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Gender Issues
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Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Female foeticide and infanticide .......................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao .............................................................................................................. 7
2.1.1 Three objectives .................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 Initial focus ............................................................................................................................ 7
3 Child Marriage....................................................................................................................................... 8
4 Government Schemes related to child development ......................................................................... 13
5 Dowry and Domestic Violence ............................................................................................................ 17
6 Issues related to women in the workforce ......................................................................................... 22
7 Gender Budgeting ............................................................................................................................... 34

1 Introduction
It is often said that the status and position of women in society are the best way
to understand a civilization, its progress and its shortcomings. In case of India,
women have come a long way from women sages and scholars in the Rig Vedic
period to women in the armed forces, IT sector, politics, industry and other
significant areas while balancing their role as a daughter, wife and mother. This
journey towards modernization has not been easy. Women have had to fight the
traditional Indian male-dominated society to emerge as stronger and
independent entities. While all these are positive developments, cases of rape,
harassment at workplace and dowry deaths are rampant. Illiteracy and ignorance
about their rights are still prevalent among a majority of the women.
Gender discrimination continues to be an enormous problem within Indian

society. Traditional patriarchal norms have relegated women to secondary status
within the household and workplace. This drastically affects women's health,
financial status, education, and political involvement. Women are commonly
married young, quickly become mothers, and are then burdened by stringent
domestic and financial responsibilities. They are frequently malnourished since
women typically are the last member of a household to eat and the last to receive
medical attention.
Gender inequality in India persists despite high rates of economic growth, and is
particularly apparent among marginalized groups. Women participate in
employment and decision making much less, than men. This disparity is not likely
to be eliminated soon. Indias poor performance on womens empowerment and
gender equality is reflected in many indicators, particularly, the low sex ratio.
The government has launched several commendable schemes to save and

educate the girl child and the national average has risen to 943 females per 1000
males in 2011 from 933 in 2001. However, in many parts of India it continues to
remain low. Gender inequality is also reflected in Indias low rank on UNDPs
Gender Inequality Index. In 2014, the country ranked 127 out of 146 countries
with a value of 0.563.
It is in this backdrop, that banking sector, particularly RBI, has a primary focus on
the economic and social development of the women. Women constitute 50% of
population, workforce and everything which makes a country. Without the
empowerment of women, a country cannot develop to its full potential.
According to last years economic survey, if India is able to employ whole of its
available women workforce then the step would contribute an additional 7% to
Indias GDP and double the speed to achieve benchmarks of a developed country.
The following module takes a state problem, give solution approach. First a
prevalent gender issue in India would be stated along with all relevant details and
data. Then all the related government schemes and initiatives will be presented.
At the end of this document, you will find some related MCQs to check your
understanding and prepare you for the examination.
Topics related to womens health and education will be discussed in another

module as it is an altogether different topic. This report only concerns with the
gender issues in India.
Lets understand some of the gender issues in India and see what our government
and society are doing to address them.
2 Female foeticide and infanticide

Sex ratio is used to describe the number of females per 1000 of males. Sex ratio is
a valuable source for finding the population of women in India and what is the
ratio of women to that of men in India. In the Population Census of 2011 it was
revealed that the population ratio in India in 2011 is 943 females per 1000 of
males. How has the woman population in India decreased to such an extent?
The girls have not vanished overnight. Decades of sex determination tests and
female foeticide that has acquired genocide proportions along with female
infanticide are finally catching up with stats in India.
Female foeticide is the practice of killing a foetus after determining the sex of the
foetus through an ultrasound test. Female infanticide is the intentional killing of
infant girls within one year of their births.
This is only the tip of the demographic and social problems confronting India in
the coming years. Skewed sex ratios have moved beyond the states of Punjab,
Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. In 2001, with news of increasing
number of female foetuses being aborted from Orissa to Bangalore, there was
ample evidence to suggest that the next census will reveal a further fall in child
sex ratios throughout the country.
At the Census 2011, sex ratio of the population in the age group 0-6 years has
been registered as 919, declining from 927 in 2001, 945 in 1991 and 962 in 1981.
The decreasing sex ratio in this age group has a cascading effect on population
over a period of time leading to diminishing sex ratio in the country. One thing is
clear the imbalance that has set in at this early age group is difficult to be
removed and would remain to haunt the population for a long time to come.
The data reflects a grim picture of the status of the girl child in the country and
majority of the states. The magnitude of the decline can be seen by the fact that
18 States / Uts out of 36 have registered a decline in Child Sex Ratio (CSR) during
2011.
The decline in the CSR is a major indicator of women disempowerment. CSR

reflects both, pre-birth discrimination manifested through gender biased sex
selection, and post birth discrimination against girls. Social construct
discriminating against girls on the one hand, easy availability, affordability and
subsequent misuse of diagnostic tools on the other hand, have been critical in
increasing sex selective elimination of girls leading to low Child Sex Ratio.
To tackle this menace, the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques

(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PC-PNDT), was enacted on 20 September 1994
with the intent to prohibit prenatal diagnostic techniques for determination of
the sex of the foetus leading to female foeticide. It was amended and effectively
implemented in 2003 and strictly amended in 2011.
What does the PC & PNDT Act say?
Sex selection and sex determination are prohibited.

No person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures shall communicate
to the pregnant woman concerned or her relatives the sex of the foetus by
words, signs or in any other manner.
All clinics conducting ultrasound must be registered and only doctors
qualified under the Act can use diagnostic techniques such as ultrasound.
All clinics should display the following notice prominently: Disclosure of sex
of the foetus is prohibited under the law in English as well as the local
language.
Doctors or clinics advertising sex determination tests in any form are liable
for punishment.
The PC & PNDT act has helped the cause a lot. It has brought about a virtual end
to the menace of the ultrasound butcheries and has also increased the
awareness of the masses about the cause. But only law cannot bring about a
revolutionary change. If we need to change the mindsets, a collective,
coordinated and convergent effort is need of the hour.
Since coordinated and convergent efforts are needed to ensure survival,

protection and empowerment of the girl child, Government has announced Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao initiative. This is being implemented through a national
campaign and focussed multi sectoral action in 100 selected districts low in CSR,
covering all States and UTs. This is a joint initiative of Ministry of Women and
Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human
Resource Development

2.1 Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao
Under Women and Child Development ministry
2.1.1 Three objectives

Prevent female infanticide
Ensure every girl child is protected
Ensure every girl child is educated
2.1.2 Initial focus

100 districts with low sex ratio.
61 more districts added in 2016
Implemented under the overall guidance and supervision of concerned
District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioners.
Atleast 1 district in each state.
In 100 critical districts, improve sex ratio by 10 points in a year
Reduce gender difference under-5 child mortality
Increase girls in secondary schools
Separate toilets for girls (by 2015)
Celebrate girl child day- 24th Jan
A sub part of this scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi account, has also been introduced
to help both parents and the girl child financially.
This small-deposit scheme is subpart of Beti Bachao campaign.

