INTRODUCTION:

India , wi th a popula t ion of 989 mi l l ion , i s the wor ld ' s

second most populous country . Of tha t number , 120 mi l l ion

are women who l ive in pover ty .

India has 16 percent of the wor ld ' s popula t ion , but only

2 .4 percent of i t s land, resul t ing in grea t pressures on i t s

na tura l resources .

Over 70 percent of India ' s popula t ion current ly der ives

the i r l ive l ihood f rom land resources , which inc ludes 84

percent of the economical ly-ac t ive women.

India i s one of the few countr ies where males

s igni f icant ly outnumber females , and th is imbalance has

increased over t ime. India ' s maternal mor ta l i ty ra tes in rura l

a reas are among the wor ld ' s h ighes t . From a g lobal

perspect ive , Indian accounts for 19 percent of a l l l ives

b i r ths and 27 percent of a l l maternal dea ths .

"There seems to be a consensus tha t h igher female

morta l i ty be tween ages one and f ive and high maternal

mor ta l i ty ra tes resul t in a def ic i t of females in the

popula t ion . Chat ter jee (1990) es t imates tha t dea ths of young

gi r l s in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000

each year , and every s ix th infant dea th i s speci f ica l ly due to

gender d iscr iminat ion ." Of the 15 mi l l ion baby gi r l s born in

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India each year , near ly 25 percent wi l l not l ive to see the i r

15th b i r thday.

"Al though India was the f i rs t count ry to announce an

off ic ia l fami ly p lanning program in 1952, i t s popula t ion

grew f rom 361 mi l l ion in 1951 to 844 mi l l ion in 1991.

India ' s to ta l fe r t i l i ty ra te of 3 .8 b i r ths per woman can be

considered modera te by wor ld s tandards , but the sheer

magni tude of popula t ion increase has resul ted in such a

fee l ing of urgency tha t conta inment of popula t ion growth i s

l i s ted as one of the s ix most impor tant objec t ives in the

Eighth Five-Year Plan ."

Since 1970, the use of modern cont racept ive methods has

r i sen f rom 10 percent to 40 percent , wi th grea t var iance

be tween nor thern and southern India . The most s t r ik ing

aspect of cont racept ive use in India i s the predominance of

s te r i l iza t ion , which accounts for more than 85 percent of

to ta l modern cont racept ion use , wi th female s ter i l iza t ion

account ing for 90 percent of a l l s te r i l iza t ions .

The Indian const i tu t ion grants women equal r ights wi th

men, but s t rong pat r ia rchal t radi t ions pers is t , wi th women 's

l ives shaped by cus toms tha t a re centur ies o ld . In most

Indian fami l ies , a daughter i s v iewed as a l iabi l i ty , and she

i s condi t ioned to be l ieve tha t she i s infer ior and subordinate

to men. Sons are idol ized and ce lebra ted . May you be the

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mother of a hundred sons i s a common Hindu wedding

bless ing.

The or ig in of the Indian idea of appropr ia te female

behavior can be t raced to the ru les la id down by Manu in

200 B.C. : "by a young gi r l , by a young woman, or even by

an aged one , nothing must be done independent ly , even in

her own house" . " In chi ldhood a female must be subjec t to

her fa ther , in youth to her husband, when her lord i s dead to

her sons ; a woman must never be independent ."

A s tudy of women in the Swayam Shikshan Prayog

(SSP) , based in 20 v i l lages in four d is t r ic ts in Maharasht ra

s ta te was in t roduced in th is way:

The pr imary i ssue a l l women in the SSP were s t ruggl ing

wi th was tha t of everyday survival . Insuff ic ient incomes and

the lack of employment were repor ted to be the i r most

press ing concerns . Survival i s a cons tant preoccupat ion and

a t i t s most bas ic , surviva l means food (Chambers 1983) . The

most common problems were the lack of bas ic ameni t ies

such as food, water , fue l , fodder and heal th fac i l i t ies . In

addi t ion , the de ter iora t ion of the na tura l envi ronment and

the fac t tha t many of the i r t radi t ional occupat ions were no

longer v iable were condi t ions tha t were making i t

increas ingly hard for women to cont inue sus ta in ing the i r

fami l ies , as they had done in the pas t

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What is rural?

This def in i t ion of rura l has severa l problems. For

s ta r te rs , there are 13 ,000 vi l lages wi th a popula t ion s ize

be tween 5 ,000 to 10,000. Are they rura l or urban? Moreover ,

the d is t inc t ion be tween the two is ge t t ing b lurred as there i s

a cont inuum of economic ac t iv i ty be tween them.

In termedia te se t t lements such as impor tant v i l lages , kasbas

and tehs i l s p lay a key ro le in the process of in tegra t ion

be tween the rura l and urban areas of India . This i s indeed an

impor tant observat ion of the Ficc i - ING repor t which goes on

to recommend as rura l a l l v i l lages and towns up to a

popula t ion s ize of 10 ,000 where the major i ty of the workers

are engaged in agr icul tura l and a l l ied ac t iv i t ies . This i s

indeed the popula t ion s t ra ta where the major i ty of rura l

ins t i tu t ions , agr icul tura l markets and rura l banking fac i l i t ies

a re concent ra ted . The observat ion of the economic

cont inuum between town and country , however , t ranscends

the l imi ted purpose of the insurance indust ry as i t indica tes

a quickening tempo of economic development . Ti l l recent ly ,

such a cont inuum was associa ted wi th only the l ikes of

Kera la because of i t s dense pa t te rn of se t t lement . That i t

ex is t s e lsewhere i s a sure s ign of economic progress .

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Current Status of Women in Rural

According India’s cons t i tu t ion , women are legal c i t izens

of the country and have equal r ights wi th men ( Indian

Par l iament) . Because of lack of acceptance f rom the male

dominant soc ie ty , Indian women suffer immensely . Women

are responsib le for bar ing chi ldren , ye t they are

malnour ished and in poor hea l th . Women are a lso

overworked in the f ie ld and comple te the a l l of the domest ic

work. Most Indian women are uneducated . Al though the

country’s cons t i tu t ion says women have equal s ta tus to men,

women are power less and are mis t rea ted ins ide and outs ide

the home.

India i s a soc ie ty where the male i s grea t ly revered.

Therefore women, especia l ly the young gi r l s , ge t very l i t t le

respect and s tanding in th is country . The women of the

household are requi red to prepare the meal for the men, who

ea t most of the food. Only af ter the males are f in ished

ea t ing , can the females ea t . Typica l ly the le f tover food i s

meager , cons ider ing the fami l ies a re poor and have l i t t le to

begin wi th . This c rea tes a major problem wi th malnut r i t ion ,

especia l ly for pregnant or nurs ing women. Very few women

seek medica l care whi le pregnant because i t i s thought of as

a temporary condi t ion . This i s one main reason why India’s

maternal and infant mor ta l i ty ra tes are so h igh. S tar t ing

f rom bi r th , g i r l s do not rece ive as much care and

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commitment f rom the i r parents and socie ty as a boy would .

For example a new baby gi r l would only be breas t fed for a

shor t per iod of t ime, bare ly supplying her wi th the nut r ients

she needs . This i s so tha t the mother can ge t pregnant as

soon as poss ib le in hopes of a son the next t ime (Coonrod) .

Even though the const i tu t ion guarantees f ree pr imary

school ing to everyone up to 14 years of age ( Indian

Par l iament) , very few females a t tend school . Only about 39

percent of a l l women in India ac tua l ly a t tend pr imary

schools . There are severa l reasons why fami l ies choose not

to educate the i r daughters . One reason i s tha t parents ge t

nothing in re turn for educat ing the i r daughters . Another

reason i s tha t a l l the females in a household have the

responsib i l i ty of the housework. So even though educat ion

does not f inancia l ly burden the fami ly , i t cos ts them the t ime

she spends a t school when she could be doing chores . In

addi t ion , even i f a woman is educated , especia l ly in the

poorer regions , there i s no hope for a job . Most jobs women

perform are agr icul tura l or domest ic which do not requi re a

formal educat ion . Another reason gi r l s a re not educated i s

because fami l ies a re requi red to supply a chas te daughter to

the fami ly of her fu ture husband. With over two- th i rds of

teachers in India be ing men and s tudents predominate ly

male , put t ing daughters in school , where males surround

them a l l day could pose a poss ib le threa t to the i r v i rg in i ty

(Coonrod) .

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Because women are not educated and cannot hold a

pres t ig ious job , they take on the most physica l ly d i f f icul t

and undes i rable jobs . A typica l day for a woman in an

agr icul tura l pos i t ion las ts f rom 4am to 8pm wi th only an

hour break in the middle . Compared to a man’s day, which i s

f rom 5am to 10am and then f rom 3pm to 5pm. Most women

are overworked wi th no materni ty leave or specia l breaks for

those who are pregnant . P lus women do the major i ty of the

manual labor tha t uses a lo t of energy compared to the men

who do most ly machine opera t ing (Coonrod) . Even though

women work twice as many hours as men, the men say tha t

“women ea t food and do nothing.” This i s mainly because

the work the women perform does not requi re a lo t of sk i l l

and are smal ler tasks .

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Reasons for the above:

Women development issues in India.

Gender d iscr iminat ion cont inues to be an enormous

problem wi th in Indian socie ty . Tradi t ional pa t r ia rchal norms

have re legated women to secondary s ta tus wi th in the

household and workplace . This dras t ica l ly af fec ts women 's

hea l th , f inancia l s ta tus , educat ion , and pol i t ica l

involvement . Women are commonly marr ied young, quickly

become mothers , and are then burdened by s t r ingent

domest ic and f inancia l responsib i l i t ies . They are f requent ly

malnour ished s ince women typica l ly are the las t member of a

household to ea t and the las t to rece ive medica l a t tent ion .

Addi t ional ly , only 54 percent of Indian women are l i te ra te

as compared to 76 percent of men. Women rece ive l i t t le

school ing, and suffer f rom unfa i r and b iased inher i tance and

divorce laws. These laws prevent women f rom accumula t ing

subs tant ia l f inancia l asse ts , making i t d i f f icul t for women to

es tabl i sh the i r own secur i ty and autonomy.

In Rajas than, a l l of these problems are aggravated by

h igh levels of seasonal migra t ion . For many men in

Rajas than, migra t ion i s requi red s ince rura l par ts of

Rajas than of ten lack a suff ic ient economy to provide income

for a fami ly year- round. Women are commonly le f t behind to

care and provide for the ent i re household . This i s

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increas ingly d i f f icul t because i t i s es t imated tha t an average

woman 's wage i s 30 percent lower than a man 's wage

working in a s imi lar pos i t ion . Whi le these mothers work,

they must a lso tend to domest ic responsib i l i t ies . This

formula for support ing Rajasthani famil ies l eaves l i t t le

resource for the growth and development of women 's r ights

and educat ion levels .

A s t rong "son preference" exis ts in the region, as i t does

throughout the country , and h igh ra tes of female infant ic ide

and female fe t ic ide p lague the area . In 2001, for every 1 ,000

males l iv ing in Rajas than there were only 922 women

(Marthur e t . a l . , 2004) . Having sons i s economical ly

advantageous to fami l ies due to cul tura l ins t i tu t ions ; these

ins t i tu t ions serve to dras t ica l ly devalue the ro les women

play in the t radi t ional soc ie ty . Women cont inue to s t ruggle

to achieve equal s ta tus to men, making women 's

empowerment an i ssue of par t icular impor tance for

Rajas than.

