{"id":7383,"date":"2014-02-22T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-22T23:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/will-women-in-some-indian-states-go-way\/"},"modified":"2018-06-04T16:38:59","modified_gmt":"2018-06-04T16:38:59","slug":"will-women-in-some-indian-states-go-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/will-women-in-some-indian-states-go-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Will women in some Indian states go the way of the Dinosaur?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

 Dr. <\/i><\/b>Anjali
\nMehta<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nTwo categories of theories try to explain
\nthe mystery behind the extinction of the majestic dinosaurs that roamed the
\nearth eons ago.The gradualists feel that changing evolutionary trends such as competition
\nwith mammals and changes in vegetation and climate slowly eroded their numbers whereas
\ncatastrophists attribute it to one catastrophic event (a meteorite impact is
\nusually cited) .<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nSeeing that the population of women in some
\nstates in India is steadily declining one needs to reflect (while it is still
\nearly days) whether some regional types of women too, could gradually become
\nextinct?Regions lend their own special flavour to the entity we call woman. It would
\nbe hard to imagine our country without the brightly-attired women with their
\nlong veils from Rajasthan, the tall, fair sardarnis from Punjab, the recently successful
\nsportswomen from Haryana and so many others\u2026<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAn observation of prevailing trends (the
\nnumbers are from reliable open sources) reveals that a woman\u2019s very survival is
\nchallenged at many stages of  her life. This
\nis more so in the poorer socioeconomic strata and in some parts of the
\ncountry.For some women, it requires the right combination of luck and sheer
\ntenacity to reach adulthood safely.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/u><\/b>
\nThe first hurdle looms even before birth
\n:<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n

\nThe illegal practice of letting parents
\nknow the sex of the child before it\u2019s birth, continues. It has been found that
\nfirst pregnancies usually are not aborted, but second and third pregnancies
\nare. An overwhelming number of aborted fetuses are female. A recent study in Lancet<\/i> 
\nfound that sex selective abortions are on the rise in India. The
\nNational family health surveys have found a similar trend. Sex-selective
\nabortions are more prevalent in the northern states .<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nApart from the aborted foetus , the mother
\nis also at definite risk. Although the MTP act has made nearly all types of
\nabortion legal, for various reasons ,more than seventy percent of abortions are
\ncarried out under unsatisfactory conditions in small, poorly equipped,
\nunsanitary clinics run by inadequately qualified owners. Such abortions frequently
\nlead to maternal mortality due to sepsis or undue bleeding.India has amongst
\nthe highest number of abortion related deaths.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n Challenges at birth :<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\nThe birth of a baby girl is not a
\nunanimously joyous event in our country.Some families view girls as a social
\nand economic burden and kill newborn girls with impunity.Some in desperate
\nconditions carry out this act to save their girl from a possible future of pain
\nand hardship.Convictions occur regularly for all manner of crimes but how many
\ndeaths of infant girls have been seriously investigated and how many parents
\nconvicted? Almost none. The rampant female infanticide is reflected in dwindling
\nsex ratios. The average sex ratio for the country (rural and urban) is 940
\nwomen\/ 1000 males. Some states are well below this average and the concentration
\nseems to be around Delhi(866 ), Chandigarh (818), Punjab(893) and Haryana(877),
\nwith Haryana having the lowest sex ratio among all the states (only the union
\nterritories of  Dadara(775) and Daman and
\nDiu (618) have lower ratios). That the the capital of the country and it\u2019s
\nimmediate surroundings, where there is relative economic prosperity, should have
\nthese low figures is something to think about.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Challenges in the teenage period<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n