(Minor) bank account for girl child below the age of 10.
She can withdraw 50% of the money after reaching age of 18 e.g. for higher
education.
18 years deadline will also help preventing child-marriages. (Although
scheme is silent- on whether account money will be forfeited if child
marriage done.)
For initial account opening, minimum deposit Rs.1000 required.
Later, any amount in multiple of 100 can be deposited, but maximum Rs.
1.5 lakh per year.
Interest rate: 9.2% compounded annually.
Account can be opened via post office or commercial banks
Account will remain operative until she reaches 21 age.
Though government is making all efforts to save the girl child, true change can
only come if society and specially women start to see the girl child, not as a
burden or liability, but as a blessing, which would nurture their homes and the
country with happiness and prosperity.
3 Child Marriage
Child marriage in India has been practiced for centuries, with children married off
before their physical and mental maturity. The problem of child marriage in India
remains rooted in a complex matrix of religious traditions, social practices,
economic factors and deeply rooted prejudices. Regardless of its roots, child
marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical,
psychological and emotional scars for life. Sexual activity starts soon after
marriage, and pregnancy and childbirth at an early age can lead to maternal as
well as infant mortality. Moreover, women who marry younger are more likely to
experience domestic violence within the home.

About half of Indian women were married before they turned 18. Child marriage
is a violation of child rights, and has a negative impact on physical growth, health,
mental and emotional development, and education opportunities.
It also affects society as a whole since child marriage reinforces a cycle of poverty
and perpetuates gender discrimination, illiteracy and malnutrition as well as high
infant and maternal mortality rates. (Infant Mortality Rate 39, Mother Mortality
rate 170, India 2016)
Both girls and boys are affected by child marriage, but girls are affected in much
larger numbers and with greater intensity. Child marriage can be seen across the
country but it is far higher in rural than in urban areas. Girls from poorer families,
scheduled castes and tribes, and with lower education levels are more likely to
marry at a younger age.
Although child marriage is declining, the rate of decline is slow. Broad, multi-
faceted strategies are needed to target different aspects of the problem,
including deep-rooted social norms and behaviours, the perceived low value of
girls, limited access to education, exposure to violence, restricted freedom of
movement and economic vulnerability.

Here are some other major reasons for child marriage:
Limited education opportunities, low quality of education, inadequate

infrastructure, lack of transport and therefore concerns about girls safety while
travelling to school significantly contribute to keeping girls out of school and
therefore tend to favour child marriage.
Although there is widespread awareness of the Prohibition of Child Marriage

Act 2006 (PCMA) and the illegality of child marriage, individually people feel that
the traditions and norms are stronger than the law and the institutions and rarely
report cases. On top of this, there is limited capacity among officials and lack of
willingness to go against community decisions, since officials are themselves part
of the community.
Girls are often seen as a liability with limited economic role. Womens work is
confined to the household and is not valued. In addition, there is the problem of
dowry. Despite the fact that dowry has been prohibited for five decades (Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1961), it is still common for parents of girls in India to give gifts to
the groom and /or his family either in cash or kind.
The dowry amount increases with the age and the education level of the girl.
Hence, the incentive of the system of dowry perpetuates child marriage.
Law enforcement to prohibit child marriage is relatively weak. Limited detailed

knowledge on how to apply laws and little understanding of the consequences of
the laws, as well as limited trust in institutions enforcing them, undermines the
implementation of the PCMA.
The families and girls who might benefit from social protection programmes are
not always aware of them and these schemes are often limited to providing cash
transfers without the accompanying messages to address the multi-dimensional
nature of child marriage. The fallout of this is that cash transfers tend to
perpetuate dowry, since parents use the grant for that purpose as soon as the girl
turns 18 years old.
Child Marriage: trends in India
While there has been a decline in the incidence of child marriage nationally
(from 54 per cent in 1992-93 to 33 per cent today) and in nearly all states,
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the pace of change remains slow, especially for girls in the age group 15-18
years.
Child marriage is more prevalent in rural areas (48 per cent) than in urban
areas (29 per cent). There are also variations across different groups,
particularly excluded communities, castes and tribes although some
ethnic groups, such as tribal groups, have lower rates of child marriage
compared with the majority population.
In general, rates of child marriage are highest in the central and western
parts of India and lower in the eastern and southern parts of the country. In
certain states, such as in Bihar and Rajasthan, approximately 60 per cent of
females (aged 20-24) marry as children.
Other states that have an incidence of child marriage higher than national
average are: Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Tripura. However, even in
states with overall lower prevalence of child marriage, there are often
pockets of high prevalence.
Girls married as children are more likely to:
Drop out of school, have a low-paid job and limited decision-making power
at home. A girl with 10 years of education has a six times lower chance of
being pushed into marriage before she is 18.
Face violence, abuse and exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases because they have fewer skills and less negotiating
power. Nearly 13 per cent of married girls between 15-19 years of age
experience sexual violence by their husbands compared with 10 per cent of
women experiencing such violence between the age group of 30-39.
Become pregnant as adolescents. One in six girls begins childbearing
between the ages of 15 and 19 years. Early pregnancy increases the risk of
delivery complications and maternal and child mortality.
Government strategy and action
The national Ministry of Women and Child Development, as the nodal agency for
women and children, has developed a convergent national strategy and is
currently drafting a plan of action on child marriage to guide all states in the
implementation of strategies to prevent the problem. Key components of the
strategy and draft action plan include: law enforcement, quality education and
other opportunities, changing mindsets and social norms, empowering
adolescents, producing and sharing knowledge and data, and monitoring.
The Government of India is also implementing national programmes aimed at