In Rajas than severa l NGOs tha t have hos ted FSD

par t ic ipants a re ins t rumenta l in providing oppor tuni t ies for

women. These organiza t ions he lp to bui ld ne tworks among

women to crea te f inancia l se l f -he lp groups . They in t roduce

ideas about microf inance , a l lowing women to par t ic ipa te in

management ac t iv i t ies . Other loca l NGOs implement projec ts

tha t expor t the ski l l s of women abroad to genera te

s igni f icant income. In 2006, Olen Crane , an FSD in tern ,

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helped near ly 400 women ar t i sans in the Udaipur a rea by

col lec t ing samples of the i r text i le products and shipping

them abroad to se l l to American companies . S imi lar projec ts

have enormous potent ia l to improve the f inancia l and socia l

s ta tus of Rajas thani women. Organiz ing change a t a loca l

level and p lanning par t ic ipa tory ac t ion wi l l he lp to e l iminate

b ias and s tereotypes , and genera te awareness of the

s igni f icant gender d iv ide tha t exis ts wi th in Indian socie ty .

Chronic Hunger and the Status of Women in India

Malnutr i t ion:

India has except ional ly h igh ra tes of chi ld malnut r i t ion ,

because t radi t ion in India requi res tha t women ea t las t and

leas t throughout the i r l ives , even when pregnant and

lac ta t ing . Malnour ished women give b i r th to malnour ished

chi ldren , perpetua t ing the cycle .

Unski l led:

In women 's pr imary employment sec tor - agr icul ture -

extens ion services over look women.

Mistreatment:

10

In recent years , there has been an a larming r i se in

a t roc i t ies agains t women in India , in te rms of rapes , assaul t s

and dowry-re la ted murders . Fear of v io lence suppresses the

aspi ra t ions of a l l women. Female infant ic ide and sex-

se lec t ive abor t ions are addi t ional forms of v io lence tha t

re f lec t the devaluing of females in Indian socie ty .

Poor Health:

Females rece ive less hea l th care than males . Many

women die in chi ldbi r th of eas i ly prevented compl ica t ions .

Working condi t ions and envi ronmenta l pol lu t ion fur ther

impai rs women 's hea l th .

Marriage:

Women are subordinate in most marr iages .

Exposure to and in terac t ions wi th the outs ide wor ld are

ins t rumenta l in de termining the poss ib i l i t ies avai lable to

women in the i r da i ly l ives . The s i tua t ion of women is

a f fec ted by the degree of the i r autonomy or capaci ty to make

decis ions both ins ide and outs ide the i r own household .

"The pos i t ion of women in nor thern India i s notably

poor . Tradi t ional Hindu socie ty in nor thern rura l a reas i s

h ierarchica l and dominated by men, as evidenced by

marr iage cus toms. Nor th Indian Hindus are expected to

marry wi th in prescr ibed boundar ies : the br ide and groom

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must not be re la ted , they have no say in the mat ter , and the

man must l ive outs ide the woman 's na ta l v i l lage .

"Wife g ivers" are soc ia l ly and r i tua l ly infer ior to "wife

takers" , thus necess i ta t ing the provis ion of a dowry. Af ter

marr iage , the br ide moves in wi th her husband 's fami ly .

Such a br ide i s "a s t ranger in a s t range p lace ." They are

cont ro l led by the o lder females in the household , and the i r

behavior ref lec ts on the honor of the i r husbands . Because

emot ional t ies be tween spouses are considered a potent ia l

threa t to the sol idar i ty of the matr i l inea l group, the nor thern

sys tem tends to segregate the sexes and l imi t communica t ion

be tween spouses - a c i rcumstance tha t has d i rec t

consequences for fami ly p lanning and s imi lar "modern"

behaviors tha t a f fec t hea l th . A young Indian br ide i s brought

up to be l ieve tha t her own wishes and in teres ts a re

subordinate to those of her husband and his fami ly . The

pr imary duty of a newly marr ied young woman, and vi r tua l ly

her only means of improving her pos i t ion in the h ierarchy of

her husband 's household , i s to bear sons ."

Sonalde Desai points out tha t the percept ion tha t sons

are the major source of economic secur i ty in o ld age i s so

s t rong in the nor th tha t "many parents , whi le v is i t ing the i r

marr ied daughters , do not accept food or o ther hospi ta l i ty

f rom them. However , g iven women 's low independent

incomes and lack of cont ro l over the i r earnings , few can

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provide economic suppor t to the i r parents even i f parents

were wi l l ing to accept i t . "

In the south , in cont ras t , a daughter t radi t ional ly marr ies

her mother ' s brother or her mother ' s brother ' s son (her f i r s t

cous in) . Such an ar rangement has a dramat ic impact on

women. " In southern India , men are l ike ly to marry women

to whom they are re la ted , so tha t the s t r ic t d is t inc t ion found

in the nor th be tween matr i l inea l and mar i ta l re la t ives i s

absent . Women are l ike ly to be marr ied in to fami ly

households near the i r na ta l homes, and are more l ike ly to

re ta in c lose re la t ionships wi th the i r na ta l k in ."

"Over the pas t severa l decades , however , marr iage

pa t te rns have changed markedly . Socia l , economic , and

demographic developments have made marr iages be tween

c lose re la t ives less common, and the br ide pr ice has g iven

way to a dowry sys tem akin to tha t in the nor th .

Never the less , as long as the under ly ing e th ic of marr iage in

the south remains the re inforcement of exis t ing k inship t ies ,

the re la t ive ly favorable s i tua t ion of southern Indian women

is unl ike ly to be threa tened."

Divorce:

Divorce i s not a v iable opt ion .

Divorce i s ra re - i t i s a cons idered a shameful admiss ion

of a woman 's fa i lure as a wife and daughter - in- law. In 1990,

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divorced women made up a miniscule 0 .08 percent of the

to ta l female popula t ion .

Maintenance r ights of women in the case of d ivorce are

weak. Al though both Hindu and Musl im law recognize the

r ights of women and chi ldren to maintenance , in prac t ice ,

maintenance i s ra re ly se t a t a suff ic ient amount and i s

f requent ly v io la ted .

Both Hindu and Musl im personal laws fa i l to recognize

matr imonia l proper ty . Upon divorce , women have no r ights

to the i r home or to o ther proper ty accumula ted dur ing

marr iage; in ef fec t , the i r cont r ibut ions to the maintenance of

the fami ly and accumula t ion of fami ly asse ts go

unrecognized and unrewarded.

Job Impact on Maternal Health:

Working condit ions resul t in premature and

st i l lb irths

The tasks performed by women are usual ly those tha t

requi re them to be in one pos i t ion for long per iods of t ime,

which can adverse ly af fec t the i r reproduct ive heal th . A s tudy

in a r ice-growing bel t of coas ta l Maharasht ra found tha t 40

percent of a l l infant dea ths occurred in the months of Ju ly to

October . The s tudy a lso found tha t a major i ty of b i r ths were

e i ther premature or s t i l lb i r ths . The s tudy a t t r ibuted th is to

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the squat t ing pos i t ion tha t had to be assumed dur ing July

and August , the r ice t ransplant ing months .

Impact of Pol lut ion on Women:

Women's hea l th i s fur ther harmed by a i r and water

pol lu t ion and lack of sani ta t ion .

The impact of pol lu t ion and indust r ia l wastes on heal th

i s cons iderable . In Environment , Development and the

Gender Gap, Sandhya Venkateswaran asser ts tha t " the h igh

inc idence of malnut r i t ion present amongst women and the i r

low metabol ism and other hea l th problems af fec t the i r

capaci ty to dea l wi th chemical s t ress . The smoke f rom

household b iomass (made up of wood, dung and crop

res idues) s toves wi th in a three-hour per iod i s equivalent to

smoking 20 packs of c igare t tes . For women who spend a t

leas t three hours per day cooking, of ten in a poor ly

vent i la ted area , the impact inc ludes eye problems,

respi ra tory problems, chronic bronchi t i s and lung cancer .

One s tudy quoted by WHO in 1991 found tha t pregnant

women cooking over open biomass s toves had a lmost a 50

percent h igher chance of s t i l lb i r th .

Anemia makes a person more suscept ib le to carbon

monoxide toxic i ty , which i s one of the main pol lu tants in the

b iomass smoke. Given the number of Indian women who are

anemic - 25 to 30 percent in the reproduct ive age group and

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almost 50 percent in the th i rd t r imester - th is adds to the i r

vulnerabi l i ty to carbon monoxide toxic i ty .

Addi t ional ly , wi th an increas ing popula t ion , d iseases

caused by waste d isposa l , such as hookworm, are rampant .

People who work barefooted are par t icular ly suscept ib le , and

i t has been found tha t hookworm is d i rec t ly responsib le for

the h igh percentage of anemia among rura l women.

Women Are Uneducated:

Women and gi r l s rece ive far less educat ion than men,

due both to soc ia l norms and fears of v io lence .

India has the la rges t popula t ion of non-school-going

working g i r l s .

India ' s cons t i tu t ion guarantees f ree pr imary school

educat ion for both boys and gi r l s up to age 14. This goal has

been repeatedly reconf i rmed, but pr imary educat ion in India

i s not universa l . Overa l l , the l i te racy ra te for women is 39

percent versus 64 percent for men. The ra te for women in the

four la rge nor thern s ta tes - Bihar , Ut tar Pradesh, Rajas than

and Madhya Pradesh - i s lower than the na t ional average: i t

was 25 percent in 1991. At tendance ra tes f rom the 1981

census sugges t tha t no more than 1 /3 of a l l g i r l s (and a

lower propor t ion of rura l g i r l s ) aged 5-14 are a t tending

school .

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Although subs tant ia l progress has been achieved s ince

India won i t s independence in 1947, when less than 8

percent of females were l i te ra te , the ga ins have not been

rapid enough to keep pace wi th popula t ion growth: there

were 16 mi l l ion more i l l i te ra te females in 1991 than in 1981.

Sonalde Desai in Gender Inequal i t ies and Demographic

Behavior asser ts tha t "parents ' re luc tance to educate

daughters has i t s roots in the s i tua t ion of women. Parents

have severa l incent ives for not educat ing the i r daughters .

Foremost i s the v iew tha t educat ion of g i r l s br ings no

re turns to parents and tha t the i r fu ture ro les , be ing mainly

reproduct ive and perhaps inc luding agr icul tura l labor ,

requi re no formal educat ion . As more and more boys are

engaged in educat ion , there i s a growing re l iance on the

labor of g i r l s . Gir l s a re increas ingly replac ing the i r brothers

on the farm whi le car ry ing on the i r usual responsib i l i t ies in

housework. A large propor t ion of the roughly 40 mi l l ion

"nonworking" g i r l s who are not in school a re kept a t home

because of responsib i l i t ies in housework."

The ro le of parents i s to de l iver a chas te daughter to her

husband 's fami ly . Sonalde Desai goes on to point out tha t

"another d is incent ive for sending daughters to school i s a

concern for the protec t ion of the i r v i rg in i ty . When schools

are loca ted a t a d is tance , when teachers are male , and when

gi r l s a re expected to s tudy a long wi th boys , parents a re of ten

17

unwil l ing to expose the i r daughters to the potent ia l assaul t

on the i r v i rg in i ty ."

There i s l i t t le response to counter these obs tac les :

school hours remain inf lexib le to the labor demands of g i r l s ;

many vi l lages do not have a school ; and fewer than 1 /3 of

India ' s pr imary and middle-school teachers are women.

According to Mapping Progress , "educat ional funds were

cut by 801.3 mi l l ion rupees in the 1991-92 budget . Funds for

the mass l i te racy movement , in which women par t ic ipa te

enthus ias t ica l ly , have been reduced by 5 percent f rom the

previous year . Budgetary provis ions for non-formal

educat ion have been cut by 17 percent , leading to c losure of

many night schools and adul t educat ion programs in which

working-c lass women par t ic ipa te . Reduct ion in government

expendi tures on h igher educat ion and encouragement to

pr iva te col leges wi l l reduce women 's oppor tuni t ies for

h igher educat ion s ince pr iva t iza t ion in educat ion promotes

only male-dominated profess ional and technica l courses , as

they are lucra t ive ."

