womens jacket

Whole Grain Bread for Roman Meal

In this segment, we focus on answering womens top three wishes with food, managing our weight and cravings, better moods & looking and feeling our best.

Crazy Topless Woman of The Town Center

Diack steals womens top and hides it, the cow didnt see the funny side and wants his in return!

Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2006-Was It Worth The Effort?

v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2006-Was it worth the effort?

“Common sense often makes good law though the lack of it doesn’t”-By William Orville Douglas

Violence and domestic abuse are considered a man’s most heinous, intolerable and deleterious weapon and rightfully, violence in a relationship is inhuman behavior in its most pernicious form, which would be anything but acceptable. There had been a significant lacuna in the legal system to accommodate for cases of everyday domestic violence in the lives of women, something that has been restricted to the private domain. But this Act now seeks to eliminate this lacuna and eradicate the evil of domestic violence. Nonetheless, while providing for remedy, the Act has created various openings and prospects for abuse and misuse of this Act.The Domestic Violence Act is the latest mischievous sprite introduced to conform to the concept of protective discrimination by making special provisions for women. The Act certainly provides for shielding women from any sort of domestic violence in a relationship and the Act has specifies a comprehensive definition of domestic violence. In S.3 of the 2005 Act, domestic violence is defined in terms of mental, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse. But despite of having such a virtuous intention, its ambiguous realization has paved way for a great controversy with feminist groups and men contributingly harping for equality as this Act has the potential of being used by women to harass men. This law was enacted by keeping in view the rights guaranteed under Articles 14,15 and 21 of the Constitution to provide for a remedy under the civil law, which is intended to protect the woman from being victims of domestic violence and to prevent the occurrence of domestic violence in the society . But this Act on the contrary, has provided for an elaborate mechanism for abuse by women and has certainly become a glaring example of inequality. The feminist groups unequivocally and unanimously hail the implementation of the Act while men think of being ransacked of all of their marital rights. The likelihood of it being misused is so immensely incalculable that it has given wakeful nights to men and has left his fate to the whims and fancies of their counterparts. This article will provide and insight into the Act and highlight the draconian nature of the Act through its anomalies and inherent ambiguities.

Legislative History
Before the inception of this Act, there was no specific Act for protecting women from undue discrimination and unjustified violence.
Though the Indian Penal Code had provisions, namely sections 304B and 498A, but they weren’t adequate and satisfactory in checking the atrocities committed against women. Thus, a desperate need was felt for an Act which could specifically cater to this cause and help women attain a dignified status, and henceforth the bill was passed by the legislature in 2005 and it was brought in application in 2006 and was touted by union minister Renuka Choudhary as a the most progressive gift for women.

Inception of the Act
Domestic violence is undoubtedly a human rights issue and serious deterrent to development of a nation. This particular Act has been enacted in keeping with the various guidelines given by several International conventions and declarations. The Vienna Accord of 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action 1995 have acknowledged this. The United Nations Committee on Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in its General Recommendation No.XII (1989) has also recommended that State parties should act to protect women against violence of any kind especially that occurring within the family.

The phenomenon of domestic violence is widely prevalent but has remained largely invisible in the public domain. This enactment purported to be an additional violence curbing mechanism to the already existing sections 304B and 498A in IPC, which lay down the punishment for dowry death and cruelty and harassment against a women by her husband or his relatives.

Creditable features of the Act
An important advance made by the Act in understanding the nature of domestic violence has been in the combination of civil and criminal remedies. While civil remedies can be tailored to meet the circumstances of each case, criminal sanctions provide a greater deterrent effect among perpetrators.
The preamble to this Act reads like a definition and covers the entire subject matter of the Act. Apart from stating that the Act is intended to effectively protect the rights of a women and to give them a decent and dignified status, it stresses on the need of an ‘aggrieved women’ to seek immediate relief, compensation and also rehabilitation.

The Act establishes adequate machinery to ensure effective protection. The Act creates an extraordinary post of a Protection officer who is charged with the responsibility of taking expeditious steps for providing timely relief and it also grants authority to the Magistrate to give sufficient relief in the form of maintenance orders, custody orders and compensation. The Act also creates a novel agency called the ‘service providers’ who are entrusted with the job of filing Domestic Incident Reports with the Magistrate. The act by itself does not punish the perpetrator of domestic violence. But if a case discloses any offences punishable under IPC, CRPC or Dowry prohibition Act, the Magistrate may then, frame appropriate charges to either try the case himself or he may commit it to Sessions Court if he may deem fit.

This act contains five chapters and 37 sections. Its main features are firstly that the term ‘domestic violence’ has been made wide enough to encompass every possibility as it covers all forms of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse that can harm, cause injury to, endanger the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, either mental or physical of the aggrieved person. This is a genuinely wide definition and covers every eventuality. Secondly, the definition of an ‘aggrieved’ person’ is equally wide and covers not just the wife but a woman who is the sexual partner of the male irrespective of whether she is his legal wife or not. The daughter, mother, sister, child (male or female), widowed relative, in fact, any woman residing in the household who is related in some way to the respondent, is also covered by the Act . The respondent under the definition given in the Act is “any male, adult person who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the aggrieved person” but so that his mother, sister and other relatives do not go scot free, the case can also be filed against relatives of the husband or male partner.

S.18 of the same chapter allows the magistrate to protect the woman from acts of violence or even “acts that are likely to take place” in the future and can prohibit the respondent from dispossessing the aggrieved person or in any other manner disturbing her possessions, entering the aggrieved person’s place of work or, if the aggrieved person is a child, the school. The respondent can also be restrained from attempting to communicate in any form, whatsoever, with the aggrieved person, including personal, oral, written, electronic or telephonic contact”. The respondent can even be prohibited from entering the room/area/house that is allotted to her by the court.

The Act allows magistrates to impose monetary relief and monthly payments of maintenance. The respondent can also be made to meet the expenses incurred and losses suffered by the aggrieved person and any child of the aggrieved person as a result of domestic violence and can also cover loss of earnings, medical expenses, loss or damage to property and can also cover the maintenance of the victim and her children . S.22 allows the magistrate to make the respondent pay compensation and damages for injuries including mental torture and emotional distress caused by acts of domestic violence.

The Act provides for penalty up to one-year imprisonment and/or a fine up to Rs. 20,000/- for and offence . The offence is also considered cognizable and non-bailable under Section 31 while Section 32 (2) goes even further and states, “Under the sole testimony of the aggrieved person, the court may conclude that an offence has been committed by the accused”.

The Act significantly ensures speedy justice as the court has to start proceedings and have the first hearing within 3 days of the complaint being filed in court and every case must be disposed of within a period of sixty days of the first hearing.

A critique of the Act
Women favoring Aspects
In the garb of providing protection, this legislation in fact, strikes at the very foundation of marriage by promoting intolerance and encouraging unnecessary litigation even for petty domestic disputes. The law is based on a totally wrong notion and assumes men as the sole perpetrators of domestic violence. This is altogether a wrong impression and only confirms the gender bias in favor of women created by this law. “Giving of such sweeping legal powers to women while withholding protection to male victims is tantamount to systematic legal victimization of men “. The law is wholly gender specific and rules out any possibility of domestic violence against a man . The law confers rights in a woman without imposing any liability, while a man is overburdened with discriminative liabilities with total denial of rights.