protecting and promoting the development of children, while states are
supporting these initiatives through state-level schemes. However, many of the
programmes focus on addressing financial vulnerability through cash transfer
schemes to keep girls in school.
At the same time, there is a legal framework to prevent child marriage and
protect children:
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 makes it illegal for girls to
marry under 18 years and for boys less than 21 years. Child marriage can
be made voidable by the child but within two years of becoming an adult.
Child marriage is a punishable offence with a fine up to INR 100,000, or up
to two years of imprisonment, or both. It is a non-cognizable and non-bail
able offence.
Dowry was prohibited in 1961 by the Dowry Prohibition Act, with a fine up
to INR 15,000, or the dowry amount, whichever is higher, and
imprisonment for between six months and five years.
Other laws that may provide protection to a child bride include the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the Domestic Violence
Act, 2005, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Again, the laws are not without criticisms. A major obstacle in curbing the evil is
that most of these marriages are carried out informally and thus remain
unregistered. Most of the times, it become an uphill task to decipher the correct
age of the children as they do not have birth certificates as proofs or even if they
have, that happens to be a fraudulent one since it establishes the age
inappropriately as an adult. There needs to be mechanisms much stronger than
these laws in order to put a stop on child marriages. Immediate reporting to the
police needs to done as and when one hears of child marriage taking place.
Children need to be made aware of their human rights and must be taught to
refuse and speak up once such an incident is taking place or is about to take
place. The media also needs to adopt a more proactive role in generating
awareness towards this heinous ritual. A popular mainstream show like Balika
Vadhu was definitely a step in the right direction but then again somewhere in
the midst of gaining TRPs, the main issue of combating child marriages took a
backseat. Proper media sensitization is required for a major change to take place.
Nothing in isolation will work. Only genuine efforts, strict enforcements of the
legal provisions and change in the societys mindset, all collectively, can help.
4 Government Schemes related to child development

SABLA- Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for empowering adolescent girls
Ministry/Department : Ministry of Women and Child Development

Objective:
Aims at all-round development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years (with a

focus on all out-of-school AGs) by making them self-reliant.
Scheme:
Centrally Sponsored Scheme

It uses ICDS infrastructure to deliver services
2 major focus areas:
Nutrition : Take Home Ration or Hot Cooked Meal

Skill development: Health check-up, Supplements, Vocational training etc.
Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)

Objective:
Provide safe and secure environment for children living in difficult

circumstances
Reduce vulnerabilities to situations and actions that lead to abuse, neglect,
exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from families;
Bring focus on Non-institutional care
Scheme:
The scheme has been revised w.e.f 1st April, 2014 with improved financial norms
for child maintenance in homes, SAAs, Open Shelters, sponsorship, foster care
and after care fund. It is Rs. 2000/month/child. The Scheme envisages creating a
service delivery network, exclusively for child protection which has been provided
with setting-up and maintenance of 34 State Child Protection Societies, 31 State
Project Support Unit, 31 State Adoption Resource Agencies and 622 District Child
Protection Units in 30 States.
The fund sharing pattern under ICPS between Centre and States are 90:10 under
all components in North-East States, Uttrakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh. In rest of India the sharing pattern varies for different components.
There are 625 Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and 612 Juvenile Justice
Boards (JJBs) as on November, 2014.
Child Helpline Service (1098) has started functioning and the service is now
available in 282 districts in the Country.
In addition National Portal for missing and found children named
TRACKCHILD is also operational under the Child Tracking System. Under
this, 3047 CCI have uploaded the data for child staying therein and
matching of 35,146 children has been done as on 30th November, 2014.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

Objectives:
To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-

6 years;
To lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social
development of the child;
To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school
dropout;
To achieve effective co-ordination of policy and implementation amongst
the various departments to promote child development; and
To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health
and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health
education.
Scheme:
It is a Centrally sponsored Scheme implemented by States/UTs across the

country.
Following six services are provided under ICDS: a. Supplementary nutrition
(SNP), b. Immunization, c. Health check-up, d. Referral services, e. Pre-
school non-formal education and f. Nutrition & health education are
provided.
Launched in 1975 , WB and UNICEF supports it
Kishori Shakti Yojana
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) seeks to empower adolescent girls, so as to enable

them to take charge of their lives. It is viewed as a holistic initiative for the
development of adolescent girls. The programme through its interventions aims
at bringing about a difference in the lives of the adolescent girls. It seeks to
provide them with an opportunity to realize their full potential.
This scheme is a redesign of the already existing Adolescent Girls (AG) Scheme
being implemented as a component under the centrally sponsored Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. The new scheme dramatically extends
the coverage of the earlier scheme with significant content enrichment,
strengthens the training component, particularly in skill development, aspects
aimed at empowerment and enhanced self-perception. It also fosters
convergence with other sectoral programmes, addressing the interrelated needs
of adolescent girls and women.
Objective:
The broad objectives of the Scheme are to improve the nutritional, health and
development status of adolescent girls, promote awareness of health, hygiene,
nutrition and family care, link them to opportunities for learning life skills, going
back to school, help them gain a better understanding of their social environment
and take initiatives to become productive members of the society.
Coverage: Total no. of blocks in the country: 6118
Target Group: Adolescent Girls (11-18 yrs.)
Infrastructural facilities: Existing ICDS infrastructure
Financial Norms: Rs. 1.10 lakh per ICDS project per annum
The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
The Early Childhood Care and Education for children up to 6 years of age focuses
on laying foundation for lifelong development, for enhancing school readiness
and human capital formation. Currently ICDS is the largest provider of ECCE in
public sector followed by private sector provisions largely concentrated in urban
areas but gradually proliferating in rural areas as well as in some States. In
recognition of the overwhelming need for affordable and quality early childhood
care and education the Ministry has moved ahead with the policy to achieve
holistic development and active learning capacity of all children below 6 years of
age by promoting free, universal, inclusive, enjoyable, joyful and contextualized
opportunities for laying foundation and attaining full potential.
Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme
RGN Creche Scheme was launched as a Central Sector Scheme w.e.f. 1st January,
2006 to provide day care facilities to children (age group of 0-6 years) of working
and other deserving women belonging to families whose monthly income is not
more than Rs. 12,000/-. The Scheme provides supplementary nutrition, health
care inputs like immunization, polio drops, basic health monitoring, recreation,
pre-school education (03-06 years), emergency medicine and contingencies. The
scheme is presently implemented through Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB)
and Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW).The Government assistance is limited
to 90% of the schematic pattern or actual expenditure (except honorarium to
crche workers) whichever is less and the remaining expenditure is borne by the
implementing agencies concerned. Government grant @ Rs 3,532.00 per month
per crche for 25 babies is given to the implementing agencies.
Scheme for Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection
This Central Sector Scheme provides opportunities for non-formal education and
formal training to working children to facilitate their entry / re-entry into main
stream education in cases where they have either not attended any learning
system or where, for some reasons, their education has been discontinued. The
scheme provides support for holistic development of child workers and potential
child workers, especially those with none or ineffective family support such as
children of slum, pavement dwellers/drug addicts etc. The Scheme is operated
through voluntary sector and NGOs are eligible for financial assistance to the tune
of 90% from Government of India.
The scheme has provision of opportunities including non-formal education,

vocational training, etc, to working children to facilitate their entry/re-entry into
mainstream education in cases where they have either not attended any learning
system or where for some reasons their education has been discontinued with a
view to preventing their continued or future exploitation.
5 Dowry and Domestic Violence

