Danny Odato's Blog
May 22, 2014
Womens Rights non-existing in India
The battle for equality in gender rights has been fought vehemently around the world with impressive results in many countries and cultural spheres but there are many that still cling to outdated, inarguable cruel social structures of injustice against women. One of these countries that has yet to adapt and update is India. Legally, women are equal as the national constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex but common practice shows that this is not actually the case. India’s economic boom and continuous move towards a more developed national state has increased women’s rights issues instead of diminishing them, as researchers had hoped.
From birth, families within the strict set of cultural beliefs value sons over daughters and this has resulted in a gender imbalance crisis, similar to that in China, and in 2011 there were 914 girls for every 1000 boys among children up to six years old. Despite the ban against gender biased abortions, sex selection continues to challenge the progress of women at the very core of society. Additionally, the inheritance proceedings continue to support men, despite the 2005 amendment that included women as equal recipients in ancestral and joint inheritance.
As an adult woman in India there is a constant threat of harassment, violence, and persecution as the lack of gender respect culminates in violent forms. There is an interesting paradox that exists throughout every level of society as women are expected to be pure, innocent, and perfect models of character but they are constantly being attacked and degraded through rape and torture. An Indian politician recently stated to the press that he believed any Indian woman who was sexually impure before marriage should be hanged for her crimes. Unfortunately, this extreme viewpoint is not too far beyond the margins and echoes the distrust of women throughout society. This morality issue continues to come back through society but is often misdirected.
Rape and other crimes against women are continuing to elevate at alarming rates in India. Between 2006 and 2011 rape charges increased 25% and gender-based violence as a whole has increased more than 7% across the nation. There have been many stories of rape that have resonated around the world and caused angry outrage but as the stories die down and the press retreats women lose their support and are once again subject to heinous attacks. Less severe attacks are commonplace and euphemized which breeds more dangerous relationships and violent assaults in the future. The common practice of ‘eve-teasing’, or sexual harassment and molestation in public places, most often goes unreported and supports a culture of violence against women. The modesty issue continues to negatively impact women after rape as they are then continually victimized and shamed for their immodesty and impurity, despite the non-consensual nature of the assault.
Another area that results in staggering violence against women relates to marriage dowries. An article published by The World Post cites that one woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes and 8,233 women died throughout India in 2013 over dowry disputes. Unfortunately the outdated cultural practice exists throughout society and the economic boom continues to elevate dowry prices and expectations.
The only way to improve the safety of women in India and to increase the equality of women’s rights is to halt the inconsistencies and leniency in the conviction and sentencing of offenders who commit violent crimes against women. Raising the number of women in political offices and supporting their innovative policy making will improve the situation on a national scale while grassroots campaigns are important to change the entrenched cultural concepts that continually dehumanize women.
For more information on this important topic and to learn more about the real truths of inequality for women around the world read “Defending Hope”, “And the Sun Always Sets “, and “When the Mountains Meet” by Danny Odato to discover the raw cultural ignorance behind the Muslim , Indian and other third world country mentality against women.
From birth, families within the strict set of cultural beliefs value sons over daughters and this has resulted in a gender imbalance crisis, similar to that in China, and in 2011 there were 914 girls for every 1000 boys among children up to six years old. Despite the ban against gender biased abortions, sex selection continues to challenge the progress of women at the very core of society. Additionally, the inheritance proceedings continue to support men, despite the 2005 amendment that included women as equal recipients in ancestral and joint inheritance.
As an adult woman in India there is a constant threat of harassment, violence, and persecution as the lack of gender respect culminates in violent forms. There is an interesting paradox that exists throughout every level of society as women are expected to be pure, innocent, and perfect models of character but they are constantly being attacked and degraded through rape and torture. An Indian politician recently stated to the press that he believed any Indian woman who was sexually impure before marriage should be hanged for her crimes. Unfortunately, this extreme viewpoint is not too far beyond the margins and echoes the distrust of women throughout society. This morality issue continues to come back through society but is often misdirected.
Rape and other crimes against women are continuing to elevate at alarming rates in India. Between 2006 and 2011 rape charges increased 25% and gender-based violence as a whole has increased more than 7% across the nation. There have been many stories of rape that have resonated around the world and caused angry outrage but as the stories die down and the press retreats women lose their support and are once again subject to heinous attacks. Less severe attacks are commonplace and euphemized which breeds more dangerous relationships and violent assaults in the future. The common practice of ‘eve-teasing’, or sexual harassment and molestation in public places, most often goes unreported and supports a culture of violence against women. The modesty issue continues to negatively impact women after rape as they are then continually victimized and shamed for their immodesty and impurity, despite the non-consensual nature of the assault.
Another area that results in staggering violence against women relates to marriage dowries. An article published by The World Post cites that one woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes and 8,233 women died throughout India in 2013 over dowry disputes. Unfortunately the outdated cultural practice exists throughout society and the economic boom continues to elevate dowry prices and expectations.
The only way to improve the safety of women in India and to increase the equality of women’s rights is to halt the inconsistencies and leniency in the conviction and sentencing of offenders who commit violent crimes against women. Raising the number of women in political offices and supporting their innovative policy making will improve the situation on a national scale while grassroots campaigns are important to change the entrenched cultural concepts that continually dehumanize women.
For more information on this important topic and to learn more about the real truths of inequality for women around the world read “Defending Hope”, “And the Sun Always Sets “, and “When the Mountains Meet” by Danny Odato to discover the raw cultural ignorance behind the Muslim , Indian and other third world country mentality against women.
