Gender Issues in India: Causes and Effects, Reports and Rankings, Homosexuality, Important Terms

What are the gender issues in India and what are their causes? what has been done to prevent the gender discrimination in India. We will try to answer questions like these in this article and look at some reports and statistics related to the gender issues in India.

What is Gender?

1. Sex refers to a set of biological characteristics found in humans and animals.
2. It is most closely related to physical and physiological characteristics such as chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.
3. The socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions, and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people are referred to as gender.
4. It has an impact on how people see themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and how power and resources are distributed in society.
5. When we talk about gender issues we mainly try to focus our attention on gender inequalities.

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Difference Between Sex and Gender:

Sex	Gender
The biological and physiological variations between male and female reproductive structures are referred to as sex.	The social, cultural, behavioural and emotional distinctions between men and women are referred to as gender.
Birth determines or inherits a person’s sex.	Social, cultural and behavioural factors all have an impact on gender.
Sex is divided into two categories: male and female.	Masculine and Feminin are the two main gender groups.
Generally sex role is not influnced by time and culture.	Gender is a malleable concept, and its role can be influenced by time and culture.

Causes of Gender Inequality

Legal and Political Factors

1. Both men and women are equal in the eyes of the law, according to the Indian Constitution, and thus have equal rights. However, due to legal and political bias, the law has been unable to achieve gender equality aiding the gender issues in india.
2. A patriarchal mindset can also be seen in some of the laws such as the legal minimum age of marriage for men is 21 years while for women it is 18 years only. This is a legal extension of a patriarchal mindset that believes a wife should always be younger than a man.

Economic Factors

30% of India’s population is below the poverty line, out of which 70% are women.The economic separation can play a major role in creating gender issues in india.

1. Labor participation: A significant number of women enter the labour force after their thirties, typically after they have completed their reproductive roles of childbearing and rearing.
2. Employment inequality: Gender-based imbalances of individuals in power and command over the organization’s management are examples of common workplace inequalities. Women are less likely than men to advance to higher-paying positions.
3. Access to credit: Due to low levels of property ownership, women frequently lack collateral for bank loans and micro-credit schemes have come under scrutiny for coercive lending practises.
4. Property Rights: Although women have equal rights under the law to own property and receive equal inheritance rights, yet in practice, women are at a disadvantage.

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Cultural Factors

1. Son preference: Boys are given the sole right to inherit the family name and property, and they are viewed as assets for their family while girls are considered a liability. Sons are supposed to support the old age security of their parents, and hence are more supported and preferred over the daughters, thereby leading to gender issues in India.
2. Role of sons in religious rituals: Any major religious practices can only be carried out by a man. Sons are frequently the only people who have the right to perform funeral rites for their parents or any other rituals related to their parents’ afterlife.
3. Patrilineality system: Individual and family membership in this type of kinship system derives through his or her father’s lineage.Examples: inheritance of property, names, or titles of a person is related to his/her male kin.
4. Gender issues in curriculum in india: In various types of curriculum, female and male students are not treated equally.It is commonly assumed that boys are better at physical exercise than girls, and that girls are better at ‘home’ activities such as sewing and cooking.

Social Factors

1. Patriarchal Society:It is a custom in which inheritance is passed down from father to son, women move in with the husband and his family after marriage, and marriages include a bride price or dowry.
2. Social Customs: The traditional patrilineal joint family system limits women’s roles primarily to the domestic sphere, assigning them a subordinate status, authority, and power in comparison to men.
3. Education: According to the census of India 2011, the literacy rate of females is 65.46% compared to males which are 82.14%.Because of gender issues in education in india, poverty and a lack of education, countless women are forced to work in low-wage domestic service, organised prostitution, or as migrant labourers.
4. Gender-based violence: Gender-based issues against women includes rape, sexual assault, insult to modesty, kidnapping, abduction, cruelty by intimate partner or relatives, importation or trafficking of girls, persecution for dowry, indecency, and all other crimes.
5. Dowry: Another institution that weakens women’s positions is the dowry system, which involves cash or in-kind payments from the bride’s family to the groom’s family at the time of marriage.
6. Inequalities in Agriculture: We also see gender issues in India in terms of agriculture. Women are less likely than men to have statutory land rights, and when they do, their plots are often small.
7. Social Altitude: Perhaps a viable cause of gender disparity is the social stigma that women are housekeepers and should be confined to the four walls of the house. They should not speak out about their fortune for the sake of the family’s reputation.
8. Lack of Awareness: Majority of women in India are unaware of their fundamental rights and abilities.Because of their ignorance and unawareness, they accept all types of discrimination that exist in our family and society.

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Different Reports and Rankings Related to India

Gender Development Index 2020 (by UN):

1. In the gender inequality index, India was ranked 123rd.
2. According to the report, women made up 20.5 percent of the labour force in the country, while men made up 76.1 percent.

Gender Inequality Index 2020 (by UN):

1. GII presents a composite measure of gender inequality using three dimensions:
   1. Reproductive health
   2. Empowerment
   3. The labor market
2. In GII 2020, India is ranked 112 out of 153 countries.

SDG Gender Index by Equal Measures 2020:

1. India ranked 95th out of 129 countries in this index that measures global gender inequality looking at aspects such as poverty, health, education, literacy, political representation, and equality at the workplace.
2. India’s highest goal score was on health (79.9) and its lowest goal scores are on partnerships (18.3) and seats held by women in national Parliaments (23.6).