Dowry, the giving of gifts or money to a groom on behalf of the bride's family, is
common practice in India, a marital tradition which dates back centuries.
The origins of the dowry system in India have been greatly debated. One theory is
that historically parents of the bride nominally provided gifts such as jewellery
and everyday household items to the bride which evolved over time to providing
a sum of money to the grooms family. Another, more patriarchal view, alleges
that daughters were given away and that grooms were offered gifts (and
eventually money) as somewhat of a bribe to ensure the fair treatment of the
woman. The exact sum of money was dictated by the grooms education and
social standing; however its initial intention was to act as a safeguard should
something happen to the groom in his lifetime rendering him no longer able to
provide for his wife and eventual children.
While the dowry system still exists in India today, its function has changed
somewhat, becoming an unspoken mandate and being viewed these days as
something of a bargaining chip when arranging marriages. The more educated a
groom is, the more money his family can demand as a dowry. Parents start saving
for their daughters dowries from birth, placing a financial burden on families of
low socio-economic backgrounds.
The underbelly of the dowry system revolves around the treatment of brides.
Referred to as bride-burning, the act of maiming or even killing brides whose
family cannot or will not meet a grooms dowry demands is a worrying practice in
India. The National Crime Records Bureau reports that in 2010 alone, there were
8,391 dowry-related deaths in the country.
Another flow on effect of the dowry system has been the practice of female
infanticide and feticide. The birth of a daughter can be a cause of great concern
for families, particularly those from poorer demographics, as they must then start
to figure out how they will pay a dowry when it comes time for the daughter to
marry. It is alleged that this concern leads partially to female infanticide and
feticide in India, though exact figures relating to this are difficult to determine.
The blowout of the dowry system forced the government to take action in the
middle of last century, introducing the Anti-Dowry Act in 1961 which outlawed
the giving and receiving of dowries.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
The Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act prescribes a minimum punishment of

two years imprisonment and fine to anyone demanding dowry. Because of this
Dowry Prohibition Act, a person who gives or takes, or helps in the giving or
taking of dowry can be sentenced to jail for 5 years and fined Rs.15000/- or the
amount of the value of dowry, whichever is more. This Act is prohibited to give
or to agree to give, directly or indirectly, any property or valuable security, in
connection with a marriage. The giving of or agreeing to the giving of any amount
either in cash of kind, jewellery, articles, properties, etc. in respect of a marriage
is absolutely prohibited by the Dowry prohibition Act. Even the making of a
demand for dowry is also now prohibited and it is punishable with
imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of Rs.10000/-.
In Order to provide more teeth to dowry prevention laws, the Government has
decided to make it mandatory for couples to make list of gifts exchanged during
the ceremonies of marriage.
To stop the offences of cruelty by husband or his relatives on wife, Section 498-A
has been added in the Indian Penal Code, and Section 198-A has been added in
the Criminal Procedure Code since the year 1983. In the case of suicide by a
married woman, within 7 years from the date of her marriage, the Court may
presume that such suicide has been abetted, encouraged by her husband or his
relatives. Provision to this effect has been added in the Indian Evidence Act, by
adding Section 113-A since the year 1983.
Sec.304-B is incorporated in the Indian Penal Code in 1983. It deals with Dowry
Death. It states that where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or
bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven
years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was
subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband
for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called
dowry death and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her
death.
It should be noted here that hard legislation like these have brought down the
dowry related crimes to considerably low levels but at the same time misuse of
the same has also been witnessed in some case where some insane elements
harass the bridegrooms families for blackmail and mental torture. Such elements
do injustice to both the cause of emancipation of women from this curse of dowry
and the spirit of the laws. These elements are needed to be checked but just
because of some abusers, the law should not be diluted, which will undermine the
efficacy of these laws.
Domestic Violence
The patriarchal mindset of the Indian society had made domestic violence against
women a normal and accepted practice. Women were bitten up for trivial
things like not cooking tasty food or getting late at doing some domestic work. If a
woman was not able to bring the desired amount of dowry, the consequences
may be in the form of domestic violence milder to serve form. The violence may
be quarrelling, beating, taunting, harassing, blackmailing, mental torture and
threats of murder.
Even in cases where the parents are aware of the violence their daughters are
being subjected to, they persuaded them to bear everything patiently. The
violence against women remains frequent in India. Statistics show that wives are
often the victims of domestic violence in half the states, the percentage of
women that are beaten by their husband vary between 10% and 20%. However,
this figure most likely underestimates the reality as the majority of abuses do not
get registered.
For the Protection of women from Domestic Violence an Act was enacted in the
year 2005 which is called as the Domestic Violence Act. The main objective of the
Act is to eradicate the domestic violence against women and to provide
protection to women from the domestic violence.
Some measures have also been taken by the international community for
eradication of domestic violence against women and 25th November has been
declared as the International day to prevent violence against women.
Public awareness campaigns are vital to breaking down centuries old thinking on
this topic as well as de-stigmatizing the act of reporting abusive husbands or their
families. Positive media coverage of women whove gone to the police after being
threatened or abused by their husbands in relation to a dowry has been key to
encouraging other women do the same.
Social media is also starting to play a role in this regard, with many blogs, Twitter
and Facebook pages solely dedicated to providing information about and possible
solutions to infanticide, feticide and dowry-related deaths and abuse, though
rates of illiteracy and inaccessibility to the internet in many parts of the country
mean that online activity should always be accompanied by offline activity.
On national level, it is also argued that strong and consistent punishment of