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Women Are Overworked:

Women work longer hours and the i r work i s more

arduous than men 's . S t i l l , men repor t tha t "women, l ike

chi ldren , ea t and do nothing."

Hours worked

Women work roughly twice as many as many hours as

men.

Women's cont r ibut ion to agr icul ture - whether i t be

subs is tence farming or commercia l agr icul ture - when

measured in te rms of the number of tasks performed and

t ime spent , i s grea ter than men. "The extent of women 's

cont r ibut ion i s apt ly h ighl ighted by a micro s tudy conducted

in the Indian Himalayas which found tha t on a one-hectare

19

farm, a pa i r of bul locks works 1 ,064 hours , a man 1 ,212

hours and a woman 3 ,485 hours in a year ."

In Andhra Pradesh, (Mies 1986) found tha t the work day

of an woman agr icul tura l labourer dur ing the agr icul tura l

season las ts for 15 hours , f rom 4 am to 8 pm, wi th an hour ' s

res t in be tween. Her male counterpar t works for seven to

e ight hours , f rom 5 am to 10 am or 11 am and f rom 3 pm to 5

pm.

Another s tudy on t ime and energy spent by men and

women on agr icul tura l work (Bat l iwala 1982) found tha t 53

percent of the to ta l human hours per household are

cont r ibuted by women as compared to 31 percent by men.

The remaining cont r ibut ion comes f rom chi ldren .

The l inking of agr icul tura l ac t iv i t ies to male dominance

i s descr ibed by Roy Burman ( in Menon 1991) :

The anxie ty of man to monopol ize h is sk i l l in p lough

cul ture i s re f lec ted in the taboo tha t i s observed a lmost a l l

over India , agains t the women 's handl ing the p lough. In

many socie t ies , she i s not even a l lowed to touch i t .

Mies fur ther observed tha t "whereas opera t ions

performed by men were those tha t enta i led the use of

machinery and draught animals , thereby us ing animal ,

hydraul ic , mechanica l or e lec t r ica l energy, women a lmost

a lways re l ied on manual labour , us ing only the i r own

20

energy." Rice t ransplanta t ions , the most a rduous and labour

in tens ive task in r ice cul t iva t ion , i s car r ied out ent i re ly by

women wi thout the he lp of any tools .

"Gir l s learn to ass is t the i r mothers in a lmost a l l tasks ,

and f rom the age of 10 years par t ic ipa te fu l ly in the

agr icul tura l work done by women. Mies c i tes the case of

Laxmi , a three-year-old infant who, a long wi th her mother ,

pul led seedl ings for t ransplant ing . Boys on the o ther hand

were se ldom seen t ransplant ing or weeding though they d id

he lp out in p loughing or water ing the f ie lds ."

"Not only do women perform more tasks , the i r work i s

a lso more arduous than tha t under taken by men. Both

t ransplanta t ion and weeding requi re women to spend the

whole day and work in muddy soi l wi th the i r hands .

Moreover , they work the ent i re day under the in tense ly hot

sun whi le men 's work, such as p loughing and water ing the

f ie lds , i s invar iably carr ied out ear ly in the morning before

the sun ge ts too hot . Mies argues tha t because women 's

work, unl ike men 's , does not involve implements and i s

based la rge ly on human energy, i t i s cons idered unski l led

and hence less product ive . On th is bas is , women are

invar iably pa id lower wages , despi te the fac t tha t they work

harder and for longer hours than do men."

In cont ras t , a s tudy in Ut tar Pradesh repor ts tha t men

"only re luc tant ly conceded tha t the i r womenfolk rea l ly work.

21

The researchers in th is a rea were repeatedly to ld tha t

women, l ike chi ldren , s imply ea t food and do nothing."

The impact of technology on women:

The shi f t f rom subsis tence to a market economy has a

dramat ic negat ive impact on women.

According to Sandhya Venkateswaran, c i t ing Shiva , the

Green Revolut ion , which focused on increas ing y ie lds of r ice

and wheat , enta i led a sh i f t in inputs f rom human to

technica l . Women's par t ic ipa t ion , knowledge and inputs were

marginal ized , and the i r ro le sh i f t f rom being "pr imary

producers to subs id iary workers ."

Where technology has been in t roduced in areas where

women worked, women labourers have of ten been displaced

by men. Threshing of gra in was a lmost exclus ive ly a female

task , and wi th the in t roduct ion of automat ic gra in threshers -

which are only opera ted by men - women have los t an

impor tant source of income.

Combine harves ters leave v i r tua l ly no res idue . This

means tha t th is source of fodder i s no longer avai lable to

women, which has a dramat ic impact on women 's workload.

So too , as ca t t le dung i s be ing used as fer t i l izer , there i s less

avai lable for fue l for cooking.

22

Dominat ion by Men:

Empowerment wi l l not be ef fec t ive unt i l women enjoy

the same r ights as men. Gender inequi t ies and power

dynamics inherent ly involve both genders , so i t i s impor tant

tha t men are not excluded when i ssues af fec t ing women are

addressed. Sens i t iz ing females and males to these i ssues a t a

young age may reduce r i sky behaviors and vio lence whi le

enhancing informat ion-seeking behavior and female

autonomy. The Uni ted Nat ions Popula t ion Fund, The

Popula t ion Counci l , the Uni ted Nat ions Development Fund

for Women and other organiza t ions have s tar ted severa l

programs in India and throughout the wor ld to promote

const ruc t ive and

Heal thy re la t ionships these programs encourage men to

be suppor t ive par tners and take responsib i l i ty in i ssues of

sexual and reproduct ive heal th .

In India , these programs must promote the va lue of women

as people and reverse the concept of women as proper ty

t ransfer red a long wi th dowry f rom fa thers to husbands . More

must be done to examine the ef fec t of p lac ing responsib i l i ty

and blame for sexual ac t iv i ty , marr iage and reproduct ion

sole ly on the shoulders of women, whi le re l ieving men of

responsib i l i ty of sexual r i sk behaviors and vio lence .

Couples ' counsel ing , fami ly p lanning, and medica l tes t ing

23

and care provide another out le t to promote open

communica t ion be tween genders . Such programs can he lp

reduce the prac t ice of b laming women for infec t ions ,

infer t i l i ty and other sexual and fami ly i ssues , whi le

encouraging both par tners ' involvement in dec is ion-making.

Crime against women

Pol ice records show high inc idence of c r imes agains t

women in India . The Nat ional Cr ime Records Bureau

repor ted in 1998 tha t the growth ra te of c r imes agains t

women would be h igher than the popula t ion growth ra te by

2010 ear l ie r ; many cases were not regis tered wi th the pol ice

due to the socia l s t igma a t tached to rape and moles ta t ion

cases . Off ic ia l s ta t i s t ics show tha t there has been a dramat ic

increase in the number of repor ted cr imes agains t women.

Sexual Harassment:

24

Half of the to ta l number of c r imes agains t women

repor ted re la ted to moles ta t ion and harassment a t the

workplace . Eve teas ing i s a euphemism used for sexual

harassment or moles ta t ion of women by men. Many ac t iv is t s

b lame the r i s ing inc idents of sexual harassment agains t

women on the inf luence of "Western cul ture" . In 1987, The

Indecent Representa t ion of Women (Prohibi t ion) Act was

passed to prohibi t indecent representa t ion of women through

adver t i sements or in publ ica t ions , wr i t ings , pa in t ings ,

f igures or in any other manner .

In 1997, in a landmark judgement , the Supreme Cour t of

India took a s t rong s tand agains t sexual harassment of

women in the workplace . The Cour t a l so la id down deta i led

guidel ines for prevent ion and redressa l of gr ievances . The

Nat ional Commiss ion for Women subsequent ly e labora ted

these guidel ines in to a Code of Conduct for employers .

Dowry

Defini t ion of Dowry: -     Dowry or Dahej   i s the payment

in cash or /and kind by the br ide ' s fami ly to the br idegroom’s

fami ly a long wi th the g iv ing away of the br ide (ca l led

Kanyadaan) in   Indian marr iage .   Kanyadanam is an impor tant

par t of   Hindu mar i ta l r i tes . Kanya   means daughter , and

dana means g i f t .  

25

Dowry or ig ina ted in upper cas te fami l ies as the wedding

gi f t to the br ide f rom her fami ly .   The dowry was la ter g iven

to he lp wi th marr iage expenses and became a form of

insurance in the case tha t her in- laws mis t rea ted her .  

Al though the dowry was legal ly prohibi ted in 1961, i t

cont inues to be h ighly ins t i tu t ional ized .   The groom of ten

demands a dowry consis t ing of a la rge sum of money, farm

animals , furni ture , and e lec t ronics .

In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry

Prohibi t ion Act , making the dowry demands in wedding

ar rangements i l legal . However , many cases of dowry-re la ted

domest ic v io lence , su ic ides and murders have been repor ted .

In the 1980s , numerous such cases were repor ted .

In 1985, the Dowry Prohibi t ion (maintenance of l i s t s of

presents to the br ide and br idegroom) ru les were f ramed.

According to these ru les , a s igned l i s t of presents g iven a t

the t ime of the marr iage to the br ide and the br idegroom

should be mainta ined. The l i s t should conta in a br ief

descr ip t ion of each present , i t s approximate va lue , the name

of whoever has g iven the present and his /her re la t ionship to

the person. However , such ru les are hardly enforced.

A 1997 repor t , c la imed tha t a t leas t 5 ,000 women die

each year because of dowry deaths , and a t leas t a dozen die

each day in 'k i tchen f i res ' thought to be in tent ional . The

te rm for th is i s "br ide burning " and i s c r i t ic ized wi th in India

26

i t se l f . Amongst the urban educated , such dowry abuse has

reduced considerably .

Sati in India:

Sat i - the Burning of The Widow -Sat i i s the prac t ice

through which widows are voluntar i ly or forc ib ly burned

a l ive on the i r husband 's funera l pyre . I t was banned in 1829,

but had to be banned again in 1956 af ter a resurgence . There

was another revival of the prac t ice in 1981 wi th another

prevent ion ordinance passed in 1987 (Morgan 1984) . The

idea jus t i fy ing sa t i i s tha t women have wor th only in

re la t ion to men. This i l lus t ra tes women 's lack of s ta tus as

individuals in India

Neglect during Early Chi ldhood :

The neglec t of the g i r l chi ld s tar t s very ear ly in l i fe . The

extent of neglec t var ies f rom fami ly to fami ly depending on

the i r economic pos i t ion . But in compar ison to her male

counterpar t a female chi ld i s re la t ive ly neglec ted in most of

27

the socioeconomic s t ra ta . Throughout the country i t has been

not iced tha t when the g i r l chi ld depends on breas t - feeding

the chances of her surviva l a re re la t ive ly more . Data f rom

var ious sources shows tha t f rom infancy t i l l the age of 15

the death ra te for female chi ld far exceeds the morta l i ty ra te

for male chi ld . There are severa l causes under ly ing th is .

F i rs t ly , the female chi ldren are breas t fed for a far shor ter

per iod than the i r male counterpar ts . Secondly , dur ing i l lness

parents show a grea ter concern towards male chi ldren .

This neglec t i s qui te of ten enforced by poor economic

condi t ion . F ina l ly , in addi t ion to the in take of insuff ic ient

and non-nut r i t ious food the female chi ld i s exposed to a

grea ter workload very ear ly in l i fe . Of ten in fami l ies of

weaker economic s t rength the g i r l chi ld i s found a t tending

the household chores as wel l as taking care of her younger

brothers and s is te rs .

