MAINSTREAMING GENDER EQUALITY-A

PERPETUAL STRUGGLE

o “ We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”

-Gloria Steinemo “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is given. A woman is human.”

-Vera Nazarian,

Ask a question to yourself before asking for a change in the society what exactly are we as women asking for? Does discrimination in India is just sexist in nature ? Don’t we have caste discrimination, religious discrimination, racial discrimination ? Don’t we judge person by his last name, conveniently ignoring the fact what kind of human being he or she is ? Is killing women for dowry by another women not discrimination or are we as a society have become complacent with these vices as they no longer are breaking news… ?????

The focus should be on reducing perpetual oppression of one section of the society(women in this case) and make equality a practiced virtue and not just politicized issue, which has now become compulsory lip service on part of politician. Yet we everyday witness bizarre statements given by politicians and bureaucrats which gives us chance to understand the mindset…

Some Statements by Politicians• “Boys will be boys, why hang rapists?”• “Consumption of fast food contributes to rape incidents.

Chowmein leads hormonal imbalance, evoking an urge to indulge in such acts as rape.”

• “Only women from affluent classes can get ahead in life, but remember, you rural women will never get a chance because you are not that attractive.”

• “Marry off girls early to prevent rape.”• “Just because India got freedom at midnight, is it necessary for

women to move on the streets at midnight?”• “One has to abide by certain moral limits. If you cross this limit

you will be punished, just like Sita was abducted by Ravana.”• “Wearing skirts in schools led to sexual harassment.”• “One small incident of rape in Delhi advertised world over is

enough to cost us billions of dollars in terms of global tourism.”• “IF YOU CAN’T STOP RAPE, ENJOY IT.”

THEORIES ON CONTRUCTION OF GENDER IDENTITIES

1. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES: Psychoanalytic: emphasizes inner psychic conflicts of children instead of external pressures. For example:- Freudian concepts of oedipal conflict. Cognitive-Developmental: emphasizes stages of mental development. For example:- Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory that “children are almost inevitably led by their own cognitive processing to choose gender as the organizing principle for social rules that govern their own and their peers’ behavior.”

2. EXTERNAL THEORIES: Socialization or Social-learning theory: emphasizes influence of differing “learning environments”, especially of children but sometimes of adults also.- Imitation of models and examples they see in society- Response to rewards for gender-appropriate behavior and criticism or

punishment for gender-inappropriate behavior. Gender-Schema theory: merges cognitive-developmental with social-learning theory. Schemas are internal cognitive networks that organize and guide individual perceptions; gender schemas are cognitive networks associated with concepts of masculine and feminine. Highly gender-schematic individuals tend to organize many of their thoughts, perceptions and evaluations according to gender stereotypes and symbols.- Research shows that by 3 years old children have already begun to learn figurative or metaphorical meanings of gender… children learn an underlying framework for understanding the nature of masculine and feminine that does not depend on the specific models having appeared in their environment.”

Social-Structural or Situational theories: emphasize structural constraints on children and adults i.e. the fact that men and women are in different and unequal positions in the social structure.- Conscious discrimination- Unconscious discrimination: people may not be

aware that they are discriminating or being discriminated against.

3. IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION THEORY: emphasizes the individual’s personal and conscious commitment to specific image of self.

4. ENCULTURATED-LENS THEORY: Sandra Bem’s theory, which includes all the above and also emphasizes the social and historical context containing lenses of gender. There are 2 key enculturation processes that are constantly linked and working together:-

- “the institutional preprogramming of the individual’s daily experience into the default options, or the historically precut ‘grooves’, for that particular time and place” which differ markedly for men and women.

- “the transmission of implicit lessons-or metamessages- about what lenses the culture uses to organize social reality,” including the idea that the distinction between male and female, masculine and feminine, is extremely important.

INTERNATIONAL LAWS United Nations Rule of Law Gender based discrimination permeates all cultures, and is often manifested in the laws, policies, and practices of institutions. For example, in many countries women are not afforded the same inheritance rights and property rights as men, nor are they allowed to testify in court. Even where constitutional guarantees provide for equality and protect women’s rights, discriminatory practices by law enforcement and security services, courts, lawyers and social services can serve as major obstacles to women’s security and access to justice. Customary and traditional norms and practices, including informal justice mechanisms, may perpetuate gross violations of the rights of women and girls. The UN rule of law approach seeks to realize international human rights norms and standards related to gender, in particular the Convention on the Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW).