offenders as well as fair investigation of each case would send a clear message to
people that they will be penalized heavily if they participate in dowry giving or
receiving or related abuse.
6 Issues related to women in the workforce
The world confirms that women have proved their stupendous presence in almost
every industry and in huge numbers. They are strong, smart, technically
competent and emotionally valiant in comparison to their male counterparts. As
such they are rightly called as the new age economy turners. But despite
achieving such huge laurels, women still face many obstacles in their work place.
Gender bias and sexual harassment are not just what we are taking about but
there are few more issues that are big hurdles for women to grow high up in the
corporate scene. Let us discuss the most predominant challenges that working
women of today face in their day to day life, in our country.
Lesser number of economic opportunities
An aspect of life in India is that women are generally confined to home thus
restricting their mobility and face seclusion. The women face constraints beyond
those already placed on them by other hierarchical practices. These cultural rules
place some Indian women, particularly those of lower caste, in a paradoxical
situation: when a family suffers economically, people often think that a woman
should go out and work, yet at the same time the woman's participation in
employment outside the home is viewed as "slightly inappropriate, subtly wrong,
and definitely dangerous to their chastity and womanly virtue". When a family
recovers from an economic crisis or attempts to improve its status, women may
be kept at home as a demonstration of the family's morality and as a symbol of its
financial security. As in many other countries, working women of all segments of
Indian society faces various forms of discrimination including sexual harassment.
Even professional women find discrimination to be prevalent: two-thirds of the
women in one study felt that they had to work harder to receive the same
benefits as comparably employed men.
Women in India face enormous challenges for their participation in the economy,
in a way that mirrors the many injustices they suffer in the society at large. The
labour participation rate of women, that is, the number of women in the labour
force as a proportion of the total female population, provides an indicator of
some of these challenges. In 2008, the labour participation rate in India was only
33 per cent for females as compared to 81 per cent for males. By way of
comparison, it was 68 per cent for females in China.
Wrong methods employed to measure womens work
The labour force includes not only the employed but also unemployed persons
who are actively seeking jobs. In India, substantial numbers of women who are
not counted in the labour force are, as described in the official statistics,
attending to domestic duties in their own households. National Sample Survey
reports tell us that, in 2009-10, out of every 1,000 females (all ages) in Indias
rural areas, 347 were attending to domestic duties. In the case of urban females,
this number was even bigger: 465 per 1000. Compare this to the number of rural
and urban men who were attending to domestic duties: only 5 per 1,000 and 4
per 1,000 respectively.
Why is Indias female labour participation rate so low? Part of the answer lies in
the methods employed to measure womens work.
A womans work in her own household is not counted as an economic activity,

and does not get reported in the national income statistics. This is unlike the case
of services by a paid domestic help, which is considered an economic activity and
is counted in the national income. As is well known, womens domestic duties
include childbirth, caring for the young and old, cooking, and a range of other
activities that are crucial for the upkeep of the family.
However, society undervalues these immense contributions made by women.

And, to some extent, official statistics reproduces the prejudices in the society.
Women employed in agricultural sector
In rural areas, women periodically enter and exit from agricultural work. Quite
often, womens participation in agricultural activities as self-employed workers is
to supplement the falling incomes of their families during times of agrarian
distress. This is what seemed to have happened in India between 1999-2000 and
2004-05. During this five-year period, the growth of agricultural incomes in the
country was stagnant, yet the number of self-employed female workers engaged
in agriculture and related activities increased by 17 million, possibly indicating
distress employment.
On the other hand, between 2004-05 and 2009-10, the number of self-employed
female workers engaged in agriculture and related activities decreased by 19
million in India.
This decline in employment could be attributed to a modest revival in the growth

of agricultural incomes and to the positive impact on rural employment and
wages created by the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act). Thus, it appears that in India, during the 2000s, female
employment in agriculture was not driven by any real opportunities for income
generation, but was part of a last-ditch effort to escape impoverishment.
The problems of women in agriculture are more acute and distressing manner.
The problems relate to land ownership, security of tenure, land quality issues in
cases where land ownership is assured, and finally, land management issues in
agriculture and the support systems. Any changes in land ownership and
agricultural patterns affect women far more than men (positive or negative),
given the existing gender roles that women are expected to fulfil, mainly related
to management of the household in their reproductive roles, fuel wood
collection, fodder collection, livestock tending in general, food security needs and
so on.
Women are equally working with men in agriculture but still there is wage
difference between male and female for the same type of work.
Urban, Educated Women
In India, social factors play a significant role in reducing womens labour

participation. Husbands and in-laws often discourage women from working,
while, in many parts of the country, restrictions are imposed even on their
movements outside the household.
In this context, it is notable that labour participation is particularly low in India

among urban, educated women, the section of the female society that is, in fact,
less likely to be constrained by social factors. In 2009-10, the proportion of those
attending to domestic duties (and therefore out of the labour force) was 57 per
cent among urban females with graduate degrees or higher, compared to just 31
per cent among rural females with primary or middle school education.
A small section of these urban Indian women, the elite and the upper middle
class, have gained by the exposure to the global network. More women are
engaged in business enterprises, in international platforms and have greater
career opportunities as a result of international network. Freer movement of
goods and capital is helpful to this section.
But most women continue to remain marginalized as they are generally employed
in a chain of work and seldom allowed independent charge of her job. Sharing of
responsibility at work place or taking independent decisions is still a remote
possibility for them. Economic independence of women is important as it
enhances their ability to take decisions and exercise freedom of choice, action.
Some problems that all working women face, whether they be rural agricultural
worker or a high profile MNC employee, are:
1. Mental harassment: It is an age old convention that women are less

capable and inefficient in working as compared to men. The attitude which
considers women unfit for certain jobs holds back women. In spite of the
constitutional provisions, gender bias creates obstacles in their
recruitment. In addition to this, the same attitude governs injustice of
unequal salaries for the same job. The true equality has not been achieved
even after 70 years of independence. Working in such conditions inevitably
puts strain on women to greater extent as compared to men, thus making
them less eager in their career.
2. Sexual harassment: Today, almost all working women are prone to sexual
harassment irrespective of their status, personal characteristics and the
types of their employment. They face sexual harassment on way on
transports, at working places, educational institutions and hospitals, at
home and even in police stations when they go to file complaints. It is
shocking that the law protectors are violating and outraging modesty of
women. Most of the women tend to be concentrated in the poor service
jobs whereas men are in an immediate supervisory position, which gives
them an opportunity to exploit their subordinate women.
3. Discrimination at Workplace: Indian women still face blatant
discrimination at their workplaces. They are often deprived of promotions
and growth opportunities. A majority of working women continue to be
denied their right to equal pay, under the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
and are underpaid in comparison to their male colleagues. This is usually
the case in factories and labour-oriented industries.
4. No Safety of Working Women while travelling: typically, the orthodox
mindset in the Indian society makes it difficult for a working woman to
balance her domestic environment with the professional life. In some
families, it may not be acceptable to work after six oclock. Those families
that do accept these working hours may experience considerable anxiety
every day about a womans safety while travelling. So many issues affect a
working woman because she is closely protected or watched by her family
and the society.
5. Lack of Family Support: Lack of proper family support is another issue that
working women suffers from. At times, the family doesnt support women
to leave the household work and go to office. They also resist for women
working till late in office which also hampers the performance of the
women and this also affects their promotion.
6. Insufficient Maternity Leaves: Insufficient maternity leave is another major
issue that is faced by a working mother. This not only affects the
performance of women employees at work, but is also detrimental to their
personal lives.
To protect women from all these challenges and problems, government has
introduced certain legislations and schemes. Lets give a look on some of them:
Some legislation:
1. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: To provide a safe