\nThe women who are born under more favourable
\nconditions and thus escape this \u2018unnatural selection \u2018reach a stage of enrollment
\nin school and studies. Alas, every child does not have a carefree childhood.
\nMany small girls are married off just after attaining puberty. Child marriages
\nare still highly prevalent in Rajasthan, Uttar pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar
\nand West Bengal (with Rajasthan being the worst offender) despite there being
\nan act against this.Teenage pregnancies are associated with a much higher
\nmortality ratio : twice as high in the 15-19 age group compared with early
\ntwenties. Some teenage mothers who survive may have damage to their still
\nimmature internal organs and become incontinent. This may lead to social
\nshunning and neglect. Some unfortunate teenage girls are abducted and sold into
\nprostitution. The life expectancy is shortened for girls in the prostitution
\ncircuit due to a combination of lack of hygiene, forced use of drugs ,injuries
\ninflicted by violent male clients and sexually transmitted diseases, notably
\nHIV. Some unfortunate girls are simply raped and killed outright.<\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nYoung adults in a cruel world<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\nAfter this gruesome attrition process
\nduring the earlier years the more fortunate women who are able to actually
\ncomplete an education and reach adulthood relatively unscathed then enter the
\ndomestic phase of their lives. Everyone is familiar with the dowry menace in
\nour country. The word \u201cmarriage license\u201d seems to be a license  to start milking the girl and her family for
\nmoney. Dowry deaths are as prevalent in the educated and (supposedly) thinking
\nclasses as among the poor.Although there is some conviction rate for this
\nghastly crime , it is clearly not enough of a deterrent since it is still
\nwidely prevalent and seemingly on the rise.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nMotherhood<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\nFor the woman who makes it past these
\nhurdles, to the state of motherhood, it\u2019s not safe passage as yet. The odds are
\nstill stacked against her, specially if she is poor. India boasted of one of the
\nhighest maternal moralities in the world in the earlier part of this decade.The
\nlatest statistics show some improvement (212 according to the census commission)
\nbut we still have a long way to international targets: 109\/1000 by 2015.
\nAmongst the states, Assam, Uttar pradesh and Rajasthan seem to have the highest
\nmaternal mortality figures(480,440,388 respectively-as per Govt. of India
\nstatistics 2006)The reasons for this alarming statistic range from social and
\ncultural beliefs and practices to poor infrastructure. Notable are: still
\nprevalent child marriages leading to teenage pregnancies, unsafe delivery and
\nabortion, lack of good hospitals for skilled care in rural areas, poor basic
\nhealth of women leading to easy susceptibility to infection and many others.
\nWhen we realise that the supplementation needed in pregnancy consists of the
\nvery economical iron and folate tablets and two tetanus injections, the
\nunnecessary sacrifice of maternal life seems very poignant. It is even more ironical
\nwhen we consider that India is fast creating a good name for itself
\ninternationally in medical tourism.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nBeyond motherhood<\/u><\/b><\/div>\n
\nIt seems that only at menopause does a
\nwoman’s fate appear to be a little more secure. However now the combination of her
\nadvancing years and the woman\u2019s propensity to neglect her own health while
\nlooking after her children, husband and in-laws, make her more susceptible to
\nthe general problems of old age.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWill
\n<\/a>our women be saved?<\/u><\/b><\/u><\/div>\n
\nThe government, non governmental
\norganisations and even individuals have been carrying out various initiatives
\naround literacy, health and incentives for the family of a girl child .  But this clearly is far from enough. We need
\nto reinforce some actions and make imaginative changes in those measures which
\ndon\u2019t seem to be working. We also need to change social perceptions and unkind
\nmindsets.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAttention should be focused on the states
\nwhich have high maternal mortality rates,low sex ratios,high percentages of
\nchild marriage,and poor literacy levels (Jharkhand[56%] , Bihar[53%], Rajasthan[53%],
\nUttarPradesh[59%] and Arunachal Pradesh[59%] have fairly low literacy levels
\nfor women).The states with multiple risk factors are at greatest risk of losing
\ntheir female population (some northern states fall in this category) and  should be attended to on an urgent basis.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nFemale infanticide should be taken seriously
\nas a crime and concrete arrests made. Recently, there were arrests in the
\ncapital of those parents who had fraudulently tried to secure admissions for
\ntheir children into universities. Surely, killing also merits parental arrest. When
\na death is reported from a particular area ,the village must be also put under
\nsurveillance. Awareness and counselling programmes should be undertaken to
\nprevent more such deaths.  This could be
\nthe responsibility of the district collector. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAlongside, the danger to girl babies must
\nbe removed by taking measures to ensure that girl children are not seen as a
\n\u2018burden\u2019. Dowry should be abolished on a war-footing. Prospective brides and grooms
\nshould give written undertakings that they are not indulging in monetary transactions
\nbefore they are bestowed with a legal marriage licence.Generous incentives
\nshould be provided to the family who has a girl child.It should be ensured that
\nall girl children are highly literate and employed. Thousands more scholarships
\nshould be instituted for girls\u2019 education especially in the vulnerable states.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe child marriage act has not been
\nenforced at all and convictions are unheard of. The current punishment of three
\nmonths in jail is not meaningful.The government should instead impose a stiff
\neconomic penalty on people defaulting. This should be divided and borne equally
\nby the concerned girl and boy\u2019s parents. Apart from the deterrent value,the
\ngovernment would also earn revenues which could be used for more schools for
\ngirls and their overall welfare.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nBasic health care and good transport
\nfacilities should be provided so that all women have access to at least one
\ngood hospital within half hour distance away. The village Sarpanch should
\nensure that all households in the village are aware of where to go in a
\ngynecological emergency and should ensure that some means of transport is
\navailable.  Iron and folate tablets
\nshould be distributed in an organised manner just the way Anti-Tubercular and
\nAnti-AIDS  drugs are being distributed-
\nperhaps the same channels can be used.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

