INTRODUCTION:

Gender can be construed as a cultural frame for co-ordinating behavior and organizing social relations. As sociologists most of us are structuralists who perceive gender as inequality rooted in broad organizational and institutional structures with strong material bases.It is a multilevel structure of institutions of social practices involving reinforcing processes at the structural level, institutional level and individual level¹. (Acker:1990) Gender divisions are not fixed “biology”, but constitute an aspect of the wider social division of labour which are rooted in the conditions of production and reproduction and are reinforced by the cultural, religious and ideological systems prevailing in a society”². Countries have adopted constitutions or legislations banning discrimination on grounds of gender. But women are still treated as second class citizens all over the world. Till date women worldwide bear the double burden of domestic work and childcare. In addition if she is a working woman, she has to adjust to her work situation also. She earns less than men and is excluded from decision makings within the family.

The subject of empowerment of women has emerged as a burning issue all over the world including India. Many agencies of United Nations have emphasized the importance of gender issues to be given utmost priority.An environment needs to be created where women can make independent decisions on their personal development as well as shine as equals in society. It is held that women now cannot be asked to wait for any more for equality. Inequalities between men and women and discrimination against women have been age-old issues. These have surfaced in the recent past all over the world. Women’s quest for equality with man is a universal phenomenon. It is an unfortunate situation where what exists for men is demanded by women? Women demand equality with men in matters of education, employment, inheritance, marriage, politics and religion. They want to have for themselves the same strategies of change which menfolk have had over the centuries such as equal pay for equal work. Their quest for equality has given birth to the formation of many women’s associations and launching of movements. The term women empowerment is used in two broad senses, in the first sense it denotes empowering women to be self dependent by having freedom and opportunites. In the other sense the term empowerment refers to enhancing the position of women in enhancing their position in the power structure of the society. Once the empowerment begins it provides an opportunity for the women to move to the centrestage of affairs. Under these conditions “Gender refers to the qualitative and interdependent character of women’s and men’s position in society. Gender relations are constituted in terms of the relations of power and dominance that structure the life chances of men and women”.³ (Ostergaard:1992)

Looking at history one finds the position and status of women all over the world rising incredibly in the 20th century. It was very low in 18th and 19th centuries in India and elsewhere when they were treated like ‘objects’ that can be bought and sold. For a long time women in India remained within the four walls of their household. Their dependence on menfolk was total. A long struggle by women has brought them the property rights, voting rights, an equality in civil rights before the law in matters of marriage and employment (in India women had not to struggle for voting rights as we find in other countries. Indian Women got voting right much before USA and some other European

countries.)

In addition to the above rights, in India, the customs of purdha (veil system), female infanticide, child marriage, sati system (self-immolation by the women with their husbands), dowry system and the state of permanent widowhood were either totally removed or checked to an appreciable extent after independence through legislative measures. The real change came after Independence. Articles 14, 15

(i) 16 make exhaustive provisions for the women, for example granting of equality (14) no discrimination by the state (15 i) and equality of opportunity (16). The principle of gender equality as enshrined in the Constitution proves the fact that the makers of the constitution were conscious of the issue of women empowerment.Two Acts have also been enacted to emancipate women in India. These are: Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2006. The Domestic Violence Act recognizes that abuse be physical as well as mental.

Anything that makes a woman feel inferior and takes away her self-respect is abuse. Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act can be beneficial in preventing the abuse of institution of marriage and hindering social justice especially in relation to women.

Family is a universal social institution. Its members dwell together, undertake joint activities, contribute resources necessary to life and procreate. After Independence tremendous changes have taken place in the household and family structure and the roles of women folk in economic spheres in India. On one hand one can see he increasing divorce rates resulting as an offshoot of industrialization and growing economic power, aspirations of women, on the other hand the traditional joint family system is paving way for small nuclear families and reducing the size of the family. Apart from it the age for marriage has also increased. These had a profound change on the gender relations within the family and the stability of families and households, and in children’s family lives. Increased migration became common due to greater opportunities. Migration is a process where social networks and social capital play a vital role and they provide initial social support to the newly migrants at the place of destination. Such continuous interactions have a bearing on the family, distribution of land, participation of women and weaker sections of society in economic activities, their empowerment, health, marginalization, education, intergenerational relations and poverty of both the families having migrants and not having migrants from the communities. The process of migration itself is a complex one involving social networks/ social capital on the wheels of which migration to certain places is mostly preferred than to other places. Given such differential consequences of migration, both positive and negative, on the place of origin these social networks/social capital could be channeled into those specific directions that could promote development at the place of the origin of the migrants also. While negative consequences were still recognized, the view evolved that policy could promote the positive and reduce the negative aspects of migration.