Global Gender Gap Index 2021: 

1. The Global Gender Gap Index published by the World Economic Forum, assesses the extent of gender-based disparities in economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
2. In 2021, India dropped 28 places to 140th place out of 156 countries that participated in the rankings. It is the third-worst performer among South Asian countries, trailed by Pakistan and Afghanistan and topped by Bangladesh.

Population of Women and Men in India on 2019

Population Projections

1. India’s projected population is 129.02 crore with 48.59% female population in 2016.
2. The projected sex ratio is likely to reach from 943 in 2011 to 945 in 2016 and it may further increase to 948 in 2021.
3. At all India level, the sex ratio has increased from 933 in 2001 to 943 in 2011. Notable increase in the sex ratio has been recorded in Delhi (5.7%), Chandigarh (5.3%), and Arunachal Pradesh (5.0%).
4. The male and female literacy in 2017 is at 84.7 and 70.3 respectively.

Participation in Economy

1. Periodic Labour Force Survey results indicate that the worker population ratio for females in the rural sector was 17.5 and 51.7 for males in 2017-18.
2. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for persons in the age group of 15 years and above, is 22.0 and 71.2 for females and males respectively.
3. Meghalaya (55.5) followed by Chhattisgarh (52.8) and Himachal Pradesh (50.0) have maximum WPR for females
4. The unemployment rate for women in a rural area was 3.8 as against 5.7 for men whereas it was 10.8 and 6.9 for women and men in urban areas in the age group of 15 years and above.
5. As per the data of Basic Statistical Returns of Scheduled Commercial Banks in India, in rural areas, 37.03 percent of the bank accounts are held by female population while in SemiUrban, Urban and Metropolitan areas, the percentage is around 34%.

Participation in Decision Making

1. The percentage of women representation in the Central Council of Ministers has decreased from 17.8 % in 2015 to 10.5 % in 2019.
2. There was an upward trend in the number of females contested as well as females elected from 14th to 17th Lok Sabha General Election.
3. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have the most female members of parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha, with 11 each, followed by Maharashtra with eight.
4. The highest number of female judges is 9 each in Madras, Bombay, and Punjab and Haryana High Court and there are no female judges in Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Uttarakhand.
5. According to a National Crime Record Bureau report (released in October 2020), crimes against women increased by over 7.3 percent in 2019, with over 4 lakh cases reported compared to 3.7 lakh cases in 2018.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Women in India

1. Increased risk: Evidence from previous epidemics, such as Ebola (2014-16) and Zika (2016), suggests that women and children are more vulnerable to exploitation and sexual violence. Indian women filed more domestic violence complaints during the first four phases of the COVID-19-related lockdown than in any previous 10-year period. About 86% of women who experienced violence never sought help, and 77% of the victims did not even mention the incident to anyone.
2. Economic Impact: Women earn less, save less, have less secure jobs and are more likely to work in the informal sector around the world. 70% of women in developing economies like India work in the informal sector, with few protections against dismissal or paid sick leave, as well as limited access to social protection.
3. Health Impact: Strict social norms, gender stereotypes, home quarantining, and resource deflection to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic can reduce women’s access to health services and make them more vulnerable to health risks.

Government Legislation Towards Women Empowerment and Protection

1. Special Marriage Act, 1954: This act’s goals are to provide a special form of marriage in certain circumstances, to register certain marriages, and to provide for divorce. When people of different faiths and castes choose to marry in a country like India, with its diverse religions and castes, they do so under the Special Marriage Act.
2. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: Taking or giving dowry to the bride or the bridegroom and their families at the time of marriage is prohibited under this act.
3. Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: This Act prohibits remuneration discrimination. It provides for equal remuneration for men and women workers.
4. Indian Divorce Act, 1969: The Indian Divorce Act allows for marriage dissolution, mutual consent, nullity, judicial separation, and restitution of conjugal rights.
5. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013: To ensure women’s safety at the workplace, this Act seeks to protect them from sexual harassment at their place of work.
6. National Commission for Women Act, 1990: The National Commission for Women Act aims to improve the status of women and work for their economic empowerment.
7. Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act, 1986: This Act prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisement or in publications, writings, paintings, figures, or in any other manner.

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Homosexuality in India:

1. According to figures submitted to the Supreme Court by the Indian government in 2012, there were approximately 2.5 million gay people in India.
2. Only those who have self-declared to the Ministry of Health are included in these figures.
3. Because a number of LGBTQ Indians are living in the closet due to fear of discrimination, the statistics for those who have concealed their identity amay be much higher.
4. Homosexuality has been prevalent throughout history in the Indian subcontinent, according to historical literary evidence.
5. Until the mid-eighteenth century, when Britain ruled the colonies, homosexuals were not necessarily considered inferior in any way.
6. The Supreme Court of India granted the LGBT community in India the right to freely express their sexual orientation on August 24, 2017.
7. The Supreme Court of India legalised consensual gay sex on September 6, 2018 by squashing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

Important Terms Related to Gender Inequality

1. Gender Budgeting: It is a process of incorporating a gender perspective at all stages of policymaking.It tries to figure out what steps need to be taken to ensure that government policies, plans, programmes, schemes, and budgets meet the needs of both men and women.
2. Son-Meta Preference: It is measured by the Sex Ratio of the Last Child (SRLC).In India, the last child’s sex ratio for firstborns is 1.82, which is heavily skewed in favour of boys when compared to the ideal sex ratio of 1.05.
3. Concept of Missing Women: It refers to the number of women who go missing each year across all age groups, either as a result of sex-selective abortion, disease, neglect, or inadequate nutrition.

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