI TIONAL DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST THE FEMALE CHILD
—Anuradha Sahasrabudhe
I.
B.irkgi omul
I ha! women are ■ In criminated against in our
society in every respect is a widely acknowledged
fact. Il is all welt Intown that they enjoy a status
lower than'(hat of Ihiid class citizens,
1.1
Some KclcvanJ Socio-Cultural Factors :
A woman in our society h’as no individuality. I ler
identity ;s wholly defined by her relationships to
others4 This srlflenfjnesH hi cnrnfully cultivated
.
(i)
throughout her life lune. The main instrument in
Iles » url»!»ing routine is self-negation and sacrifk <• t iie discrimination we believe in, begins at
hit th of a female child. I Jowever, technological
development has managed Io advance the same
fo a stage before the actual birth.
An impoi lane result of the general discrimination
and an altitude of condemning the female to third
class citizenship,’is Inlal disregard for her health
status. In fact, nut tin inn her Io helipyp in silent
suffer ing as an asset Io womanhood is an integral
parI of the Indiancuiliue.
The National Committee on Status of Women
(1971-7'1}, points Io ndigion, systems and age al
marriage as some of the chief factors conducive
Io lower ing of female status. The observations of
the Committee are briefly described in (he
following pm as *
Effect of religious upbringing: I linduism preaches
complete subservience to men folk and a life
without recognition and development of 'self’,
I he K<>)an regards men and women as equals,
but the Muslim tradition and law does not accord
equal status to women. The basic tenets of
Christianity loo have -intermingled with local
traditions, which accord preferential treatment
to men.
i
(ii) Decent Systems :— Two decent systems are
followed in India. The patrilineal system, which is
followed by the majority, leads to discrimination
Ijolwcon nuxuo In all respects. Since social
compulsion in such a system is to give away’ the
daughter, she tends Io bn looked upon as n
burden and discriminated against hi areas of
nutrition, medical care and education,
(iii) Early marriage and lack of education also
contribute Io poor health status of women.
(iv) Cultural upbringing
Sudhir Kakar (1982)
points out that inter realization of low self esteem
in the Indian culture also presupposes that gids
and women have no snlwro of ih
*?jr own and no
independent livelihood. ’Unis considering the
reason for (heir very being to be of service lo
others, it is ingrained in the. mind of every Indian
girl that thinking of her own welfare is a grave sin.
Only'educated’girls‘complain’.
.
Given such a biased cultural upbringing, il is not
difficult Io I race the reasons for women always
keeping themselves on the lowest rung of the
ladder, 'where sharing of family resources is
concerned. She is proud Io do so.In fact,the
ultimate sacrifice for her would be to give up that
* ICiknr Siiflhir, ’’t’.nyi ha Sochi Midi lit of Infancy: Feminine Identity In India”; Mothers and Infants; The Inner World, Oxford, 19B2; 66.
t
61
little share too, in the name of 'love', ‘motherhood’, etc.
I he reason for dwelling on the sociocultural bias
is its obvious impact onshaiingof food i (‘sources
and resultant malnutrition and ill health amongst
the female population of this country.
II
SIGNIFICANCE OF FEMALE *
MALNUTRITION IN I EMALE CHILD
HEALTH :
I he consequences of maternal malnutrition, its
relationship with child b ilh and growth have
been widely studied. However, most of these
studies seem Io disregard issues pertaining to the
effect of maternal malnutrition on the female
c hild as distinctly different from those having
Hied on generalized childhood malnutrition,
I his paper wish, s Io raise the relevant issues in
lhe light of the. socio culliual factorsdescribed in
the preceding paras and the possible effect of
these on the health status of lhe female child.
ill.
(1)
t
Jin LEVANT rACTORfH CONDUCIVE IO
FEMALE MALNUTRITION :
Sharing of Nutritional Resources: Food in an
averaae Indian hnncrJinifi a > limited commodity.
T here have been several studies that prove that
lhe women get a qualitatively as well as quantila
*
lively, smaller share ol lh<?s
*e
resources. The
ICSSR study group (1971) had 48.53 per cent
respondents indicating that lhe women serve lhe
family first but eat last.
The sharing palleln of food resources is generally
found to be as follows :
l he earning men folk fiisl, other males and child
ren next (boys fir st and gii Is after that), followed
bv older women and lastly the housewife.
* Al Ibis point it would he worthwhile Io consider
lhe eating habits of Indians. Generally a maxi
mum portion of the meal is taken up.Ry cereal
based food preparalions with pulses, meals, and
vegetables serving as mere accompaniments,
meaning that lhe total quantity of these ‘side1
dishes is limited. Since sharing in the family is
. unequal, it is not rare Io find lhe young housewife
left with an inadequate quantity of lhe staple
62
*
cereal preparation, and a diluted gravy, if al all, of
the meal/pulse/vegeiable accompaniment.
The young house-wife besides being a'woman,
who thanks to the discrimination, has always had
the lesser and lhe inferior share, is rendered even
more vulnerable to malnutrition and ill health
under such circumstances.
(2)
Special needs of a I louse-wife : The woman
who is being referred to as a young house wife in
this paper is:
in the child bearing stage of her life, besides
being in an age group when maximum physical,
work is expected of her.
1 lyr health and nutritional status prior Io this
stage, i.e. her childhood nutritional status would
have a definite bearing on her health status a| this
stage.
(a) Some Reasons (or Early Child hood
Malnutrition amongst FemaKt Children :
It is difficult to trace the history of early child
hand iiKihuitriiiun in the caae of a female child. It
is rnoic likely than not that she is a child born to amalnourished mother who herself was a product
of maternal malnutrition, early nutritional dis
crimination, early motherhood, etc.