The slack drafting of this law will allow cunning and unscrupulous women to teach a lesson to any of her male relative at her sole behest. Moreover any such frivolous claims will be treated as words of god or gospel of truth by virtue of this law . This has virtually empowered all women to punish men at their will. This law not only recognizes but also gives legal sanctions to apprehensions no matter how insignificant and fizzy, they are. The mere belief of a person, even a stranger, will be sufficient for reporting the matter to the protection officers. It can very easily become a weapon for women to extort money, as in such cases usually the police arrests the husband and in-laws. “This arbitrary decision of the police to favor the daughter-in-law is a newfound ethic, to protect the rights and liberalization of women, even though it violates the principles of natural justice “. A bizarre aspect of this Act is that it does not distinguish between actual abuse and threat of abuse and gives equal weightage to even a likelihood of abuse . Also in regards to the notion of “emotional abuse, insults and verbal abuse” enshrined in the Act, the terms in itself are extremely relative and subjective, often depending on one’s mindset and shockingly, the husband does not have any recourse in case of any abuse by the wife.

Unlike other women protection laws, the Act almost gives a legal sanction to extortion of money by women under the guise of economic abuse . Refusal to pay any sum of money for whatsoever reason will attract the provisions of this law. Non-payment of rental related to the shared household will also constitute economic abuse even if the husband himself is devoid of sufficient resources or even if he is in jail. Another pertinent laxity that can be pointed out as also recently reiterated by the Supreme Court is that the definition of “shared household” as mentioned in the Act is vague and laid that the parents independent property in which the husband does not have any share will not amount to “shared household”.

Other Anomalies in the Act
Another substantiation of the Act being unreasonable and excessive is that in relation to the right of residence wherein by including the divorced wives, former girlfriends and former live-in partners in the list of women facing domestic violence, this Act gives enough leeway to women to harass innocent men and turn the heat on their former partners. Now even a traitorous woman cannot be thrown out of house as she can easily threaten her husband or in-laws of false domestic violence charges as the Act expressly mentions that incase of absence of any other evidence, her sole testimony shall be relied upon by the Magistrate in deciding the existence and extent of violence. The Act almost gives a legal sanction to any relationship, which is not at all socially acceptable like the live-in relationship. In addition to this the respondent is totally deprived of his legitimate rights over his property as he cannot alienate or dispose if an order is passed under the Act. On the contrary there is an added liability on his part to arrange for an alternate accommodation or pay the rent for the same.

Another certain home breaking implication of this Act is that as consanguinity is a necessary aspect of marriage, and as matter of fact a ground for separation under the marriage laws, one of the provisions of this Act bars the husbands from even asking, leave apart pressurizing, their wives for sex . Another perturbing feature is that as a protective measure or more so a biased feature conferred by this Act in the form of prohibition of any sort of communication to be made by the husband if there is a prima facie case

An unusual oddity in this enactment is that the Magistrate has been entrusted with unaccountable power as he is invested with the responsibility to take cognizance of the case and also for executing his own orders in favor of the aggrieved women even without being approached for their execution. An additional disturbing aspect is that the Magistrate trying the case is required to evaluate not the individual incidence of violence, but the overall circumstances as well.

The major inappropriate implication would be that it would play down the chances of reconciliation in future. On one hand the Act punishes a man for forcing her wife to leave job while on other it provides maintenance to the very same wife. But the law does not provide for any such remedy to a male in any similar circumstance.

All the provisions of this Act, however, do not serve the purpose of effective implementation as the above examples, sometimes due to a lack of resources or due to extraneous factors. S.12 (4), for example, is a laudable provision, which makes it mandatory for the magistrate to hear a case within three days of the complaint being filed. The idea of prompt relief is carried on in s. 12(5), which directs the magistrate to finish hearing the case within six months of it reaching court. However, the overcrowding of courts makes it difficult to see if they can be practically realized.

A further criticism of the Act is with respect to S.14, which may prescribe counseling for either of the parties, and delay proceedings up to two months. As has been discussed earlier, addressal of domestic violence has always tended to focus on conciliation between the perpetrator and the victim, even within the criminal justice system. This is due to the judicial perceptions regarding the importance of preserving the family unit, even to the jeopardy of a victim of domestic violence. In recognition of this fact, a provision such as S.14 can be counterproductive in two ways. Firstly, it might jeopardize speedy disposal of the case, and secondly, it may also convince the aggrieved to continue in that situation without taking any further action.

The Act makes provision for the appointment of protection officers. Protection officers, as per the Act, are a group of officers whose duty is to assist the aggrieved party with the processing and completion of the domestic violence suit. The institution of protection officers is a useful one, emphasizing the need for societal intervention in order to prevent domestic violence, by directly addressing from an external standpoint the relationship of power and control in an abusive relationship. The problem however lies with the resources required for the creation of such a rung of officers

The Supreme Court verdict
Since the Act is written in a negative language, it is essential to consider the Supreme Court judgement in respect of such statutes. The SC has aptly stated in a recent case that if a provision of law is couched in negative language implying mandatory character then the Courts shall interpret the provision, keeping in view the entire content in which the provision came to be enacted, and shall hold the same to be directory though worded in negative form.

Also in the first case on this Act before the Supreme Court , the Court has admitted and established certain evident ambiguities in the Act.The court in this particular case discussed the scope of sections 2,12,17 and 19. As provided by section 17,the court can now order that she not only reside in the same house but that a part of the house can even be allotted to her for her personal use even if she has no legal claim or share in the property. The Act also ensures speedy justice as the court has to start proceedings and have the first hearing within 3 days of the complaint being filed in court and every case must be disposed of within a period of sixty days of the first hearing.

The facts of the case were that respondent was married to son of Appellants and after their marriage and Respondent and her husband were staying in house owned by husband’s mother. When Husband filed a divorce petition against the Respondent, the Respondent shifted to her parents place. She was prohibited to enter house of Appellants. She filed a Suit for a mandatory injunction to enable her to enter the house. The Trial Court granted temporary injunction restraining Appellants from interfering with right of Respondent to reside. On appeal, Senior Civil Judge dismissed temporary injunction application. The Respondent then filed a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution. The Single Judge held that Respondent was entitled to reside in house, as that was her matrimonial home. Then the husband’s parents appealed and the SC held that the house in question belonged to mother in law of Respondent and not to Respondent’s husband and Respondent could not claim any right in said house. The Court also redefined the scope of various provisions relating to ‘shared household’ and compensation in the form of residential accommodation by stating that “Wife is only entitled to claim a right to residence in a shared household, and a ‘shared household’ would only mean house belonging to or taken on rent by husband, or house which belongs to joint family of which husband is a member.” The Court while deciding on the issue of alternative accommodation laid down that in regards to “Alternative accommodation under Section 19 (1)(f) of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, claim for alternative accommodation can only be made against husband and not against in-laws or other relatives.”