Death during Chi ldbirth:

Early marr iage exposes women to longer chi ldbear ing

per iod. This means grea ter hea l th hazards to women and

chi ldren . Severa l s tudies show tha t teenaged mothers r i sk to

hea l th for both themselves and the i r chi ldren . This r i sk i s

fur ther enhanced by poor nut r i t ion . Var ious surveys indica te

tha t women 's ca lor ic content i s about 100 ca lor ies (per

women per day) less than they spend, whereas men show an

800 ca lor ic surplus in take . Women expend a grea t dea l of

28

energy working ins ide and outs ide the house , whereas they

of ten have

Insuff ic ient food. Customar i ly they of ten ea t a f te r the men

and other members of the fami ly have ea ten . The lack of

knowledge and improper care dur ing pos tna ta l per iod, and

f requent pregnancies lead to la rger fe ta l wastage , b i r th of

la rger number of low e ight babies , and death of young

women.

Female Infant ic ide and Fetal Ki l l ing

This refers to k i l l ing the infant soon af ter i t s b i r th or a t

the fe tus s tage . Fe ta l k i l l ing has been a cruc ia l problem is

some urban areas . A medica l d iagnost ic process ca l led

Amniocentes is i s used in the U.S.A. to check poss ib le

deformi t ies of the unborn chi ld . However , th is i s fas t be ing

used by parents to se lec t the sex of the i r chi ld . Misuse of the

sex de terminat ion tes t has been a cruc ia l i ssue in some urban

places in India . This has resul ted in a new type female

infant ic ide i .e . abor t ion of female fe tuses .

Child marriage:

Chi ld marr iage has been t radi t ional ly prevalent in India

and cont inues to th is day. His tor ica l ly , young gi r l s would

l ive wi th the i r parents t i l l they reached puber ty . In the pas t ,

the chi ld widows were condemned to a l i fe of grea t agony,

shaving heads , l iv ing in i so la t ion , and shunned by the

29

socie ty . Al though chi ld marr iage was out lawed in 1860, i t i s

s t i l l a common prac t ice .

According to UNICEF’s “Sta te of the World’s Chi ldren-

2009” repor t , 47% of India ' s women aged 20–24 were

marr ied before the legal age of 18 , wi th 56% in rura l a reas

The repor t a l so showed tha t 40% of the wor ld ' s chi ld

marr iages occur in India .

Female infant ic ides and sex se lect ive abort ions:

According to a recent repor t by the Uni ted Nat ions

Chi ldren ' s Fund (UNICEF) up to 50 mi l l ion g i r l s and women

are miss ing f rom India’s popula t ion as a resul t of sys temat ic

gender d iscr iminat ion in India . In most countr ies in the

wor ld , there are approximate ly 105 female b i r ths for every

100 males .

India has a h ighly mascul ine sex ra t io , the chief reason

being tha t many women die before reaching adul thood Tr iba l

soc ie t ies in India have a less mascul ine sex ra t io than a l l

o ther cas te groups . This , in sp i te of the fac t tha t t r iba l

communi t ies have far lower levels of income, l i te racy and

heal th fac i l i t ies . I t i s therefore sugges ted by many exper ts ,

tha t the h ighly mascul ine sex ra t io in India can be a t t r ibuted

to female infant ic ides and sex-se lec t ive abor t ions .

Al l medica l tes ts tha t can be used to de termine the sex of

the chi ld have been banned in India , due to inc idents of

30

these tes ts be ing used to ge t r id of unwanted female chi ldren

before b i r th . Female infant ic ide (k i l l ing of g i r l infants) i s

s t i l l prevalent in some rura l a reas The abuse of the dowry

t radi t ion has been one of the main reasons for sex-se lec t ive

abor t ions and female infant ic ides in India .

Teachers Discr iminate Against Gir ls :

In developing countr ies teachers are most ly male . They

perce ive g i r l s as less in te l l igent . They give boys more

a t tent ion . Boys have more oppor tuni ty to ta lk and

par t ic ipa te . Gir l s a re expected to be obedient—to be quie t

and s i t a t the back of the c lassroom.

In some countr ies , g i r l s a re even given jani tor ia l work

whi le in school , whi le boys p lay and s tudy.

31

Health:

The average female l i fe expectancy today in India i s low

compared to many countr ies , but i t has shown gradual

improvement over the years . In many fami l ies , especia l ly

rura l ones , the g i r l s and women face nut r i t ional

d iscr iminat ion wi th in the fami ly , and are anemic and

malnour ished

The maternal mor ta l i ty in India i s the second highes t in

the wor ld . Only 42% of b i r ths in the country are supervised

by heal th profess ionals . Most women del iver wi th he lp f rom

women in the fami ly who of ten lack the ski l l s and resources

to save the mother ' s l i fe i f i t i s in danger . According to

UNDP Human Development Repor t (1997) , 88% of pregnant

women (age 15-49) were found to be suffer ing f rom anemia .

Ways to Overcome Discr iminat ion:

1 . Hir ing more female teachers would he lp overcome th is

b ias , says Mercy Tembon, the World Bank 's lead educat ion

specia l i s t in gender equi ty . This would a lso encourage more

parents to send the i r g i r l s to school .

For example , the Gambia re laxed requi rements for

women to qual i fy as teachers to increase the number of

32

female teachers . But these female teachers t ra inees d id ext ra

s tudying to ge t up to the level of the i r male counterpar ts .

2. Tra in teachers to become aware of gender i ssues .

Guinea sens i t izes teachers about gender to make them

aware of " i ssues tha t g i r l s face , cul tura l ly and in the

c lassroom,"

Guinean textbooks were a lso re-wri t ten to remove a l l

gender s te reotypes . "Textbooks por t rayed women as only

c leaning and cooking whi le men were shown profess ionals ,

l ike engineers or doctors ,"

Whi le Guinea i s a poor Afr ican country , g i r l s ' educat ion

has s teadi ly grown over the las t decade .

3. Burkina Faso se t up specia l tu tor ing programs for

g i r l s to he lp them improve the i r grades .

Why Do Girls Drop Out in Developing Countries?

Gir ls do be t te r in the c lassroom than boys in the

developed wor ld . But in developing countr ies , g i r l s lag

behind boys , according to the la tes t research .

Boys and gi r l s enrol l in e lementary school a t the same

ra te in developing countr ies . But many more g i r l s drop out

a long the way than boys .

33

Too few gi r l s in poor countr ies go to secondary school

and even fewer reach univers i ty . Of a l l g i r l s who enrol l in

pr imary school , only 10% reach univers i ty .

The average woman in rura l a reas of India has l i t t le or

no cont ro l over her reproduct ive ly . Women, par t icular ly

women in rura l a reas , do not have access to safe and se l f -

cont ro l led methods of cont racept ion . The publ ic hea l th

sys tem emphasizes permanent methods l ike s ter i l iza t ion , or

long- term methods l ike IUDs tha t do not need fo l low-up.

Ster i l iza t ion accounts for more than 75% of to ta l

cont racept ion , wi th female s ter i l iza t ion account ing for

a lmost 95% of a l l s te r i l iza t ions .

34

Action taken by Government to uplift women

The f i rs t few plans fo l lowed a welfares approach and t rea ted

women as rec ip ients of a id . The f i rs t f ive year p lan focused i t s

a t tent ion on the problem of h igh infant and maternal mor ta l i ty

and then under took s teps to develop school feeding schemes for

chi ldren and crea t ion of nut r i t ion sec t ions in the publ ic hea l th

depar tments and materni ty and chi ld hea l th centers . The focus of

second plan was on the problems of women workers . Hence

pol ic ies were in i t ia ted for equal pay for equal work, provis ion of

fac i l i t ies for t ra in ing to enable women to compete for h igher jobs

and expansion of oppor tuni t ies for par t t ime employment . The

main thrus t of the th i rd p lan was the expansion of g i r l s educat ion .

On the socia l wel fare s ide the la rges t share was provided for

expanding rura l wel fare services and condensed courses of

educat ion for adul t women. The four th p lan cont inued to

emphasize women 's educat ion . The f i f th p lan gave pr ior i ty for

t ra in ing of women in need of care and protec t ion , women f rom

low income fami ly ' s needy women wi th dependent chi ldren and

working women.

I t i s only dur ing the f i f th p lan a separa te Bureau of

Women's Welfare and Development (WWD) was se t up in

1976 as par t of the ers twhi le Depar tment of Socia l Welfare

in order to in tens i ty the country-wide ef for ts launched

dur ing the In ternat ional Year of the Women. The Bureau was

ent rus ted wi th the major responsib i l i ty of implement ing the

35

Nat ional Plan of Act ion for Women bes ides coordinat ing the

ac t iv i t ies re la t ing to women 's wel fare and development .

The s ix th p lan for the f i rs t t ime in India ' s p lanning

his tory conta ined a separa te chapter on Women and

Development . To make the In ternat ional Women's Decade a

success i t emphasized on three s t ra tegies v ia economic

independence , educat ional advancement and access to hea l th

care and fami ly p lanning. Hence var ie t ies of programmes

were taken up under d i f ferent sec tors of development to

amel iora te the socio economic s ta tus of women. In the rura l

development sec tor the IRDP gave pr ior i ty to women heads

of households and about 35% of to ta l number of

benef ic iar ies under TRYSEM was women. A new scheme viz

Development of Women and Chi ldren (DWCRA) was s tar ted

in 1982-83 as a p i lo t projec t in the b locks of the country .

Many voluntary organiza t ions were reques ted to avai l funds

f rom the government for the above schemes and benef i t

women. Another Program S.G.S.Y. was launched in the Year

1999. Which provided tha t 50% of S .G.S.Y. groups should

be for women? They were provided fac i l i t ies of loan &

subsidy f rom the Govt . & Banks . Under Science and

Technology for Women var ie t ies of ac t iv i t ies were taken up.

Projec ts were sponsored for development of smokeless

chul lahs use of so lar cookers se t t ing up of b io-gas p lants

and devices for improving the water pur i f ica t ion sys tem. A

number of technology demonst ra t ion cum t ra in ing centers a t

36

se lec ted focal points a l l over the country were se t up by the

Nat ional Research Development Corpora t ion (NRDC) to

provide exper t i se and resources to women ent repreneurs .

Dur ing the seventh f ive-year p lan an in tegra ted

mul t id isc ip l inary approach was adopted cover ing

employment educat ion heal th nut r i t ion appl ica t ion of sc ience

and technology and other re la ted aspects in areas of in teres t

to women. I t i s only dur ing the seventh p lan 'Women

Development Corpora t ions ' were es tabl i shed for promot ing

employment genera t ing ac t iv i t ies for women.

Thus wi th the beginning of In ternat ional Women's

Decade in 1975 a number of schemes were in t roduced and

earnes t e f for ts were made by the government to improve the

s ta tus of women. In spi te of implementa t ion loopholes theses

pol ic ies s t r ive the i r bes t to in tegra te women in to the

mains t ream of soc ie ty . Thus the Depar tment of Women and

Chi ld Development be ing the na t ional machinery for the

development of women plays a v i ta l ro le ass is ted by the

Centra l Socia l Welfare Board and the Nat ional Ins t i tu te of

Publ ic co-opera t ion and Chi ld Development . Whi le the

Centra l Socia l Welfare Board i s an apex body wi th s ta te

level branches to encourage voluntary ef for t in the f ie ld of

women 's development NIPCID is an advisory –cum- research

– cum nat ional level t ra in ing ins t i tu te in the f ie ld of chi ld

development wi th a separa te d iv is ion for women 's research

and development . In India legis la t ions and programs

37

favor ing women had never been want ing. But unfor tunate ly

the spi r i t behind these pol ic ies i s hardly apprec ia ted by the

implement ing author i t ies .

These warnings of g loom and doom tha t awai t the poor

in India , par t icular ly i t s women, wi th the onse t of

l ibera l iza t ion and global iza t ion , need to be met wi th

declara t ion of government in tent to take measures to look

af ter equi table d is t r ibut ion of the f ru i t s of economic growth.

