INTRODUCTION:

In the scriptures, it is written beautifully for women that where women are worshipped, respected, there resides the gods. "Man is a social animal" Aristotle's statement is accepted by human society. Society – Tribal societies and rural communities have been given utmost importance in the study of scholars. Today almost every sphere of life is strongly dominated by men. As a result, women's aspirations continue to be neglected.

Indian society is transforming from an underdeveloped society to a developing society. India being a democratic country, it is essential to promote and promote education among all its communities and classes. Indian women in medieval times lived under many restrictions, restrictions and taboos. His social status was very low. The arrival of the British brought a touch of liberalism so that in order to develop any nation or society, efforts should be made to create awareness among the people and raise the position of women in the society. This is why self. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has said that to create awareness among people we have to first create awareness among women. If there is awareness among women, the family will progress.

Research done by psychologists also shows that the status of women is relatively lower than that of men. The Constitution of India provides equality to women through laws. Hence it can be said that women get full opportunity to develop their personality but the question is whether constitutional equality has been utilized by women? Social norms, systems, values etc. constantly stand as a shield against the spread of education and communication of values in liberal ideology, equality, liberation, justice etc. As a result, the society cannot adopt modern thinking free from customs, systems etc. because it is difficult for any society to be completely free from social customs, systems, as a result the process of change becomes slow.

In the constitution of the republic country, the laws considered a male and female society. The government gave more impetus to programs like female education and opened many avenues of opportunity for women. These factors affected the status and roles of women. The status and roles of upper caste women fell on the middle class. What is the type of change in the status and roles of middle class upper caste women? What is its scope? With the changed status and role, women have become independent individuals. Reformist-looking changes have room for fundamental changes. Changing attitudes lead in the direction of women's equality right? Women's rights can be enjoyed with changing roles or these rights have increased, women can enjoy these rights or these rights remain only on paper. All these questions are important to measure the status of women in sociological terms.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES :

· Obtaining basic and family information of the respondent.

· To check the social status of women.

· To get information about economic, social status of women.

· Level of education, knowledge about family planning and knowledge about health.

RESEARCH STUDY PROCESS :

In the present research study both primary and secondary data have been used to get the required information. Female respondents from Vyara taluk have been randomly selected to collect data for the present research study.

DATA ANALYSIS :

The age, marital status, education, occupation and income of the family members of the female respondents of the present study are as follows: Out of the total number of women selected as the respondents of the present study, 26% are in the age group of 20 to 30 years, the proportion of respondents in the age group of 41 to 50 years is 30% percent is observed. Regarding the education of the respondents, 32% respondents are illiterate, while 12% respondents have primary education, 34% secondary education and 08% respondents have higher education.

All the respondents were found to be married when seeking information on marital status. 44% of total respondents are living in joint family and 56% respondents are living in nuclear family. In terms of occupation of the respondent's family members, 17.09% of females are engaged in housework, 31.65% in agriculture and 0.63% in employment. Looking at the annual income of the family, 40% with an annual income of 10 to 30 thousand rupees, 42% with an income of 31 to 50 thousand, 10% with an income of 51 to 70 thousand, 04% with an income of 71 to 90 thousand have been seen.

Women go through different stages in a family. Their relationship also changes during that time. Due to traditional customary beliefs, the birth of a son was given more importance but gradually due to factors like external contact, education, urbanization, women today are seen to be dominating as an elder in the family, realizing their family responsibilities.

The economic sphere is an important factor in determining the social status of women. A society is considered developed if the average economic status of a person is high in the society. But the present research study finds that women are associated with other occupations besides housework. Women are seen doing agriculture along with housework. Women from families whose financial condition is weak help men in the economic field by doing agricultural work, retail work.

Women are given enough attention in the health sector today, most of the people today value the treatment of private hospital doctors. People whose family's economic condition is weak are seen taking help of government hospitals. Even today, some people take the help of Bhagat Bhuva during illness due to superstitions and if their health does not improve, it is seen that they end up going to the hospital.

Traditional women used to take the help of midwives at the time of delivery whereas today people are taking the help of doctor or nurse at the time of delivery considering their health. Here out of the total respondents of the study 75% of the respondents take the help of midwives at the time of delivery. The respondent sisters do not have much knowledge about family planning as they are from rural families. But due to education, external contact, women understand about family planning.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY :

· Among the selected respondents in the present study, the percentage of respondents in the age group of 41 to 50 years and 51 to 60 years of age is higher.