Conclusion
The Act presently is heavily in favor of women. Chances of it being misused and scandalously abused are enormous. It can therefore, be well stated here, that this act could become a pawn in the hands of the “so called aggrieved” who can easily manipulate it for her advantage which can be well supported by these statistical researches, the most alarming of it being that in case of married couples, the male to female suicide ratio is 63:37 thus confirming that men are the ultimate targets. This Act should have ideally included stringent penal provisions for curtailing the instances of abuse and mishandling, but herein, instead various opportunities have been made available which can ultimately lead to its grave misuse and can thus act as a catalyst for breaking homes. Thus, this Act does not contain any provisions for creating awareness or for strengthening and preserving family as an institution or even providing chances for reconciliation or even scope for improvement to “the husband”. The main beneficiaries of this Act will obviously be women of propertied upper class. But there is no doubt that given the hypocritical, patriarchal and insensitive nature of the society, this Act would definitely be instrumental in putting an end to all the degradation and brutality meted out to women.

It is eventually, the neo collectivist and neo socialist approach which is needed in the society that can essentially free both men and women from shackles of brutality and ultimately put them on an equal pedestal in all respects. Women, who have for decades been silent victims of oppression and enslavement will now have a better chance of fighting the injustice without slightest of hesitation and it can be well summed up with the quote by Marx-that equal laws cannot be applied to unequal people . Thus, any enactment, which forcefully subjects a section of society to conduct and “serve” the other section at its willful pleasure, would only enhance the level of oppression in the society and leave incurable marks on the face of the most democratic society.
**************
End Notes:
1) Section 3 defines the term domestic violence.
2) See, Bare Act, Statement of Objectives of the Act
3) See, Home is where the Law is” by Indira Jaisingh, Indian Express, 8 Sept. ;05
4) Bare Act-History of the Act and see,http//www.hindustantimes.com
5) See,(Ch.II, S.3) of the Act
6) See, (Ch.I, S.2 (a) of the Act
7) See, (Ch.IV, S.20) of the Act
See chapter V Sections 31 and 32
9) See, (Ch.IV, S.12 (a) (4) and (5)).of the Act
10) See, The Domestic Violence Law of India – A Shield or a Sword?
11) Various studies in India and other countries have shown that even men suffer domestic violence at the hands of women. See, Anne Bransdon, “The Nature of Domestic Violence Against Men”; Charles E. Corry and at al, “Controlling Domestic Violence Against Men” Patricia Pearson, “When She Was Bad – Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence”.
12) A breach of protection order can be concluded at the sole testimony of the aggrieved. See, Section 32(2) of the Act.
13) Section 4 of the Act allows any person having reasons to believe to report that any act of domestic violence is or will be committed.
14) Even a person having any gripe can misuse it to settle his personal scores.
15) See, Amjad Maruf, Domestic Violence Act, 2005 – A recipe for broken marriages and relationships, November 03, 2006 (www.sulekha.com).
16) Section 4 of the Act.
17) See “Verbal and Emotional Abuse” under section 3 of the Act.
18) Section 3 of the Act defines as to what all constitutes economic abuse.
19) See “Sexual Abuse” under section 3 of the Act.
20) Section 18 of the Act.
21) S.B. Ghosh, “Contextualizing Domestic Violence”, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA (Rinki Bhattacharya ed., New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004) at 54
22) See S.18 of act
23) Ravi Kusum v. Kanchan Devi, AIR 2005 SC 3304
24) 136 2007 DLTI SC, SR Batra v. Taruna Batra,Secs 2,12, 17 and 19 also referred
25) See, Srilata Swaminathan, On the Protect of Women from Domestic Violence Act (http//www.cpiml.org)
26) See, Karl Marx, Gotha Programme.

Forms of Domestic Violence and Development of Women Through Education

Forms of Domestic Violence and Development of

Women through Education

 

                                                                                          

INTRODUCTION

            However much a mother may love her children, it is all but impossible for her to provide high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, illiterate and uninformed, anemic and unhealthy, has five or six other children, lives in a slum or shanty, has neither clean water nor safe sanitation, and if she is without the necessary support either from health services, or from her society, or from the father of her childen.
                                                          – Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, “The Asian Enigma”

            Women constitute almost half of the population in the world. But the hegemonic masculine ideology made them suffer a lot as they were denied equal opportunities in different parts of the world. The rise of feminist ideas has, however, led to the tremendous improvement of women’s condition through out the world in recent times. Access to education has been one of the most pressing demands of theses women’s rights movements. Women’s education in India has also been a major preoccupation of both the government and civil society as educated women can play a very important role in the development of the country.     

·                     India has world’s largest number of professionally qualified women.

·                     India has largest population of working women in the world.

·                     India has more number of doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors than the US.

What is Domestic Violence?

            Domestic violence is controlling behaviour and includes all kinds of physical, sexual, economic, psychological and emotional abuse within all kinds of intimate relationships. The perpetrators of domestic violence or abuse are usually men and the victims or survivors are usually women and children that they know. It includes:

• Punching and slapping.

• Kicking and hair pulling.

• Biting and pinching.

• Pushing and shoving.

• Being forced to have sex.

• Being beaten or cut with other objects.

• Disrespect, neglect and emotional blackmail.

• Verbal abuse and swearing.

• Being prevented from going out or seeing people – being isolated.

FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The following are the forms of Domestic Violence:

1.      Physical Abuse

2.      Sexual Abuse

3.      Psychological Abuse

4.      Emotional Abuse

5.      Financial Abuse

1. Psysical Abuse:     

            Physical abuse is the most visible form of abuse and most likely (with sexual abuse) to give rise to criminal charges. Injuries include black eyes, cut lips, bruising, fractures, deafness, blindness, internal bleeding, missing teeth, persistent ill health, miscarriages, and injuries to a foetus and death. Injury sites are often concealed by clothing or hair. It can include slaps, shoves, pushing, being thrown across the room or down the stairs, kicking, stamping, strangulation, burns and scalds, being attacked with weapons such as knives, household objects, firearms etc internally as well as externally.

2. Sexual Abuse:

            Sexual Abuse in an abusive relationship is another form of violence, control and degradation. It includes rape, sexual assaults (including with implements),enforced prostitution, enforced sexual practices including being forced to watch or engage in pornography.

3. Psychological Abuse:

            Psychological abuse examples include “Jeckyll and Hyde” behaviour, preventing contact with friends and families, constant belittling and humiliating things being said, claims that children will be removed if anyone is told of abuse, controlling behaviours, deliberately enforcing dependency, constant statements that the victim is mentally ill etc.

4. Emotional Abuse:

            Emotional abuse is an attack on victims’ personality and well being and is often described as worse than physical violence. It may be referred to as “mind-games”. It frequently amounts to the abuser assuming a tight and unhealthy control of all members of the family, which may become increasingly isolated in the community.

            Examples include threats of violence to all members of family, constant criticism of the victim saying she is ugly, ignorant or worthless, using the children as ammunition, family life and mood being dictated by abuser (abuser-centric) continual questioning, humiliation in public, playing on community and cultural fears, threats to have the children removed, threats to kill or have deported, threat that the abuser will commit suicide, threats and actual violence to family pets etc.

5. Financial Abuse:

            Financial Abuse is essentially the deprivation of and / or the control of money whether earned or benefits.

            An abuser may refuse to pay bills or prevent the victim from having any control over the family finances. The abuser may steal money belonging to the victim or children. Essential services such as gas and electricity may be cut off. The mother may be forced to support the children solely on what she can earn without assistance or child benefit if this is claimed by the abuser. An abuser may deliberately spend money on himself or sell the woman’s possessions and family furniture.

