The Indian Women and Children

Introduction

According India’s constitution, women are legal citizens of the country and have equal rights with men (Indian Parliament). Because of lack of acceptance from the male dominant society, Indian women suffer immensely. Women are responsible for bearing children, yet they are malnourished and in poor health. Women are also overworked in the field and complete all the domestic work. Most Indian women are uneducated. Although the country’s constitution says women have equal status to men, women are powerless and are mistreated inside and outside the home.

India is a society where the male is greatly revered. Therefore women, especially the young girls, get very little respect and standing in this country. The women of the household are required to prepare the meal for the men, who eat most of the food. Only after the males are finished eating, can the females eat. Very few women seek medical care while pregnant because it is thought of as a temporary condition. This is one main reason why India’s maternal and infant mortality rates are so high. Even though the constitution guarantees free primary schooling to everyone up to 14 years of age (Indian Parliament), very few females attend school. There are several reasons why families choose not to educate their daughters.

There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a great revolution in the history of women. The evidence is everywhere; the voice of women is increasingly heard in Parliament, courts and in the streets. While women in the West had to fight for over a century to get some of their basic rights, like the right to vote, the Constitution of India gave women equal rights with men from the beginning.

Women’s position in India

As of March 2001, the female population stands at 495.4 million out of total 1,028 million Indian populations. Thus, in the present population of 1.03 billion, there ought to be 528 million women. Instead, estimates show only 496 million women in the population today. This implies that there are some 32 million "missing" women in India. Some are never born, and the rest die because they do not have the opportunity to survive. Sex-ratio (number of female per 1,000 male) is an important indicator of women's status in the society. In 1901 there were 972 females per 1,000 males, while by 1971; the ratio has come down to 930 females per 1,000 males. In 1981 there has been only a nominal increase in the female sex ratio within 934 females to 1,000 males. There were only 926 females per 1000 males in India according to 1991 census.

Statistical Overview of Women’s StatusIndia 1991 2001

Over all sex ratio 926 933Juvenile sex ratio 945 927

Female Literacy Rate 39.9 54.2Female Worker Participation Rate

15.93 25.7

Maternal Mortality Ratio (death per 100,000 pregnancies

540 (1998-99)

Life Expectancy at Birth (Female)

66.91 (2001-06)

Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births) (Female)

69 (2000)

Source: Census of India, 1991, 2001, National Family Health Survey, Round 2, 1998-99, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, government of India

The 2001 census indicate that the trend has been slightly arrested with the sex ratio at 933 females per 1000 males, with Kerala at 1058 females. The sex ratio of the 0-6 age group has declined sharply from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001. According to UNFPA State of world population 2005, Punjab (793), Haryana (820), Delhi (865), Gujarat (878) and Himachal Pradesh (897) have worst child sex ratio. Scheduled Tribes have fairly respectable CSR of 973 but that falls for Scheduled Castes it falls at 938.For non SC/ST population it stands at 917.Rural India has 934 per 1000 and for urban India it stands at 908.In most states least literate districts have superior CSR compared to their most literate counterparts.

One reason for the adverse juvenile sex ratio is the increasing reluctance to have female children. For women the literacy rate stands at 54.16 per cent. Still, 245 million Indian women cannot read or write, comprising the world's largest number of unlettered women. National averages in literacy conceal wide disparities.

The UNFPA State of World Population 2005 states that about70% of graduate Indian women are unemployed. Women constitute 90 per cent of the total marginal workers of the country. Rural women engaged in agriculture form 78 per cent of all women in regular work. They are a third of all workers on the land. The traditional gender division of labour ensures that these women get on average 30 per cent lower wages than men. The total employment of women in organized sector is only 4 per cent.

Problems of Children in India

In this 21st century, when we Indian are busy counting our economic and politicalsuccess both at national and international level, still is much needed to be done to improve the status of children in India for the coming future. The children of Indiacontinue to be the most vulnerable section of the society and their growth anddevelopment remains a major concern. According to the 2001 Census, India is estimated to have more than 400 million children below the age of 18 out of which 35 million children are in need of care and protection.

Children’s vulnerabilities and exposure to violations of their protection rights remain spread and multiple in nature. The manifestations of these violations are various, ranging from child labour, child trafficking, to commercial sexual exploitation and many other forms of violence and abuse. With an estimated 12.6 million children engaged in hazardous occupations (2001 Census), for instance, India has the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14 in the world.