and secure environment to women at the workplace, the Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress)
Act, 2013 came into effect from Dec 13. The Act covers all women in
workplaces in the organized and unorganized sectors and creates an
effective complaints and redress mechanism in the form of an
Internal/Local Complaints Committee.
2. National Commission for Women Act, 1990: An act to constitute a National
Commission for Women and to provide for matters connected therewith. It
has been given a broad mandate to make recommendations to the
Government on measures for the effective implementation of the legal
safeguards for women; review the existing laws affecting women and
recommend amendments. Commission also looks into complaints and take
suo-moto notice of matters relating to deprivation of womens rights etc,
conduct studies/ research on issues of relevance to women, fund litigation
involving issues affecting a large body of women and advice in the planning
process for socio-economic development of women. It consists of a
chairperson and five members to be nominated by the central Government.
3. The Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986: Prohibits indecent
representation of women in any form in any advertisement, publication,
writing, painting, in any other manner. It prohibits selling, distribution and
circulation of any book, pamphlet & such other material containing
indecent representation of women. It prescribes punishment for a term
extending to two years and fine extending to two thousand rupees on first
conviction. Second and subsequent convictions attract a higher
punishment.
4. Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956: Prohibits Trafficking in human beings
and contravention is punishable. The act defines the terms Brothel and
Prostitution. It provides for punishment for keeping brothel or allowing
premises to be used as a brothel. It makes knowingly living on the earnings
of prostitution of another person as punishable. Under this act, providing,
inducing or taking person for the sake of prostitution is punishable. It
provides for establishment of protective homes and special courts.
5. Criminal Justice Amendment Act, 2013: New provisions penalizing acid
attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism and stalking have been introduced.
Provision for rape has been expanded to include rape committed by a
person in a position of dominance, a member of the armed forces deployed
in an area or on women incapable of giving consent. The act has mandated
an increased penalty for gang rape and causing serious injury to the victim
resulting her to remain in a vegetative state. Now, it is an obligation on all
hospitals (public/private) to provide free medical treatment to victims.
6. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: regulates the employment of women in
factories, mines, the circus industry, plantations and shops or
establishments employing ten or more persons, except the employees who
are covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, for certain
periods before and after child-birth and provides for maternity and other
benefits.
The Act was recently amended in 2016, to make it more helpful to women.
The amendments to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 are as follows:
Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two
surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two childern.
12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and
'Adopting mother'.
Facilitate'Work from home'.
Mandatory provision of Creche in respect of establishment having 50
or more employees.
every establishment shall intimate in writing and electronically to
every woman at the time of her initial appointment about the
benefits available under the Act.
Apart from these legislations, government has also introduced some schemes for
women which are as follows:
1. One Stop Centre Scheme

Ministry of Finance, Government of India has established Nirbhaya
Fund with an initial corpus of Rs. 1000 cr. (as per the announcement in
Budget 2013-14) for women safety pertaining to the strategic areas of
prevention, protection and rehabilitation. For subsequent financial years
of 2014-15 and 2015-16 an amount of Rs. 1000 cr. (each financial year)
have been provided under the Nirbhaya Fund.
Using this fund, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD),
has formulated a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up One Stop
Centre, a sub scheme of umbrella Scheme for National Mission for
Empowerment of women including Indira Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog
Yojana. These Centres will be established across the country to provide
integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by
violence, both in private and public spaces in phased manner. In the first
phase, one Centre shall be established in every State/UT on a pilot basis.
The One Stop Centre will provide support and assistance to women
affected by violence, both in private and public spaces. In case girls
under 18 year of age are referred to the Centre, they will also be served
in coordination with authorities/institutions established under the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and
Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012. The Centres will
be integrated with a Women Helpline (1091) to provide a range of
services which are outlined in the table below:
2. Universalisation of Women Helpline Scheme:

The Women Helpline (Helpline) will provide 24 hour emergency
response to all women affected by violence both in public and private
sphere. All the existing emergency services such as Police (100), Fire
(101), women helpline (1091), hospital/Ambulance (102), Emergency
Response Services (108), NALSA Helpline for Free Legal Service (15100)
and Child helpline (1098) would be integrated with this women
helpline.
The proposed Women Helpline will utilize the infrastructure of existing
Chief Minister Helpline functioning in some States through 181 as well
as that of 108 services. It will be established in every State/ UT.
Some of the significant objectives of the Womens Helpline:
Provide toll-free 24-hours telecom service to women affected by
violence, seeking support and information.
Facilitate crisis intervention through referral to police/ Hospital/
Ambulance services
Provide information about the appropriate support services available
to the woman affected by violence, in her particular situation within
the local area in which she resides or is employed.
How the helpline would work:
3. UJJAWALA:
A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue,
Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and
Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
The scheme has five components viz., Prevention, Rescue,
Rehabilitation and Re-Integration of Victims of Trafficking and
Commercial Sexual Exploitation
The fund under the scheme is released to the implementing agencies
which mainly includes NGOs.
The Government of India share is 90% of the total cost of the project.
A total number of 289 projects have been sanctioned as on 30th
November, 2014 which includes 165 Rehabilitation Homes.
4. Working Women Hostel:
The Scheme introduced in 1972-73 as a Central Sector Scheme envisages
provision of safe and affordable Hostel accommodation to working,
single working women, women working at places away from their
hometown and for women being trained for employment.
Under the Scheme Government provides financial assistance for
construction of Hostel / Building on Public Land (75% of the total cost of
construction), for rent of hostels run in rented premises. Provision of
day care centre for children of the inmates of the Hostel is an important
aspect of the scheme.
Working Women are entitled to hostel facilities provided their gross
income does not exceed Rs. 50,000/- consolidated (gross) per month in
metropolitan cities, or Rs. 35,000/- consolidated (gross) per month, in
any other place.
The fund under the scheme is released to the implementing agencies
which include NGOs also.
912 hostels and 342 day care centres have been sanctioned up to
November, 2014 which provide accommodation to 68,371 women/girls
and 9,197 children.
5. Rajiv Gandhi National Crche Scheme For the Children of Working

Mothers:
The scheme focuses on children of 6 months to 6 years, of working
women in rural and urban areas who are employed for a minimum
period of 15 days in a month, or six months in a year.
The Scheme has a pan India coverage. Preference would be given to
poor children and children with special nutritional needs. As on January
2015, there are 23,293 functional crches.
This Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme and functions in both, rural and
urban areas.
The scheme provide an integrated package of the following services
Daycare Facilities including Sleeping Facilities.
Early Stimulation for children below 3 years and Pre-school Education
for 3 to 6 years old children.
Supplementary Nutrition(to be locally sourced)
Growth Monitoring.
Health Check-up and Immunization.
6. SWADHAR Greh Scheme