CEDAW provides a definition of discrimination that emphasizes de facto improvements in women’s lives, and requires state to “embody the principle of equality of women and men in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation.” Legal reform must involve not only removal of discriminatory provisions from existing laws, but also the drafting of new laws needed to support measures to achieve gender equality. Effective implementation of laws requires training and awareness-raising of those responsible to enforce and uphold the rule of law, and the provision of necessary financial and human resources. European Union Equality between men and women is one of the fundamental principle of Community Law. The EU objectives on gender equality are to ensure equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women and to combat any form of discrimination on gender grounds. The EU has adopted a two-pronged approach to this issue, combining specific measures with gender mainstreaming. The issue also has a strong international dimension with regard to the fight against poverty, access to education and health services, taking part in the economy and in the decision-making process, women’s rights and human rights.

DISCRIMINATION- ITS MODES1. UNEQUAL PAY USA:• Women in New York earn 84% of what men earn and

jobs traditionally held by women pay significantly less than jobs predominantly employing men.

• The wage gap is more severe for African-American and Hispanic women, who earn 79% and 64 % of that earned by non-Hispanic men in NYS, respectively.

• 61% of private sector employees in the US report that they are discouraged or prohibited from discussing wage and salary information. If a women does not know how much her male colleagues earn, it’s extremely difficult to determine whether she is a victim of pay discrimination.

Wage Rates of Regular Wage/Salaried Employees and Casual Laborers(source NSSO 68th round) At all-India level, average wages received by regular wage/salaried employees was Rs. 396 per day. This was Rs. 299 in rural areas and Rs. 450 in urban areas. In the rural areas, wages received per day by a regular wage/salaried employee was Rs. 322 for males and Rs. 202 for females, indicating the female-male wage ratio as 0.63. In the urban areas, this was Rs. 470 for males and Rs. 366 for females, indicating female-male wage ratio as 0.78. Daily wages received by casual labors engaged in works other than public works was Rs. 139 in rural areas and Rs. 170 in urban areas. In the rural areas, wage received per day was Rs. 149 for males and Rs. 103 for females. In the urban areas, corresponding rates were Rs. 182 and Rs. 111 for males and females respectively. Daily wages received by casual labors of rural areas engaged in public works other than MGNREG public works was Rs. 121. this was Rs. 127 for males and Rs. 111 for females. Daily wages received by casual labors of rural areas engaged in MGNREG public works was Rs. 107. this was Rs. 112 for males and Rs. 102 for females.

2. SEXUAL HARASSMENT USA: Sexual harassment disproportionately affects women in the workplace. In 2011, women filed 75% of all sexual harassment complaints with the NYS Division of Human Rights. 83% of all EEOC complaints of sexual harassment were filed by women.INDIA:• An overwhelming majority of women(90%) who experience sexual

harassment do not register a police complaint. Majority of them do not do so as they don’t think it would serve any purpose revealing abysmal faith in law enforcement agencies.

• Almost 70% of the women said they had been subjected to lewd comments or songs from groups of men. About a quarter of them had been groped or molested by men. Stalking was reported by just 8%. Alarmingly, in over 90% of the incidents people around did not respond to help the women.

• Article 15(1) of India’s Constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender

• 17% of working women in India have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work.

• In 2013, India passed the Anti-Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. The act defines sexual harassment in the workplace and intends to minimize any bias or influence by people in positions of authority to intervene in cases of sexual harassment.

• In a recent ICRW an UN Women Survey, 95% of women and girls feel unsafe from unwanted sexual harassment in public spaces in the city of Delhi.

• 63% of women in Delhi survey were afraid to go out after dark alone and 21% stated they do not go out at all.

3. FAMILIAL STATUS DISCRIMINATIONUSA:• State law protects against familial status discrimination in housing

and credit, but not employment. • Women with children are less likely to be recommended for hire and

promotion, and more likely to receive less salary than similarly situated men.

• An average women loses $434000 over a 40-year career due to the motherhood penalty.

INDIA: GENDER, AGE, MARITAL STATUS One of the most remarkable features of the mobile phone manufacturing workforce is it’s youth. Sal comp employed 3600 workers in India, 95% of whom are women between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Foxconn had a total of 6000 workers in two production units near Chennai. Of the total 1700 were women. At Flextronics the ration of men to women was 60-40 and at Nokia it was 40-60. the average age of the workers at both factories was 22 years. Some job advertisements specified the desired age category as being 18 to 24 years. Nokia denied having an upper age limit while acknowledging that most of their workers were between the ages of 18 and 24 years. All the workers contacted in the course of research were in their early 20s.

