‘Incredible India’:
The Shameful Human Rights Abuse of Indian Women
Introduction:
The birth of a female in the world largest democracy, and the second most heavily populated country on the planet is an occasion to mourn. The perceived inferiority of the value of has ancient historical and cultural roots. Consequently, the practices of female foeticide, infanticide and dowry murders are so widespread that there is an alarming “gender gap” in the population. On average, around the world, there are 10.5 women to every 10 men; however in India there are only 9.2 women to every 10 men (Kristof). Women are known as the stronger sex. Therefore, in places with no women’s rights issues, women live longer, and are a higher percentage of the population. At the 2001 census the population of India was 1,028 million (532.1 million males and 496.4 million females) a gender gap of 35 million (Kalyani). This is now estimated to be as high as 50 million. Why are these women “missing”? How and why can the murder of women and female infants be socially condoned? Poor health care, a lack of education, limited power, unjust working conditions, and physical abuse; these plus embedded patriarchal traditions, all contribute to this shocking situation. Such widespread abuse of human rights over a prolonged period of time has significant social, legal, and economic implications for India’s emergence as a respected global citizen. Fundamentally, the most significant of all of these, the only way that change can happen, is through education of both the women and the men at all levels of society in India.
Background:
For centuries Indian women have been seen to be inferior to men. Sons are idolized and celebrated; daughters are the opposite. “May you be the mother of a hundred sons” is a common Hindu wedding blessing. The origin of the Indian idea of appropriate female behavior can be traced back to the role laid down by Manu in 200BC, “by a young girl, by a young woman or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her Lord is dead, to her sons, a woman must never be independent.” (Coonrod). The age-old ritual of the dowry further reinforces women’s unimportance. A woman’s family must pay the husband’s family to take their daughter in marriage. This financial burden can be overwhelming for families with a number of female children. Given the choice of having female or male children, the preference, by far, is to have a boy. With the aid of ultra-sound technology the result can be predetermined by opting to abort a female foetus.
Social Implications:
These implications affect all levels of society, and this abuse is not restricted to the poor or illiterate classes. Studies show that female feticide is in fact growing fastest in the educated and wealthy classes. (Bunch) The missing 50 million women are affecting the basic structure of society. A shortage of women is leading to the trafficking of women from neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Women are being sold into marriage in India, which is in weakening the gender balance in their own countries. A new financial burden is now being imposed on the husband’s family – a kind of reverse dowry system. The trafficked women are dislocated from their own families and have even less protection under the law and because they are paid for they are in many cases even more poorly treated than their Indian counterparts, further continuing the cycle of violence against women in Indian society. If a female does survive until birth in India, she is born into a life filled with many instances of human rights abuse and poor treatment at the hands of this male dominated society. “In India women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetrating the cycle.” (Coonrod) “Girls in India from 1-5 years of age are 50% more likely to die than boys their age” (Kristof). Only 54% of women in India are literate compared to 76% of men (Mohalla). Women work roughly twice as many hours as men (Bunch). Every hour that ticks by inflicts more brutality on women in India, with two rapes, two kidnappings, four molestations and seven incidents of cruelty from husbands and relatives (Ian). As the saying goes, violence begets violence; this situation continues to get worse for women in India. In recent years there have been an alarming rise in atrocities against women, including rapes, assaults and dowry-related murders. Fear of violence hangs over the hopes of women. Violence against women begins in the womb, with female foeticide and continues with female infanticide. The supposed “primitive practice of female infanticide is still flourishing…lacing their feed with pesticides, forcing down a few grains of poppy seed or husk to slit their tender gullets, or stuffing their mouths with black salt or urea. In some regions, babies are fed the juice of poisonous oleander berries. Yet others are suffocated with a wet towel, or exposed to the strong current of pedestal fans to make them asphyxiate. Others are simply starved to death. The worst betrayal is when poison is rubbed on the mother’s breast, so that the baby girl is poisoned as she suckles” (Bunch). And so it goes on, day after day, for millions of Indian women born to a destiny of life as a second class citizen, a life of servitude, a life of poor health, low status and few, if any real rights in reality.
Legal Implications:
The law that is meant to protect rights under the constitution is found wanting by women who seek its’ protection. In a study of 109 Indian Judges 19% believed that a woman who says “no” to sexual intercourse actually means yes. 74% believed that the preservation of the family should be the woman’s primary concern, even if she faces violence. (Kalyani) With little or no other protection under the law women are left to the mercy of their husbands, fathers and relatives. For a country to be strong it must value all of its’ human capital; this concept is preserved in the constitution. The constitution guarantees women equality, but that equality does not protection them against the law, or is it embedded in the culture of the day-to-day functioning of Indian society.
Economical Implications:
By not following the law as it is stated in the constitution, the respect for authority and law in India is undermined. It is commonly held that all laws are there to “get around”. As a result, corruption is widespread, and this imposes a heavy financial and social burden on the country. This reinforces and drives the wealth gap, which is broadening in India where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. As a result of the missing women in Infia, the malnourished and highly illiterate female population India does not have the large support of human capital to draw on to support and fuel the economic growth the country has seen over recent years. As a result other emerging economies are out growing India and are able to draw on a broader base of human capital to fuel and sustain their growth.
Analysis:
Solving, or at least reducing the human rights violations against women in India requires a multi-facetted approach. Woman themselves have a growing say in India through NGO’s and women’s rights groups who are becoming more vocal and politically active. The country is a working democracy and many women are organizing and using the ballot as a means of expressing themselves. Recently India has seen a number of respected women in high political offices, and these women are starting to take to make a change. Education is another foundation required for change – not just the education of women about their rights, but also the education of the entire community about women’s constitutional rights, including the education of judges, police and prosecutors. The community also needs to understand the financial burden it is carrying as a result of the female abuse, malnutrition, illiteracy, foeticide, infanticide and dowry-related murders. The third force of change needs to come from outside India. India is embracing globalization, meaning it wants to be a respected global citizen and a large trading nation. The west, especially Europe and the USA are becoming better informed about the position of women in India and are pressuring Indian companies and politicians requiring them to address the abuses, law issues and protect its female’s rights. This pressure is working; more laws and stricter enforcement of current laws are starting to gain traction in India as a result of the pressure. Although pressure from all three forces for change; grass-roots politics, education and outside pressure is slow, it is being felt. The more people understand the importance of the issue, the more they are coming forward to offer their help and voice for the abused females of India.