Under the Scheme , Swadhar Greh will be set up in every district with
capacity of 30 women with the following objectives:
To cater to the primary need of shelter, food, clothing, medical
treatment and care of the women in distress and who are without
any social and economic support.
To enable them to regain their emotional strength that gets
hampered due to their encounter with unfortunate circumstances.
To provide them with legal aid and guidance to enable them to take
steps for their readjustment in family/society.
To rehabilitate them economically and emotionally.
To act as a support system that understands and meets various
requirements of women in distress.
To enable them to start their life afresh with dignity and conviction.
For big cities and other districts having more than 40 lakh population
or those districts where there is a need for additional support to the
women, more than one Swadhar Greh could be established. The
capacity of Swadhar Greh could be expanded up to 50 or 100 on the
basis of need assessment and other important parameters.
Swadhar scheme is being implemented through implementing
agencies i.e. Social Welfare/Women and Child Welfare Departments
of State Governments, Womens Development Corporations, Urban
Local Bodies, reputed Public/Private Trusts or Voluntary
Organizations.
7. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP):
STEP Scheme was launched as Central Sector Scheme in 1986-87 with a
view to make significant impact on women by upgrading skills for
employment on sustainable basis and income generation for marginalized
and asset-less rural and urban women especially those in SC/ST households
and families below poverty line.
The key strategies include:
training for skill development
mobilizing women in viable groups
Arranging for marketing linkages and access to credit.
The scheme covers ten sectors of employment i.e. agriculture, animal
husbandry, dairying, fisheries, handlooms, handicrafts, khadi and village
industries, sericulture, waste land development and socio-forestry. The
Government of India share is 90% of the cost project.
8. Mahila E-haat
The Ministry of Women & Child Development launched Mahila E-Haat a
bilingual portal on 7th March, 2016. This is a unique direct online marketing
platform leveraging technology for supporting women
entrepreneurs/SHGs/ NGOs for showcasing the products / services which
are made/manufactured/ undertaken by them. It is an initiative for meeting
aspirations and needs of women. This was done keeping in mind that
technology is a critical component for business efficiency and to make it
available to the majority of Indian women entrepreneurs / SHGs / NGOs.
This exclusive portal is the first in the country to provide a special, focused
marketing platform for women. Being a bilingual portal, it aims at financial
inclusion and economic empowerment of women. This unique e-platform
showcases products and services.
There is no denying the fact that women in India have made a considerable
progress in almost seven decades of Independence, but they still have to struggle
against many handicaps and social evils in the male-dominated society. Many evil
and masculine forces still prevail in the modern Indian society that resists the
forward march of its women folk. It is ironical that a country, which has recently
acclaimed the status of the first Asian country to accomplish its Mars mission in
the maiden attempt, is positioned at the 87th rank among countries across the
globe on the basis of Gender Gap Index. There has been amelioration in the
position of women, but their true empowerment is still awaited.
Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest sons of India, quoted that, There is no
chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved,
It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing. Therefore, the inclusion of
Women Empowerment as one of the prime goals in the eight Millennium
Development Goals underscores the relevance of this fact. Thus, in order to
achieve the status of a developed country, India needs to transform its colossal
women force into an effective human resource and this is possible only through
the empowerment of women.
Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is

essential to building stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for
development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men,
families, and communities.
7 Gender Budgeting
Women and girls face various forms of vulnerability throughout the life cycle.
They may face discrimination before or after birth; violence, harassment or abuse;
neglect due to dependence and lack of access to resources; social prejudice; and
exploitation whether economic, political, social or religious. They are vulnerable
to exploitation and discrimination regardless of where they are positioned on the
economic and social spectrum. Additionally, their vulnerability increases
significantly if they are poor, socially disadvantaged or live in a backward or
remote area.
Gender Budgeting is a tool that can be used to address these vulnerabilities.
Gender Budgeting is a tool for gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is

the process of assessing the implications of any planned policy, action or
legislation on women or men. The ultimate aim is to ensure gender equality.
Gender budgeting uses the budget as an entry point to apply a gender lens to the
entire policy process. Gender Budgeting is concerned with gender sensitive
formulation of legislation, policies, plans, programmes and schemes; allocation
and collection of resources; implementation and execution; monitoring, review,
audit and impact assessment of programmes and schemes; and follow-up
corrective action to address gender disparities.
Clearly then, it is not only about the Budget and it is not just a one-time activity. It
is a continuous process that must be applied to all levels and stages of the policy
process. However, it recognises that the Budget is a powerful tool that can reduce
the vulnerability of women and girls and transform their situation.
Gender budgeting also recognises that if gender disparities are to be addressed, it

is not enough to formulate gender sensitive legislations, programmes and
schemes. Adequate monetary allocations are equally important for the
achievement of desired outcomes.
Why is it important to use a gender lens while formulating Legislation? This is

discussed below.
The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme (MEGS) was initiated as a

drought relief scheme in Sangli district in the 1960s. Subsequently, it was
extended to the entire state in May 1972 and then enacted as the Maharashtra
Employment Guarantee Act in 1977. It provided the right to work to all adult
women and men. Women constituted a large proportion of those who demanded
the right to work under the scheme. MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act) was patterned on the MEGS and includes several of
its gender-sensitive provisions such as facilities for safe drinking water, first aid,
shade for children etc., at the work site. However, while the MEGS guaranteed
the Right to Work on Demand to all adults willing to do unskilled manual work
provided they were above 18 years of age, MGNREGA provides the guarantee at
the level of the household and not at the level of the individual. Therefore, the
rights of women were subsumed under those of the household. An intervention
by the Department of Women and Child Development led to the addition of a
clause that required that at least one-third of the beneficiaries under NREGA
should be women. Gender Budgeting was at a nascent stage in 2005 when the
NREGA was being formulated. If, at that time, the Ministry of Rural Development
had a vibrant Gender Budget Cell, DWCD may not have needed to intervene and
the right to work may have been given to all adult individuals at the time of
formulation of the Act.
The National Food Security Act, 2013, for example, provides for food and
nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at
affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. However, under the Food
Security Act, every pregnant and lactating mother is entitled to receive maternity
benefit of Rs. 6000. The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana - a Maternity
Benefit Scheme launched in 2010 and being implemented in 53 pilot districts - has
been recast under the National Food Security Act, 2013. It ensures part
compensation for wage loss to pregnant and lactating women before and after
delivery of the child.
Gender Budgeting and the Budget
The Budget is not just an annual statement of receipts and expenditures. It is an

instrument for fulfilling the obligations of the state and a political statement of
the priorities set by the government in allocating resources. Budgets are
necessarily political documents as well as instruments of economic policy.
Most governments have expressed a commitment to gender equality objectives

and to gender mainstreaming, but often there is a gap between policy statements
and the ways in which governments raise and spend money. Gender responsive
budget initiatives can help to close these gaps, ensuring that public money is
raised and spent more effectively.
Reasons why Government should implement Gender Budgeting
Gender Budgeting enables, achievement of Gender Equity/Equality. The

