Feminisation of Poverty!

UNIFEM states that more women compared to men are likely to be poor due to disproportionate opportunities for education, healthcare, employment and control of assets between the two genders. Poverty also increases their chances to the risk of violence among other things and they get deprived of basic rights such as freedom and respect.  

Within India and other developing countries, most of the problems are societal. In such countries, where basic sustenance for all members of the family is sometimes difficult, women have to bear the brunt of the shortage of funds for education, food, health and so on,  most of the time. Also, social norms in such societies, dictate women to give up careers and education in order to take up household duties, where they probably work harder than the men, but don’t receive any remuneration for it.  Even if women are allowed to work formally in many occasions they are usually paid less than men. Compulsory primary school education help to a certain level, but most of the developing countries are unable to afford this set-up.

The Hunger Project compiled the seven major reasons for discrimination against women that leads to hunger and poverty for them in India; malnutrition, poor health, lack of education, overwork, remaining unskilled, mistreatment and powerlessness.  Some of these reasons they found not only endanger a woman’s life but also the lives of her children. Such as, the social norm of eating less by women is one of the reasons behind child malnutrition, as they eat less even while pregnant and lactating.

Eradicating this nature of poverty is difficult and will take a long time.  We need to work from the roots, where women specific poverty reduction measures are employed. Such as increasing opportunities for education, proper health care and so on for poor women.  A paper based on a field survey in India finds that the major obstacle behind reducing female poverty in India is the emphasis on women labourers and inadequate economic opportunities for them (Nadal, 2005). So, we need mechanisms to ensure more participation of women in the earned income bracket as well.

Some governments have introduced compulsory quotas in parliaments and private businesses for promoting more women in the workforce. But, unfortunately in many places, the appointment of women stops once the quota requirement is filled, thus not altering the problem to a great extent. What we lack today is a balance and just showing the importance of participation of women in professional arenas may not make much of a difference. Perhaps, it’s equally pertinent to highlight the importance of participation of men in domestic fronts or studying their behaviour in limiting entry for women in professional fronts? For example, Bjarnegard (2009) instead of focusing on women studied how male parliamentary dominance is maintained in Thailand, which points us to reasons why men are preferred over women in such areas. She mentions that the presence of homosocial capital (comprising of the needs to build links with those having important resources and a psychological liking to join people who can be easily understood, predicted and trusted), which is a political capital accessible only to men makes their dominance possible.

Also, property laws cross country should promote equality among both genders.  They are more female headed households in India today, and societies need to make provisions for this increasing trend in future, by ensuring equality in pay, promotions and resources between both the genders.

It’s obviously easier said than done, but the more we say, the more we tend to approach a solution. Thus, by assembling these bricks together today, we hope that tomorrow we might be able to ensure every female in India and other developing countries have economic freedom and prosperity.

References

1.      Nadal, Santosh (2005) Extent and Causes of Gender and Poverty in India: A Case Study of Rural Haryana, Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, pp.182 – 190.

2.      Bjarnegard, Elin (2009) Men in Politics. Revisiting Patterns of General Parliamentary Representation in Thailand and Beyond. Department of Government. Uppsala, Uppsala University.

3.      http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/

4.      http://www.thp.org/reports/indiawom.htm

 By Parama Bal

Ignorance is bliss! Really?

Many media articles state that women in Saudi Arabia are treated as perpetual children, ignorant and removed from the world outside. If they would like to travel, work, open a bank account, marry or divorce, they require written consent of a male relative, who can be anyone from a father to a son. While we are fighting for equal participation of women in organisations in many parts of the world, it’s shocking to imagine places where there is no participation of women in few of the most basic functions of life such as driving. Imagine having to take the permission and company of a male member to do simple tasks, like going to the market or a clinic, or worse having your son as your guardian if your father and husband are not around.

Apparently Saudi law is based on Sharia and tribal customs, where purdah (segregation of   women and men) and namus (honour) are integral. This fusion of two ideologies creates a much tougher law against women, ignoring the gender equality based elements in Islamic law as well (Human Rights Watch Report, 2008)^[1]. The male members of the family are supposed to protect the namus, and can even punish a woman to death if she causes harm to it. In 2007, a woman was murdered by her father for just chatting with a boy on Facebook. And even more shocking was the portrayal of the case by the Saudi media, blaming Facebook for creating strife in the country (The Telegraph, 17^th January, 2013)^[2].