During the focus group meetings workers revealed that age was a major criterion of selection for employment and that it was important to be young. In India marriages are typically arranged for young people in their 20s and gender specific expectations arise of employment. For young women jobs are a means of augmenting family savings for wedding expenses and dowries, albeit illegal in India. Some workers reported that a woman is expected to have gold worth at least Rs. 150000, when she gets married. For men jobs are sign of their earning capacity and due to the traditional role of men as bread winners ,raise their eligibility for marriage. The advantage of workers youth was that they were , in the words of one manager, “free birds”, that is without any family obligations. SEZ rules have lifted the general prohibition of the third shift for women. By implications , young workers without a spouse and children to support would be willing to work for the wages offered and be available to work for longer hours than older workers .

4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCEUSA• Women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner

violence, with more than one in three women experiencing rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

• Nationally, 11% of evictions involve victims of domestic violence who are evicted due to abuse.

• An order of protection is a court order directed to the offending party and prohibiting the respondent from contacting the protected party. New York has seen an increasing number of arrests of protected parties when a respondent violates an order of protection, or when a protected party appropriately contacts a respondent.

INDIA: 309,546- crimes against women reported in 2013 118,866- domestic violence 70,739- molestation 51,881- kidnapping 33,707- rape 34,353- other

According to the last exhaustive family survey done by the government, more than 54% of men and 51% women said it was okay for a man to beat his wife if she disrespected her in-laws, neglected her home or children, or even over something as trivial as putting less- or more- salt in food. Lawyer Monika Joshi says, because the scales are tilted so heavily against women and unless there is “total equality” between the genders, home will remain “the most dangerous place” for many Indian women.

5. HUMAN TRAFFICKINGUSA: • Because trafficking is often committed behind closed doors,

statistics are hard to come by. Whether trafficked into labor or prostitution , women and girls are profoundly harmed by this brutal crime.

• Since New York state first recognized human trafficking as a crime in 2007, few perpetrators have been held accountable, and far too many victims have been denied protection or have been revictimized by USA justice system due to gaps and loopholes in their current laws

State Sanctioned Discrimination

MOROCCO:

Is still enact legal reforms to strengthen punishments for sexual violence and prevent child marriage.• Following nearly two years of sustained public pressure on

the Government on 22nd January, 2014 the Moroccan parliament amended Article 475 of the Penal Code- the law that was used to exempt rapists from punishment if they married their victim.

“ There is, for example, the Goa polygamy law which actually permits a second marriage for the husband when there is no son from the first marriage.”“There are also laws in some states which do not allow daughters and widows to inherit land.”

India’s custom made discrimination According to the latest UN Gender Equality Index, India has one of the worst gender differentials in child mortality of any country, ranking 132 out of 148 nations, worse than Pakistan and Bangladesh. In much of India, a preference for male children is built into cultural ideology. Sons are traditionally viewed as the breadwinners who will carry on the family name and perform the last rites of the parents- an important ritual in many faiths. Female economic power also enhances the “wealth and well-being of nations.” Women who control their own income tend to have fewer children, and fertility rates have shown to be inversely related to national income growth. In turn, a woman’s level of education affects her decision-making process when it comes to questions about contraception, age of marriage, fertility, child mortality, modern sector employment and earnings.

Set in the backdrop of the last 2 decades, the Wings 2014 report by NGO Save The Children looks at how girls have fared on access to healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation facilities, education and safe spaces and protection from abuse. The findings show that for girl child, the struggle for survival begins in the womb itself. Even after she is born, widespread neglect makes her survival precarious. Together, these two factors ensure that we bear the tragic burden of being a nation of disappearing daughters. The census of 2011 shows that overall there are 38 million missing women. The boy-girl divide over the last few decades has widened to such an extent that today, in the age group of 0-6 years, there are 7.1 million fewer girls than boys as against 4.2 million in 1991. the dropout rates at various levels of schooling can be dramatic and telling. For instance, in 2011, the dropout rate at class 5 for girls was 24.4%, while the dropout rate at class 8 was 41.3%. Overall, at the secondary level, the attendance rate for girls was 42.3% as against 52.7% for boys.

T YH OA U

N !K !