Whi le i t s ro le in d i rec t ion , ownership and product ion wi l l

d iminish , Government ' s ro le must cont inue to in tens ive ly

in tervene on behal f of the weak and the poor , so as to

improve the qual i ty of the i r l ives .

38

Action Taken by Law

JUSTICE FOR THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN

UNDER THE BASIC LAW OF THE COUNTRY:

India has made gigant ic e f for ts to hera ld a be t te r

tomorrow for women. The Const i tu t ion of India guaranteed

fundamenta l n ights wi thout any bar on count of sex . The

Const i tu t ion f rames were qui te a l ive and fu l ly aware to the

problems of the weaker sec t ion of the socie ty . Protec t ive

legis la t ion to g ive them socia l secur i ty was considered to be

judged by the s tandards by which i t t rea ts the weaker sec t ion

of i t s pol i ty . Equal i ta r ian approach of the Const i tu t ion

f ramers resul ted in in tens ive legis la t ive f ia t in the pos t

independence era . What woman has achieved af ter grea t

s t ruggle in Europe was wel l incorpora ted in the provis ions

of the Const i tu t ion i t se l f .

Marriage Legis lat ion

In March 1961, when the b i l l on unequal marr iages was

be ing d iscussed in the Rajya Sabha, one member quoted epic

agains t i t s inc lus ion in the ins t i tu t ion of Hindu marr iage . Dr .

Radhakr ishnan, the then chai rman of the Rajya Sabha, had

remarked: the ancient h is tory cannot so lve the problems of

modern socie ty . This i s an answer in one sentence to those

cr i t ics who want to mainta in a gap be tween socia l opinion

and socia l legis la t ion .

39

The laws enacted in India re la te to : ( i ) age a t marr iage

( i i ) f ie ld of mate se lec t ion , ( i i i ) number of spouses in

marr iage , ( iv) breaking of marr iage , (v) dowry to be g iven

and taken, and (v i ) remarr iage . The impor tant legis la t ions

re la t ing to these s ix aspects of marr iage passed f rom t ime to

t ime are : ( i ) The Chi ld Marr iage Rest ra in t Act , 1929

(deal ing wi th age a t marr iage) , ( i i ) The Hindu Marr iage

Disabi l i t ies Removal Act 1946 and Hindu Marr iage Val id i ty

Act , 1949 (deal ing wi th f ie ld of mate se lec t ion) , ( i i i ) The

Specia l Act . 1954 (deal ing wi th age a t marr iage , f reedom to

chi ldren in marr iage wi thout parenta l consent , b igamy, and

breaking up of marr iage) , ( iv) the Hindu Marr iage Act , 1955

(deal ing wi th age a t marr iage wi th the consent of parents

b igamy, and breaking up of marr iage) (v) The Dowry Act

1961, and (v i ) The Widow Remarr iage Act , 1856

The Chi ld Marriage Restraint Act , 1929

I t came in to force on Apr i l 1 , 1930. I t res t ra ins the

marr iage of a chi ld , though the marr iage i t se l f i s not

dec lared void . Accordingly , cont rac t ing , performing and

fac i l i ta t ing the marr iage of boys under e ighteen and gi r l s

less than four teen years of age were an offence . The age of

g i r l s was la ter on ra ised to f i f teen years . The amendment

made in 1978 fur ther rose the age for boys to twenty-one

years and for g i r l s to e ighteen years .

40

The vio la t ion of the Act prescr ibes penal ty but the

marr iage i t se l f remains va l id . The offence under the Act i s

non-cognizable and provides punishment for the br idegroom,

parent , guardian , and the pr ies t , which are three months of

s imple impr isonment and a f ine of up to Rs . 1000.

No woman is , however , punishable wi th impr isonment

under th is Act . The Act a lso provides for the

i ssue of in junct ion order prohibi t ing the chi ld

marr iage . But no ac t ion can be taken for the

offence i f a per iod of more than one year has expi red f rom

the da te of the a l leged marr iage

The Hindu Marriage Disabi l i t ies Removal Act ,1946

Among Hindus , no marr iage i s va l id be tween persons

re la ted to each o ther wi th in the prohibi ted degrees , unless

such marr iage i s sanct ioned by cus tom. However , th is Act

va l ida ted marr iages be tween persons be longing to the same

gotra or parivara (agnat ic groups) . This Act now s tands

repealed af ter the pass ing of the Hindu Marr iage Act , 1955.

The Hindu Marriage Val idi ty Act , 1949

Prat i loma (hypogamy) marr iage among Hindus was

inval id whi le anuloma (hyper gamy) marr iage was permi t ted

t i l l la te 1940s . However there were judic ia l dec is ions

agains t the va l id i ty of such marr iage . The 1949 Act

va l ida ted a l l marr iage be tween par t ies be longing to d i f ferent

41

re l ig ions , cas tes sub-cas tes or sec ts . But i t d id not va l ida te

marr iage be tween a Hindu and a Musl im. This Act a lso

s tands repealed af ter the 1955 Act

The Hindu Marriage Act , 1955

This Act came in to force f rom May 18, 1955 and appl ies

to whole of India , except Jammu and Kashmir . The word

Hindu in the Act inc ludes Ja ins , S ikhs , Buddhis ts and the

Scheduled Castes .

The condi t ions for marr iage be tween any two Hindus as

provided in the Act a re : ( i ) ne i ther par ty has a spouse l iv ing;

( i i ) ne i ther par ty i s an id io t or lunat ic ; ( i i i ) the groom must

have comple ted e ighteen years age and the br ide f i f teen

years age . The amendment in the Act made in 1978 has

ra ised th is age to twenty-one years for boys and e ighteen

years for g i r l s ( iv) the par t ies should not be wi th in the

degrees of prohibi ted re la t ionships , unless the cus tom

permi ts the marr iage be tween the two; (v) the par t ies should

not be spends of each o ther unless the cus tom permi ts the

marr iage be tween the two; (v i ) where the br ide i s under

e ighteen years of age and the groom is under twenty-one

years of age the consent of her /h is guardian in marr iage

must have been obta ined.

42

Either par ty can seek judic ia l separa t ion on any one of

the four grounds; deser t ion for a cont inuous of two years ,

c rue l t rea tment , leprosy, and adul tery . The annulment of

marr iage may be on any one of the fo l lowing four grounds:

( i ) the spouse must have been impotent a t the t ime of

marr iage and cont inues to be so unt i l the

ins t i tu t ion of the proceedings , ( i i ) par ty to the

marr iage was an id io t or lunat ic a t the t ime of

marr iage , ( i i i ) consent of the pe t i t ioner or of the guardian

was obta ined by force or f raud. However , the pe t i t ion

presented on th is ground wi l l not be enter ta ined af ter one

years of marr iage , and ( iv) the wife was pregnant by some

person other than the pe t i t ioner a t the t ime of marr iage . .

This per iod has , however , been reduced to one year af te r

the 1986 amendment . The d ivorcees cannot remarry t i l l one

year e lapses s ince the decree of d ivorce . The Act a lso

provides for the maintenance a l lowance dur ing judic ia l

separa t ion and a l imony af ter d ivorce . Not only wife but a lso

husband can a lso c la im the maintenance a l lowances .

43

The Special Marriage Act , 1954

This Act came in to force on Apr i l 1 , 1955. I t repealed

the Specia l Marr iage Act , 1872 which provided a form of

marr iage for those who did not wish to conform to the

exis t ing forms. The 1872 Act provided tha t persons wishing

to marry (under the Act) had to dec lare tha t they d id not

profess Hindu, Ja in , S ikh, Musl im, Pars is , Chr is t ian or any

other re l ig ion. In 1923, an amendment was made in the Act

under which a person want ing to marry (under the Act) had

not to g ive any such declara t ion . Each par ty was s imply

requi red to make a dec lara t ion tha t i t professed one or o ther

re l ig ion.

The Act , thus , recognized in ter - re l ig ion marr iages . The

condi t ions per ta in ing to age , l iv ing spouse , prohibi ted

re la t ionship and menta l s ta te as prescr ibed by the 1954 Act

for marr iage are the same as provided in the 1955 Act .

Under the 1954 Act , a marr iage off icer so lemnizes the

marr iage . The par t ies have to not i fy h im a t leas t a month

before the marr iage da te . One of the par t ies must have

res ided in the d is t r ic t in which the marr iage off icer ' s of f ice

i s loca ted .

Dur ing th is one month , any person can ra ise objec t ion

agains t the marr iage . I f the marr iage i s not

so lemnized wi th in three months f rom the da te of

not ice , a f resh not ice i s requi red . Presence of two wi tnesses

44

i s necessary a t the t ime of marr iage . This Act a lso provides

for the annulment of marr iage , judic ia l separa t ion , as wel l as

d ivorce and a l imony. The grounds for these are the same as

provided in the Hindu Marr iage Act , 1955.

The Hindu Widows Remarriage Act , 1856

From Smri t i per iod onwards , widows were not permi t ted

to remarry . According to Manu, a widow who marr ies again

br ings d isgrace on herse l f ; she should , therefore , be

excluded f rom the sea t of her lord . The 1856 Act removed

a l l legal obs tac les to the marr iage of Hindu widows.

The objec t was to promote good morals and publ ic

wel fare . The Act dec lares tha t the remarr iage of a widow

whose husband i s dead a t the t ime of her second marr iage i s

va l id and no i ssue of such marr iage wi l l be i l legi t imate . In

case the remarrying widow is a minor whose marr iage has

not been consummated, the consent of fa ther , mother ,

grandfa ther , and e lder brother or neares t male re la t ive i s

requi red .

Any marr iage cont rac ted wi thout such consent i s void .

However , i f the marr iage has been consummated,

i t wi l l not be declared void . The Act for fe i t s the

widow her r ight of maintenance out of the es ta te of her f i r s t

husband.

45

The Dowry Prohibi t ion Act , 1961

This Act was passed on May 20, 1961. The Act does not

apply to Musl ims. I t permi ts exchange of g i f t s for not more

than Rs . 2 ,000. I t prescr ibes the penal ty of s ix month ' s

impr isonment or a f ine up to Rs . 5 ,000 or both for i t s

v io la t ion . The pol ice , on i t s own, cannot take any ac t ion for

the v io la t ion of the Act unless some compla in t i s lodged

wi th i t . No ac t ion can be taken af ter one year of marr iage .

Indira Mahi la Yojna

The Indi ra Mahi la Yojana ( IMY) a ims a t organiz ing a t

the grass- root level to fac i l i ta te the i r par t ic ipa t ion in

dec is ion-making and the i r empowerment was launched on 20

August 1995, to s ta r t wi th , in 200 ICDS blocks . The s t rength

of the scheme l ies in the s t rength of group dynamics . The

objec t ives of the scheme are : convergence of the schemes of

every sec tora l depar tment ; awareness genera t ion among the

women f rom rura l a reas and urban s lums; and economic

empowerment of women.

Bal ika Samriddhi Yojana

The Bal ika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY) i s a scheme to ra ise

the s ta tus of the g i r l chi ld . The f i rs t component of the

scheme of BSY was launched wi th ef fec t f rom 2 October

46

1997. Under th is , the mother of a g i r l chi ld born on or a f te r

15 August 1997 in fami ly l iv ing be low the pover ty l ine was

g iven a grant of Rs . 500. The benef i t s and means of de l ivery

have been redes igned in the current f inancia l years . The

pos t -de l ivery grant of Rs . 500 per g i r l chi ld (up to two gi r l s

in a fami ly l iv ing be low the pover ty l ine) wi l l be deposi ted

in bank account in the name of the g i r l chi ld or in a pos t

of f ice i f there i s no bank nearby. In the same account wi l l be

deposi ted annual scholarships ranging f rom Rs. 300 for c lass

I to Rs . 1 ,000 for c lass X when the g i r l s ta r t s going to

school . The matured va lue of the deposi t s (a long wi th

in teres t ) wi l l be repayable to the g i r l on her a t ta in ing the

age of 18 years and having remained unmarr ied t i l l then .

