ESSAY ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA : There has been a marked change for the better in our overall approach towards the women. Gone are the days when their place was considered to be behind the four walls of the house and their only job was confined to looking after the household affairs. But now they can be seen working shoulder to shoulder with men in every sphere of life.
ESSAY ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA
There has been a marked change for the better in our overall
approach towards the women. Gone are the days when their place was considered
to be behind the four walls of the house and their only job was confined to
looking after the household affairs. But now they can be seen working shoulder
to shoulder with men in every sphere of life.
We had had a highly successful and efficient woman Prime
Minister, late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in addition to having many governors and
Chief Ministers. And even in our own time, there is no dearth of women judges,
lawyers, doctors, administrators, police officers and engineers. This is,
undoubtedly, a good sign and an indication off their emancipation. This has,
however, increased the workload of working women manifold. They attend to their
official duties and after eight hours of labor return home to a different kind
of job.
It is a common sight to see them hurrying back from their
offices in the evening only to enter the kitchen at home and cook for the
family and attend to other domestic chores. It is the same story in rural
areas. After toiling on the farms, they go back home to do all the household
chores.
The men, whether in the urban or in the rural areas, seldom
help in the household tasks? This situation exists because men regard
themselves as superior in mental and physical o power and women as inferior to
them.
Similarly, women too have been made to accept their
subordinate position. However, it is rather inappropriate that this type of
wrong thinking has not changed with the changing times.
This attitude of superiority on the part of men has caused
many problems for working women. In offices, though they are selected to
important positions, they often have to prove themselves doubly competent in
order to get a promotion. Again their absence from duty or late arrival is
frowned upon, whereas the same lapse in a male colleague is, generally, ignored
and over-looked.
Even in day-to-day routine-life, women have to face a host
of problems because the basic attitude towards them still remains unchanged.
Customs which downgrade the position of women have yet to be overcome. The
dowry system is one such custom. If the girl's parents are unable to arrange
for it, the girl is harassed or sent back to her parental home or sometimes
even burnt to death.
Another area where women have yet to get equality is in
property matters. The law has been changed to provide equal property rights to
the son and daughter in a family. However, this is only on paper, and the
daughter gracefully relinquishes her share in the property. If she insists on
getting her share, she is forced to go to court, for it is seldom given to her
as a matter of right.
The very birth of a female member in the family is still an
occasion to mourn, whereas the birth of a son is celebrated with great pomp and
show. The present 'uplifted status women have put them between the devil and
the deep sea.
On one hand, they
seem to have been liberated to the extent that they are working outside, side
by side with men, but, on the other hand, they have to face a number of
problems because of this very fact. What are the solutions to these problems?
The law has, however, been amended in favor of women in many
cases. Thus eave-teasing in public places, harassment in office, the dowry
problem, property rights etc. can be dealt with in the court, yet the basic
problem would remain unsolved.
This is related to the attitude of the people, and unless
this is changed women, on the whole, would remain deprived of their rights as
well as justice. Educational institutions can help by teaching the equality of
the sexes through the lessons.
Further, the family too should not be biased and give the
same kind of upbringing to the sons and daughters. Boys should be made to help
in the domestic chores as much as the girls. The mass media should also project
the picture of the women as an equal with the same desires, ambitions and
intelligence. True liberation of women is possible only when our over-all
attitude is changed.
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