Articles

Crane Bedi: Use education as key to empowerment

If the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution, then why are Indian women treated as second citizens in their own country? The Constitution officially grants equality to women and also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. However, the varied forms of discrimination that women in India are subject to are far from positive. It is claimed that from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards, there has been a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to development. Where is the development? Yes, the status of the urban woman has shown some improvement but the changes in their lifestyle were not coupled by changes in the general mindset of the people in our patriarchal society. Thus, some laws should have been framed for the protection of the newly emancipated and urbanized Indian women. What is the percentage of urban women in India , anyway? What about the rest? These privileged few...

Since time immemorial, Indian women have suffered at the hands of men. They have been subject to all forms of mental, physical, psychological and emotional torture. However, due to the hard work and dedication of feminists and social reformers, there has been a considerable improvement in the status of women in urban India . Education has helped the urban woman to understand the rights that have been accorded to her by the constitution and she is learning to make full use of it. Besides, she is now financially independent and does not need a man to support her. So she does not need to tolerate any form of torture and has the confidence to fight for her rights. Women have stopped sacrificing their dreams for the happiness of others. They choose to remain single as long as they want to and the divorce rate in India has reached an all time high. Thus, there are a large number of women in our society who are single. But does our society accept single women? The answer is a definite ‘No...

After globalization, many western brands opened their outlets in India . It was followed by the large scale advertising of these products. Advancements in technology and new satellite links enabled the transmission of Western Television Channels, in India . People were exposed to a whole new world. This was followed by the BPO Boom. The unemployment rate of the educated people, living in the metros, came down drastically. The disposable income of people went up and the new range of lifestyle products and brands were hard to resist. The fashion obsession in the West was transferred to India . Every individual is expected to look his/her best today. Packaging is as important as the product, but in case of women, it seems more important. India is a multi-cultural and multi-racial society and people of different regions and across the social classes, have different beliefs. So those who haven’t been able to adapt to the changing lifestyles, are looked down upon. Advertisements play a...

Gender equality is a very popular topic of debate in this country. Urbanized men often crib that women have all the rights and some laws should now be framed to protect men from women! This article is going to show how different the real situation is. There are several laws in our constitution, to protect women. The sad part is these laws are rarely ever imposed. Over 32000 murders, 19,000 rapes, 7500 dowry deaths and 36500 molestation cases were reported in India in 2006. However there are many instances where crime against women, goes unreported. These are figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau. While Madhya Pradesh is worst off among the states, the national capital New Delhi continues to hold on to its reputation of being the most unsafe city in India . Delhi takes the top slot for crimes ranging from murders and rapes to dowry deaths and abductions. Instead of leading the way in tackling crime, the country’s capital is a cauldron of crime. While the ...

According to Indian Mythology, the woman represents ‘Shakti’. Our goddesses destroy all evil and ensure that justice is done. Saraswati is the goddess of education and wisdom. Laxmi, is the goddess of wealth and prosperity and Kali, is the destroyer of evil. Ironically, Indian women are not allowed to educate themselves and be financially independent. They also become victims of crime. Our religious texts accord equal rights to women. However, the perpetrators of patriarchy misinterpret these very texts to subjugate women. India got its independence in 1947. Indian women played a very important role in the freedom struggle. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi Sarla Devi, Muthulaxmi Reddy, Susheela Nair, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sucheta Kripalani Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Sarojini Naidu, are some of the women who helped us in winning our independence. Yet can Indian women be called truly independent? India is a multi-cultural and multi-...