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA

·        One crime against women every three minutes

·        One rape every 29 minutes

·        One dowry death case every 77 minutes

·        One case of cruelty by husband and relatives every nine minutes

·        Once suicide every 4 hours

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

 

The main problems of Indian women:

·         Malnutrition: India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle.

·         Poor Health: Females receive less health care than males. Many women die in childbirth of easily prevented complications. Working conditions and environmental pollution further impairs women’s health.

·         Lack of education: Families are far less likely to educate girls than boys, and far more likely to pull them out of school, either to help out at home or from fear of violence.

·         Overwork: Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men’s, yet their work is unrecognized. Men report that “women, like children, eat and do nothing.” Technological progress in agriculture has had a negative impact on women.

·         Unskilled: In women’s primary employment sector – agriculture – extension services overlook women.

·         Mistreatment: In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India, in terms of rapes, assaults and dowry-related murders. Fear of violence suppresses the aspirations of all women. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortions are additional forms of violence that reflect the devaluing of females in Indian society.

·         Powerlessness: While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution, legal protection has little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Women lack power to decide who they will marry, and are often married off as children. Legal loopholes are used to deny women inheritance rights.

            India has a long history of activism for women’s welfare and rights, which has increasingly focused on women’s economic rights. A range of government programs have been launched to increase economic opportunity for women, although there appear to be no existing programs to address the cultural and traditional discrimination against women that leads to her abject conditions.

GOVERNEMNT ROLE TO MINIMIZE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA

            Overall, a crime against women is committed every three minutes in India, according to India’s National Crime Records Bureau. Despite the scale of the problem, there had been no specific legislation to deal with actual abuse or the threat of abuse at home. Domestic violence, under the new law, includes “actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, emotional or economic,” a statement from the federal ministry of women and child development said.

            “We have been trying for long to protect women from domestic violence. In India alone, around 70% of women are victim of these violent acts in one or the other form,” junior minister for women and child development Renuka Chowdhury told the Press Trust of India news agency. They say a bill alone will not help in preventing domestic abuse; what is needed is a change in mind sets.

            In January 1992, the National Commission for Women (NCW), was set up as a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 ( Act No. 20 of 1990 of Govt.of India ) to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

            There are so many government and non-government organizations are working for the benefits of women. Both Central and State governments are continuing so many programmes for the development of women in the country.

 DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION

            You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.
                                                                                                                 - Jawaharlal Nehru

Female Literacy in India:

            According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.

Factors Responsible for Poor Female Literacy Rate:

Historically, a variety of factors have been found to be responsible for poor female literate rate, viz.

·         Gender based inequality.

·         Social discrimination and economic exploitation.

·         Occupation of girl child in domestic chores.

·         Low enrolment of girls in schools.

·         Low retention rate and high dropout rate.

The main strategies adopted by the Government for increasing female literacy in the country include:

1.      National Literacy Mission for imparting functional literacy

2.      Universalisation for Elementary Education

3.      Non-Formal Education

History of Women’s Education in India: Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the British period there was revival of interest in women’s education in India. During this period, various socio religious movements led by eminent persons like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar emphasized on women’s education in India. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make education available to the women of India. However women’s education got a fillip after the country got independence in 1947 and the government has taken various measures to provide education to all Indian women. As a result women’s literacy rate has grown over the three decades and the growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 1971 only 22% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to 11.72 % of that of male literacy rate.

 

Importance of Women’s Education in India: Women’s education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children, but also can provide better guidance to all their children. Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population.

Obstacles: Gender discrimination still persists in India and lot more needs to be done in the field of women’s education in India. The gap in the male-female literacy rate is just a simple indicator. While the male literary rate is more than 75% according to the 2001 census, the female literacy rate is just 54.16%. Prevailing prejudices, low enrollment of girl child in the schools, engagements of girl children in domestic works and high drop out rate are major obstacles in the path of making all Indian women educated.

            According to the Women and Child Development study, 45 percent of Indian women are slapped, kicked or beaten by their husbands. India also had the highest rate of violence during pregnancy. Of the women reporting violence, 50 percent were kicked, beaten or hit when pregnant. About 74.8 percent of the women who reported violence have attempted to commit suicide. It shows the importance of education. Educated woman has more strength and power to face the challenges when compared to uneducated woman.

            Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes. “Educated women are aware of their rights,” she said. “They are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction.”

            It is necessary to establish some more colleges and universities in India.  The number of Residential Schools for SC/ST and BC’s is not sufficient today. So, increase the number of these schools in the both rural and urban areas. Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens. Take care about future generation. Then only India will become developed country in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

            Now we are living in the modern and technological world. Women are also entering in all the fields like men for doing job. Educated women have better opportunity compared to uneducated women in the society. They are facing so many problems in the society. With the help of education and law and order it is easy to escape from those problems. So it is necessary to educate all types of women in the society. Education gives strength, wealth, health and power to the individual.

 According to Swami Vivekandanda:

“We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind increased and intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet”.      

            The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:

“O Lord Why has you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?
Why does she have to wait head bowed,
By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience,
Hoping for a miracle in the morrow?”

References:

1.      National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2001). The National Reading Panel: Reports of the Subgroups.

 

2.      UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Literacy rates, youth (15-24) and adult (15+), by region and gender (September 2006 Assessment).

 

3.   Child and Women Development Report, (2006), Ministry of Women and Child  

      Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

 

4.    National Family Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

5.    National Crime Records Bureau, (2007), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

6.   Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

 

.

*****

Top 10 Women’s Costumes for Halloween

Womens top 10 costumes available at www.brandsonsale.com Over 10000 Halloween costumes in stock! Distributed by Tubemogul.

Are Women Indirectly Responsible for More Than 80% of the Worlds Social Crimes?

Women rule supreme as they hold the planet’s two trump cards.

Women hold the key which locks and unlocks men at will. Women hold the key to the world’s promiscuity and crime. Are women to blame? Or are men just weaklings?

The greatest of all competitive commodities, sex and money are controlled by women.

Women hold the purse strings and control your sex life. You say not? What do you think might happen if the men decide where and how to spend the money and where to have sex?

Eighty percent or more of the entire jail population are inside because of these two women dominated commodities sex and money. Women rule both, they hold the key.

If women ruled our planet would these commodities be shared more equitably?

Don’t call for my castration please; I am merely focussing opinion at that which is generally acknowledged amongst society at large, and I dare say if it is not, let’s wake up. Having admitted my alegiance to this thought, how can I possibly love women?

Are women truly from Venus?

Here are some general facts (or opinions) about women. Many men will deny their agreement in public; but in their inner bosom there is no denial. After all the fact are there for all to see.

• Gentlemen prefer blondes

• Brunettes start blonde jokes to discredit blonds, because gentlemen prefer blondes.

• Women travel 10km to save $0.50 on a product on special, but it costs $5.00 in gasoline to get there.

• Women will buy something not because they need it, but because it is a bargain.

• Women suffragettes burnt their bra because they wanted to be like men.

• Women believe that the world would be a better place if they were the rulers of this planet. (I think they should be given the opportunity , men have cocked it up good and proper, can’t get any worse.)

• Make love not war is a better motto than kill for oil.

• Women control about 80% of the spending power of a household, if not more. Thus they control the bulk of the general publics’ spend.

• Women to a large extent wear slacks, jeans and the like. Are they aiming to proof a point? (like who wears the pants) I’m sure there will be lots of denials. Generally men prefer the minni-skirt.