(a.l)The Effect of Prcmaternal Malnutrition:
(i) Fewer complications in pregnancy, fewer
piemature births and healthier babies result
when lhe mother is well-nourished prior to con
ception. Labour is also easier in healthy women
of heller height, lhe pelvis of a well nourished
women is well developed and rounded, which
facilitates labour. On the other hand, early child
hood malnutrition resulting from discrimiqatipn
due Io social practices and cultural conductespecially rickets, would lead to under developed
or mal formed pelvis and difficult child birth. Sim
ilarly early childhood nourishment being directly
linked with lhe development of the body, the
effect of an under-developed body on childcbiith
as well as health of the mother and child Is too
’ obvious to warrant further discussion.
Shah and Shah (1981) have found that nutri
tion has a significant relationship to bir th weight,
\ i
the p:o-pt rgiumcy weight being lhe determining
factor affair ling (iK’Inl nutrition. I he major factor
contributing to the low birth weight o'f infants,
was found in their investigations, to be mother’s
t hionic malnuhition, probably since childhood.
Il w is «r$e -I- r.v’i in the study that fi equency of
low hiilh weight infants was higher amongst
amarmic mothers,
Haji rhsibmi (1980), in her studies amongst low
inr.umu women n Gujarat, demonstrated that
premale’nal ma’nulrilioii proves Io be a han
dicap al birth, »•.. the Rmriu monnn nmull body Mize
and poor storage of nuliitienls in case of the
mother,
Pi cnatal nidi ifion :
1 lie nutritional status and nutritional intake of
the mother dining pregnancy arc the most
important aspects of the ‘matro environmentl*
(ii)
The body's requirements for food during
*pregnancy are different and increased in order
Io cater to lhe demands of:— „
(a) The growing foetus:
•
.
(I)) Development of the placenta;
'
<
(c) Nutritive requirement of lhe mother's own
body;
„
(d) Development of the reserve .stores for drliv
ur y and labour.
Caloi ies
Pioloins
.
'
. • ’l he Gleets of physical and biochemical changes
’♦
during pregnancy If not monitored adequately’
may well contribute Io the generally prevalent'
stale of malnutrition. To quote a few examples
f
the biochemical changes may cause depressed ?
stomach functioning; lhe reduced secretion of
hydrochloric acid may have a depressing effect
on calcium and iron absorption; the reduced /
mobility of the gastrointestinal tract may result
••
Table 1 A : RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCES FOR WOMEN BY NATURE OF ACTIVI I Y AND ’ >
SPECIAL.NEEDS OF PREGNANCY AND LACTATION
Particulars
JI- . i
F,
• ’>
Cab
cium
Iron
(gms) (mg)
(mg)
Vit. A
Thia- RiboBReli
nal
Or car ■globin
(mg) (mg) (mg)
(mg)
Niacin Vit. C Vit.
Bn •
Acid
Folic
(mg)
(mg)
(mg)
(mg)
100
Norma! conditions J
— Sedentary worker 1900
— Moderate worker 2200
— 1 leavy worker
3000
45
45
45
0.4
Io
0.5
30
750
3000
1.0
1.1
1.5
1.0
1.2
1.7
13
15
20
50
50
50
1
Pregnancy(Secom)
halt of pregnancy) ‘
— Sedentary worker 2200
— Moder ah' wo: l< er 2300
- 1 leavy worker
3300
55
55
55
1.0
40
750
3000
1.2
1.3
L7
1.2
1.4
1.9
15
17
22
50
50
50
1.5
Lactation (upto 1
Year) :
— Sedentary woiker 2600
— Moderate worker 2900
— 1 leavy worker
3700
65
65
65
1.0
30
1150
4600
1.4
1.5
1.9
1.4
1.6
2.1
18
20
25
80
80
80
2 .
‘
150
. to
300
150
e : Nuhition Expert Group, 1968.
* A v/<»hI cnini'd by J.C G<»h ah Io describe lhe physiological, biological and socio-cultural environment that lhe mother provides her Infant.
•r S<-«- fable Ibis 1 A and IB.
63
Table ] B RECOMMENDL1) AND AC! UAL DIETARY INTAKES OF PREGNANT AND LAC FATING
WOMEN OF LOW INCOME GROUPS. ■
Nutrient
Intake
Lactation
’regnancy
('ah wics (Kcal)
Protein (gips)
Iron (mg)
('akium (mg)
Vil. A (mg)
Actual
Recommended
Actual
Recommended
1400
40'
18
260
304
2500 ’
55
. g0
1000
750
1860
. 40
18
300
*I
3U
.
2900
65
30
1000
1150
*
‘
Source: /CAiic HUl.l.ETIN. Vol. 4; No. 6, June \9'M.
in constipation; a relaxed cardiac, 5/nnrh’r may
produce irqmqiialion and 'heart hirin’: annetitc
and I hit st may increase dm ing I he fir «;l h imoslor ;
I hen
*
may be nausea , and cravings for certain
foods; 'Pica’ or desire lo cal non-food items may
often be fuvhhohallv mslered; digestion and
assimilation is generally alfeelcd. All these am
contributory Io ciratk dietary pi.n.dices and
malnutrition.
(iii) '1 he Hole of I'ood Fads/Taboos and
General Nutritional Ignorance :
I ack of knowledge about nullilkrnal needs,
myths about foods,.traditional food taboos, all
contribute Io conditions n4 inalnuhilion.
Il has been observed that (he poor status of the
Indian wife in terms of family accejdance and
emotional well being, change's dramatically once
she becomes pregnant. I he prosperI of mother
hood h» ilds Out a composite solution for many of
her difficulties. (The iin| rovemcnl in an Indian ;
wife’s soi ial status once pregnant, has been uni
versally noted by cultural anthropologists). For
the first lime her welfare receives attention, and
her wishes are likely Io be fulfilled.
I he impact of this situation on her eating hab
its and nutritional status, could be positive as well
as negative. As attention is focussed on her well
*
being, the family members would make sure that
she eats well. I ioweyer, possibly lu-> arise it is'
sue.h an important event in her life, food lads
abound -some are. traditional. Some result
from the biochemical changes already descubed,
while others may have psychology al m i</ns-Mor
example, il is the only time she can demand to ecd
what she lik.es. Studies inuicale th.i! .n almost all
regions of India, the food tab
*
?»•<-. are for those
items which have a high nutritive value, espe
cially considering (he special needs of pregnancy
and lactation
*.