47

Action Taken by NGO’s to Empower Women

Name of Organisation : Act-Kalpana

One Line Descr ip t ive Slogan: an NGO working among

disadvantaged women

About us : Kalpana i s one of the projec ts of ACT, a

regis tered char i table Trus t . I t c rea tes des igns wi th rea l

pe ta ls and leaves on var ious mediums l ike handmade paper ,

candle , e tc . Through these des igns , more than the products

the l ives of these women are t ransformed.

Miss ion: To provide employment oppor tuni ty to

unski l led underpr iv i leged women of soc ie ty and draw them

to mains t ream by empowering them wi th knowledge, sk i l l ,

se l f re l iance and prosper i ty .

KALPANA is one of the projects of ACT, a registered

chari table Trust (No. F 5727, Bombay 22-9-79) .

KALPANA

Was started in 1998 with an aim to provide

employment opportunity to unski l led underprivi leged

women of soc iety and

48

Draw them to mainstream by empowering them with

knowledge, ski l l , se l f re l iance and prosperi ty .

We create des igns with real petals & leaves on various

mediums l ike handmade paper , Candle , Bamboo etc .

Through these des igns , more than the products the

l ives of these women are transformed.

Tel . : 91-22-26109863 J 30948517 Emai l :

mai l@actkalpana.org www.actkalpana.org B-203, Nani

Niwas, Near LIC

Bui lding, Off S . V Road, Vi le Parle (W), Mumbai 400

056, India .

Ini t iat ives: Women in Development . - Mumbai branch

NGO.    

Locat ion: Maharashtra » Mumbai (MMR)

The vis ion of IWID is to work towards equal i ty , jus t ice

and empowerment of women. To work towards gender jus t ice

in a l l a reas of concern .Focuss ing a t Aged, Consumer i ssues ,

Development (Genera l ) , d isadvantaged communi t ies ,

Environment , Food and Nutr i t ion , Heal th , Human Rights ,

Law, Media , Popula t ion , Pover ty , Rura l Development .

49

Instance Where women have Succeeded

EXTRACTS FROM PH.D. STUDY ON “SOCIO-

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION OF

WOMEN MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS IN SEWAR BLOCK OF

BHARATPUR DISTRICT, RAJASTHAN ”:

Kiron Wadhera

The s tudy focuses on socio-economical ly d isadvantaged

women in v i l lages of Bhara tpur d is t r ic t , who have ventured

and se t up a micro-enterpr ise , in an ef for t to a l levia te the i r

fami ly’s pover ty .

Object ives of the Study

To ident i fy whether the need for achievement was

present in the prof i les of the women micro-ent repreneurs ;

To analyze the re la t ionship be tween the presence of

the need for achievement , and the i r abi l i ty to sus ta in the i r

micro-enterpr ise over a per iod of t ime (5 years) ; and

To s tudy the re la t ionship be tween the absence of the

need for achievement and the i r inabi l i ty to mainta in the i r

micro-enterpr ises .

Role of fami ly suppor t and socia l e f fec t and impact of

the enterpr ise on the i r empowerment , soc ia l conf idence ,

fami ly decis ion-making and s ta tus in the communi ty .

50

Research Methodology

The sample has been drawn f rom a to ta l of 786 women

micro-ent repreneurs in the area . Only 29 percent of them

have repor ted success in the i r f i r s t ac t iv i ty . The sample for

the s tudy consis ts of 93 women f rom successful ca tegory

(Category A) and 90 women f rom unsuccessful ca tegory

(Category B) to ta l ing 183. In addi t ion , the i r husbands or

o ther male members (183) and 4 NGO workers were

in terviewed (Tota l sample – 370) .

The pr imary da ta for the s tudy have been col lec ted us ing

s t ruc tured in terview schedules for (a) rura l women micro-

ent repreneurs respondents ; (b) the husbands or any other

male fami ly member ; (c ) an observat ion checkl is t of

respondents’ houses ; (d) The Themat ic Appercept ion Tes t

(adminis tered to 45 respondents) ; (e ) the scor ing manual for

achievement-mot iva t ion; ( f ) in terview-guide for qual i ta t ive

informat ion f rom 45 TAT respondents ; and (g) d iscuss ion

guide used wi th NGO workers . The da ta was processed

through the SPSS computer sof tware package .

51

Findings

Most respondents a re be low 40 years of age , 69 percent

leading a marr ied l i fe , 66 percent have 3 to 5 chi ldren , and

three-four th of the rura l women ent repreneurs are i l l i te ra te .

Most a re Hindus , and 78 percent be long to socia l ly depr ived

cas tes . Major i ty were marr ied be low 17 years of age , and 46

percent l ive in nuclear fami l ies .

More than two- th i rds of the women repor t the i r

husband’s income to be less than Rs .2500/- a month , and

over two- th i rds repor t the i r fami ly income as going up to Rs .

4000 a month , on account of her enterpr ise .

Women have spent the i r income f rom the i r enterpr ise on

(1) conver t ing a mud house in to a br ick house; (2) buying a

b icycle ; (3) purchas ing ca t t le ; and (4) purchas ing u tens i l s ,

a f te r spending on be t te r food and chi ldren’s school

educat ion . 2

There i s a s igni f icant change in the movement of the

women outs ide of the four wal ls of the i r homes; and the way

the men now accept women’s abi l i ty to do th ings

independent ly . An increase in women’s conf idence , whether

the i r enterpr ise was successful or not , enhanced s ta tus , and

empowerment through ro le in dec is ion making, i s repor ted

by a major i ty of them. I t i s seen tha t 58 percent of the 183

52

women c lear ly d isplay the need for achievement in the i r

prof i le .

Of those who are successful in the i r very f i rs t enterpr ise ,

91 percent d isplay the need for achievement in the i r prof i le .

Of those who fa i led in sus ta in ing the i r micro-enterpr ise , 89

percent do not d isplay any need for achievement in the i r

prof i le .

In addi t ion , whi le a la rge major i ty of those who chose

product ion ac t iv i t ies , (69 percent ) d isplay no need for

achievement in the i r prof i les , a major i ty of the successful

women ent repreneurs usual ly have opted for t rading and

se l l ing , ra ther than product ion as the micro-ent repreneur ia l

ac t iv i ty .

The f indings of the present s tudy of rura l women

ent repreneurs broadly corrobora te wi th the f indings of

s tudies on urban male ent repreneurs (McClel land, 1961;

McClel land and Winter , 1969) . The need for achievement in

the mot iva t ion prof i le of the ent repreneurs appears to make

the d i f ference be tween the i r success in sus ta in ing the i r

enterpr ise for 5 years , and fa i lure in doing so .

Family suppor t , spec ia l ly f rom husbands , i s an impor tant

fac tor in her a t tempt to be an ent repreneur .

Common charac ter i s t ics of successful micro-

ent repreneurs tha t emerge f rom the f indings are : Abi l i ty to

53

take a ca lcula ted r i sk , to assess on the feas ib i l i ty of a micro-

enterpr ise , to choose an enterpr ise which bes t matches the i r

background and ski l l s , to u t i l ize the exper ience of a

successful ac t iv i ty to s ta r t a new one or expand the exis t ing

one , and to compete in the open market .

Suggest ions

In the l ight of the s tudy f indings , a few sugges t ions may

be offered:

For a hol i s t ic soc ia l development and women’s

empowerment , female micro-ent repreneurship may be made

an in tegra l par t of the development approach.

Sel f -employment and ent repreneurship among women

may be encouraged, par t icular ly in rura l a reas , and i t s

probabi l i ty of success may be enhanced through micro-

ent repreneur ia l t ra in ing, and achievement-mot iva t ion

t ra in ing.

Women, who have the need for achievement in the i r

prof i le , may be g iven a concer ted a t tent ion , and be provided

t ra in ing, mater ia l and f inancia l suppor t .

Pol icy-makers may provide guidel ines for se t t ing up

micro-enterpr ises , par t icular ly in rura l a reas .

54

What need to be done more?

Rural f inance and rural poverty

More than a b i l l ion poor people lack access to the bas ic

f inancia l services which are essent ia l for them to manage

the i r precar ious l ives . Good management of even the

smal les t asse ts can be crucia l to very poor people , who l ive

in precar ious condi t ions , threa tened by lack of income,

she l te r and food. To overcome pover ty , they need to be able

to borrow, save and inves t , and to protec t the i r fami l ies

agains t r i sk . But wi th l i t t le income or col la tera l , poor people

are se ldom able to obta in loans f rom banks and other formal

f inancia l ins t i tu t ions . And even when they do have income

or col la tera l , the amounts they requi re are of ten too smal l to

appeal to banks .

Microf inance i s one way of f ight ing pover ty in rura l

a reas , where most of the wor ld ' s poores t people l ive . I t puts

c redi t , savings , insurance and other bas ic f inancia l services

wi th in the reach of poor people . Through microf inance

ins t i tu t ions such as credi t unions and some non-

governmenta l organiza t ions , poor people can obta in smal l

loans , rece ive remi t tances f rom re la t ives working abroad and

safeguard the i r savings . Access ing smal l amounts of c redi t

a t reasonable in teres t ra tes g ives people wi th the wi l l ingness

and know-how an oppor tuni ty to se t up a smal l bus iness .

55

Records show tha t poor people are a good r i sk , wi th h igher

repayment ra tes than convent ional borrowers .

Need credit to rural women

Rura l women play a fundamenta l ro le in da i ly

management of agr icul tura l ac t iv i t ies and of the fami ly uni t .

They are however of ten confronted wi th numerous obs tac les

when applying for c redi t . Consequent ly , they t ry to opt imise

the i r poss ib i l i t ies of access ing credi t f rom the var ious

exis t ing rura l f inance services :

The "unoff ic ia l" sys tem (an a l te rna t ive es tabl i shed by

communi ty members) The "off ic ia l" sys tem (banks and other

of f ic ia l f inancia l ins t i tu t ions) , and Farmers ' organiza t ions

which g ive loans to the i r members .

Rura l women fu l f i l l mul t ip le funct ions on a da i ly bas is :

they are mothers providing for the i r fami ly ' s wel l -be ing,

farmers producing food for the fami ly , shopkeepers

supplying indispensable addi t ional income. They are a lso in

charge of na tura l resources management which ensures

fu ture food secur i ty for the i r fami l ies .

Al though rura l women represent a fundamenta l p i l la r for

surviva l and management of the fami ly uni t , they are

confronted wi th rea l d i f f icul t ies in access ing addi t ional

resources such as credi t . Var ious barr ie rs a r i se when they

56

t ry to under take or develop any income-genera t ing

product ion ac t iv i t ies .

Loans fac i l i tates to rural women

Loans p lay an impor tant ro le in the economic , soc ia l and

pol i t ica l improvement of the s i tua t ion of women throughout

the wor ld . Improving rura l women 's access to f inance g ives

them a chance to become autonomous. This can cont r ibute to

increase agr icul tura l product iv i ty , development of income-

genera t ing ac t iv i t ies a longside the i r product ion ac t iv i t ies ,

be t te r cont ro l of product ion methods , and improved natura l

resource management . As a resul t they wi l l be able to ensure

food secur i ty for the fu ture of which they are the guarantors .

Addi t ional sources of f inance can he lp in developing

necessary commercia l agr icul ture wi th in the na t ional and

in ternat ional context , whi ls t re ta in ing subs is tence farming

for the communi ty ' s da i ly needs . By increas ing the i r

economic power , they wi l l be able to organize themselves

more ef f ic ient ly , to af f i rm the i r pos i t ion as rura l women

farmers , to par t ic ipa te in dec is ion making processes and to

draw up pol ic ies which concern them; as wel l as defending

the i r own in teres ts wi th publ ic author i t ies and other re levant

ins t i tu t ions .