Constitution of India not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the
State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. However,
wide gaps exist between the goals enunciated in the Constitution, legislation,
policies, plans, programmes, and related mechanisms on the one hand and the
situational reality of women and girls, on the other. Achieving gender equity/
equality requires recognition of different needs, preferences and interests which
affect the way men and women benefit from policies and budgetary allocations.
For example, Disha is a scholarship scheme of the Department of Science and

Technology that provides support for women scientists. This scheme helps re-
entry of women scientists after a break in their career paths due to social
responsibilities.
The UGC runs Day Care Centres for married scholars/students in universities and
colleges for providing day care facility on demand basis for children of 3 months
to 6 years of age is another example.
To establish a fully literate society the Government has been successfully running
the Adult Literacy Centres (Sakshar Bharat) throughout the country with focus on
female literacy.
The Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd, first of its kind in the banking industry in India and
the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana besides promoting financial inclusion would
emerge as a catalyst for gender justice and equality.
Valuing Unpaid Work
The traditional concept of an economy does not take unpaid work like child care,
household work like cooking, cleaning, fetching water, caring for the elderly and
voluntary work for civil society into account. It is to be noted that the work of the
unpaid sector plus the work of the monetary economic sector result in the total
economic output of a society. Therefore methods of supporting the women (and
men) who contribute to the nation through unpaid work and lessening their
burden, must be identified. For example under the National Rural Drinking Water
Programme (NRDWP) at the state level, 47% of the funds are allocated for
coverage. This is necessary to relieve women and girls especially, from the
drudgery of fetching water, address malnutrition, and increase the time available
for education and leisure, while also preventing the contamination that is likely
while fetching water from a distant source. Another example of labour saving
investment is the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana (RGGLVY) of the Ministry
of Petroleum and Natural Gas wherein BPL families are provided with LPG
connections.
Scope of Gender Budgeting
Gender Budgeting can be applied to the entire National Budget or to the Budget
of a State or Local Body. It can be applied to a selected Department or just one
programme, which may be an existing programme or a new programme. It can be
applied on the expenditure side or the revenue side. It can be applied to new or
existing Legislation. Researchers in India have applied Gender Budgeting to each
of these aspects. Since gender is a cross cutting issue, Gender Budgeting should
not be confined to social sectors such as education, health and welfare.
Gender Budgeting and Revenue Generation
The focus in Gender Budgeting has primarily been on the expenditure side or
allocations in the Budget for implementing particular programmes, projects and
schemes. However, it is also important to review the revenue generation aspect
of the Budget.
Taxation policies can be designed while keeping in view the prevailing gender
inequalities in property ownership, unequal contribution to unpaid labour within
the household, gender differentials in wages, etc. For instance, for many years
there was positive discrimination in favour of women who filed income tax
returns. However, over the past few years, this has been withdrawn.
Property is primarily owned by men. Tax systems can create incentives to increase
womens ownership of pro-perty. For instance, the Department of Registration
and Stamps, Rajasthan, offers a 50 per cent reduction in the stamp duty for
agricultural land, if the land is registered in a womans name. Stamp duty was
reduced from 8 per cent to 5 per cent, in the case of a gift deed of immovable
property executed in favour of a sister/ daughter/granddaughter/mother or wife.
Conclusion
Gender Budgeting is intended primarily for Government officials. It provides

information that allows for better decision-making on how policies and priorities
should be revised and the accompanying resources needed to achieve the goal of
gender equality.
Additionally, womens organisations, non-governmental organisations,

academics, the donor community, peoples representatives and concerned
citizens may find it useful, as Gender Budgeting can encourage transparency,
accountability and participation, and facilitate better advocacy.
The private sector has an important role to play in promoting gender equality and
womens empowerment as the role of the private sector today is immense in
terms of producing goods and providing services that were once the exclusive
responsibility of the Government. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and other
forms of cooperation between the private sector and local and national
governments are used frequently to develop and provide services like extending
telecommunications and transportation systems, construct and operate water,
sewer, and waste treatment facilities, provide health, education and so on. It is
essential therefore that the private sector takes full account of the gender
implications of its investments as well as its own internal operations, how it
employs people and how it deals with those with whom it does business. It thus
has a major role to play in promoting policies that step up equality and womens
empowerment.
The real challenge for all of us, is to institutionalise Gender Budgeting until it
becomes a natural part of good budgeting practice.

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To tackle this menace, the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques

What does the PC & PNDT Act say?

Sex selection and sex determination are prohibited.

Since coordinated and convergent efforts are needed to ensure survival,

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2.1.1 Three objectives

2.1.2 Initial focus

This small-deposit scheme is subpart of Beti Bachao campaign.

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Limited education opportunities, low quality of education, inadequate

Although there is widespread awareness of the Prohibition of Child Marriage

Law enforcement to prohibit child marriage is relatively weak. Limited detailed

Child Marriage: trends in India

The Government of India is also implementing national programmes aimed at

4 Government Schemes related to child development

Ministry/Department : Ministry of Women and Child Development

Aims at all-round development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years (with a

Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Nutrition : Take Home Ration or Hot Cooked Meal

Ministry/Department : Ministry of Women and Child Development

Provide safe and secure environment for children living in difficult

Ministry/Department : Ministry of Women and Child Development

To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-

It is a Centrally sponsored Scheme implemented by States/UTs across the

Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) seeks to empower adolescent girls, so as to enable

Coverage: Total no. of blocks in the country: 6118

Target Group: Adolescent Girls (11-18 yrs.)

Infrastructural facilities: Existing ICDS infrastructure

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme

Scheme for Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection

The scheme has provision of opportunities including non-formal education,

5 Dowry and Domestic Violence

The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

The Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act prescribes a minimum punishment of

On national level, it is also argued that strong and consistent punishment of

Lesser number of economic opportunities

A womans work in her own household is not counted as an economic activity,

However, society undervalues these immense contributions made by women.

Women employed in agricultural sector

This decline in employment could be attributed to a modest revival in the growth

Urban, Educated Women

In India, social factors play a significant role in reducing womens labour

In this context, it is notable that labour participation is particularly low in India

1. Mental harassment: It is an age old convention that women are less

1. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: To provide a safe

1. One Stop Centre Scheme

2. Universalisation of Women Helpline Scheme:

5. Rajiv Gandhi National Crche Scheme For the Children of Working

Daycare Facilities including Sleeping Facilities.

6. SWADHAR Greh Scheme

7. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP):

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is