The Effects Of Gender Inequality On India

In this short video and article on the topic of gendercide, reporter Elizabeth Vargas travels to India to found out from the people of India personally why there is such a shortage of females. She discovered that although aborting a fetus of a female child is illegal because of the shortage of females, families still continue to abort them because they don't want the burden that the baby girls brings. Vargas also discovered that illegal sex determination clinics can be found just about on every street. Men and their families also the wives to have sex determination tests and abort the baby if it’s female.

Constantly, people hear rape crimes, sexual abuse, and the inequality between women and men on a everyday bases. Not only is this situation happening intensely in the United States, it becomes even more fierce in third-world countries such as India. Controversies surrounding women’s image and status should be resolved locally and internationally. It is not something that is completely irrelevant to us, it could happen to anyone, you, your friends, and even your family members. So, when people are talking misconceptions about the image of women, or giving funny comments about a serious issue that is relating to women, please stand up and defend for women’s rights. Any defensive action might have a chance of saving a life, strengthening women’s rights, and protecting their dignity. Women should not be told of what to wear, how to act, and when to play; men should be told not to

Gender inequality is displayed in many countries around the globe. In India, the society begins gendering as soon as a child is born. In most cases, the birth of a daughter is unwelcome but that of a son is celebrated. The boys are brought up bold and outgoing while the girls are expected to be at home and do chores. While the other discriminations like economic or social discriminations are present outside the home, but gender discrimination is present outside and inside households. In a familial setup, the father is the head of the family and decision maker. The mother generally performs the ‘home making’. Even if the woman is employed, she is expected to do the domestic chores, in addition to her job. Even though she earns, she does not have the freedom to plan her salary or decide anything.

Although no set standards have been implemented by the Indian government regarding birth control and “population control,” there is still an overwhelming number of female sterilizations being performed each year. While around 37% of females in India have “chosen” to be permanently sterilized, the vast majority of men have declared that male vasectomies are considered culturally unacceptable. Additionally, the “selected abortion of girls” in addition to the sterilization of women of child bearing age has caused the ratio of women to men, in some communities, to be as small as eight to ten, with the younger generation being more susceptible to a wider

In a critical analysis, India has been subjected and thrown into the fire as many continue to thrive this uphill battle of inequality and gender relation issues. Although inequality is a largely debatable issue, especially when convoluted

In the Eastern world, where boys are more heavily desired than girls, sex-selection is seen as a family’s perfect opportunity to have a boy. Unfortunately, with or without the availability of sex-selection in these areas, sexism remains a major problem. When many couples realize they are having a girl they will often malnourish or neglect the baby, as well as kill them through infanticide. Therefore, sex-selection in this region can prevent young girls from a life of abuse or negligence. The availability of sex-selection is not the problem in this area, but rather it is the lack of education that is preventing gender equality. Currently, there is a significant gap in the male to female ratio in Eastern countries. Of the entire Chinese population aged fourteen and younger, there are 1.16 boys for every girl, while in India there are 1.13 boys for every girl (CIA). Feminist movements, similar to the ones in the Western world in the 20th Century, need to take place in these areas. Additionally, women should be encouraged to participate in traditional male roles to show that they have just as much value as anyone

Women are married young, become mothers quickly, and are burdened by stringent domestic and financial responsibilities. Like in Greece, they have little chance to progress in the work force. Females, in certain regions of India, are frequently malnourished since they are the last member of the household to eat typically and the last to receive medical attention. Also, only “54 percent of Indian women are literate as compared to 76 percent of men” (Gender Equity Issues in India). Unlike in Greece, women of lower status still receive little schooling, and suffer from “unfair and biased inheritance and divorce laws” (Gender Equity Issues in India).

There has been much publicity about the lives of women in India and how they are regarded. I would like to explore this topic in order to clarify and organize the abundance of information that has been in the media and in publications. I will focus this this topic comparing two countries, India and the US. Both are democratic countries and both have some forms of inequality. I will start by giving background information about both of the country’s political and cultural systems when relevant and the inequalities. This will produce the answer to which of the two states has made more improvements in the area, my dependent variable. Then I will go on to the bulk of the research in explaining the causes of the improvements or lack thereof which will be which will be the independent variables.

In the world today, there are also many countries that consider women to be in a lower social class than men. In fact, on January 22 last year, the Indian Times released this statement: “A kangaroo court last Sunday decided that the victim be raped by 10 men as she had committed a crime by having an affair outside the community. The tribal heads had found that the sin of the 20-year-old can be only undone if she gets raped by 10 tribal men.” Gender inequality is not just seen in India, but also around the world. They are denied any power or any string that ties them to being a valued human life. In Saudi Arabia, women are denied a driver's license. In China, female babies are being killed because of the “one-child” policy and their preference

India’s statistics are similar. According to the BBC “In 1961, for every 1,000 boys under the age of seven, there were 976 girls. Today, the figure has dropped to a dismal 914 girls. Although the number of women overall is improving (due to factors such as life expectancy), India's ratio of young girls to boys is one of the worst in the world after China. Many factors come into play to explain this: infanticide, abuse and neglect of girl children. But campaigners say the decline is largely due to the increased availability of antenatal sex screening, and they talk of a genocide”.

Traditionally, an Indian woman had only four roles and those were; Her role as a daughter, wife, sister, and lastly, a mother. The women in today’s time however are experiencing far reaching changes and are entering into new fields that were unknown to them. They are actively participating in social, economic and political activities. Unlike the older times, women today have received higher education.

Such practices will turn underground. Sex selective infanticide, and slower death by long term neglect, could increase. If abortion is restricted, the burden is placed on women seeking abortions to show that they have a legally acceptable or legitimate reason for a desired abortion, and this seriously limits women's autonomy. Instead of restricting abortion, banning sex selection, and sex determination, it is better to address the practice of sex selection by elevating the status of women and empowering women so that giving birth to a girl is a real and positive option, instead of a detriment to the parents and family as it is currently. But, if a ban on sex selective abortion or a ban on sex determination is indeed instituted, then wider social change promoting women's status in society should be instituted

172). Prior to reading this chapter I did not know that “female feticide” existed. Most of the women who are receiving abortions want children and can financially support them, but do not want a female child. Healthy children are being aborted because of their sex and that is heart breaking to hear. Also, I think it is ridiculous that half a million girls are being aborted every year; there will always be more males than females. I do not understand how India expects to maintain a population of people without women.

An analysis of example can be derived from the aforementioned discriminatory sexist roles in India that prior to globalization highly favored the male population verses the female population. The female population in India has previously been less than second class citizens. Indian women's cultural roles have been previously defined by traditional customs that are centuries old and no longer apply in this day and age. Previous to globalization, Indian women were to take total domestic responsibility. They were not allowed formal education as the majority of teachers and pupils were male, and the chances of a female remaining chaste was slim in those settings, and related to tradition, females

It is regrettable that female infanticide and foeticide are rapidly decreasing the female population throughout India. The main factors that is responsible for the increase in the incidence of female infanticide and foeticide is the low status of women, son preference, and the practice of dowry across all casts groups.