Some scholars do argue that people migrate from less developed areas to the more developed regions as the opportunities for gainful employment at the place of their origin are relatively very less. Certainly, this idea contains an element of truth, but closer investigation reveals that rarely the poorest migrate and rarely people from the poorest countries participated most in the global migration system.To describe the family as a social institution it is important to deliberate on its universal character. There is a need to change the mentality towards women in the society. The incompatible sex ratio, violence against women, crime against women will only then be eradicated from the society. Vivekanand has said “Just as a bird could not fly with one wing only, a nation would not march forward if the women are left behind.” (Swami Vivekanand) The last century saw a great leap forward in the struggle for women’s human rights. In many countries women won the right to vote and take part in government, though in some they did not. Many women acquired an economic independence and social status unthinkable a hundred years earlier.

Ravindra Nath Tagore, has said, ‘We do not value Hinduism, we value human dignity …..we want equal rights in the society, we will achieve them as far as possible while remaining within the Hindu fold or if necessary by kicking away this worthless, Hindu, identity”

The influence of discrimination in the society is seen in the form of diseases among women, violence against women, domestic abuse and violence, sexual molestation, rape , sexual harassment, female circumcision, honor killing, dowry murders, gender discrimination , coerced prostitution, and torture, infringement of reproductive rights, limitations on access to health care and drugs and underrepresentation of women in clinical trials. They earn less money, are economically dependent, attain a lower educational level and have fewer legal rights. The case of gender violence demonstrates the creation of new rights. Women contend with violence in the family, in the community and from the government.⁴

The issue of violence against women has been in vogue since 1970, it emerged as a force only in 1990. Activists argue that violence against women is not generally perpetrated by states but by private citizens⁵. They argue that state’s failure to protect women from violence itself is a human rights violation.⁶ The conception of gender violence as a human rights violation expanded in 1990. A committee was formed in 1992 entitled Elimination of Discrimination Against Women formulated a broad recommendation that defined gender based violence as a form of discrimination, placing it squarely within the rubric of human rights and fundamental freedom and making it mandatory for the state to eliminate violence perpetrated by public authorities and private persons.⁷ “Within National legal systems, assault and murder are universally considered crimes, but wife battering is shielded by its location in a legally and culturally constructed private sphere”.⁸ Justice K. Ramaswamy has stated:

“Indian women have suffered and are suffering discrimination in silence. Self-sacrifice and self-denial are their nobility and fortitude and yet they have been subjected to all inequities, indignities, inequality and discrimination.”⁹

Illiteracy, economic dependence, caste restrictions, religious prohibition, lack of leadership qualities and apathetic and callous attitude of males in the society are the underlying causes for the inequities, indignity and discrimination. Sociologists take the view that gender is socially constructed that is differences between females and males are produced by social experiences rather biologically. They often question about people and social structure, the pattern of social relationship and behavior.

Violence against women is a universal phenomenon. Certain types of violence are gender based for example incest, forced prostitution, female genital mutilation, female circumcision, female child abuse, heterosexual partner or homosexual partner abuse etc. Despite its staggering prevalence, violence is thought to be the single most underreported crime because of social and legal barriers that impede the accurate collection of data. Complexities of gender violence vary from region to region. They have intricate connection to cultural practices and customs. Genital mutilation practiced in some parts of Africa, Honour Killings in India and Pakistan also deserve special attention. It is a violence against women which is circumscribed by traditions that enforce extreme seclusion and submission to men. Traditional perceptions of honour severely limit the rights of women be it in India or Pakistan. Every year hundreds of women are killed in the name of honour of the community and family. And it is unfortunate in majority of cases the guilty go unpunished. The number of such killings appears to be steadily increasing as the perception of what continues honour widens. The flimsiest of suspicions like rumours in the neighborhood and village, extramarital relationships and adultery is enough to elicit lethal violence. And the irony is that women are not given a chance to resolve possible misunderstandings.