57

Savings fac i l i tate for rural women

Savings are seen as insurance agains t foreseeable fu ture

d i f f icul t ies (const i tu t ing a dowry, br idging a d i f f icul t

per iod , e tc) or comple te ly unpredic table ( food shor tages ,

na tura l weather phenomenon, foodstuffs so ld cheaply

because of the death or acc ident of a member of the fami ly ,

e tc) . Rura l women therefore insure themselves agains t fu ture

r i sks by saving in the form of land, herds , t rees , gold

jewel lery , or by hoarding money, which a lso inc lude r i sks

such as thef t , the compulsory g i f t of a sum to a member of

the fami ly in d i f f icul ty , a l ives tock epidemic , e tc .

Access to safe and secure savings i s an impor tant par t of

address ing shor t - te rm, medium-term and long- term

unforeseen c i rcumstances . These savings a l low them to

protec t the i r own funds and, as a resul t , to under take o ther

income-genera t ing ac t iv i t ies . Al lowing them to cont ro l the i r

incomes and to be pa id for these ac t iv i t ies , i s to par t ic ipa te

in grant ing autonomy to rura l women.

Women's responsibi l i ty in agricul tural act iv i t ies

Food crops are the bas is of most rura l product ion as they

provide the necessary da i ly food ra t ions for rura l fami l ies .

Within th is context , women have a fundamenta l ro le in

farming product ion ac t iv i t ies , in par t icular looking af ter

c rops , and ensur ing good management of these ac t iv i t ies .

58

Faced wi th deple t ion of na tura l resources , men are

increas ingly forced to migra te and/or car ry out non-

agr icul tura l ac t iv i t ies in order to secure the i r l ive l ihood.

Rura l women are therefore le f t to take on fu l l

responsib i l i ty for agr icul tura l ac t iv i t ies .

Savings / loan sys tems can therefore have considerable

impact in such cases . For example , loans can enable the

acquis i t ion of a new technology or make i t poss ib le to h i re

labourers , thus a l lowing rura l women to save t ime — hence

reducing the fa t igue of manual labour — in the i r agr icul tura l

ac t iv i t ies . They can therefore re ta in the i r income-genera t ing

ac t iv i t ies which they might o therwise have had to sacr i f ice

in order to provide food.

Over and above the i r own economic in teres ts ,

savings / loan fac i l i t ies for rura l women inc lude much wider

not ions of pol i t ica l and socia l development such as t ime

saving, fami ly wel l -be ing and food secur i ty , improved

f inance management , personal autonomy and increased

representa t ion .

59

Sources of f inance are avai lable to rural women

Women have severa l poss ib le sources of f inance a t the i r

d isposa l , each wi th i t s own advantages and disadvantages .

The unoff ic ia l sec tor has a lways p layed an impor tant

par t in f inancing rura l women 's ac t iv i t ies . The d i f ferent

p layers in th is sec tor a re fami l ies , re la t ives or f r iends ,

pr iva te lenders inc luding loan sharks , rura l shopkeepers , and

rura l so l idar i ty ar rangements . The loans are thus e i ther in

money or in k ind ( for example loans of inputs re imbursed by

harves ted agr icul tura l produce) . A new sys tem of "semi-

unoff ic ia l" micro-f inancing has a lso appeared dur ing the las t

decade: the sys tem se t up by the non-government

organisa t ions which provide savings / loans to loca l rura l

and/or urban popula t ions a l lowing popula t ions who do not

have access to the off ic ia l sec tor to obta in loans a t ra tes

which are much bet te r than in unoff ic ia l sys tems. We are

inc luding th is f inance model wi th in the unoff ic ia l sys tem as

i t was inspi red f rom th is sys tem to be t te r respond to the

needs of the popula t ion . I t a t tempts to correc t the negat ive

aspects whi ls t re ta in ing the main opera t ional methods .

The off ic ia l sec tor inc ludes country ' s var ious off ic ia l

banks (na t ional banks , rura l banks , e tc) . These off ic ia l

f inance ins t i tu t ions are dea l t wi th in the second sec t ion of

th is document .

60

Farmers ' Credi t Ins t i tu t ions exis t a longside the sys tems

ment ioned above. They are speci f ic to farmers ' organiza t ions

and take the form of agr icul tura l loans /savings ins t i tu t ions

and coopera t ives which we wi l l dea l wi th in the th i rd

sec t ion .

Whenever poss ib le rura l women use severa l

savings / loans s t ra tegies s imul taneously , depending on the i r

requi rements , the amounts they may consider necessary ,

the i r re imbursement capabi l i t ies according to redempt ion

da tes , and as a funct ion of the i r assessment of the r i sks they

are taking in borrowing f rom the d i f ferent f inance sys tems.

At present , Nat ional economies are in the process of

address ing the phenomenon of in ternat ional iza t ion and i t s

impl ica t ions for the rura l economy. Savings / loan sys tems

can p lay an impor tant ro le in avoiding the marginal iza t ion of

rura l women by the i r par t ia l or to ta l lack of in tegra t ion in to

economic and market ing s t reams a t the loca l , provincia l and

na t ional level . SSS

Savings/ Loans in the unoff ic ia l Finance sector

Smal l fa rmers have a lways se t up unoff ic ia l micro-

f inance sys tems, even before exper ts in the f ie ld of

development made th is one of i t s favor i te themes . To begin

wi th , these were only bar ter ing sys tems, before the

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unoff ic ia l f inance sys tem developed in to proper loans which

could be la rge sums of money.

Despi te the const ra in ts of th is sys tem, the unoff ic ia l

sec tor i s s t i l l today widely used and very useful for smal l

producers and for rura l women in par t icular .

Moreover , s ince there are numerous obs tac les prevent ing

access to the off ic ia l c redi t sys tem, many people re ta in the

unoff ic ia l sys tem as a source of savings and loans even i f

th is a l te rna t ive has a number of negat ive impl ica t ions .

Rural women use the unoff ic ia l f inance system

Rura l women of ten use th is sys tem as they need smal l

amounts of cash and the loans are granted according to

soc ia l , re la t ional and cul tura l condi t ions , and not according

to pure ly economical condi t ions which would not a l low

women to benef i t f rom them.

They a lso const i tu te personal savings funds which enable

them to address the i r fami ly ' s bas ic needs . These savings , i f

they are not hoarded or inves ted in mater ia l goods (herds ,

gold , or land e tc) , can be inves ted in the unoff ic ia l sec tor

(pr iva te loans , re la t ives ; tont ines) and are genera l ly g iven in

the form of loans to another person.

Thus the unoff ic ia l sec tor funct ions as rea l banks wi th

the i r own savings and loan cr i te r ia depending on the socio-

62

economic context of the region in which i t develops , and i t

i s successful because i t i s appropr ia te to the loca l s i tua t ion .

Revolving loans and savings associa t ions meet both

economic and socia l needs are very common in developing

countr ies . There have considerable impact for rura l women

who have the i r own funds and cont ro l the use of them.

Through women 's groups they are a lso empowered to

manage, to be represented and to make c la ims and demands

and are thereby no longer a lone to face obs tac les

encountered in the i r da i ly l ives .

This revolving sys tem of savings / loans i s a bas ic

e lement in the l i fe of rura l women and a l lows numerous

ac t iv i t ies to emerge f rom these funds which can somet imes

a t ta in qui te h igh levels .

Various obstacles to the unoff ic ia l f inance system's

ef f ic iency

Numerous s tudies , mainly carr ied out by univers i t ies and

non-government organisa t ions , have h ighl ighted obs tac les in

the unoff ic ia l savings / loans sys tems. According to pure ly

economic cr i te r ia , the impact of loans i s l imi ted , par t ly

because unoff ic ia l sys tems imply l imi ted capi ta l and h igh

cos ts which do not permi t the development of la rge-sca le

ac t iv i t ies .

63

Moreover the sys tem usual ly lacks re l iabi l i ty through

insecur i ty of deposi t s and the lender ' s more or less good

management of h is f inance sys tem.

Al though the loans are granted a t h igh in teres t ra tes ,

there i s v i r tua l ly no remunera t ion for savings .

Apar t f rom the development of communi ty re la t ionships ,

one of the poss ib le negat ive points tha t can be noted i s the

socia l dependence which comes about due to the exis t ing

re la t ionships wi th the person who has fac i l i ta ted and/or

made the loan.

F ina l ly , by us ing the unoff ic ia l f inance sys tem, rura l

women are not in tegra ted in to the off ic ia l f inance sys tem

and the i r economic ac t iv i t ies cont inue to be marginal .

Therefore , the i r ac t iv i t ies remain on a smal l sca le and

cannot develop in a sa t i s fac tory manner .

The unoff ic ia l f inance sys tem is in teres t ing in tha t i t

cons t i tu tes a recourse in the event of sudden di f f icul t ies . I t s

impact remains l imi ted a lso because of the essent ia l ro le of

the personal re la t ionships p layed in grant ing loans .

64

Offic ia l system: Finance Inst i tut ions

The off ic ia l sys tem (publ ic or pr iva te na t ional banks ,

rura l banks , or development banks) can ensure more

ambi t ious f inancia l services than unoff ic ia l sys tems.

However , us ing them may be d i f f icul t for rura l women.

As rura l women are increas ingly in charge of the fami ly

farm's genera l management ( rura l exodus of men) and have

to dea l wi th the off ic ia l f inance sys tem, fac i l i ta t ing access

to loans could be a dr iv ing force in developing the i r

product ion and process ing ac t iv i t ies , and in progress ing

towards agr icul ture for the loca l market .

Obstacles prevent ing rural women's access to the

off ic ia l f inance system

Rura l women have l i t t le access to informat ion

concerning off ic ia l savings / loans ins t i tu t ions . In fac t banks

have a considerable communica t ion problem wi th the rura l

envi ronment in genera l , and wi th women in par t icular . The

rare extens ion programs concern the i r opera t ing and

f inancia l services , ta rge t ing mainly farmers , wi thout

worrying about the speci f ic na ture of female problems. This

means tha t rura l women have a very l imi ted idea of the

na ture of ins t i tu t ional savings / loans fac i l i t ies .

65

Rural women are of ten considered as be ing insolvent

because they are subs is tence farmers , and are seen as a h igh-

r i sk popula t ion for f inance ins t i tu t ions .

Banks and f inancia l ins t i tu t ions hes i ta te to grant loans to

women, as they are usual ly smal l loans and do not provide a

good enough re turn for the banks .

They are heavy ins t i tu t ional cons t ra in ts such as

adminis t ra t ive procedures and the necess i ty for guarantees

( land ownership t i t le deeds) . With the problems of i l l i te racy

and the lack of management knowledge, rura l women are

d iscouraged f rom access ing these f inancia l services . Of

course groups of women have a be t te r chance of be ing

provided wi th credi t , but th is necess i ta tes organis ing women

ins ide the communi ty and th is i s not ye t common prac t ice .

Perhaps the most d i f f icul t of obs tac les to be c leared are

those of a soc io-cul tura l na ture . I t i s par t icular ly complex

for rura l women to address the socia l prac t ices of the i r

communi t ies and i s a long- term chal lenge . These inc lude

s tandards and socia l ru les ( inc luding land r ights and

inher i tance procedures) , re l ig ious prac t ices and cas t

sys tems, soc ia l taboos , pre judice agains t women and rura l

women in par t icular .

Las t ly i s the c lass ica l d i f f icul ty of a l l rura l popula t ions ,

and not necessar i ly speci f ic to rura l women. Banks rare ly

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have agencies in rura l zones and women therefore have to go

to towns which of ten mean walking for many hours . This i s

the case not only to open an account or ask for a loan, but

a lso whenever they make a deposi t , requi re informat ion, or

have a reques t . To add to the cos t in t ime and in t ranspor t ,

one must a lso add the socia l cos t as many pre judices exis t

concerning rura l women going to the town and the economic

cos t of the i r absence f rom the i r fami l ies wi th regard to the i r

da i ly domest ic tasks and product ion .

