Causes to
Support - Women
Issues
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Reproductive/Health
Issues
The
sex ratio in the 0-6 category has declined from 945 females to 927 for every 1000
males: indicating an increase in female foeticide all over the country.
Women
bear the burden of sterilisation programmes. The greatest invisiblity of women
prevails in health issues. Reproductive health strategies to meet women's multiple
needs including education for responsible and healthy sexuality, safe and appropriate
contraception, and services for STD, RTI, pregnancy and abortion. Reproductive
issues are inextricably linked with reproductive rights.
Some relevant
websites:
http://www.wcd.nic.in/
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Right to good health/ Nutrition
Malnutrition
among women is 36.3%
The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women is over
80%. Poverty and poor purchasing power have been identified as two major factors
responsible for low dietary intake. NGOs have initiated major nutrition intervention
programmes to improve the health status of women and children and bringing down
mortality.
Some relevant websites:
http://www.ncw-india.org
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Education
India
is home to the largest number of illiterate women in the world. The literacy rate
for women is just 39.19%, and more than 56% drop out before they reach mid level
in school. In rural India, out of every 100 girls who enrol in Class I, only 1
enters Class XII. In urban areas the position is only slightly better with 14
girls entering in Class XII. Kerala has near universal literacy, while the lowest
is in Rajasthan, 20.8% Female literacy still represents an area of major concern.
Large scale programs initiated by NGOs have tried to strengthen links with the
community and have been able to draw "out of school" adolescent girls
into formal education.
Some relevant websites:
http://www.jagori.com/training.htm
wcd.nic.in/mos/achieve.htm
wcd.nic.in/web2/ignou1.htm
wcd.nic.in/cedaw4.htm
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Training & Skill Development
Of
the total 22.27% female work participation, main workers contributed 16.03% and
marginal workers 6.24%.Women constitute 90% of the total marginal workers of the
country.
There are wide regional variations in work participation rates within
the country from 4% to 34%.
Women find employment mostly as casual labour
in agriculture and the growing informal sector.
Efforts by NGOs focus attention
on poor women. Their aim is to train and provide them opportunities of self-employment
to improve their social and economic status. They also encourage the habit of
thrift and credit among them to improve the welfare and quality of life of the
family and community.
Some relevant websites:
rmk.nic.in
www.workingwomensforum.org/
http://www.unifem.org/
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Legal Awareness and Property Rights
In
rural India only 13% of women inherited land from their fathers, as daughters.
In the rural areas the daughters marry and leave the village hence no inheritance
rights exist. The government schemes also allot land to male household heads.
An adult married son gets compensation for displacement but the adult daughter
gets nothing. In case of women headed households the land goes to the woman's
son in Bihar. NGOs are working closely with women to generate awareness regarding
their legal rights and help them get land by extending loan facilities to buy
land in groups.
Some relevant websites:
wcd.nic.in/mos/achieve.htm
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Women Empowerment
2001
is being observed as "Women Empowerment Year".Men and women are equal
partners in development and women would be empowered if they have the skills for
social analysis, and understand the causes of disparity and inequality. Widespread
efforts by NGOs to improve the access of women to national resources and ensure
their rightful place in the mainstream of economic development are beginning to
have positive results.
Self Help Groups (SHGs) of women in India have
been recognized as an effective strategy for the empowerment of women in rural
as well as urban areas.Bringing women together from all spheres of life to fight
for their rights or a cause. Since the overall empowerment of women is crucially
dependent on economic empowerment, women through these SHGs work on a range of
issues such as health, nutrition, agriculture, forestry, besides income generation
activities and seeking micro credit.
http://www.ncw-india.org
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Violence
against women
Living
in a patriarchal society and in a culture that justifies the secondary status
of women, women are exposed to constant violence from men/women. Violence may
take various forms. These may be physical, sexual, verbal, societal, emotional,
financial, intellectual or various forms of denial like denial of education, food,
health care, political rights, legal rights, information, and the like. Violence
against women is recognized as a violation of their human rights and a deterrent
to development.
Some relevant websites:
wcd.nic.in/mos/achieve.htm
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Prostitution
Over
3.5 million AIDS victims in India and they are continually rising. Women constitute
as much as 21% of this distribution, mostly in the age range of 15-45 years. Work
is being done by NGOs in creating awareness among communities about HIV/AIDS/
STD to provide and facilitate access to health services, generate IEC material,
implement targeted intervention programmes for behavior change in people at risk.
They also assist in carrying out advocacy programmes to protect human rights and
counter discrimination against people with HIV/ AIDS.
Some relevant
websites:
http://www.Indiainfo.com/account/message/InBOX/322.html
wcd.nic.in/mos/achieve.htm
www.action4india.org
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Political Awareness and Participation
73rd
amendment providing 33% reservation for women in all elected political bodies
is still sitting on Parliament shelves.Though women's participation in gram panchayats/samitis
and nagar parishads started a new revolution, most women still suffer humiliation
when they wish to assert themselves. The patriarchal structures of governance
do not permit women to grow in self-reliance and self esteem. Any development
efforts that do not involve sufficient percentage of women in the planning, decision-making
and implementation procedures will not benefit women.
Some relevant
websites:
www.pria.org
www.jagori.org
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GOVERNMENT
SCHEMES
1)
The establishment of the National Commission for Women (NCW),
2) Rashtriya
Mahila Kosh (RMK), National Credit Fund
3) Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY)
4) Rural Women's Development & Empowerment Project (RWDEP )
5) National
Nutrition Policy (NNP)
6) Integrated Child Development Scheme(ICDS)Training Component of ICDS funded by World Bank
7) National Creche Fund (NCF),
8) Indira Mahila Yojana (IMY),
9) Reproductive and Child Health Scheme (RCH)
10) Adolescent Girls Scheme
11) Working Women's Hostels Scheme
12)
STEP,
13) Research and Publication Scheme
14) Distance EducationScheme
in collaboration with IGNOU
15) Stree Shakti Puraskar
16) Food Credit
Scheme
17) Land Acquisition / Land Redemption / Land Leasing Assistance
18) Health / Consumption Needs Assistance
19) Skill Upgradation Support
20) Education and Training Support
21) Crop Credit /Off Farm Activities Support
GOVERNMENT
POLICIES
The
major policy initiatives undertaken by the Department
1) The National
Policy for Empowerment of Women
2) A National Resource Centre for Women.
3) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW).
4) The Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender and Development.
Related sites
http://rmk.nic.in/
http://www.indianngos.com
http://www.education.nic.in/htmlweb/sche.htm#ewe
http://wcd.nic.in/mos/achieve.htm
For
details on Government Schemes for women click here:
http://wcd.nic.in/schdet.htm
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