The notion of honour is derived from twin concepts of “Honour” and “Commodification” of women. The stranger part is that standards of honour and chastity are not equally applied to men and women. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights created in 1948 as an international body of laws was meant to protect the integrity and dignity of human beings. These laws together with the 1979 Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women have been pivotal in the affirmation and implementation of human rights. These instruments have been continuously used to prove the violations of rights both in public and private domains. In economically developed societies domestic violence is rampant. Political leadership throughout the globe is often invisible or subsumed by the male dominated system. In Afghanistan, a radical Islamic movement (Taliban) came to power in 1994. In their regime, girls were denied education, health and employment. They were expected to be in veils or in common parlance burqua. Veiled body in fundamental societies has become a familiar issue of discussion in Televisions throughout the world. A veiled body is coerced into obedience, subjugation and male chauvinism. Trafficking in child prostitutes, wife battering in rural and urban areas clitoridectomies with broken glass are some of the many endemic violations of human rights tolerated by almost all the societies.

Poverty, violence, malnutrition and overwork are detrimental to health of women. The threat of violence is a potential hazard to their well-being. Since violence is based on abuse of power, it often targets the weakest member of the family and society- children, women and the elderly. Not only is violence a social problem, but it is a major burden on health resources. Women’s pursuits of health and access to health care affect the dignity and freedom of women worldwide. In this context, the extent of health care and the types of health care need to be identified in order to ascertain human rights of women worldwide. Women’s health is not only influenced by genetics, biology and physiology but also by women’s role in society. Women’s health has been defined as “facilitating the preservation of wellness and prevention of illness and screening, diagnosis and management of conditions which are unique to women, and are common and are more serious in women. Risk factors or interventions are different in women”.¹⁰ Women’s health also “recognizes the importance of the study of gender differences, includes the values and knowledge of women and their own experience of health and illness, recognizes the diversity of women’s health needs over the life cycle, sexual preference, levels of education and access to medical care and includes the empowerment of women.”¹¹

In many areas “social and cultural factors deny girls and women the same nutrition, health care and other support that males receive”¹². Inequalities in the social and economic status of men and women disproportionately deprive women and their children of good health.¹³

Gender must be linked with human rights issues-whether violence, health care or access to power and education. Violence committed against women is rampant. Public institutions have failed to act to prohibit these abuses and to detain and punish perpetrators. Acts of violence, whether by private people or government agents will continue so long as the perpetrators are not punished? Government action to stop them will not occur unless there is a demand for justice inside the country supported by international community. What is needed at this point of time is a practical model of change so that obstacles to women’s advancement, whether deriving from a countries laws and customs or practical barriers be lifted around the world.

The objective of these writings has been to draw the attention of scholarly community to the gender based abuses that cut across cultural, social and political lines. Widow burning and honour killings in India are just two such extreme examples which discriminate against women as equal partners and citizens. The issues presented in this paper demonstrate the oppression and plight of the women regardless of culture, religion or levels of education in India in 21^th century. The social and demographic variables is also fundamental to any analysis of gender development.

REFERENCES:

1. Acker Joan, 1990, Hierarchies, Jobs and Bodies: A theory of gendered organizations: Gender and Society 4:139-58

2. ibid

3. Lise Ostergaard, Gender and Development, A Practical Guide, 1992 , Routledge, London, pp 5-6

4. “Women’s rights are Human Rights” AI International Newsletter Focus: AI Women’s day Leaflet 30 no2, (March 2000)

5. Thomas, Dorothy, and Michele Beaseley, “Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue” Human Rights Quaterly15 (1993) pp 36-62

6. Bunch, Charlotte “ Women’s Rights as Human Rights: Towards a revision of Human Rights” Human Rights Quaterly12 (1990) pp 489-498

7. Cook, Rebecca J, “State Responsibility for violations of Women’s Human Rights” Harvard Human Rights Journal 7 (1994) pp 125- 175

8. Report of the Secretary General From Nairobi to Beijing: Second Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, New York, United Nations 1995.

9. AIR 1996 SC 1864.

10. National Academy of Women’s Health, Medical Education, Women’s Health in the Curriculum: A Resource Guide for the Faculty, Glenda Donoghue, ed. (Philadelphia,1996 pp 10.

11. National Academy of Women’s Health, Medical Education, Women’s Health in the Curriculum: A Resource Guide for the Faculty, Glenda Donoghue, ed. (Philadelphia,1996 pp 10.

12. United Nations, World’s Women 1970-1990: Trends and Statistics, Social Statistics and Indicators Series K no 8 (New York 1991)

13. Julie H Levison and Sandra P Levison, “Women’s Health and Human Rights” in Women Gender and Human Rights: A Global Perspective, Rawat Publications , India,2003 pp125- 151

Received on 14.12.2014 Modified on 22.12.2014

Int. J. Rev. & Res. Social Sci. 2(4): Oct. - Dec. 2014; Page 235-238