Gender Discrimination in India: Short Essay

While sex is the biological makeup of an individual’s reproductive anatomy or secondary sex characteristics, the term ‘gender’ is its socio-cultural construct. Gender is the range of physical, mental, and behavioural characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity.

• Gender differences are seldom allowed to retain their horizontal relationships. Rather they are stratified vertically in a hierarchical relationship. The notions of superiority and inferiority come to be attached to them. This is how men came to be considered superior to women.
• Gender differences are usually a manifestation of power differentials that exist in society.
• It is due to the hierarchical relationship that exists that discriminatory attitudes are adopted towards those who are considered lower down the hierarchy, which in the case of gender-based stratification are the women.

In India, discriminatory attitudes towards women have existed for generations and affects women over their lives. Although constitution of India has granted women equal rights but gender disparities remains.

There are limited opportunities for women to access resources such as education, health care services and job opportunities.

• Female infanticide, a sex-selective abortion, is adopted and strongly reflects the low status of Indian women. The demand for sons among wealthy parents is being satisfied by the medical community through the provision of illegal service of fetal sex-determination and sex-selective abortion.
• Education is not widely attained by the Indian women. Although literacy rates are increasing, female literacy rates lags behind the male literacy rate.
• Discrimination against women has contributed to gender wage differentials, with Indian women on average earning 64% of what their male counterparts earn for the same occupation and level of qualification. Women are disadvantaged at work, and are often underestimated for their capabilities. This has prevented Indian women from achieving a higher standard of living.
• Discrimination against women has led to their lack of autonomy and authority. Although equal rights are given to women, it may not be well recognized. In practice, land and property rights are weakly enforced, with customary laws widely practiced in rural areas. Women do not own property under their own names and usually do not have any inheritance rights to obtain a share of parental property.

Apart from limiting women’s agency and freedom substantially, there are consequences of gender discrimination for society as a whole too. It impedes growth, significantly reducing total output in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.