User:Saranyaunni/Sandbox

 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA 

The subject of woman has becoming a burning issue all over the world including  India since last few decades. Many agencies of United Nations in their reports  have emphasized that gender is to be given utmost priority. Inequalities between men and women and discrimination against women have also been age-old issues all over the world. So what is gender discrimination? It is any inequality in opportunities and basic rights based on a person’s gender. It is a shocking fact that there are still women in India  who lack even fundamental requirements such as nutrition, education and hygienic surroundings. They have demanded equality with men in matters of education, employment , inheritance , marriage , politics and recently in the field of religion also to serve as cleric [in Hinduism and Islam]. Their quest for equality has given birth to the formation of many woman’s association and launching of movements. The position and status of women all over the world has risen incredibly in the 20th century. The times when they were treated like ‘objects’ that can be bought and sold is no more. A long struggle going back over a century has brought women the property rights, voting rights , an equality in civil rights before the low in matters of marriage and employment. In addition to the above rights, in India , the customs of purdha [veli system], female infanticide , child marriage , sati system [self-immolation by the women with their husbands] , dowry system the state of permanent widowhood were either totally removed or checked to an appreciable extent after independence through  legislative measures. Two acts have also been enacted to emancipate woman in India. These are: Protection of women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2006. The Domestic Violence Act recognizes that abuse be physical as well as mental. Anything that makes a women feel inferior and takes away her self-respect is abuse. Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act can be beneficial in preventing the abuse of institution of marriage and hindering social justice especially in relation to women. It will help the innumerable women in the country who get abandoned by their husbands and have no means of proving their marital status. It would also check child marriages, bigamy and polygamy , enable women to seek maintenance and custody of their children not as a life’s work in itself as an episode. The facts about working wives suggest a basic change in Indian family. The traditional [nuclear] household, in which the husband works and the wife remains at home to care for the children , though still a dominant pattern, is changing gradually but steadily. In India, the paternalistic attitude of the male has not undergone much change yet. In spite of such drawbacks and hurdles that still prevail, Indian women [especially educated] are no longer hesitant or apologetic about claiming a share and visibility within the family , at work , in public places , and in the public discourse. They are confident, aware of their rights and contribute equally to the welfare of the family. All these are positive indicators of the changing status of women in our country.