Besides avoiding the concern
(rated sources of most relevant nutrients, if is
also widely believed that starying or under
feeding ‘he mother would ensure a smaller baby
and therefore safer delivery.
‘ ■
k is known through medical and nutritional
investigations that nature ensures <• amal devel
opment of the foetus even atL then ust ol mother’s
nutritional reserves. This phenomenon would
render ‘he malnourished woman even more
vulnerab’ • d uing.delivery.
(iv) Effect of Pregnancy Wastage :
The potential effect of maternal nutrition on
the course of pregnancy and its outcome and
later the nutritional status of the inf'.nt is thus
seen to be profound.
*|
tine Atcolhci foods labelled ns 'bol', efl JftfKjety
* I1i<
* |i«l of PmuI t
in. iinlen p.«pap'. fjii’rnlrnfyvcflrl.Jili-’i, banana, etc. believed Io Indur t>hl<Q?llniiB,
and Mill ntlu-fs like (ilim Ifuils, eh l«!i •<’ a I’mid' sprouted legumes arc considered flus lot.. injr.
Ad
A study by Gopalan and Naidu‘(1972)
*
indi
cates that piegnanrv wastage (abortions and
still births) of malnomtshed mothers was as high
as 30 per cent in 1972, Still births constituted 11
per 1000 live births. Prenatal mortality was found
to be a result of maternal malnutrition and iron
•deficiency anaemia. In the same study it was
observed that higher birih orders and frequent
pregnancies cause protein malnutrition which
was another cause of infant and maternal mortal
ity. 1 en Io Twenty per cent deaths, according to
these investigators, are due to nutritional ane
mias and 16.'14 per cent due Io pregnancy com
plications and morbidity—-including psychiatric
moi bidi I v which is more prevalent among women
than men (as per a Wl IO report, 1966).
I he prospect of raiding her status in the family,
and impor lance attached to attainment of moth
erhood. probably forces a woman to lake chan
ces of pregnancy drspi{e her poor health status.
Im i rased pnnly inmus further depict tun of
nutritional resources and possibility of further
wastage. 11 is a never-ending cycle, especially if a
woman delivers daughters instead of sons, be
cause in the Indian society, it is important to be a
mother, but the woman's status is slightly upgra
ded only if she produces sons in order Io ensure
family continuity in a predominantly patrilineal
decent system.
Il may be noted I hat the sex determination
being possible in.pregnancy itself, thanks to the
advanced technology, the pregnancy wastage is
higher, as women quite willingly go in for abor
tion in the event of the fuel us being discovered
to be of the female sex.
ters of adequate health and nutritional stains.
The lactating mother soon reverts to her posi
tion on the last rung of the ladder of resource.
sharihg which limits her chances Io recover the .
nutritional losses.
•
-f
p;
£ .
k
b. The Aggregate Effect of Prcmaternal, .
.
Prenatal and Postnatal Malnutrition on her ■’
Health Status:
L
The cumulative effect of premalernal (bit th Ip pregnancy), prenatal (during pregnancy) and
post-natal (after delivery), malnutrition is bound ■
to have a profound effect on the woman’s health
status.
As already mentioned, if the child born Io such
a woman is of the female sex, not only would Ibis !
tradition-bound woman discriminate against the
’
female child while feeding, but would also’bring
up the daughter Io think it is the right thing Io do
,
and thus perpetuate the vicious circle.
The female child is going to get the lesser and
;
inferior share of food resources— if she has a ;
brother, she would drink black lea while the
brother gets a glass of milk, she would wean on .
*
normal adult food, whereas her brother may
receive special attention for the same:
' •
The nutritional stress of adolescence
is
uncared for and the cumulative effect of early
u
C.
(a.2) Delivery and After care of the Mother
and (he Female Child
The physiological stress of delivery and nonrep!.4ion of the losses due Io tabocco, some
times identical to those during pregnancy, leave
behind a woman whose very survival may be
considered miraculous when judged by parame
childhood malnutrition and not catering to special female nutritional needs of adolescence
would render her unprepared for the expected
stress of pregnancy after an early marriage (see
Fig. 1A and IB.)
Physical Activity:
Since the central character of this paper is the
young house wife in her prime, it would not be on! J
of place to consider the nature pf her physical7
activities and its relevance Io her nutritional and
health status,
This stage in the life of a woman may be termed as /
a peak for expected duties which are physically 1
taxing. Wl IO studies as well as Investigations by '
Randhawa (1975) and Chakrabarti(1975)
*
*have\
• Gop?}liv:, C , and Hr.idu, A.N., Nutrition and Fertility"; The Lancet: No. 18, 197?.
* Study quoted by Naik C. In'het paper, "Nirakshnr Wa Alpashlksbll Slreeyansanthl Shalkshanik Karyakcan'
*;
Semi literate Women). (Marathi): 19P3, unpublished.
(Educational Programme! lor lllilrr ale and
65 .
.
Fig. No. 1 A : THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF MATERNAL MALNUTRITION AND BIRTH OF A
SUB—NORMAL FEMALE Cl IILD
■ Fig. 1 H ■ EFFECT OF MATERNAL MALNUTRITION ON POPULATION
67
t-’-
i
bh(Hvn that an Indian woman, on an average,
works for 13 io 18 hours every day. The daily
chores she is expected Io perform are all physi
cally laxing without lime for respite.