Mostly, women in such secluded societies are brought up with a mental block and limited exposure. So, some of them don’t mind or realise discrimination in different formats, accepting them as the way of life. Nevertheless, this set-up is against international law (Human Rights Watch Report, 2008), and gradually, the new better educated generation of Saudi women are starting to realise that.

Manal al-Sharif, the face of Women2Drive campaign, has become a beacon of hope to other women there. Being a women activist, she drove in the streets of Khobar campaigning against the strict driving law against women in that country. She was arrested the next day on the charges of ‘incitement to public disorder’, and later released on bail with conditions such as not driving ever in her life, returning for questioning when summoned and not talking to the press about the incident. However, the authorities have not been able to seal her lips. She has opened a feminist pressure group, My Right to Dignity that voices Saudi women’s urge to rise above the second class citizenship they now maintain. Braving death threats and a job sack, she has been the toughest women activist in Saudi Arabia the world has ever witnessed (The Independent, 23^rd May, 2012^[3]).

Most recently, King Abdullah has granted women seats on Saudi Arabia’s top advisory council, the Shura Council. Even though the council has no legislative powers, this move gives hope to many women such as Wajeda al-Hawedar, who feels it will at least make an impact on the image of women in the country. King Abdullah has also inaugurated the first university in the country that doesn’t segregate the two genders and granted women the right to vote in 2015 municipal elections without the permission of a male guardian. (NY Daily News, 11^th January, 2013)^[4].

Even though chatting on Facebook with a man, or having coffee with a male friend in a café (considered commonplace in many other parts of the world), remains a far cry from the present Saudi Arabian culture, but such movements by the government along with protests by women such as Manal al-Sharif are obviously laudable and should be supported by the rest of the world, so that the Saudi women can have the opportunity to exhibit their potentials beyond closed doors.

Protesting in a country where women have legal rights is very different from protesting in one which doesn’t.  Hopefully, such countries would continue to have brave women like Manal, who would fight to uplift the status quo of a woman in accordance with international human rights laws. Going by Mahatma Gandhi’s words, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win’, I am sure Manal you are almost there and driving towards your goal very fast. All the best!

By Parama Bal

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^[1] See http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0408/2.htm

^[2] See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583420/Saudi-woman-killed-for-chatting-on-Facebook.html

^[3] See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/manal-alsharif-they-just-messed-with-the-wrong-woman-7778800.html

^[4] See http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/saudi-king-grants-women-seats-advisory-council-article-1.1238207

From binning to hailing: Eradicating female abandonment

I still remember meeting a lady in Singapore; a mother of three sons, who informed me that she would keep trying until she had a daughter. Even though I am sure many of the privileged and educated Indians feel the same way, I just wish that every Indian shared the same emotions.

Female infanticide in its newest form is becoming a trend in India. Don’t kill, just bin! Yes, binning is a much less criminal way of doing away with a girl child, and you get the same results as well. If unnoticed, these babies anyway die due to lack of food, warmth and care, if not anything worse like small rodents and insects attacking on them. A much less criminal, but equally or a more gruesome death for a child whose fault is just to be born as a girl.

There are of course several trite reasons for abandoning a child throughout the world; single unwed mothers escaping a stigma, unacceptance of mentally or physically ill children, parents escaping responsibility or poverty stricken families. But, in India we find unacceptance of a girl child as another very common reason for abandoning infants#.

Some prescribe the solution of baby hatches – temporary safe havens for parents to leave their unwanted children in some care until they are adopted by willing foster parents (a system implemented successfully by various other countries). The critics of this system say that while it might stop a few unwilling parents from killing their infants, introducing such a system may also increase abandonment in future#. Some say sensitising children about gender issues from now can act as a long term remedy in building a generation with more liberal thoughts towards women#. But, in the wait of a newer more gender equal generation, we might end up losing many more girls. While the former is a more practical and immediate solution, and the latter a possible thought for the future, we need an attempt to amalgamate both. Not forgetting the peripherals, like educating the present generation and empowering women at the same time, we should look at a more comprehensive approach to this problem.