· In the family life of the respondent, the proportion of nuclear family is 56% and joint family is 44%. But diversity here is seen to be limited to residence, kitchen and property. But joint family members are seen participating in social or religious events.

· Among the total respondents of the study, the proportion of females in the family was found to be 50.83% and the proportion of males was found to be 49.17%. Thus, the proportion of females is higher than that of males.

· Out of the total members in the respondent's family, the number of members engaged in agriculture is higher than the members who are studying. While the proportion of members is less than that of servants. However, today, along with the traditional farming profession, it is also seen to be turning to other professions.

· In the present study its status has been relatively high due to increase in female dominance to some extent. So women's participation in family decisions is seen.

· Traditionally if a woman divorced, she was stigmatized in the society, along with her family. Today, even if a woman divorces her husband and mother-in-law due to rift or other reasons, her position does not go down very much and the divorced woman can also marry again.

· Most of the total respondents of the study want to give higher education to their daughter. Today the traditional attitudes are changing and education is being given to sons and daughters on equal basis.

· In the comparison of studies, the health sector today also seems to have a high position of women. Today, women are taking the help of private or government hospitals instead of home remedies or going to Bhagat Bhuwa for health care.

· Among the respondents who earn income through other occupations besides housework, most of the respondent's income is found to be their husband's right. Apart from this, the right of mother-in-law or elder son has also been seen. Only 12.82% of the respondents are found to enjoy independent rights over their income.

· Out of the total respondents of the study, 22% respondents are participating in political activity, while 78% respondents are not participating in political activity.

CONCLUSION:

Thus, the status and role of women has not been rigidly fixed but has changed with the passage of time. But the status of women in society is lower than that of men. A man's rights and responsibilities as a worker are considered high. While housework, despite being the responsibility of a housewife or mother, her status is considered inferior.

The social system is patriarchal and consequently gender is the first basis for measuring one's status. The status of women is considered lower than that of men. Hence the changes and improvements we have made in the status and role of women there have been done to maintain the norms of the patriarchal social order. As basic social institutions like family and marriage run on traditional lines, the social relations of men and women are determined by the traditional norms of the institutions. In which the status of a woman is lowered in every social relationship with a man. As a result, no matter how much a woman achieves in the field of education and career with her strength, intelligence and skills, her achievement is considered secondary. On the other hand, in a man-woman marriage, it is not acceptable to the society for a wife to surpass her husband in the career field. As a result the personal development of women is stifled. But today women are advancing to be equal to men by advancing their skills and abilities.

REFERENCE:

1. Social Change in Modern India, Prof.A. Ahmedabad (2001-02).

2. Rajeshvari, S. & Mayuri, F. (2015), A Study on Child Labor in Gujarat State. Journal of Abhinav International Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Management & Technology, Volume 4 Issue 3

3. Pollin young (1968) - Scientific Socoli survey and research prenttce hall of India pee Delhi

4. Gopal M.H. (1964) - An Introduction to Research Procedure in Social Sciences Public House

5. Reymont Bowdon (1986) - Critical Dictionary of Social Science The Francis Bourricand University of Chicago, Chicago, Chivago Press (Second Ed.)

6. P. V. Young (1968) - Research Methods, Oxford Press.

7. Allport, Research Method (1973) - Sage Publication, Indian Print,

8. Research Methods in Psychology - Chapter-3, Jamanadas Publications, Ahmedabad.

9. Place of Women in Domestic Life – Mehta Sarojini, Prachya Vidhyamandir Vadodara (1964).

10. Status of Women in India – Dr. Nirben Desai – R. R. Seth, Ahmedabad (1980).

11. Awakening in women – a. K. Lalani, Pravin Prakashan, Ahmedabad (2008)

12. Changing Status and Threats of Women – Kalpana Shah – University Building Board, Ahmedabad (1989)

13. Social Research Methods - Prof. A.G. Shah and Prof. J. K. Dave, Rachana Prakashan, Ahmedabad (1991-92)

14. Women in Modern Times - Bela Thakar, Gurjar Granth Ratna, Ahmedabad (2001)

15. Adyashila of Women's Culture - Dr. Bhanumal Shah, Dr. Farida Kapniwala, Paperback Publishing, Ahmedabad (2002)

Received on 09.02.2024 Modified on 24.02.2024

Int. J. Rev. and Res. Social Sci. 2024; 12(1):15-18.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2687.2024.00004