We need to bring about a social change in
\nthe way marriage is perceived. Currently, too much importance is given to
\nmarriage and it dominates many aspects of our lives. In some cases, the growing
\nup years seem to be little else than a preparation for the inevitable marriage.
\nWe should ensure that childhood is a rich and multidimensional experience for
\nour children. There should be counselling in schools about not thinking about
\nmarriage during the formative years. Children should be encouraged to develop
\ntheir talents and personalities, not to attract a good mate but to realise
\ntheir own highest potential. Marriage should merely be one of the many aspects
\nof a person\u2019s life. It should not be a social stigma if people choose not to
\nget married and prefer to just remain bachelors. People should neither pity
\n(nor for that matter envy) those who choose to remain single.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nAt an individual level, each citizen must be
\naware of these issues and try and help in any small way possible. This could
\ninclude educating a girl child or counselling a known family not to marry off
\ntheir girl children early and helping them arrange a vocation for the girl
\ninstead. Parents should hesitate to offer their daughters in marriage to any
\nfamily bringing up the topic of money. This can only lead to grief later. All
\nparents must sensitize their sons and daughters to these matters at an
\nappropriate age. Equality of the sexes should be stringently emphasized and
\npracticed in our daily lives. Parents should take greater responsibility in
\nensuring the safety of their girls and not sending them to cities to work
\nunless they are absolutely certain of the credentials of the accompanying
\nescort.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n Women should be empowered at the school,
\nfamily and social level in every way possible. An example should be set at the
\nhighest level by tabling and passing the women\u2019s representation bill in
\nParliament.<\/div>\n
\nFor each person who does not care about
\nwomen there are many who care deeply. Such people should come forward, in
\nthought and action to help preserve and nurture our women\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

Send your thoughts on women to info@dwarkaparichay.com<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 Dr. Anjali Mehta Two categories of theories try to explain the mystery behind the extinction of the majestic dinosaurs that roamed the earth eons ago.The gradualists feel that changing evolutionary trends such as competition with mammals and changes in vegetation and climate slowly eroded their numbers whereas catastrophists attribute it to one catastrophic event (a meteorite impact is usually cited) . Seeing that the population of women in some states in India is steadily declining one needs to reflect (while it is still early days) whether some regional types of women too, could gradually become extinct?Regions lend their own special flavour <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,92,1],"tags":[65,1879,67,231],"class_list":["post-7383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-better-india","category-update","tag-member-article","tag-update","tag-views","tag-women-issues","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34373,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7383\/revisions\/34373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}