When this fact is coupled with the physiological
stress of pregnancy and delivery, studies in the
light of the socio cultural conditioning that con
siders non complaining nature of a woman as
one of her most important viilues, and given the
inadequate, often unacceptable health care facili
ties. it is not al all stiprising Io find a female
mor lalily rale which is higher than male mor tality
rate in India or an adverse sex ratio (fable No. 2).
lablc 2 :SF XIIA I IO IN INDIA
(19(11-1981)
Year
FK1I
19H
I92J
193]
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
Sex Ratio (No. oil women per lOOOmcn)
- rjy2 -
......... ;
964
9f»5
950
945
946
941
930
935
_______________
__
Sourer : Crr.r.us a! Inili.i, ?9Si. Series— I; inclhi
I'hh rionall’opnl.Hmn Tofals; /’<r/»r»i / of J98I.
IV. Remedial Edircafimial i|*j<>giamnios
;
I hr nullifion/heallh ed«n ation plans for women
fail Io see the problem >n its totality. 1 he status of
c hild health too is studied as a single pheno
menon, when the special problems of the female
child, (some of which tins paper has attempted Io
highlight) nerd special and separate consider
ration
»
I nslly, whether a boy or a girl, a malnourished
mother's child is bound to be delivered with a
*.
handicap
If it is a female baby the handicap is
peculiar and needs special attention with full
regard Io the socio cultural constraints.
I he bias needs immediate removal and approp
riate training of educators highlighting the root
• I 00 huh uM-iuh! malnutrition, And other prohlumR.
• • A» it the tlalus ol woman in tlwe Indian Society.
68
r
.
causes of early female childhood malnutrition is
indicated.
,
f
The neglect of women , seen in the, light of dis
cussion thus far, would ultimately mean neglect
of lhe human race. For even to have lhe ‘pre
cious’male-heirs, lhe baby producing machines
*
*
have to be maintained in perfect order. The pro
ducers of babies require good nutrition and ’
health care from lhe day they were themselves
conceived. The above could serve aseducational
messages for training programmes for relevant
learners. The male-members and lhe older female
decision-makers of the families need lb realize
lhe importance of women's nutritional status,
<\nd an emphasis on educational programmes for
these members of the society is indicated for
improvement of lhe health status of the house
wife.
The present day programmes usually focus on
(he education of lhe mothers. But given lhe fact
that an average Indian house-wife has very little
. power in family decision-making, she cannot lake
steps for improvement even when convinced of
lhe need and trained in the method. Il has been
reported by field workers, working in the ajea of
nuhilinn pdiirijon/rehabHilatior., that ihe nuiii-lional advice or supplement
*,
provided in MCM
programmes are often looked upon as a chal
lenge to the authority of these traditional decision
makers and therefore have a contra-effect.
V. Conclusions :
An al temp’, has been made in this paper to out
line the issues pertaining Io the prevalence of
chronic malnutrition among Indian women; J he
malnutrition and ill-health, it is felt, are a combind
result of her status in lhe family and society,
religious training, ignorance of correct nutritional
practices, and perpetuation of malnutrition
through generations as a result of cultural prac
tices.
The female child is generally not given a separ ate
*
status in relevant scientific investigations.
Educational programmes fail to change the situa-
NUTRITION AND HEALTH DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST GIRLS FROM 0-20 YEARS OF AtiE
Indu Capoor
Introduction
Women in the developed countries after a hard uphill
fight dining this century, have managed Io gain for
themselves the right Io be considered free independ
ent individuals in their own lights. Through education,
organization and single minded determination they
have managed Io win more and more fundamental
lights following horn the previous basic recognition.
They have made important gains in political, social,
economic, educational and occupational fields and are
contributing equally to the process of development.
t»i tiiG GvvvK’iriiig COinitiicS ir’n? Siiliniiim iS irthiCi (in-
ferenl. A woman is not considered to be a separate
entity in her own right. I ler role in society, her limited
rights, considerable dulivn aryl the; treatment muled
out to her in all walks of life, stem from the fact that she
is basically consideied a handicap and a set back for
the family from hei'hirlh. She is reluctantly allowed to
grow up (though even this by no means assured with
the advent of <unnioc.cnl'>sis, and withholding of ade
quate nulrilional and medical support), and as an adult
h« i only wot th to anyone is a*; a household di udge and
jepiodiiclive nuvhinr’.’lf she fails in these last two
duties she may forfeit hbr very life, after having so
penlously reached the thieshold of woman hood.
Nutrition and I lealfh Conditions Regarding Girts
I lie most pernicious and callous altitude, regarding
gills is discrimination in the field of nutrition and
health. I el me quote a few examples from our field
expeiien< os.
7(1
Recently there was a training for health workers going
on at a village. A girl child of a deserted woman,got
suddenly ill and required urgent medical attention.
The organizers of the trainingagreed Io bear the travel
expenses of the girl child Io take her to the nearest
medical centre. Bdt the woman’s father refused the
offer saying that it was unnecessary to spend money
on a girl child. Such examples are not uncommon.
Girls are expected to recover through home remedies 4.
while a great deal of time, money and energy will be
spent on the boy child. There is no realization that
rnralive nl Innlinn ujl'nnnyor roniitrnd cLomI/I Kn tbilk.
out sex bias and dependent solely on seriousness of
I he illness. Invariably alongwith the dubious home
remedies, it is also the women who are the victims of *
the shocking practice of branding as a possible cure
while most of the boys continue to be taken to PI ICs
and hospitals for their ailments.
\
To quote another example, CIIETNA visited several
feeding centres all over the Sabarkantha district of
Gujarat. In a house to house anthropometric survey,
females in all age gioups weic found to be more
malnourished than males. The reason for (his was not
difficult Io pin point. Superstitions, taboos and socially.
enforced customs ensured a beggarly treatment of the
girls. Economics of scarcity come up with their ownrationalizations. Allocation of choice foods anc| larger
portions to boysand men are justified on the grounds
that men are the bread winners of the family and1
therefore need special attention. Women are told that
the nutritionally rich foods should not be eaten by
lion because they arc geared to deal with the
wrong large! group - young mothers having no
decision making powers.
1 Icnce the need oi i ecognizing the problems of the
Rcfctcnccn t
I.