• Women dress sexily to show off their bodies, when men take notice they get reported for sexual harassment.

• Woman was the original temptress of the world, (remember the apple?) Nothing has changed today. Men get tempted and condemned for it.

• Women allow their husbands to be the men of the house as long as it is with their approval, and preferably not to frequently.

• Women spend what men work for. (Ooops, that’s a little controversial)

• Women control the greatest crime causes in the world, money and sex.

If a census were to be taken at the country’s jails I have no doubt that 80% or more of the inmates’ crimes were related to one of the two. Women-sex, or money, or possibly both of the above factors.

A weapon, which is often used by women in defence of being called the weaker sex, is the observation that Our Lord first created men and than noticed some serious flaws, so to perfect his creation He made women. You know, I think some women truly believe this.

There are no doubt many more general observations about women one could make, but this suffices, I have made the point, which demonstrates the general consensus amongst men when they talk away from women ears.

Most men will quietly admit to most of the women fads as enumerated. I wonder how many men will have the guts to write and agree with me. I’ve given the address at the foot of the article. Come on, don’t leave me in this alone, all men and women have opinions on this subject.

No wonder some great author said that women are aliens from Venus.

The other side of the coin

• Women must often have double the qualification for the same job as men and then they still get paid less because they are female. Is this just? Are they short of some sort of inherent ability although they have more academic qualifications? Or are men hell bent on keeping them bare foot and pregnant in the kitchen?

• Women are more loyal employees than men.

• Women can multi task better then men.

• Women are great to hand the screaming baby to.

• Women are more loyal than men.

• Women cope better with a crisis than men.

There is an under current amongst women, complaining that nowadays men have the headaches, what happened? I’ll tell you.

Men are now 50% housewife now that women are in full time employ. Women please take note now that you are in full day employ and expect the husbands to do 50% of the motherly duties, nothing against that, but please, we must change nappies and get up at 2 am to warm the babies bottle etc., Why should we not be entitled to the occasional head ache. In fact, the whole system is upside down, look at your teenage daughter, at the age of 14 or 15 they are chasing boys. Should not the men be the hunter? I think so. Look at nature the way God created it. Males are the pursuers, but note, only successful if the women gives permission. Women are in control.

What happened to the “Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen” type of women? What has changed? I’ll tell you what has changed, greed, we all want bigger homes, better cars etc. It’s the Keeping up with the Joneses that is the problem, so the wives have had to become more economically active. I’m not saying I liked women better when barefoot etc, no, I’m asking a question, who has the answer?

Men, your world is changing Women are taking over. In fact they will more than likely shortly rule America. Who cares? They can not do any worse than men. Or can they? Is Venus in the same state of chaos as planet earth?

Here is some tangible proof that women are widely recognised as the temptresses of the world as ever they were. If women are not, why does a manufacturer of great Italian vehicles have to have a scantily clothed, sexy women present at their exhibit at the Earls Court Motor Show, right on the beautiful rotating platform? Because women are a star attraction, it thus brings the men, and on the off chance they may even notice the car. Women, remain ever the temptress, and this fact is well exploited by the emperors of commerce. She tempts men, she draws them closer to come and look. (At what?)

I’ve said enough, or just about. Men, do you know that the greatest slice of internet money is taken home by women? (I will have to get my wife operative at this). I wonder why, if in commerce they are remunerated at a lesser level for similar professions? It appears that they are taking over; after all, the internet is the world’s largest market place. It is the only place I know where you often do not know with whom you are transacting. Does this indicate that women are discriminated against when because of the misnomer, “weaker sex?”

Internet seems the only real equitable place we do not know or determine if the GURU is a woman, if the women are, they earn the same and more than the male, could the reason be that here gender is obscured? Shoo, makes you think, doesn’t it?

The power of temptation has belonged to the women since the Garden of Eden. Today the world still upholds women as the ultimate temptress hence the nudity in advertising. It is held that a half naked feminine torso if shaped according to the fads of the male world will attract attention, and it does. Some of the most obscure products use women in their advertising to get their product noticed. You see, women are good for everything. Are men just as versatile?

For men danger of being swamped by women lurks around every corner, or is it perhaps good fortune lurking? I can name a few women who were colossus in this world during my time, like British Maggie or Jewish Golda. I am not very fond of the worlds idle parasites who ride the tjooka tjooka train of wealth like the Dutch queen and the British queen etc. Cost me taxes for no return.

Are we men about to be relieved of all the responsibilities of this planet? Women are very capable of earning big money. If women as a species suddenly realise their potential they will then rule, the purse and the bedroom. Thing are looking bleak for the strongest sex, what is left for us?

Men, I ask, do we still have a roll to play? Women no longer need us, sex is also pleasurably achievable without the male around, in fact many claims of greater erotic pleasure are contributed to mechanical bedroom equipment. Are we the stronger sex? May be physically, but mentally? We are lorded over by women in all the important facets of life, certainly the two deemed most important. Women rule supreme. I say thank heaven they do not seem to have cottoned on to this fact as yet, or is coertion already exerting women dominance to allow men favours? However, it is a fact of life; sex and money are the woman’s domain.

Now then if this be so should they not shoulder the blame for modern society’s promiscuity and money greed, for both of which society steal murder and plunder. Does it mean that men have been weaklings since Eve tempted Adam?

Are women running our lives or are women running out of control?

I’d like a few opinions, I sure as hell don’t know where I am on or off with this women issue. Do we respect the species which clearly hold the key to our survival? Do we stand by and let women rule the world? Come on, let me have some input; don’t let the world believe that only the author thinks like this.I have left a facility for sharing your view at the foot of the page

I look forward to a few answers, hopefully dispersed by some good humour. No antagonism please, women live on this planet also, not only Venus. Venus is apparently full up. We are not looking to make war with women; I’d rather make love with women.

Here are a few internet facts on women.

Keyword search on Women, Guess what was tops? Naked women 35000 hits a day Keyword search on Men, Guess what was tops here? It was naked men, but significantly less in number at 12000 per day.

Next I typed in Women Money I got 178 daily searches on this Then I typed in Men Money and got 15 daily searches. An interesting bit of information is the keyword phrase Women Wrestle Men for Money, 165000 pages,

Check it on google.

So 3 question remain unanswered

• Will this be a better world if the women rule?

• Are women who definitely rule money and sex responsible for the worlds promiscuity and crime?

• Would the jails be only quarter as full if the two most powerful urges of human kind were equally shared emotionally?

I would like to hear from those of you who have been to the proverbial woman’s haven Venus. Is better place than planet earth because it is held that women rule there?

Leave a little note on my specially provided space get the info in my bio.

Hans Monsma

Impact of Education on Domestic Violence and Development of Women Through Education

Impact of Education on Domestic Violence and Development of Women through Education

 

                                                                                                                                               

 

INTRODUCTION

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.

- Jawaharlal Nehru

“Literary education is of no value, if it is not able to build up a sound character.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

 

            Education has been regarded as the most significant instrument for changing women’s subjugated position in the society. It not only develops the personality and rationality of individuals, but qualifies them to fulfill certain economic, political and cultural functions and thereby improves their socio-economic status. One of the direct expectations from educational development in a society is the reduction in the inequality among individuals and that is why Education was included as the basic right of every human being in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The constitution of UNESCO also directs its efforts to achieve `The ideal of equality of educational opportunity without regard to race, sex or any distinction, economic or social’.

