WOMEN ( ref 28/7- (1) INDIA) - Kurukshetra Aug 2013

APCWD (Asian and Pacific Centre for Women and Development Empowerment as a process that aims at creating the conditions for self- determination of a particular people or group. Constitutional Guarantee Article 14 : equality Article 15(1) : no discrimination by State Article 16 : equality of opportunity Article 39(d) :equal pay for equal work Article 51(a)(c) : renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. Article 15(3) : allows State to make special provision in favor of women and children. Article 42 : securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. GOI declared 2001 as Year of Womens Empowerment and National Policy for the Empowerment of Women came into force from 2001.

4th World conference on Women (Beijing) in 1995 proposed : Qualitative indicators : Self-esteem , self-confidence, articulation, leisure time, workloads, roles and responsibilities, domestic violence, women economic contribution and decision making. Quantitative indicators : demographic trends, number of women in participation, access and control over resources, physical health status, literacy levels and political participation at local level. Government Programmes for Women Empowerment Each dept has its own perspective and understanding Social Welfare Board participation with NGOs hostels for working women, womens helpline family Counselling centres, Campaign against Women Foeticide Dept of Rural development focuses on economic self reliance Agriculture Dept- increasing womens understanding about use of technology in agriculture Horticulture Dept- production, fruit preservation-pickles, jams and link them to market , self reliant.

Dairy Dept Womens Dairy scheme- training in animal care, encouragement to set up their own dairy Social Welfare Dept- scholarships ,pension schemes Education Dept for girls, adult education programme for womens literacy, Continuing Education program through SHGs in order to bring about their self reliance. SSA to reduce gender gap via Early Child Care Education Centres (girls) , National Programme on Education for Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL)- girls SC/ST Kasturba Gandhi Balika VIdhyalaya- gender gap 2nd chance for mainstreaming rural girls (SC/ST/OBC/BPL/religious minority), Mahila Samakhya- Education for Womens equality. Dept of Womens Empowerment and Child Development sets up SHGs with the help of NGOs. And implemented programs like : 1. ICDS : Integrated Child Development Services : Anganwadi services-also dispense iron tablets and iodine fortified salt to pregnant and lactating mothers, health and nutritional supplements to infants, pre and post natal care for pregnant and lactating mothers. 2. Kishori Balika Yojana : adolescent girls belonging to BPL households. Training for overall development- balanced diet, how totake care of their body,importance of family welfare, inter personal skills, vocational skills and confidence building. 3. Old age pension scheme- 400 per month to men and women above age of 60 4. Pension scheme for widows/homeless/disabled: only in rural areas. Financial assistance to destitute widows rural 5. Financial assistance for remarriage of widows 6. Grant to female students who has passed intermediate from BPL Dept of Health : to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates - ASHA (health) worker

SHGs form the mainstay of womens empowerment programs. It was NGOs such as SEWA (Self employed Womens Association)and WWF (Working Womens Forum)that gave fillip to formation of womens collectives by linking thm to credit. SHGs and NGOs _ while poor are the target , inorder to ensure economic sustainability of the program , whoever can pay becomes part of the program. The micro credit demand a certain capacity to pay and to save creating exclusions right from groups inception. Use of technology in training programs Women Empowerment 1. Economic Empowerment

2. Social empowerment participation in socio economic activities 3. Physical Empowerment 4. Psychological empowerment Need for 1. Education : only Kerala and Mizoram have approached universal female literacy rate. (NSSO survey data of 2011) 2. Work participation : fewer women in paid workforce. In rural areas agriculture and allied sector employed as many as 89.5% of total female labor. 94% of total employment in dairy sector. 3. Talaq system 4. Land and property rights

Social , Structural issues enabling violence against women should be addressed. UN multi country study (Bangladesh , Cambodia, China, Indonesia , Sri lanka and Papua New guinea) on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific conducted by UNDP,UN population Fund, UN women and United Nations Volunteers programme in Asia and Pacific. 70-80% men believe that they have a right to sex regardless of consent. The second common reasons are for fun or due to boredom followed by anger or as a punishment. Dowry taking was strongly correlated with violence Low socio-economic status, food insecurity, low educational attainment , alchohol abuse and drug use. Need of the hour Programmes that enhance the knowledge and skills of young people and help them to understand gender equality, healthy sexual practice , consent and foster respectful relationships. Need to address rape, including marital rape from individual to policy levels. (counseling, strengthening law, awareness)

21/7 1. Land grants in the womens name: govt, proposing to make all land grants among landless poor families in the womens name, instead of jointly with the husband, according to draft National Land Reforms Policy, prepared by the ministry of rural development. The policy advises states to consider group farming, thus group titles to

womens groups to be granted. Assess the unused arable govt. land and give womens group long-term rights to such land for group cultivation. 2. A G-20 survey has ranked India as the worst place for women-grossly unreported incidents- physical violence, emotional or psychological abuse- one of the cause is the deeply entrenched patriarchy of the Indian society- marriage has given men the legal sanction to do whatever they want on their wives- women need to know that there is far beyond a failed marriage or relationship- 1/3 of women are victims of sexual or physical violence- 38% female victims of murder are killed by intimate partners- every 3 times, crime against women, 29 minutes a rape, 77 minutes a dowry, 9 minutes cruelty by relative. 57% boys and 53% girls think a husband is justified in beating the wife- hot water scalds, punishment by way of exposure; corrosive chemicals etc. are the newer forms. 19/9 1. Hundreds of girls and women have been sold-off by human traffickers as brides in Haryana villages since past several years. 20/9 1. Bhartiya Mahila Bank, the first nationalised bank for women expected to be operational from November 2013. 24/9 1. A dalit woman in a Patna village was stripped and paraded in the streets by upper caste men to avenge an ostensible affront to their caste pride. When she went to register a case at the police station police discouraged her straightaway. A case under sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 341,323 (voluntarily causing hurt),447 Criminal trespass, 504 (insult) of IPC and 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Tribs (Prevention of Atrocities Act) pertaining to insult and intimidation was filed. Under this Act neither lower court nor High court can give bail to the accused. This means the bail has been obtained through fraudulent means. Dalit women usually become the means to harass an entire community. The only way to reap this demographic dividend would be to work towards providing more job opportunities to women particularly rural women with moderate levels of education. (Yojana Oct 2013 pg 56)