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
fl.
female child as distinctly differ cnl from those of
the male child, acknowledging the socio cultural
influences and finding appropriate solutions
which are practicable ar,e indicated.
’
s*
Bogart I.J.; Biigys, C.M., at. al. "Diet for Picgnant and Nursing Mothcis”; Null Ilion in Health and Disease, 1961,
Bui ion Benjamin. T., “I luman Nutrition”, 1'nln McGraw I lill; New Delhi, 1930.
t •
Fleck, I lemith.i; “NutiUhn in 1'iejjnancy and Lactation," Introduction Io Nuhition; 1962.
Gopalan, C., Rama .S.lUh’Ii, 11.V.; Dalasubramaninn, S.C.; "Nutiitive Value of Indian Foods"; NIN; Hyderabad, 1981.
ui’jhii.m, C.; Naidu /r.N.a Nutrition and Feilihty;" I he Lencel,’('to. 18, 1972.
Gwalkin, D.R.; "Hca.'lh and Nutrition in India”; Recommendations for I'nid roundation Suppott; 1974.
ICSSR, "Status of IVoinm in India”; A synopsis of the Repott of the National Committee on StatuskoJ Women; (1971’7'1).
I.venqar, I.., “Influence of the Diet on the Outcome of Piegnancy in Indian Women", Proceedings of 9th International Congress on
Null it ion; Mexico, 1972; Kagci; 1974, 48 53.
N.uli. C.; "Niiehsh.’i Wn Alpashihshit Streeyansnnthi Shaihsh.nnik Katyaluam f fEducalional Programme for IllitcialC and
Scmilitrfatr Wo'nnn), Mmathi, 1983, Unpublished.
them as they would not agree with them. Another
practice which automatically sees to it that this unjust
allocation of nutritional input carries on is the custom
of women eating last after the menfolk. In poor house
holds this invariably meahs eating the least both
quantity and qualitywise.
Al these same feeding centres, when we looked al the
register of attendance, to no one’s surprise there were
more boys registered
jhis. Where only restricted
number of children were permitted, the parents pre
ferred to send their boys as they fell they needed that
extra nutrition to do better in life.
’I*o cite examples from drought conditions, men and
women shivc equally, shoulder to shoulder on relief
work which involves intensive physical labour. But
once again in the lime honoured fashion a woman's
extra nutritional needs arc not met at home. If a wife
dies, she can be easily replaced, but horror of horrors
if a man dies.
Long Irnn Implications of Nutrition and I lealth
Discrimination
Biologically the female child is born a little -sturdier
than the male child judging from the slight edge they
have over the males in llie initial survival ratio. How
ever,after years of conscious and deliberate discrimi
nation against her in the null it ion and health fields, she
is unable to reach her full development potential at
’maturity. She is 'ike a stunted neglected plant which
grew up willy nilly.
Il is al lliis point lhal IIw;downward r.pii al in her health
status begins. When she stalls Io mensliuale, her
under-nourished body is unable Io replace the monthly
iron loss. Nnliitional anaemia sets in. tn India, custom
dictates that gills are married as soon after puberty as
possible. A woman in India has no control over repro
ductive choice. Pregnancies and deliveries follow
inexorably in quick succession specially if the greatly
desired male child does not arrive. Il further depletes
her body and her inner reserves and it is a miracle that
she survives the great demands on her body as well as
delivering babies under unhygienic conditions often
without immunization coverage. Certainly she begins
to suffer from a number of gynaecological problems
such as white discharge etc, which will plague her for
,
the rest of her life.
’
£■• ’ ’
;
Government Help
, ;
Recognizing some of these problems government has
f ■?
started many programmes for women but still the
emphasis in the allocation of these services is on her *•
j
role as a future mother. She now gets some altentioh
al the pre-natal, natal and post nalal stage.'But however commendable this may be it is slill.an example of
•■
loo little too late. It is high lime we started thinking of
j .
the importance of nutrition and health status of
women as individuals and in terms of human resource
development and not only in terms of her maternal
status.
All women need to be healthy in order to be produc
tive individuals. I lealthy women are a national invest’ '
ment, they form 50% of the population and can con- •
tribute to a great extent to the process of development •
-if they are allowed lo reach their full health potential.
» .
We must ensure that from birth to adulthood a woman .
is given equal share of food available and hot be dis
criminated against in health care.
’
• ,
.
>
Non-Governmental Organizational Effects
Many voluntary organization!! would like to focus on ’ t
the fact that women should receive medical attention
'
not only when they are about lo become mothers. The 1
•
unmarried girls and those who do not become moth- •
ers are equally entitled to their share of medical help. .•
The gynaecological problems of Ibis section of the
population should be as important as the potential "y
mothers and mothers. Otherwise these women will be
doomed lo remain in a perpetually anaemic and
unhealthy stale which ca'nnot help but affect their
.
productive capacity and quality of life.
Cl IE I NA Programmes
Several ongoing programmes of CHETNA focus on
the special needs of the girl child e.g. while it is widely
criticized lhal a large portion of the young girl’s time is
spent on Cl IILD CARE which keeps her away from
school, CHETNA is trying to make her task easier by
training these young child minders through the activity
oriented approach, through our CHILD to .child pro-
:
?!
‘
,
gramme so that using I he knowledge gained she is
better skilled to carry out her (ask more efficiently and
which leaves her mote lime for self development.
In another programme Cl I ETNA is (raining adoles
cent girls attending rlpld labour classes In fertility
awareness eduction so that such a girl has the knowl
edge and wide power Io opt for the reproductive choi
*
ce
when r,hn in reedy Io (income n mother. Such an
education abo prevents manv molestation and rape
casesasoften such gills become victims out of ignor
ance on (his subject.
Awareness generation camps make women in (Ire
rural arrar aware of .he benefit schemes which are
available to them through government and non
government suppoil. I his plays a vital role in encou
raging their development, and increasing their income
generating capacity and confidence. Il has a direct
72
positive bearing mi their active participation in (he ,
Sunny developmnnlal programmes thereby making
them more effective.
