Discrimination against girls in India

Discrimination against girls in India has several sociological impacts. Debates surrounding the issue question female children's role and seek to define their human rights, especially with the nearly universal consensus on the need for gender equality.^[1]

Gender discrimination

Gender based discrimination against female children is pervasive across the world. It is seen in all the strata of society and manifests in various forms.^[2] As per the literature, female child has been treated inferior to male child and this is deeply engraved in the mind of the female child. Some argue that due to this inferior treatment the females fail to understand their rights. This is more predominant in India as well as other lesser developed countries. Sex selection of the before birth and neglect of the female child after birth, in childhood and, during the teenage years has outnumbered males to females in India and also in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Korea.^[2] There are 1029 women per 1000 men in North America^[3] and 1076 women per 1000 men in Europe,^[4] but there are only 927 women per 1000 men in India.^[5] These numbers tell us quite a harsh story about neglect and mistreatment of the female child in India. Women have a biological advantage over men for longevity and survival, yet there are more men than women.^[1][2][6] The figures above support that gender discrimination of female child is a basic facility area. Though the demographic characteristics do not show much or in some cases, anti-female bias, there is always a woman who receives a small piece of the pie.

There are two main inequalities as pointed out by Amartya Sen: educational inequality and health inequality. These are the indicators of a woman's status of welfare. In India irrespective of the caste, creed, religion and social status, the overall status of a woman is lower than men and therefore a male child is preferred over a female child. A male child is considered a blessing and his birth is celebrated as opposed to a female child where her birth is not celebrated and is considered more of a burden.^[1] Therefore, education and health care of the female child in India is an important social indicator to measure equality between men and women. According to the 2001 Indian census, overall male-female ratio was 927 females per 1000 males. However, the 2011 Indian census shows that there are 914 females per 1000 males. During the last decade the number female children to male children in the youngest age group fell from 945 per 1000 males to 927 per 1000 males.^[7]

As per the data available there seems to be gender disparity depending on the location, as the Northern states(particularly Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh) seem to be more biased than the Southern states. The sharpest decline for the age group of zero to six years is observed in the Northern States particularly in Punjab (793 per 1000 females) and Haryana (820 per 1000 females).^[8] These new figures point out that the use of new technology contributes to the gender composition. Furthermore, the availability of and access to new technologies provides new ways for parent to achieve such goals of sex determination before birth.^[2] Due to the widespread use of this technology the Indian Government banned the sex determination before birth.^[2] In spite of these bans imposed by the Government, the law is not widely followed, see sex-selective-abortion.

A social development report presented in 2010 to the World Bank and UNDP, found that the time a female child and a male child spends on various activities is similar, with the exception of domestic work and social/resting time; a female child spends nearly three forth of an hour more on domestic work than a male child and therefore lesser hours of social activity/resting then boys.^[9] Despite progress in advancing gender equity from a legal standpoint, in practice many women and female children still lack opportunities, and support for the socio-economic advancement.^[10][11] Historically, the inclusion of young girls and women in education has helped challenge gender stereotypes and discrimination.^[12] This suggests that providing space for young girls to develop leadership skills, through education and healthy living is important. This can shape attitudes towards women's capabilities as leaders and decision makers especially in conventionally male domains and male dominated cultures. Because of the sex preference of male children in India, female children are deemed of resources in the areas of health and education.

Impact on women's health

In Western nations women typically live about six years longer than men,^[7] but this is not true in India. Evidence shows that girls are given less food and health care than boys, especially in Northern India. Girls are breastfed for shorter periods, given less medical attention, fewer consultations and visits to the doctor, and are often taken very late to the hospital in an emergency.^[13]

Because of some culturally assigned duties, many girls miss out on the chance to improve their overall health. Miller calls this as an extended infanticide, since life sustaining necessities like food, nutrition and health care are denied to the female child. Female children are given less food, both in quality and quantity, and therefore are undernourished compared to male children. This in turn leads to health issues like anemia and intrauterine growth restriction during pregnancy.^[1] If a woman gives birth to a female child while malnourished, then the child's survival issues and salon nutritional issues increase.

The female child's status is the product of general societal attitude towards women at large in India. Girls in India face higher risks of malnutrition, disease, disability, and retardation of growth and development. They have no access to or control over the resources because their work toward raising a family and in the household chores is undervalued. A popular Telugu saying from Andhra Pradesh says, "Bringing up a daughter is like watering a plant in another's courtyard." Due to this understanding, she is considered a liability and outside commodity and is deprived of good food and nutrition. According to a global study, India is the fourth most dangerous country for a female child in the world.^[14]

Education

Experts often argue that women's education is the key to reducing discrimination against girls. However, female literacy rate has risen from 15 to 54%, even as the juvenile sex ratio has fallen. Some studies have shown that educated mothers are far more "efficient" in discriminating against their daughters than uneducated mothers.^[15] Other studies have shown that though higher levels of maternal education decreases infant mortality for both boys and girls, the effect is larger for girls. Thus, higher levels of maternal education decrease gender differentials in child mortality.^[16] On the other hand, there is also evidence that maternal education at the district and household levels is weakly associated with increases in female survival.^[17] At a macro level, regions with high female literacy states—Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil nadu, Karnataka and Goa—have shown less discrimination towards girls. However, in the past 20 years, high female literacy has not stopped Delhi, Gujarat, and Rajasthan from showing increased discrimination against girls.^[18]

The female child in India is often deprived from her right of an education. The number of girls dropping out of school far exceeds the boys because girls are expected to help at home, either with household work like washing and cooking or with taking care of younger siblings. Since girls spend more time performing domestic duties and this increases the gap between female and male equality in rural parts of India, it perpetuates the myth that education is of no help to the girl and her primary job will be to look after the household work, get married early, have children and then raise them.^[2] If this is the job she has to do, then education is of no importance to her and it is not imparted. Also, even with education and financial independence, women might not get the same rights and liberties which a man may have. It is through education in the early days of a child that we can bring about behavior changes and open doors to opportunities that will enhance their confidence, personality, and career.

Often in these communities, women, in particular, are considered an inferior sex and are raised to accept this belief.^[1] Nearly 80% of the girls drop out from standards I to V. Out of the 100 girls that enroll in the first year of school, only 42 reach class V. Among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, many of those who live below poverty line. only 19 of the 100 girls reach class V. Many of these girls work in the unorganized sectors, such as the beedi industry, which is largely home based and made up of women and girls. The beedi sector represents the gender division of labor because most of the women and girls sitting at home do the beedi making, and boys are not involved in it.^[19]

Employment

Women in India seem to work more than men in India, but it isn't exactly payed work. India ranks 127th on the gender inequality index and 108th on the global gender gap index according to The Asia Foundation. Women's literacy and education enrollment rates have increased over time, but labor force rates have decreased instead of increasing. According to The Asia Foundation many women are able to get an education, but the idea of women working is still culturally hard to accept. According to New York Times another reason many men refuse to allow their daughter, wives and daughters-in-law to leave the village for training, therefore many women who get educated are unable to join the labor force. ^[20]Many jobs are male dominated networks, and that is a barrier for women to be able to get a high payed job. Since these male dominated jobs are almost impossible for women they often end up in lower-paid and less-responsible positions than what their abilities would allow them. The Huffington Post found that many women in rural areas are burdened with responsibilities like taking care of the family, running of the home, therefore the only convenient job is farming related jobs. ^[21]

See also

• Gender inequality in India

References