            Domestic Violence (sometimes referred to as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures; people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes can be perpetrators of domestic violence. Domestic violence is perpetrated by both men and women, occurring in both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.  

What Is Domestic Violence?

            Domestic violence is controlling behaviour and includes all kinds of physical, sexual and emotional abuse within all kinds of intimate relationships. The perpetrators of domestic violence or abuse are usually men and the victims or survivors are usually women and children that they know. It includes:

• Punching and slapping

• Kicking and hair pulling

• Biting and pinching

• Pushing and shoving

• Being forced to have sex

• Being beaten or cut with other objects

• Disrespect, neglect and emotional blackmail

• Verbal abuse and swearing

• Being prevented from going out or seeing people – being isolated

• Lying, harassment and putting pressure on you through threats

            1:4 women experience domestic violence at some point in their lives and 1:10 will be experiencing domestic violence today

WOMEN VIOLENCE IN DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA

            Over 37 per cent married women in the country were victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands with Bihar topping the list. Women in Himachal Pradesh faced less violence at home compared to other states in the country. The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes. “Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse,” the survey said.

            The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).

            In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages.

            It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).

            Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai (40.6) and Kolkata (26.7).

            Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.

            In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.

            In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts (22.8). After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4).

Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA

·        One crime against women every three minutes

·        One rape every 29 minutes

·        One dowry death case every 77 minutes

·        One case of cruelty by husband and relatives every nine minutes

·        Once suicide every 240 minutes.

Source: National Crime Records Bureau       

CHILD VIOLENCE

           Children are the nation’s assets. A happy child will make his/her home and the country happy. The future of any country depends upon the right upbringing of its children, for which a congenial environment and adequate opportunities for wholesome development are essential.

According to UNICEF’s  “The State of the World’s Children,” report for 2006, one-third of the world’s children lack adequate shelter, 31% lack basic sanitation and 21% have no access to clean, potable water.  Illness, malnutrition, and premature death are common when children lack the most basic protection.

            A government commissioned survey has found that more than 53 per cent of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don’t report the assaults to anyone.

            The survey, released last April and which covered different forms of child abuse physical, sexual and emotional as well as female child neglect, found that two out of every three children have been physically abused.

            Parents and relatives, persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility were mostly found to be the perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the country. According to the women and child development ministry-sponsored report, which assumes greater significance in the backdrop of the Nithari killings that brought into focus the issue of children’s safety, those in the age group of 5-12 years reported higher levels of abuse.

            While releasing the survey, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said, “Child abuse is shrouded in secrecy and there is a conspiracy of silence around the entire subject. The ministry is working on a new law for protection of children’s rights by clearly specifying offences against children and stiffening punishments.”

            The survey carried out across 13 states and with a sample size of 12,447, revealed that 53.22 per cent of children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, with Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Delhi reporting the highest percentage of such incidents. In 50 per cent of child abuse cases, the abusers were known to the child or were in a position of trust and responsibility and most children did not report the matter to anyone.

            The survey, sponsored by WCD ministry and carried out by the NGO Prayas in association with UNICEF and Save the Children, found that more than 50 per cent children were subjected to one or the other form of physical abuse and more boys than girls were abused physically. The first-ever survey on child abuse in the country disclosed that nearly 65 per cent of school children reported facing corporal punishment beatings by teachers mostly in government schools.

            Of children physically abused in families, in 88.6 per cent of the cases, it was the parents who were the perpetrators. More than 50 per cent had been sexually abused in ways that ranged from severe such as rape or fondling to milder forms of molestation that included forcible kissing.

            The study also interviewed 2,324 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, almost half of whom reported being physically or sexually abused as children. When it comes to emotional abuse, every second child was subjected to emotional assault and in 83 per cent of the cases, parents were the abusers.

Children living with domestic violence may:

 

• Express behavioural problems.

• Be more likely to truant or have difficulties at school.

• Turn to alcohol or drugs.

• Self-harm or attempt suicide.

            According to the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) of Children living with domestic violence:

 

Ø      100% are emotionally abused.

Ø      48% are psychologically abused.

Ø      26% are physically abused.

Ø      13% are accidentally injured.

Ø      7% are sexually abused.

Recent figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show that:

v     Globally, 1 in 6 children work.

v     218 million children aged 5 – 17 are involved in child labour world wide.

v     126 million children work in hazardous conditions.

v     The highest numbers of child labourers are in the Asia/Pacific region, where there are 122 million working children.

v     The highest proportion of child labourers is in Sub Saharan Africa, where 26% of children (49 million) are involved in work.

DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION       

 

        Education is the process of instruction aimed at the all round development of boys and girls. Education dispels ignorance. It is the only wealth that cannot be robbed. Learning includes the moral values and the improvement of character and the methods to increase the strength of mind.

            Once the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru said, “you can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”. This is absolutely true. Woman of any nation is the mirror to its civilization. If women enjoy good status it shows that the society has reached a level of maturity and sense of responsibility while a decadent image conjures up if the opposite is true. The story of Indian women is as old as the history of Indian civilization.

            Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes. “Educated women are aware of their rights,” she said. “They are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction.”

Female Literacy in India

            According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.

 

WOMEN UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA

 

Ø      Andhra Pradesh

      Sri Padmavati University, Tirupati

Ø      Delhi

      Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Lajpat Nagar

Ø      Maharashtra

      SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai

Ø      Rajasthan

      Banasthali Vidyapith, Banasthali

Ø      Tamil Nadu

      Stella Maris College, Chennai

      Women’s Christian College, Chennai

      Madura College, Madurai        

 

            It is necessary to establish some more universities and colleges for women in India. Education is a solution for any type of problem in the society. Education gives strength, power and character. Education helps to improve economic position also in the society.

            The number of women job seekers has increased from 99.3 lacs in 1999 to 106.1 lacs in 2004. Thus the percentage of women job seekers to the total job-seekers has also increased from 24.6per cent in 1999 to 26.2per cent in 2004.

Table 1: Number of Women Job Seekers

Year

Number of Women (in lacs)

Percentage to total

1999

99.3

24.6

2000

104.5

25.3

2001

108.8

25.9

2002

106.0

25.9

2003

107.5

26.0

2004

106.1

26.0

      Number of Educated Women Job Seekers as on December 2004 was 7537.7 thousand. Educated Women at the end of 2004 accounted for 25.8per cent of the total educated job-seekers.

Table 2: Number of Educated Women Job Seekers

Year

Number of Women

Percentage to total

2000

7911.7

27.1

2001

8525.6

28.1

2002

7921.4

26.8

2003

8032.4

26.6

2004

7537.7

25.8

 

Vision of National Commission for Women

 

            Dr.( Miss. ) Girija Vyas took over as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women on 16th February, 2005.

            The Indian Women of Today Culturally rooted, Globally oriented Healthy, Educated, Self Reliant Secure in her Home and Safe Outside With Access to all the Rights of a Citizen With Opportunity to Contribute in all walks of life.

 

MODERN INDIAN WOMEN

 

            The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Their path is full of roadblocks. The women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armored with their talent. They had proven themselves. But in India they are yet to get their dues. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female. There are 933 females per thousand males in India according to the census of 2001, which is much below the world average of 990 females. There are many problems which women in India have to go through daily. These problems have become the part and parcel of life of Indian women and some of them have accepted them as their fate.