Dif f icul t ies in access ing loans encountered by rura l

women reduce the scope of the i r in i t ia t ives , b lock the i r

economic and socia l development , wi th the resul t tha t they

are kept in a s ta te of dependency and dai ly insecur i ty .

Agricultural organisat ions which provide Finance

services

Specia l ized in the rura l sec tor ' s problems, agr icul tura l

organisa t ions are charac ter ized by the fac t tha t they are se t

up , owned, managed and cont ro l led by the i r members . As

they are independent and democra t ica l ly opera ted , they can

se t up credi t pol ic ies and programs which are be t te r adapted

to rura l envi ronments and to rura l women when the i r voices

are heard . They are consequent ly an ext remely impor tant

e lement for implement ing rura l pol ic ies and defending the

in teres ts of a l l fa rmers , women and men. Agr icul tura l

organisa t ions have mul t ip le sec tors of in tervent ion and can

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se t up genuine rura l development programs. Loans are one of

the tools used in a genera l rura l development pol icy ,

working towards solv ing the var ious economic , pol i t ica l ,

technica l , soc ia l and cul tura l d i f f icul t ies of th is sec tor .

However , se t t ing up such a program of associa t ing

savings / loans for the development of o ther income-

genera t ing ac t iv i t ies or para l le l ac t iv i t ies ( t ra in ing,

techniques , nut r i t ion , hea l th e tc) requi res severa l condi t ions

for success .

1 . Rural women's part ic ipat ion and representat ion in

agricul tural organisat ions

To ensure a be t te r par t ic ipa t ion , i t i s impor tant tha t

borrowers - and women in par t icular - take par t in the

assessment of savings / loans programs so tha t they are

involved in the i r sound management and therefore of the i r

sus ta inabi l i ty . Moreover , as there i s no typica l f inance

model , th is ac t ive par t ic ipa t ion enables ac tua l loca l needs to

be ident i f ied and the bes t -adapted savings / loans sys tem to be

provided.

This i s par t icular ly t rue when the ta rge t popula t ion are

rura l women whose speci f ic needs are not ye t c lear ly

def ined. As the members of these organisa t ions are in

cont ro l of the pol ic ies se t up , i t i s absolute ly essent ia l tha t

agr icul tura l organiza t ions fac i l i ta te grea ter representa t ion of

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rura l women as members , a l lowing them to be represented in

dec is ion-making processes and on management commit tees .

Equal oppor tuni t ies for men and women in becoming

members of and par t ic ipa t ing in farmers ' organisa t ions are a

fundamenta l precondi t ion for success . Rura l women need to

be ac t ive wi th in decis ion-making s t ruc tures to be able to

draw up savings / loans pol ic ies which rea l ly meet the i r

speci f ic needs .

2 . Rural women's access to fac i l i t ies provided by

agricul tural organizat ions

A rura l development program inc luding f inancia l

services should associa te these services wi th improved

access to inputs , land, technologies and t ra in ing. I t i s very

impor tant for rura l women to have fu l l and d i rec t access to

the d i f ferent services as members in the i r own r ight and not

as wives of member farmers . This would enable them to have

rea l cont ro l over the use of these fac i l i t ies , in par t icular

wi th respect to f inance granted to them.

3 . Taking the family unit into account

In rura l development programs, e f for ts should be made

to develop savings / loans fac i l i t ies for the whole fami ly uni t ,

wi th l ines of c redi t speci f ica l ly for women. This wi l l mean

less d iv is ions wi th in the fami ly , the communi ty and socie ty

as a whole .

69

Also, implement ing a rura l f inance program for women

should enta i l cons idera t ions on mainta in ing the r ight ba lance

be tween food product ion and commercia l product ion so as

not to af fec t fami ly food and nut r i t ional secur i ty . Such

programs should a l low a l l da i ly ac t iv i t ies of the rura l woman

to be l inked together wi thout endanger ing fami ly uni t ' s

working and l iv ing condi t ions .

4 . Training of and information for rural women

As regards t ra in ing, extens ion and informat ion on credi t

fac i l i t ies f rom agr icul tura l organiza t ions , these should be

adapted to the d i f ferences in men and women 's knowledge,

to the i r d i f ferent ac t iv i t ies and to the i r da i ly p lanning

(schedule and length of meet ings are an impor tant e lement in

opt imiz ing the presence and par t ic ipa t ion of rura l woman) .

Agr icul tura l organiza t ions must therefore take in to

considera t ion the i ssues of rura l women when drawing up

pol ic ies which are more in keeping wi th the i r needs and

requi rements and thereby reducing the exis t ing inequal i t ies

be tween men and women 's access to the i r var ious fac i l i t ies .

Under these condi t ions , f inance can have a considerable

d i rec t impact on the l i fe of farming fami l ies and on women

in par t icular .

70

Recommendation

For increasing land and resource r ights of tr ibal

women

More and more t r iba l women and those l iv ing in fores ts

and mounta inous regions are loos ing the i r t radi t ional r ights

and concess ions over fores t land due to la rge development

projec ts , unfavorable government rehabi l i ta t ion pol ic ies and

increas ing cont ro l of land by corpora te bodies . This has

lowered the i r s ta tus and led to homelessness , increased

overa l l v io lence agains t women and t raf f icking. The impact

of g lobal iza t ion has aggravated land scarc i ty and has fur ther

imp

For tr ibal women farmers , pastoral is ts and forest

produce gatherers

. The col lec t ive r ights of t r iba l women to land, water and

fores ts should be recognized and ment ioned separa te ly in

government p lans and pol icy documents .

Tr iba l women par t icular ly those l iv ing wi th in the fores t

a rea , as wel l as women in fores t dependent communi t ies

should be guaranteed the i r ances t ra l ownership and

inher i tance r ights as per cus tomary law or laws of the s ta te .

71

Where access to pr iva te ly owned land i s not avai lable ,

r ights and concess ions for l ive l ihoods and subs is tence use

should be ra t ional ly provided for communi t ies on publ ic

land such as Reserve Fores ts and protec ted areas l ike

Sanctuar ies . In such areas the l ive l ihoods and subs is tence

needs of fue l , fodder , water and plant resources of

communi t ies must be ensured in pol ic ies and regula t ions tha t

de l imi t or res t r ic t women’s access to i t .

Women l iv ing in fores t v i l lages should be g iven land

r ights so tha t they can have access to maternal and chi ld

care services and other developmenta l fac i l i t ies in the i r

v i l lages .

Susta inable use of v i l lage commons should be ensured by

providing suff ic ient land, as suppor t a reas for subs is tence

needs , par t icular ly for women of fores t dependent and fores t

and t r iba l communi t ies .

A sec t ion on the Fores t and Land Rights of Tr iba l women

should be inc luded in the new Fores t and Tr iba l b i l l s .

Tr iba l women should be suppor ted and t ra ined to assume

leadership ro les in formal publ ic ins t i tu t ions through t ime

bound programs.

72

The government should adopt a gender sens i t ive

rehabi l i ta t ion pol icy tha t makes provis ion for the res tora t ion

of t r iba l women’s l ive l ihood and income. Women should a lso

ge t legal r ights to land a l loca ted as par t of the rese t t lement

package .

Tr iba l women farmer’s t radi t ional wisdom and

exper ience re la ted to b io d ivers i ty conservat ion and

enhancement , seed se lec t ion and s torage , water harves t ing ,

r i sk minimiz ing agr icul tura l prac t ices , and sus ta inable use

of na tura l resources should be acknowledged, preserved and

used for na tura l resource management , research , p lanning

and decis ion making a t a l l levels . This wi l l a l so prevent

them from becoming dependent upon expensive seeds ,

fe r t i l izers and pes t ic ides .

The state governments should promote and sponsor

research and documentat ion of–

Women’s par t ic ipa t ion in i r r iga t ion management should

be made an impor tant par t of the agrar ian reforms of

governmenta l and non-governmenta l development agencies .

Tr iba l women farmer’s associa t ions should be formed so tha t

these women can par t ic ipa te in p lanning, cons t ruc t ion and

management of i r r iga t ion sys tems. This wi l l ensure the

ef fec t ive funct ioning and sus ta inabi l i ty of these sys tems.

73

Consul ta t ions should be he ld wi th t r iba l women and the i r

ideas and concerns should be inc luded in des igning and

managing canal sys tems.

Government schemes should be in i t ia ted to lease land to

women 's groups for col lec t ive economic ac t iv i ty on long-

term leases , as in Bihar for f i sh ponds and Tamil Nadu for

waste land development . Government as wel l as non

governmenta l agencies should work for t ransfer of group

t i t les of farm re la ted ac t iv i t ies to landless women.

for women in special c ircumstances

Specia l provis ion to be made through banking schemes to

channel se l f earned land r ights and resources of unmarr ied

women and gi r l s .

S ince t r iba l widow have no r ight to land and resources in

some cus tomary r ights ta rge ted in tervent ions l ike widow

pension or o ther group land r ights grants for t r iba l women

should be sanct ioned.

A c lear pol icy d i rec t ive for the care of orphan gi r l s

needs to be urgent ly draf ted such tha t the dependence on

re l ig ious and char i table ins t i tu t ions i s reduced and s ta te

responsib i l i ty for communi ty suppor t increases .

Link the women resource r ight agenda and the WRRC

wi th o ld age care in both na ta l and marr ied homes of

74

daughters . This may resul t in the care of fami l ies wi th only

g i r l s to s tay connected to the i r parents even af ter marr iage

away f rom the i r own nat ive v i l lage .

For Inst i tut ional mechanisms, information and

training & for access and control over land for

Tribal women

Women’s land and resource r ights inc lude ownership of

land, housing, asse ts , access to water and fores t . This needs

to be accompanied by avai labi l i ty of c redi t , informat ion,

t ra in ing as wel l as access to services and ameni t ies .

A One Window Approach

Women’s Resource Rights Committee

Tripart i te Board

Vil lage or Urban Resource Centers

Urban and Rural Women Resource Right Centres

(WRRC)

Since agr icul ture i s a seasonal occupat ion t r iba l fa rmers

owning even 10-11 acres of land have to migra te to urban

areas af ter a per iod of 3 months . The urban areas should

have WRRC, which should be equipped to ca ter to the

specia l needs of such farmers . These WRRCs should

preferably be loca ted in very green areas , which are as c lose

to the na tura l habi ta t of the t r iba l ly as i s poss ib le . They

75

should ac t as both ha l f way homes and shor t s tay homes for

t r iba l people under the ownership and management of t r iba l

women. The urban resource cent res should t ry to provide

t r iba l people wi th a cul tura l c l imate to which they are

accus tomed and prevent the eros ion of the i r cul ture . They

should l ink t r iba l workers to the Tr ipar t i te Workers Board

for fur ther ing a resource r ight agenda for t r iba l women.

76

Conclusion

Female school ing can lead to a reduct ion in pover ty by

g iv ing women the l i te racy ski l l s and conf idence they need to

have a say about how th ings are run. A mother ' s educat ion

of ten leads to be t te r hea l th and nut r i t ion for her chi ldren .

More inves tment in improving the lo t of rura l women could

crea te a 'v i r tuous c i rc le ' of be t te r educat ion , improved

heal th and higher income. And women need to be g iven the

r ight to have more cont ro l over product ive asse ts – land,

water and credi t , for example . Removing gender inequal i t ies

i s not only moral ly r ight ; i t i s good for economic growth and

development

Apar t f rom these measures women are encouraged to do

for soc ie ty f ina l ly for the na t ion to he lp o ther women’s &

get se l f -he lp .

77