Conclusion
11 is high lime that the barbaric practice of discriminal• Ing against the girl child on such a fundamental Issue as
nutrition and health came tp a slop forthwith. Future^ ‘
govemnic.nl programmes which plan for maternal and
child health should be specially conscious of treating
the woman in her totality and seeing that her individual .
needs are met from cradle |o the grave. This alone cam
ensure that women reach their full potential and lead .
productive and happy lives. Only when we havbs
reached (his stage will we be able to claim rightful place, ■
in the 21st century.
•’
ne Basic Education Centre for Girls :
Lakshmi Ashram
♦
— Kina Bhattacharya
Ratna Sudershan
Lakshmi Ashram was founded by Sai ala Behn in 1946
Io serve I he women <4 the Kumaon, with a special
emphasis on Gandhiji’s educational philosophy of Nai
Tallin, otherwise known as Basic Education. The Ash
ram is dedicated to the Gandhian philosophy and ideol
ogy rd lifn. Thus it look an active part in the movement
for Bhondan, Gramdan and (ham Swarajyc, not only
in the hills of Utlarakhand but in other parts of the
country. As Lakshmi Ashram’s main concern has
always been the women of Uttarakhand, it has taken a
special interest in problems that directly affect their
daily life. and lias taken an active nail in the Ikmor
prohibition
movement
and
the cco development
Lakshmi Ashram as School :Lakshini Ashram,'.
nestling in the Himalayas at Kausani, is a residential
school for girls, where age is not a criterion for slu-.'
dentship. There have been on an average 80-100 girls
going upto high school, a dozen or more teachers, .
another dozen teacher trainees. Less than half of the
girls pay their own fees, some pay part of it and some
have been given scholarships and live free. One prob
lem that the Ashram faces is that it can provide
accommodation to only a small number of students. At
present there are 40 students in (he Lakshmi Ashram.
The distribution over different classes is given below :
f atilr l.t Classwise Distribution of Students
movement.
Lakshmi Ashram as a system functions almost like a
two layered concentric circle where layers are over
lapping in nature, wherdin comes its role as a school
and as
service centre**. As a basic education
Class
lsF~
No. of students
2nd ”
3rd ”
4th ”
5th ”
6th ”
rent re here I he Kulalj and the darali, the loom and the
rharkha, have the son? value and importance as tools
n( education as do books and pens. Thus the garden
and the gau‘ihala, the ndvogshala and the daily hostel
life as a large family all have equal importance alongside
formai education, in all Hie daily activities ‘he teachers
and pupils work logema"'.
'The motto of the Ashram is ’’Swawlainhan” - this
means that the hill girls should develop their self confi
dence and individual, independent personalities. The
gids goon to become teachers in the Ashram school,
Iakc I rainiiig as nur scs. becoine Sat vodaya wotkers of
Kasturba Trust Sevaks.
:
.
7th ”
8th ”
9th "
10lh"
Total
—.
....
___________ __________
36________
.. . ....................................................... & ■ i i .e....................... —— —•
'The school follows (he Gandhian mode of pedagogy
• where the divisions between childhood and adult• hood, manual and intellectual work, domestic and i
productive labour are not recognised; children live as
they would in live in their homes and are aware of
73.
1
social/enviionmenlal issues. Emphasis is placed on
lh<» development c)| a sense of icponsibilily Io oneself
&. others. I here is no discrimination based on caste,
c»r»ed or religion, Hespecl foi manual labour is incut
*
rated, and creativity encouraged. The day begins at 5
n.m, and ends al 10 p.m. A rosier giving details of the
activities undertaken each day is presented in
,1
li <• I
•’I 'I"’-***
’•
In order Io have the school free of discrimination,
Lakshmi Ashram follows its num policy which is nol in
line with the national educalkmal policy, and hence the
Ashram cannot avail of govt. aid. I hr national educa
tion policy approves of positive disci iminalion towards
those who belong Io what are called the ‘'backward
classes” • the tribals'and 'he "lower” castes - and
demands that the school ke
* ps special records of such
children. I hen lhe school gels special giant-in aid as
these children are entitled In free, education. I lowever,
such identity keeping brings the stigma, from the vil
lage where the inaikedness is a feature of social rela
tionship into the (dayroom, I hr’ child’s refuge from the
negative dis«
*rimination
she expei inures in the village,
5o, Lakshmi Ashram refused Ihagianl and barred the
inspector of schools from enter ing.
So far as curriculum is concerned, the school
evolved a curriculum suited to the natural environ
ment, the life styles and asjr-ralions of the hill people.
I his once again is not in accordance with the slate
education polk y, and the stale refused Io certify,
"recognise” the,school unless it changed the book's,
the course, the limings. Tlv> «;< hool is striving Io keep
the doors open for its grncluali’S Io enter "the rest of
lhe world” but d(»«'» nol wmit Io sacrifice! "approp
riate” education, tried and proven ns one which does
nol alienate a child from its • •nvii onment and its crea
tive intelligence, its past, hmm, the school has now
started following UP slate government syllabus and
course books. I he slndmls sit for board examina
tions al 5lh grade, Hlh grade, and 10th grade. Classes
are held from 1.30p.m. lol 31)p.m.,and the formal of
these classes is similar Io that irr other schools, with
one difference that an attempt is made to let pupils
study al their own pace. I here is less pressure to
achieve a particular standard. and no criticism if the
pupil cannot do a pmlicnlai task. J lowever, one may
71
.
’
say this is possible.because not many studeiils study
in a class. The strength of the classes varies from 2-12
students in the present academic session. Another
interesting feature is that unlike other schools home
task is nol considered to be burden. Students when'
ever feel difficulty in doing some home work ask the
teachers and they help them, just al the spot because
Cinw O» innm in niwnyo prnaonl.ttt Un? home WOlK time.