FIRST WOMAN OF INDIA

            Women had played an important role in the Modern World. Here are some of the most successful & first women of the world, who lead a Nation, a Party, a State, etc.

·        First woman President of Indian National Congress — Annie Besant (1917)

·        First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress — Sarojini Naidu (1925)

·        First woman Ambassador from India — Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from1947-49)

·        First woman Governor of an Indian State — Sarojini Naidu (UP from 1947-48)

·        First woman Minister of an Indian State — Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (UP)

·        First Mayor of Delhi — Aruna Asif Ali (1958)

·        First woman Central Minister — Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

·        First woman Film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha — Nargis Dutt

·        First woman Chief Minister of an Indian State — Sucheta Kriplani (UP from 1963-67)

·        First woman Prime Minister of India — Indira Gandhi (1966-77 & 1980-84)

·        First woman Speaker of an Indian State — Shano Devi

·        First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna — Indira Ghandi (1971)

·        First woman Judge of the Supreme Court — Justice M Fatima Bevi (1989)

·        First woman Chief Justice of a High Court — Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh 1991)

·        India’s officially recognized billionth citizen — Aastha (Born on May 11, 2000 at ND)

CONCLUSIONS

            Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. But she still has to go a long way to achieve equal status in the minds of Indian men. The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the following lines of ‘Song of an African Women’:

I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,
And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.

            Educate all the children in the family. Education is the most powerful instrument for the development of women and children in the society.8th March is observed as International Women’s Day. It is necessary to celebrate International Women’s Day every year in a grand manner. Our present president Pratibha Patil is also a woman. It is the power and credit of woman. It is also very important to celebrate Children’s Day on November 14th and Mother’s day.  

Reference:

1.      National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2001). The National Reading Panel: Reports of the Subgroups.

 

2.      UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Literacy rates, youth (15-24) and adult (15+), by region and gender (September 2006 Assessment).

 

3.   Heilbroner, R. L. (1995) Visions of the future: the distant past, yesterday, today,      

     and tomorrow (New York: Oxford University Press).

 

4.   Child and Women Development Report, (2006), Ministry of Women and Child  

      Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

 

5.    National Family Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

6.    National Crime Records Bureau, (2007), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

7.   Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

 

.

 

*****

Womens Higher Education in India

WOMENS EDUCATION

A STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING WOMEN’S ENTRY INTO HIGHER EDUCATION.

INTRODUCTION

            Inducement of social change as one of the fundamental functions of education has been spelt out in the report of the Indian Education Commission (1964-66) thus:

            “The realization of the country’s aspirations involves changes in the knowledge, skills and values of the people as a whole.  If this ‘change in a grand scale’ is to be achieved without a violent revolution there is one and only instrument that can be used – Education”.

EDUCATION :-

            Education is the nourishment of the mind with knowledge this is practiced purposefully and productively.

            Education disciplines the mind, sharpens the intellect and refines the spirit.  It shapes and polishes a rough unknown diamond into a multifaceted kohinoor  sparkling with scintillating brilliance.  Its the development of integrated personality that unfolds itself to the highest wisdom.  Its a continuous process.

            The philosopher President Dr.Radhakrishnan (1948) said, “There cannot be educated people without educated women.  If general education has to be limited to men or women, that opportunity should be given to women from them it would most surely be passed on to the next generation”.

HIGHER EDUCATION OF WOMEN :-

            Higher education is defined as the education attained after the completion of 12 years of schooling.  Higher education for women has gained a wider role and responsibility all over the world.  Today, in the 21st century, we cannot afford to ignore the importance of higher education for women any longer.  The reason for its need and urgency is that there is no biological difference in the systems of males and females.  Unfortunately, this important task of higher education of women has remain neglected for centuries.  Need for higher education among women assumes all the more importance or the 3rd world countries, where colonialism has remained a great force hindering education for the general masses and for the women in particular.

OBJECTIVES OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN:-

            To provide society with competent men and women trained in agriculture, arts, medicine, science and technology and various other professions, who will also be cultivated individuals in built with a sense of social purpose.

            To strive to promote equality an social justice and to reduce social and cultural differences through diffusion of education.

NEED FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN : MALE AND FEMALE :-

            Higher Education may also be viewed in terms of the needs of its consumers.  The term consumer is very wide and heterogeneous.  It includes young and old of both sexes.  Theoretically the need for Higher Education for both males and females is the same.  But its sometime argued that males and females are different in their social and cultural needs.

            The basic argument which is given for women Higher Education is not that Higher Education for women is different from that of men.  Our main thrust is that in the field of Higher Education, women should also be equal partners.  Our past experience shows that so far Higher Education has remained restricted only to men.  It should now widen its horizon and include women also.  The commission on the Higher Education for women, University of Madras in 1979 rightly observed: “for Women and men college education is necessary for character formation, ability to earn, creative self expression and personal development”.

MAIN FACTORS INFLUENCING WOMEN’S SUCCESS / FAILURE IN COMPLETING HIGHER EDUCATION :-

Success :

a)                  Women are strongly motivated to succeed in the education stream.

b)                  The merit basis of the education system permits females to excel.

c)                  Prejudice against women’s education has been reduced. Higher Education has come to be considered equivalent to a bride’s “dowry”.

d)                  Women’s universities promote women’s Higher Education.

e)                  Women’s expectations for education based employment are high.

f)                    Some Higher Education courses provide scholarship facilities for women.

g)                  Female students have been provided with residential facilities in some areas.

Failure :

a)                  Female students have difficulties in access to transport facilities in general.

b)                  Sexual harassment as well as occasional student violence hinder female students completion of higher education.

c)                  Marriage in many cases leads to early withdraw.

d)                  Gender stereotyping inhibits completion of studies.

e)                  Financial constraints can cause withdrawal from the education stream.

f)                    Part-time work to earn living interferes with studies.

SIGNIFICANCE OF PRESENT STUDY :-

            The objective of the Indian Society as has been laid down in the constitution is to achieve a democratic, socialistic and egalitarian society.  In such a society women are supposed to perform their roles at par with men.  Their status structurally needs to be equal with men.

            Broadly speaking, knowledge which is imparted through Higher Education provides skills to its practitioners.  Our understanding is that by acquiring skills the women raise their status in comparison with men and also the status of the group to which they belong.

            In order to understand the status of women, or for that matter to understand any social issues, it is necessary to combine at least 3 perspectives viz. the perspective from policy, the perspective  from statistics and the perspective from culture.

·              The present study is aimed at finding the various reasons for women seeking entry into higher education.

·              It aims at looking at the reasons for seeking entry into higher education by women from the perspective of men, teachers, parents and the women themselves.

·              It bring about an awareness among women as to the various avenues open to them in Higher Education and thus mark the beginning of a major process of empowering women.

·              To find out the problems hindering the pursuit of Higher Education by women.

·              Make suggestions for finding solutions to the above problems in a rational and free manner.

·              To suggest ways  of enhancing women’s entry into colleges, including professional course.

·              To explore areas of Higher Education where women have not yet stepped in or are a monopoly of men.

·               To suggest suitable measures to make higher education for women universal i.e. free of cost, time and distance effective.

