India is a notorious country when it comes to issues regarding the safety of women. Hardly any day passes when women are not subjected to violence and torture. But after the infamous Delhi gang rape of Dec 2012, more stories and news items about continuing violence against women are coming to the fore. It seems more women are now finding courage to report an act of violence that has taken place against them. Though the reported incidents remain abysmally low compared to actual acts of violence, one can feel that more and more women are now coming out with their stories. The advent of electronic media and social media has also done its bit in helping bring out the story of such atrocities and keeping pressure on the authorities.
India might not be the worst place on the earth to be a woman, but it definitely is a dangerous place to be a woman. As per a survey conducted in 2011 by Trust Law, a legal service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, infanticide, child marriage and slavery make India the worst country for women among the G 20 nations. Even Saudi Arabia, which is notorious for mistreating its women, ranked one place above India in that survey.
It is a fact that the reality of life remains grim for women in many countries despite new laws and legislation. In India, girls continue to be sold in the labor market and into prostitution. Child marriages are also common as are deaths due to dowry. It is not only the visible violence that makes the life of women in India miserable but also the asymmetric power structure in the family and society which is completely against women empowerment. Women have lesser access to basic facilities like health care and education. The patriarchal nature of Indian society makes sure that the male child gets more attention and access to facilities which in most cases are denied to the girl child. India is also notorious for girl child infanticide. Though sex determination tests are illegal, there are thousands of private clinics where such tests are conducted. A lot of parents, cutting across economic, social and geographic divide opt to illegally abort their girl child, since a male child is preferred by such parents given the economics of marriage in India.
Women are treated as a possession right from their birth, first by their parents and then by their husbands. They hardly have any freedom in choosing their careers and life partner. Even in the family set up, they are not a part of the decision making which is often the prerogative of men. Even with more women joining the work force, life has not become easier for Indian women. This has infact put more burden on them. Not only are they supposed to be an earning member but also take care of the daily domestic grind, where men hardly put any effort at helping them.
The Gender Inequality Index (GII), which looks at reproductive health, the labor market and empowerment of women through education and politics, named the same three countries as the worst places for women, although Saudi Arabia ranked the absolute worst in the GII, followed by India.
Statistics indicate why India is such a dangerous place to be a woman. 45% of Indian girls are married before the age of 18, according to the International Centre for Research on Women ; 56,000 maternal deaths were recorded in 2010 (UN Population Fund) and research from Unicef in 2012 found that 52% of adolescent girls (and 57% of adolescent boys) think it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife. Crimes against women are on the rise. The biggest increase has been recorded in the number of dowry related violence. According to a survey by Lancet, 12 million girls have been aborted in India over the past three decades.
If India has to real aspire to be a developed and modern democracy, it cannot reach that stage by increasing its GDP. Its Human Development Index, especially the safety of women has to be far better than what it presently is.
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