Status of Women in India

Education for Women

Women's education is extremely important intrinsically as it is their human right and required for the flourishing of many of their capacities.

Despite statistically positive trends closer studies show that privileged spaces in classrooms are occupied by boys. Girls are rarely addressed by their names. Girls sit in last rows in classes of mathematics and rarely muster courage enough to come close to the board where the teacher sits (usually a male in most remote areas) Moral science text books still have preponderance of men. Women as agents of social reform are rarely mentioned. Studies have shown that women respond in enhancement of self esteem cues but in many cases there is poor cognitive development. Mothers meetings have all had positive results. In various surveys conducted by ISST it has been apparent that parental apathy or opposition to girl child education is fast reading even in traditional male dominated states of north Indian. Given the right infrastructure-schools located in neighbourhoods, preferably with female teachers parents would allow girls to study "as long as they would like to". It may however be noticed as evidenced by researchers, the same families who are willing to see girls in college react violently if the girl decides to choose her partner in marriage or challenge other norms of feminine behaviour.

Decision-Making in the Rural vs. Urban areas

• 71% make decisions regarding "what items to cook"( NFHS II) vs. 71% in urban
• 26% decisions regarding obtaining health care for herself, in rural vs. 35% in urban
• 10% in purchasing jewellery or other major household items in rural vs. 13% in urban
• 12% decisions were taken by women with reference to staying with their parents or siblings in rural vs. 18% in urban
• 37% about how to spend money, which they had earned vs. 57% in urban In the urban areas these

Women between ages 15 to 19 nearly 24% in rural are not involved in any kind of decision- making in vs. where as only 7% in urban are not involved. Survey reports that of the 52% illiterate women in the country 55% in rural 74% in urban have access to money.

Working outside home women do believe that they have more experience (91.6%), enlarged social networks (48.3%) and stronger personality (32.2%) and an increased self esteem 98.3%) besides their decision-making power (62.2%).

Violence:

• The questions regarding crimes against women are most entrenched, as most of them are committed within the family.
• NCRB records that the highest percentage of crime against women
• Torture (37.7%), Molestation (22.4%), Rape (11.8%), Kidnapping (8.8%) and immoral traffic (3.7%). 4.6 Dowry Death and 6.5% eve teasing were recorded.

Women and Work:

1. 1.Women's work is statistically less visible non monetized and relegated to subsistence production and domestic side this accounts for 60% of unpaid family work and 98% of domestic work.
2. 2.The non paid work includes domestic chares like cooking, cleaning, child care and care for the elderly and the handicapped-traditionally understood as women's work. Subsistence activities like pitches gardening post harvest processing, feeding farm hands, live stock maintenance, gathering of fuel, forest produce, unpaid family labour in family farm or enterprise are done by women who are reported to be non working housewives
3. 3.Census estimates 51.93% of men are workers& only 25% of women work.