Lakshmi Ashram places a special emphasis on
inculcating religious values and awareness of health
issues. In order Io learn the main values of religions, for
three major religious festivals the Ashram organises a
function where students plav and act. These festivals
are Chirislmas,<Janamashlainiand Budh-Jayanti. This
is done mainly to keep alive a seAse of religion.
I leallh education is given importance. The girls are
taught how to nurse and treat the sick. From the age of
12 or 13 they are given a lesson on menstrual cycle.
They are also taught Io maintain a register noting the
dales, This is done under the guidance of the teachers.
They arc also given sex education. The teacher gives a
set of lectures on the process of (he development of
sex organs,and the kind of physiological changes that
take place, in such a way that a girl child is made to
understand her physical constitution, gain an under
standing of herself and learn how to take care of
herself. I he lesson on hygiene seems to be specially
emphasised. In the hill regions, and against the family
background the girls generally come from, they totally
lack a hygienic sense. So the teachers make
*
them
aware of the importance of maintaining clean toilet
and taking regular baths. Then, there are certain
common dinnanna prevailing in the region of which
they are warned well In advance, and made aware of
preventive as well as curative measures.
Ashram ns Extension Service Centre :Another
important objective of Lakshmi Ashram is to help the
poor and the needy by providing some services. Some
of these are Included in the daily activities of Lakshmi
Ashram. The Ashram runs a village service centre,
known as the Udyog Mandir, in Kausani. ft includes a
flour mill and oil press, library and reading room, all for
(he use of the general public. In the bazaar the Ashram
runs a Khadi Bhandar, managed by one of the Ashram
workers who is responsible for both spies and book-
Table 1.2 Age Distribution
Age in Years
No. of Students.
■JO
12
13
14
>1
15
16
17
19
22
1
5
5
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
Total-
22
•
•
*
Tabic 1.3 !• ainily Size.
Sen ini No.
No. of Sisley
No. of Brothers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
«
9
IO
lb
l2
J3
I4
15
’7
18
19
20
21
22
8
6
1
3
3
2
2
3
4
4
2
5
5
4
4
I
2
3
I
5
4
2
1
1
I
2
1
1
2
I •
1
—
2
1
1
2
I
3
1
1
1
2
2
—*
Total:
74
’
'
i
28
.
-
•
•
i
‘
keeping. Also, Lakshmi Ashram has been working for
I he past eight ye,ns in Dhanladevi Block Village. Ils
initial activities were the opening of Khadi Bhandars in
Panuwanaula ami Danya, and the encouragement of
spinning for income generation I he raw wool is supp
lied by the Ashiam, and the dishiljulion and manage
ment done by its woikcs in the !i«»ld. Since 1962 the
Ashram has rim«i balwari s-'hom
*
’ in ll»<» block, centred
on I )anya, with some twenty bMwai is in different vil
lages run by lot al gid:;. I’.veiy y<
*ar
a Bal Mela is orga
nised foi all the ( hildien in the dilfeirnl balwads, the
chddirn coming along with ihri
*
‘rai hets Io I Janya.
Besides the Lalwari woi k, the Ashram has encouraged
awareness in I hr local women of their power, and this
has resulted in their spon'aimoi s efforts in protesting
•against the consumption ( J liquor, a serious problem
in this area as clsewlune «n the hills.
The I .akshmi Ashiam is an a« live agent of change. It
(aces many problems; one of these is financial, and it
has found il necessary Io accept foreign, private fund
ing since vmy limited gov’, aid .s given Io it. In order to
•carryout the motive'; of providing basic education and
making gids self-reliant and independent, there is an
urgent need to strengthen the system. The rale of
drop
»“ill ba reduced and its services will reach
many more than-it does today. However, this will
remain a dream until or unless some financial assis
tance is provided to support the system.
'i
’
i
Background Analysis of Present Students :
A Preliminary Report
'I bis serfion presents the findings of Interviews
conducted al the Lakshmi Ashram. Twenty two of the
foily students presently registered were interviewed
give an indication of their backgrounds, and their
perceptions of Ashram education. As it happens, all
except one of those interviewed come from villages in
the Kumaon, although th’ school has had students
from places as far away as Assam..
It can be seen from the table that the number of
students in younger age categories exceeds that in
older ages. This reflects the fairly high drop out rate.
It appears from Table 1.3 that all these girls are from
families with more gids than boys. This may have been
a factor prompting parents to send them to the
ashram.
Table 1.4 Parents Education
•iigt No..
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1'0
1.1 ”
12
13
76
Lather's Education
5th grade
10th
Uneducated
-do8th grade passed
7th grade passed
1 tigh school
BA.
Inlet mediate
Literate
-doB.A.
8th grade passed
Mother's Education
illiterate
do-do•do-do-do•
-do-do10th grade passed
Illiterate
-do-do-do-
i
"
i
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
___ J22______
•
5th grade passed
—
lOthe grade passed
Illiterate
10th grade passed
8th grade passed
Inlet mediate
Illiterate
B.A.
h is evident from Ihe above table that very few
fathers are educated ujrri B,A. or even Intermediate
level. Pei ccnlage analysis indicates that 93.5% of
fathers are illiterate and only 18% are graduates.
Amongst the mothers 18 out of 22 are illiterate, and
4.5% are high school passed and 9% of them are 5th
grade passed.
ft
•V
•do—
‘ Illiterate
-do5lh grade passed
Illiterate
5lh grade passed
Illiterate
-do-_____________
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
‘5
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
■
'
..
>•
■ .
t
It is clear from table that among the fathers 45% of
IIhhii are in b«i vices mofUly in the armed (orqcs but In a
lower cadre. Among them four have died. I lowever,
wives gel pension. 13% of them have shops but these
are petty shops. Among the mothers only. lwo
*were
reported io be home based workers.
Father’s Occupation
Mother’s Occupation
Looking after Land
Housewife
I lawaldar
•doLooking after land
Looking after land
Keeps at Home (Ailing)
-doRetired Service (dead)
-doShopKeeper
i
dead
'
Punjab National Bank (Service)
.Housewife
Service
Making sweaters and
Woolen garments
Service (dead)
Housewife (dead).