  

PROMOTING HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN

The social context of educational policy has to be improved.

Family and personal counseling at the secondary education stage can be provided.

Higher education can be made skill oriented.

Nontraditional curricula for women can be established.

Recent declines in state support for non-traditional higher education has to be reversed.

Institutions can be made physically accessible i.e. Locate them near the potential clientele, improve transport system etc.

Higher Education  Institutions have to be made more women-friendly i.e. Physical Changes, curricula changes, social changes.

Women’s representation on institutions decision-making bodies can be increased.

Equal opportunity commissions for higher education institutions should be established.

The number of women teachers in co-educational institutions of higher education should be increased.

Stipends, Scholarships and fellowships can be linked to affirmative action programmes.

Women need to be recruited into administrative training programmes for institutions of higher education.

A large role for women’s study centres can be provided.

Institutions of higher education should provide placement services.

Barriers to women’s career entry should be removed, example: employers should be sensitized to the value of flexitime, day-care centres etc.

Sexual harassment in the educational environment should be addressed.

A large number of female secondary education graduates usually are not able to enter university.  To accommodate that population it would be benefited to strengthen the role of vocational training institutions.  Post secondary vocational training institutions should take action to promote entry of women into vocational training lines traditionally considered male preserves.

            Affirmative action quotas has to be provided to promote women’s admission into higher institutions, where such quotas exist, should be reviewed periodically to ensure their continuing relevance.

            Where quotas are provides for specific disadvantaged groups like disabled persons, people from remote or rural areas, members of indigenous minorities, a minimum share should be reserved for female members of those groups.

            Distance education and open learning institutions and techniques should be promoted, particularly to extend higher education opportunities to women in rural and remote areas, which will take into account their needs.

 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH :-

            The present study is limited only to women students seeking higher education up to undergraduate level in a few professional and non-professional colleges of Chennai city.  The following suggestions are given for further investigation.

1.                  A similar study may be conducted among the postgraduate level or research level students.

2.                  A similar study may be undertaken throughout Tamil Nadu State.

3.                  A comparative study of factors influencing entry of women in higher education can be made between a developing and developed country.

4.                  A similar study may be attempted for various issues relating higher education of women.    

           

Winter Wear for Women : Go for Wool Only

Not many fashionable ladies welcome the season of winter from the core of their hearts. This is what I believe. After all if you have a very beautiful body to flaunt then how come you agree to get it covered and wrapped with heavy winter garments.

However, it might be a bit awkward to assume that the arrival of winter may force you to compromise a lot. More clearly, though it may not allow you to go for your instinctive “show off,” it may still leave a line of options which may, surely, allow you to look the sexiest of all.

So it is advisable to step into your wardrobe without losing a moment and have a look what you have stored already on the shelves. Hopefully, you might have many fashion apparel for winters which you have been using for last many years.

Interestingly, many of them, you will find, might have gone outdated and must be seeming worn out. This could be the double jeopardy for someone who has already decided not to welcome the winter season.

But panic not! Here are many ways to look wonderfully beautiful and attracting, only if you manage to choose the winter fashion apparel in a right way and then wear them with a right combination and color matches. Here are some tips to have the right pick :

Buy Wool Only : We know that winter at its peak turns deadly and unbearable chilly. Hence, people start wearing bunches of winter garments altogether. It makes the wearer look very heavy and bulky.

So to avoid this menace, buy winter garments made of wool only. Their natural warmth may reduce the number of dresses on you body. Cashmere too can be tried.

Choose Latest Patterns and Trends : As you are not at all ready to compromise with your looks, you ought to buy only the latest stuffs in the market. They will make you look exciting.

Floral prints are the latest rage for winter garments. You may choose some bright color skirts. Emerald green, scarlet green are advisable.

Tops : The dark color tops make interesting combination with floral lowers. Look out for the knitted tops.

Jacket Hunt : Definitely, the jackets along with the coats are one of the most important winter clothing. Though the jackets made of multiple layers can be the best buy, you can opt for jackets having fur as their inner layers.

If you don’t prefer fur coats or jackets, at least choose a stuff which has collar made of fur. It may feel soothing and resist air trespassing. The outer layer of your jacket or coat should be made of either leather or denim completely. However, a combination of both too can do well.

Pants and Skirts : While choosing a skirt, you may go for a flirty one with bright color and floral prints. It seems well-fit for winters. Buy a pant made of cashmere or wool to avoid layers.

Leggings : If you have got a natural likeness for skirts instead of pants, then your skirts must be paired with leggings. Choose a warm legging of bright color. They look trendy.

Wearing Abercrombie Jacket with Style

One of the best products that Abercrombie can offer is its jacket collection.  An Abercrombie jacket integrates three important fashion elements.  First, a jacket with the Abercrombie brand is stylish and highly fashionable. It is the perfect outdoor Abercrombie clothing that you can have.  Second, it is very comfortable to wear the jacket collection of Abercrombie.  And lastly, Abercrombie jackets are very durable and can be used as adventure clothing.  They can protect you from cold and wet weather and can withstand the harsh conditions of outdoor environments.  

But before you buy any Abercrombie jacket, make sure that the item is 100% authentic.  Because of the popularity of the Abercrombie brand, counterfeiters will always try to lure you in buying fake Abercrombie clothing like jackets, pants, and casual shirts.  One of the best ways to spot a counterfeit Abercrombie jacket is to look at the positioning of its zipper.  All authentic jackets of Abercrombie have zippers located at your right side.  So if you find an Abercrombie jacket with zippers at the left side, then the product is certainly a counterfeit.  Sophisticated counterfeiters can manufacture so called Abercrombie jackets with zippers on the right side.  That is why you need to know other ways of spotting a counterfeit such as the presence of sloppy stitches and the absence of the Abercrombie security logo. 

Abercrombie jackets are made from high quality cotton and spandex.  Such materials make the jackets of Abercrombie ultra light weight.  Because of this basic characteristic, your outdoor Abercrombie clothing will not be too bulky to wear and will not hamper your movements.  Abercrombie & Fitch jackets are also very comfortable to wear because of their soft interior fabric.  You will not feel any discomfort wearing such jackets thus you can carry your outdoor wear confidently and in style. 

Outdoor Abercrombie clothing, especially its jacket collection, comes in different designs and styles.  So you will have more freedom to choose which style of Abercrombie jacket would be suitable for your outdoor lifestyles.  The most popular style of Abercrombie jacket comes with button down pockets.  It also has durable stripped lining material which is specifically designed for you comfort.  Almost all Abercrombie jackets have fashionable hoods or protective head gears that come with safety zip enclosures.  All accessories of any outdoor Abercrombie clothing add finesse and elegance to Abercrombie products.  Because of these special characteristics, you can effectively fight the cold and the harsh outdoor conditions with style. 

Abercrombie & Fitch is a known international brand that offers excellent line of casual clothing. Abercrombie clothing therefore is suitable for men, women, teens, and outdoor adventurers who want to wear fashionable and luxurious casual attire.  And one of the best Abercrombie & Fitch products is its line of jacket collection.  The sophistication of the styles of Abercrombie jackets and their durability make them ideal for rugged individuals who want to conquer the outdoors with finesse and style.  Just make sure that the Abercrombie & Fitch jackets that you will buy from retail shops are genuine and 100% authentic Abercrombie brand.