Definition of Child in India

In India, the Census of India defines persons below the age of fourteen as children. While making use of standard demographic data, social scientists include females in the age group of fifteen to nineteen years under the category of the girl child. Government programmes of children are targeted and the age group below fourteen years. According to the Constitution, no child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment (Article 23). The legal conception of a child has tended to vary depending upon the purpose. A few illustrations from the law in India are given below:

Statistic related to Indian Children

No. of Children in age group 0-14 years: 347.54 mn (33.84 %) No. of Female Children in age group 0-14 years: 169.03 mn (48.64 %) No. of Street Children : 18 mn No. of Child Labourers : Estimates varies from 22 mn to 111 mn No. of Children living as bonded labour : Over 15 mn No. of Out of School Children in India : Over 59 mn No. of children in prostitution in India : 5,00,000 No. of the children born in India every year : 27 mn No. of Infants who do not survive to celebrate their first birthday : 2 mn

Child Health

Every third girl child born in India does not survive to see her teenage Every sixth girl child in India dies due to gender discrimination Number of Thalassaemia Children born in India every year : 10,000 Infant Mortality Rate in India : 62 per 1000 India has 30 percent of the world’s births, and 25 percent of the world’s child

deaths More than one-half of young children are underweight, with widespread chronic

malnutrition

Mentally/physically challenged

3% of India’s children are mentally/physically challenged

20 out of every 1000 rural children are mentally/physically challenged, compared to 16 out of every 1000 urban children

Mentally/physially challenged girls are at a particular risk to violence and abuse

Integrated Child Development

In India a large number of children’s are live in economic and social environ- ment which impede the child's physical and mental development. These conditions include poverty, poor environmental sanitation, disease, infection, inadequate access to primary health care, inappropriate child caring and feeding practices. In the year 1975 Government of India launched Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) seeking to provide an integrated package of services in a convergent manner for the holistic development of the child.

The objectives of the programe are:-

1. to improve the nutritional and health status of pre-school children in the age-group of 0-6 years;

2. to lay the foundation of proper psychological development of the child;3. to reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-out;4. to achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the

various departments to promote child development; and5. to enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and

nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

The Impact of programe

1. The Infant Mortality Rates have declined from 80 per 1000 live births in 1991 to 73 during 1994 (Sample Registration System)

2. The percentage of children suffering from severely malnutrition have significantly declined.

3. Decrease in Prevalence of Malnutrition among Pre-school Children4. Improved immunisation Coverage in ICDS Areas5. Decrease in IMR in ICDS Areas6. Improvement in School Enrolment and Reduction in School Dropout Rate in

ICDS Areas, 1992

Social Problems

Social Problems faced by Women in India

Problems faced by child of India

Dowry Child Marriage Neglect during Early Childhood

1. Child Abuse2. Child Adoption3. Child Education

Death during Childbirth Female Infanticide and Fetal

Killing Early Marriage

Crime against women traditionally includes rape, kidnapping and abduction, dowry death, torture, molestation, sexual harassment, importation of girls, cases under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Sati Prevention Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, and Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act

4. Child Health5. Child Labour6. Child Sexual Exploitation7. Street Children8. Gender Discrimination

faced by Girl Child

Rights and Privileges of Women in India

The Constitution of India not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women for neutralizing the cumulative socio-economic, education and political disadvantages faced by them. Fundamental Rights, among others, ensures equality before the law, equal protection of law, prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and guarantees equality of opportunity to all citizens in matters relating to employment.

Legal Rights

1. The Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Rape (Sec.376 IPC) Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes (Sec.363-373) Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec.302/304-B IPC) Torture, both mental and physical (Sec.498-A IPC) Molestation (Sec.354 IPC) Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC) Importation of girls (upto 21 years of age)

2. The Crimes identified under the Special Laws (SLL)

Although all laws are not gender specific, the provisions of law affecting womensignificantly have been reviewed periodically and amendments carried out to keep pace with the emerging requirements. Some acts which have special provisions to safeguard women and their interests are:

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 The Family Courts Act, 1954 The Special Marriage Act, 1954 The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 The Hindu Succession Act, 1986 Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 1995) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 The Medical Termination of Pregnacy Act, 1971 The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976 The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1979 The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983 The Factories (Amendment) Act, 1986 Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987

Rights of Children’s in India

Awareness about the rights of the child among children and adults is very limited in India. Indians constitute 16 per cent of the world's population, occupying 2.42 percent of its land area. India has more working children than any other nation, as also among the lowest female-male ratios. Despite Constitutional guarantees of civil rights, children face discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, ethnicity and religion. Even the basic need for birth registration that will assure them a nationality and identity remains unaddressed, affecting children's rights to basic services.

As per Convention on the rights of the child (CRC) the Rights of children can be further subdivided into four categories for the purpose of better understanding of them. They are Civil, Economic, Social and Cultural rights.

Civil Rights of children: These rights include right to name and nationality, protection from torture and maltreatment, special rules governing the circumstances and conditions under which children may be deprived of their liberty or separated from their parents, etc.

Economic Rights of children: They include the right to benefit from social security, the right of a standard of living adequate to ensure proper development and protection from exploitation at work.

Social Rights of children: The right to the highest attainable standards of the health and access to medical services, the right to special care for the handicapped children, protection from sexual exploitation and abduction and the regulation of adoption.

Cultural Rights of children: Include the right to education, access to appropriate information, recreation and leisure and participation in artistic ad cultural activities.