Educating people about the legal and societal implications of abandoning a child is important. Holding informative camps in cities and villages by non-profit workers and government organisations regularly may help.  But, beyond the middle class, the poor and helpless do not just need education and lectures about how noble it is to raise a girl child. The poor who cannot make their ends meet on a daily basis, fight for survival and they need immediate solutions. And while baby hatches can be a good source of ensuring that we do not have any unwanted deaths of female infants, we should also promote empowerment of women alongside, especially in villages and slums where maximum numbers of female infanticide and abandonment cases are reported.

Raising a boy seems more profitable in future to these parents, as they can earn a better income in a male dominant job market and can bring in dowries during their marriages. In that case we need to create more jobs for women in villages and ensure they get paid the same hourly or daily standards paid to men. It’s equally physically exerting to roll 600 papadums a day (a common occupation for many women in villages and slums), as it is to work in a field. Also, strict dowry laws don’t help (especially when it can be informally carried out under wraps by consenting parties), until women are given equal opportunities to work and earn a living as well. This would enable them to be perceived as less of a burden and more of a gain into any family.

If the government along with various non-profit organisations come up with such comprehensive plans, along with proper implementation focused on both present and future solutions, we might be able to have a few more Kiran Bedis, Kalpana Chawlas, Sarojini Naidus or even mothers of several sons still desiring a daughter in India tomorrow.

By Parama Bal

Implementing a Safer Society for the Indian Women

In the wake of the Delhi bus gang rape of a 23 year old medical student, almost the whole of India is protesting against the government and the police department’s lax in protecting the country’s women. But, is it just improved law and order that can change the situation in a country where most of such cases go unreported especially in domestic fronts? I guess not.

Reminiscing Mahatma Gandhi’s words, Dr. Ranjana Kumari, a social activist from India in a news telecast (28th December, 2012, Channel ABC2, Australia) mentioned that domestic violence breeds violence in society. She also mentioned that one in every three women in India has faced some sort of domestic violence.  If her figures are true, then among many of us who have gone out today protesting against this heinous crime, must have been involved, witnessed or even experienced some sort of violence on women at home.  Then why not change things at home as well? Is there a guarantee that tomorrow men will stop raping women due to a stricter law? Did men stop physically abusing women in a domestic set-up despite the Domestic Violence Act of 2005? Just stricter laws will not help. The families or the microcosms of our society need to practice proper implementation of these laws on a daily basis to ensure that it percolates to the macro level.

In such a society only a change in attitude towards women can bring about a reversal change in these matters. The key factor is that women are still not respected enough by their own family members; leave alone the society as a whole. The origin of such events lie in the sheer male preference factor predominant in India even today, giving men a feeling that they can easily objectify a woman to a mere commodity. In many parts of the country, the good daughter or wife is still considered to be someone who is an epitome of sacrificial life, with no career (no financial independence), serving her family (sometimes working more than the men and not getting paid for it), always listening (no freedom of speech) and thinking about the family before herself (no right to choose). The men and sometimes even the women of our country need to realise that a woman’s independence is as good for the society as it is for her.

We need more representation of women in powerful positions, so that the equality between the two genders is evident to everyone. If women continue to throng administrative junior positions while men throng decision making senior roles in organisations as well as families, we might have to witness more and more of such dreadful representations of male dominance.

Equality is everyone’s right in a democracy, but understanding its relevance is lacking in most of us. Many think that women empowerment getting stronger may also be a reason behind such incidents, as men tend to get more insecure of losing their importance and their insecurities get manifested in appalling ways. In that case, we need to educate and promote women in ways that will make men realise that they gain too, and not just the society at large, by sharing the responsible positions and roles with women.

It’s a daunting task indeed but one that needs to be done in order to inculcate a safer place for the Indian women to live a normal life that they well deserve. It’s important that our government takes firmer action against rapists and also improve the law and order in the country. But, it’s equally important for us to implement such beliefs on the micro level, as the roots of our society lie there; our homes.