Shopkeeper
dead
Service (Navy)
Knitting
Looking after Land - *
Looking after land
•do‘ -doArmy Service (dear!)
Looking after Land
Service (dead)
Looking after Land keeps goat
Shopkeeper
Land work
Service
—
i’ '
.1
Table. 1.5 Parcnts’Occupation,
S.No.
A
‘
f »/-»!/itw, nfiftv
-do• -do<
Housewife
1 lousewife
1 lousewife
-do—
77
tL ;
t•
Interviewing the girls about their altitudes towards
further education, it was fount! that al! of them with
one exception, would like to study upto 10(1
*
grade. ’
J he exception was a girl who washed to study beyond
(ha?
On mmringu', nil njj.iin with < >iw exception said they
did not want to many, and saw themselves as
becoming ind(
*pend'
‘h’ earners, associated with the
Lakshmi Ashram in some capccily. The exception
was a gid who sakl she would lihe first Io earn her living
and only subsequently Io marry.
All these girls had come Io the Lakshmi Ashram
through some personal contact, cither with Director
of the Institute or other teachers, or occasionally
former students.
These perceptions about Ih'.'insclves, education &.
Life in Laxmi Ashram is basically aimed at learning
and leading a community life. Merc each bne has to
work. No one can just go without work. The main
feature of this Ashram life is that each one is considered Io be a member of the ashram and they develop
a sense of responsibility for work. No discrimination is
maintaihed among them in terms of caste, creed and
religion t hey live together as one family. Teachers are
always around the students as elder brothers and
sisters in the family.
The routine prescribed is followed by all. The
. students and teachers rise up in the early morning,
(hen some time is spent for refreshing. Then time
comes when students along with teachers clean the
school room, courtyard and other attached’rooms.
After doing all this work, all of them assemble Io
marriage relLcI the ideology oi tne Ashram. This
report about irreir pcifuimame lu II•»- H-ovhers,.
preliminary study directs us o address other (pieslions. The extent Io which the e«location received by
Jhese gills influences the future course of their lives is
ihe piimary issue.
’
All the activities are divided between groups, for
example one group is given llw responsibility of
kitchen whereas other takes the responsibility of
cleaning. Each group has a leader who supervises the
Appendix I
Daily Activities (Winter)
*
Rise up and personal cleaning
Preparation for lessons
(‘leaning the school room
Break
Spinning and Weaving and Knitting
Bi<’i»kf«Vit
Shram 'Physical activity)
(It includes gardening, ploughing, watering the plantsJooking
after the animals i?l’::.)
Washing/ba thing
lulling (Lunch)
Rest
Sr boo! Si ar Is
Gardening
Storing Waler
Playing
Prayer
Dinner
1 o:\iniiui
1l« iltKl hiHBP WOfk
• tn su<nini*f, Activities it<nt half an hour earlier, but follow the same routine.
78
5.30 • 6 a.m.
6.00 ■ 7 a.m.
7.00 - 7.30 a.rp.
7.30 • 8.00 a.m.
8.00 • 8/15 a.m,
8/15 • 9.15 a.m,
9.15- 11.15 a.m.
11.15 ■ 12.15 p.m.
12.15 • 1.15 p.m.
1.15- 1.30 p.m.
1.30-4.30 p.m.
4.30 • 5.30 p.m.
5.30 - 6.00 p.m.
6.00 • 7.00 p.m.
7.00 • 7.30 p.m.
7.30 • 8.30 p.m.
9.00 - 9.30 p.m.
work of (he group. Immediately after (he break (hey go.
Io (he Irainmg centre known as “Udyogshala” for
spinning and weaving and knitting of wool, (he
duration of which is about an hour. Breakfast follows
after this, Each ar.livi'y has Io be done within a lime
limit. ()nu teacher alv. iys keeps (rack of lhe activities.
A soon as lhe ac livi’v is over she strikes lhe bell
war'ling lhe students ibout lhe liming as well as
reminding ihem of tin: rex! activity.
I* nr about I wo I «om«i again ithidnnln who are Inking
liaining go Io then- <mining centre for work. Others
who ni«? solely students go to lhe field for gardening,
and ploughing. They <ome back Io ashram (or taking
bath and cleaning, then comes the lunch with a
duration of about an hour. One important and notice
able feature is that each one takes his lhali and sils on
(he seat. I he dining > c:cim is attached to the kitchen.
I lore all s«i in line and lake lhe lunch including
institute's director and also lhe lower cadre workers,
students, Ica' hers, <•«,- Finishing lhe food all of them
wash their own thalies themselves.
Post lunch session darts, with a milan of the
duration-of another 15 minutes (or health and moral
valuesrexlra knowledge and Ibis is followed by (he
periods. This continues for 3 and hours. They follow ’
lhe syllabus given by the U.P. Stale Government and
leach all lhe subjects accordingly.
Following this lhe period of kitchen, gardening
lakes place. All students go for gardening.Teachers
also go with them, help them whenever they feel
difficulty. 'I his can be taken as a part of curriculum.
Each class has its own share of land, in which it nrnuic .
different lyrics of vegetables, flowers and fruits.
t Anol her half an hour is dquomd to sluringof water.
There is a regular practice of playing. In lhe winter
students play indoor games. However, in the summer
they go out (or playing in the field.
The last activity (or lhe day is milan that lakes place
for about half an hour. During milan each leader of the
group explains its activities. If they face any difficulty
- they report to the concerned teacher. Il may be other 1
way round, if teachers Grid that students have not
done their work satisfactorily, they make them under
stand their fault and so on. Also duiing
*lhis
time they
say prayer i.e. Sarvadharma prayer according to.’
Gandhiji’s ideology add a few mantras from1
Ramcharitmanns. Al 8 p.m. the dinner takes place in
• lhe dining room. With a rest-pause of fifteen minutes
practice learning starts.
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